We asked for demolition pics a while back, and TM reader and photo pool member kayacabana provided us with some. Here you can see him in the midst of tearing up flooring.

Yes, he’s not wearing the proper clothing and safety gear for the job. Yes, he’s going to catch hell in comments for it. But you have to give him props for a) getting his ass out to do the work even when it was “hot as hell in Tucson,” and b) for getting the job done with “a HF air scraper with an underpowered PC compressor.” He says the low-buck gear “worked well and made a hell of a mess.”

Nice.

By the way, Toolmonger’s photo pool is quickly approaching the 1,000 photo mark. If you haven’t taken the time to browse through ‘em — and share your own — now’s as good a time as any. There really aren’t any rules there. Just post anything a Toolmonger would enjoy seeing: unboxing pics of your new tool, photos of your latest project, or a quick pic of a funky unidentified tool you saw at the flea market. We’re game. We’re Toolmongers!

Toolmonger’s Photo Pool [Flickr]

Looking for a cheap-ass hex key set? Harbor Freight currently offers this 10-piece color-coded metric T-handled set for just $6. Standard $7 shipping kills the deal online, but you can always pick this up in-store (like I did). The set includes the following sizes: 2, 2.5, 3, 4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, 8, and 10 mm — all organized in a slotted stand. 

37862-4VGA Hex Set [Harbor Freight]
Store Locations [Harbor Freight]

Are you still bending metal using the old fashioned clamp and mallet method? You need a break – a metal bending brake that is! Brake-bending metal is superior to manual bending methods for two main reasons: you’ll end up with a cleaner and straighter bend, and you can skip the tiresome pounding session entirely.

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Harbor Freight is holding a three-day “red tag sale” today through this weekend, offering some even crazier deals/steals than normal.  Some of my favorites include:

One-Inch Impact Wrench: Maximum torque of 1400 ft. lbs.  three speeds forward, three speeds reverse. Lightweight, durable cast aluminum housing. $90.

12-Ton Hydraulic Pipe Bender: Bends six different diameter pipes from 1/2 to two inches. Bending bars can be adjusted to distances of 8-1/2, 11-1/4, 12, 16-3/4, 19-1/2 and 22-1/4 inches. Includes a 2-inch diameter 12 ton jack. $60.

Auto-Darkening Welding Mask: Lens darkens instantly for arc, MIG or TIG welding. 1/20,000 second switching speed. Variable shade control from #9 to #13. High/low sensitivity adjustment. UV/IR protection. Uses solar power with lithium battery reserve. $60.

To get these prices, print out and clip the coupons or pick up the flyer in-store.

Red Tag Sale Coupons [Harbor freight]
Store Locations [Harbor Freight]

Forstner bits are fantastic if you need a nice clean hole, particularly with a clean bottom. They’re also great if you use ‘em to drill out the majority of a mortise and use a chisel to clean out the sides and corners. Like with most bits, a good set can hurt the wallet. But right now Rockler has a good quality seven-piece Forstner bit set for just $11. The set includes bits from 1/4” to an inch with 3/8” round shanks. They even come in a molded-plastic case to keep them nice and sharp until you need them.

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My family often travels abroad for the summer and leaves me in charge of their houseplants. Needless to say, after three or more months away they often come back to find more than a few casualties. Cactus – they’re usually good. But anything else, not so much.

Then I found this cheap-ass drip irrigation kit at Harbor Freight. The concept is simple: you leave a faucet on with the kit attached, and this maintains enough pressure in the kit’s hose to force water out drip nozzles attached to the pots of your favorite houseplants. It slowly waters your plants without over watering.

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Remember playing with Tinker Toys? Maybe they weren’t as cool as Legos or Erector, but they sure beat the crap out of Lincoln Logs. As an adult, you don’t have to secretly pine for your old play gear: check out these structural pipe fittings. They’re usually expensive enough to be deemed “Tool Pr0n,” but now that Harbor Freight carries them, you can pick some up without selling your car.

