A hand truck makes so many jobs easier, but if you just don’t have the space, it’s hard to justify owning one. Welcom caters to the space-poor with their Magna Cart — this collapsible 150lb-capacity hand truck folds up to just 25″ tall by 15″ wide by 2″ thick.
At first glance, Greenlee’s CableCaster looks like someone slapped a fishing reel on a toy dart gun — that may be exactly what they did, but the $100 list price is no joke. The CableCaster allows you to pull cable through hard-to-reach spaces, like above a suspended ceiling or through a crawlspace.
Fall’s here, and the leaves just keep dropping. Too bad the trees don’t drop their leaves all at the same time — no, to keep your yard clean you’ll have to rake many times before fall’s over. Plus, if you have trees like red oaks that hold onto their leaves over the winter, you’ll be out there raking in the spring several times, too. All this raking takes away valuable shop time. Would something like this $150 lawn sweeper from Agri-Fab make the work go faster?
This particular lawn sweeper cleans a 26″ swath and collects up to 7 cubic feet of dry leaves/debris in its replaceable vinyl hopper — unfortunately, it won’t work very well with soggy leaves. With its zinc-plated steel frame and polypropylene housing, the 52-1/2″ x 31″ x 33″ sweeper weighs in at 25 pounds.
Is a lawn sweeper the answer for keeping your yard clean in the fall, or will it just sit in the garage gathering dust? Let us know your experiences in comments.
Lawn Sweeper [Agri-Fab]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
The dubious-sounding SaveWizard.com is selling this 8-piece plug cutter set for only $8. It’ll cut straight and tapered plugs, in diameters of 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″, and 5/8″, to hide countersunk screws in your woodworking projects. The set is likely incredibly cheaply made, but at that price it’s good for the weekend warrior…until they burn up.
8-Piece Plug Cutter Set [SaveWizard.com]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Measuring 14 volts at your vehicle’s battery terminals doesn’t tell you squat about how your battery will perform when you actually try to start your vehicle — that’s where a variable load tester like Electronic Specialties’ #710 comes in handy. With this tester you can test batteries rated as high as 1,000 cold-cranking amps or 160 amp hours.
Get into tight corners where your old die grinder can’t reach with AirCat’s inside-corner die grinder. With its 4″ wheel you can access angles as shallow as 30°. The tool’s 17″ length also allows you to reach into confined spaces.
Northern Tool is offering a great deal on Empire’s Heavy-Duty Magnum Rafter Square, at $5. Rafter squares, also known as speed squares, help you lay out cuts for rafter joints and make square cuts on dimensional lumber.
Empire Heavy-Duty Magnum Rafter Square [Northern Tool]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Get off your knees and chuck the Roto Planter into your cordless drill to dig holes for your bedding plants, bulbs, or seedlings. The Roto Planter from Yard Butler can dig holes up to 22″ deep and 3″ wide. And just because it’s called Roto Planter doesn’t mean it’s only useful for planting — open holes to deep water and fertilize your trees and shrubs, or dig holes for outside wiring or irrigation pipe.
We’ve been fans of the sub-compact cordless power tool class since its inception a few years ago. It started with the PS20 10.8V Li-Ion and continues today with the newest PS50 Multi-X — or, as we like to call it, the little, blue, freight-train-looking Bosch. This tool can switch from cutting to grinding to sanding with a simple accessory swap.
So you’re lazy — the truck only gets a few coats of wax a year. It’s work doing it by hand, and you’re too cheap to buy a dedicated buffer. Instead of investing in a new tool, save some dough and grab Porter-Cable’s lambswool polishing pad. It comes with a hook-and-loop backer that fits the orbital sander you already own.
Why should J-rollers get all the fun? Although it looks like a toy race car, the SpeedRoller Pro from FastCap fits comfortably in your hand to roll on laminates with pressure-sensitive adhesives, such as edge-banding or veneers.
You’ve lost the case for your nail gun, or you just don’t bother to carry it around anymore because it’s too bulky. Take a look at a bag like Bucket Boss’ gunner bag — it isn’t much bigger than a framing nailer, but it’ll help protect your investment from dirt and dings.
Ace Hardware is selling this 20lb sledge hammer for $34.55. While assisting with a bit of blacksmithing last night, I remembered what a handy tool the 20lb sledge hammer is for transmitting force to another object — and how frightening it is when it’s being swung at you. While it’s not as efficient as a lighter hammer for all-day demolition, when you hit something with a 20lb sledge, it stays hit.
Shipping will likely be high, so you might want to check your local store for this one.
Jackson Sledge Hammer [Ace Hardware]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
This isn’t the work of some strong man — Ridgid intended its offset hex wrench to look like this. They claim the odd-shaped jaws give you a secure grip on multiple sides of hex and square nuts, unions, and valve packing nuts. Plus it opens from 1-1/8″ to 2-5/8″ wide, allowing you to fit it around tub and sink drain nuts.
The 9-1/2″ long wrench weighs just 1-1/2 pounds, with smooth thin jaws to slip into tight places. Ridgid offers a lifetime warranty against defects in material or workmanship — not bad for a $30 to $40 pipe wrench.
Offset Hex Wrench [Ridgid]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
When you want to firmly hold something that’s easily crushed, your vise can use all the help it can get. We’ve featured vise-jaw covers like Soff Jaws on Toolmonger before, but Wilton designed these jaw covers with cutouts so they can better grip round objects — they should work great for holding wood, tubing, soft metal widgets, and irregularly shaped doohickeys.
Amazon is selling the Master Appliance HG-501A heat gun for the best price we’ve found, $70 plus free shipping. The 14A, 1,680W tool runs on the hot end of Master’s heat guns, blasting out hot air in the range of 500-750 degrees Fahrenheit. With a heat gun like this you can thaw pipes, shrink plastic, and desolder(!) — it’s good for jobs where you need something more controllable and less “flamey” than a propane torch.
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Carry Stanley’s Mitey Knife on your keychain and you’ll always have a miniature utility knife with you. This lightweight knife weighs less than an ounce and measures 3-1/2″ inches when closed.
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