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Guess what?  Harbor Freight actually sells name-brand tools, too, and right now they’re offering a three-piece set of no-kidding Vise-Grips set for $20.  You get 5″ curved jaw, 6″ long-nose, and 10″ curved-jaw locking pliers, and the set also comes with a pouch that you can stash in a drawer or mount to some pegboard.  

We see an average street price of about $30 for the set — and over $34 for the individual pieces — so this is a tough deal to pass up.

3-Piece Vise-Grip Tool Set [Harbor Freight]
Vise-Grip Model 321GS Three-Piece Set [Irwin]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s this?]

This ground block makes it easy to establish a solid ground for arc welding when you can’t find a good place to clamp the lead — as long as you’re welding ferrous metal.  Just smack the magnet onto your work piece, then attach your grounding clamp to the stud on top.  The stud is spring loaded so that when you attach the magnet it presses against the metal and ensures a solid ground.

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Want a toe-kick saw like the Crain No. 795 featured yesterday, but don’t want to shell out serious dough?  For the hobbyist who may only use it once or twice over the course of a kitchen and/or bath remodel, the Harbor Freight model might work great — especially since (as reader Evan pointed out) it’s marked down to $40 right now.

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This is probably the cheapest you’ll ever find a 5″ hardwood hand screw — just $2 from Harbor Freight right now.  And before you say it in comments, we know these are probably cheap in both common uses of the word.  Still, who could pass up having a few of these around the shop for this kind of pocket change?

Note: When I saw these on sale, I also saw some split-leather work gloves for $1 a pair.  If you don’t already have a set of “clean gloves” in the shop, these would work great.

5″ Genuine Hardwood Hand Screw [Harbor Freight]

Harbor Freight is currently offering this 1-1/2 hp gas-powered auger drill for $180.  It features a 7/8″ drive shaft that spins at 150 rpm, and it ships with a 30-3/4″ auger bit.  And like any small engine-powered tool, its a polluter – so you can’t order it from California.

But it sure looks like it’d beat the crap out of a post hole digger.  Damn, I hate post hole diggers.

1-1/2 HP Gasoline Auger Drill [Harbor Freight]

Still looking for a cheap-ass polisher for safe-and-easy knot-cup-brush use?  Here’s one similar to the one I have, and it’s $30 right now at Harbor Freight.  As I’ve said before, I like these for knot-cup brush use because they spin slow enough to keep the wire in the brush — and out of your belly/arms/etc. 

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TM reader LJDobie writes: “I restore 80s and 90s autos, and something like this plastic welder from Harbor Freight sounds like it’d be great for fixing borken door clips or similar things, or even patching up the fenders on my ATV.  Have any of you used it?  Do you know exactly how it works?”

The last time I did any “plastic welding” it was with one of those kiddie construction kits that included a “welding gun” that spun plastic rods quickly to generate heat.  Wow — that sounds really dangerous now that I say it to you, though at the time it made perfect sense.

So have you used one of these “real” plastic welders?  Let us know about it in comments.

Plastic Welding Kit [Harbor Freight]

After all the great response to our coverage of the Speedy Stitcher, we’re happy to pass on a tip from reader nrChris: Harbor Freight is currently offering a coupon that’ll land you a cheap sewing awl for just $3.  If you’re thinking about messing around with one of these, this might be a good start.

$7 Off Quick Stitch Sewing Awl Coupon [Harbor Freight]

TM reader nrChris writes: “I bought this Harbor Freight dial indicator to check runout on my new — and in need of a rehab — table saw.  It’s amazing: flip the switch and it’s a very strong magnet. Flip it again and it’s inert. The best part is that this features a standard thread — 5/16″ I think — so you can re-purpose them nicely. I’m going back for a few more to use with tablesaw jigs and featherboards while they’re on sale.”

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Harbor Freight is offering this gravity feed blaster gun for $10 right now.  I don’t really need one, but at this price I’ll probably pick one up just for the hell of it.  The Central Pneumatic #93321 features a 9-ounce hopper, a 5 mm nozzle, and demands a max air pressure of 90 PSI and a volume of 1.7 CFM.

Gravity Feed Blaster Gun [Harbor Freight]