I can’t think of any job in the workshop where safety glasses aren’t warranted — even just sweeping the floor or using a Dremel tool. You’ve only have two eyes, and you’ve got to protect them. But what happens when you’re working on small parts (or your eyes just aren’t what they used to be? Forget those granny glasses you got at the drug store. Get some dioptric (reading) saftey glasses.
The Bigg Lugg 2 is just an elastic loop with a ball on the end that fits a socket that clips on your belt. But it beats the hell out of balancing that $400 pneumatic nailer on top of a ladder and hoping for the best. Think of it as a universal tool holster.
Through September 5th, Craftsman mechanics gloves are on sale at Sears for $9.88 a pair. For less than $10, you get comfortable gloves which can handle a moderate amount of abuse.
I picked up a pair a while ago, and they’ve endured everything from picking up broken glass shards to moving a cummulative two thousand pounds up three flights of stairs. In addition to an extra protective layer on the thumb and forefinger, they feature finger grips which help reduce the fumbling associated with picking up small parts. They’re also quite comfortable even if worn for an extended period of time.
Gardner Bender’s Circuit Alert wire strippers help you avoid shocking situations by sensing and alerting you to active voltage before you strip. Just slide the switch to “on,” and as you move the sensor’s handle toward a circuit, the strippers beep and flash if it’s live.
We we wrote about this sweet-looking Uvex shield back in October, it was $25. But I just found it at High Performance Cleaning for nine bucks. It offers complete face protection, fully adjustable ratcheting headgear, a soft breathable headband, andface shield you can replace in seconds. Oh yeah, and it look cool as all hell.
Bionic Face shield [Uvex]
Uvex Bionic Face Shield [High Performance Cleaning]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
These over-the-ear hearing protectors from DeWalt are designed to fit “virtually all slotted hard hats” — which means no more choosing between your hearing or your head!
You probably already know about the benefits of Ground Fault Circuit Interrupt (GFCI) plugs, and you likely have them installed in most of the locations where you use your powertools – your workshop, garage, and outdoor receptacles. But what if you’re stuck with a non-GFCI on the jobsite? That’s when you need a portable GFCI cable, like this one from Coleman Cable.
Long-time TM reader Joel sent us a link to this great Harbor Freight coupon that lets you pick up a set of basic hearing protectors for $4. He writes: “Cheap hearing protection is way better than none. I got my first hearing protectors this last winter. I couldn’t imagine working with my power tools without it now. Do yourself a favor and buy these. At $4, there’s no excuse.”
Ear Muffs Coupon [Harbor Freight]
What’s one better than a flag-draped hard-hat? A flag-draped hard-hat with Lady Liberty, of course! There’s no mistaking her copper visage shining forth from the well-protected head of this product’s owner, who’ll definitely be the envy of all the other guys stuck working over Wednesday’s American holiday.
Note: In competition with our friends at The Hardware Aisle, we’re posting lots of patriotic tools today and tomorrow. Look for a post on Wednesday (the 4th) where you can vote for your favorite. And don’t forget to submit your favorite patriotic tools! If your suggestion is the reader favorite, we’ll send you a tool from the test pile — something nice.
The LadLock attaches to your ladder and provides an angle-adjustable stabilizer that presses against roofs to help hold your ladder in place. Remember: there are no old, bold roofers.
Electrical Supplies Online is offering the Greenlee GT-10GFI electrical tester for $8.82 today. They’ve also got the GT-10 “polarity cube” (read: the same thing, but no GFI) for $5.18.
If you’re doing any re-wiring in your house — especially an older house – this (or one like it) is a must for your toolkit. It’ll test any 120V grounded or GFCI outlet, and its various light sequences indicate proper and improper wiring.
Greenlee GT-10GFI [Electrical Supplies Online]
Greenlee GT-10GFI [Greenlee]
Street Pricing [Froogle]
Lawnmowers + kids - proper safety = injuries. From Child Health News:
“Each year, lawn mower accidents send 9,400 U.S. children to the hospital, causing injuries more severe than any other tool or device, research shows. The most common injuries are lacerations, fractures, and amputations of the fingers, toes, feet, and legs.”
Somehow this isn’t surprising. My Father – a professional machinist, carpenter, and woodworker — managed to mangle a finger while repairing a self-propelled walk-behind. Sadly, lawn mowers are so simple and common that we often forget the danger they pose to the complacent.
Michael writes: “I was reminded today – twice actually – what a great tool these are. I bought my first pair a few years ago from a brick-and-mortar camping store that was going out of business. I recently found them again at Lee Valley and bought several more. They make great gifts for woodworkers. One of the neat features is the small clip that that comes with them., which allows you to keep the tweezers on a key chain. I’ve easily removed slivers I couldn’t even see with these. It’s a simple product that does what it’s supposed to do and still made in the USA.”
I first got addicted to kneepads when I picked up a set on sale at Harbor Freight for something less than $5. I thought, “Man, I’m sure gonna look like a dork in these, but I’m sick of my knees hurting.” It was a while before I gave ‘em a try, but after just a bit I found myself using them more and more. Yes, you do look like a dork in them. Get over it. Look at it this way: you’ll be a mobile dork in your old age.
Recently, I’ve been thinking of “upgrading” to some higher-quality kneepads, and I’m considering these: Irwin’s i-Gel “stabilizer” kneepads. Besides the inclusion of a get pack to further soften the pressure on the body’s most complex and fragile joint, they also feature a textured, shaped rubber piece on the front to provide extra stability.
Dazrin writes: “I saw a comment in the Gerber Sport Utility Kit review that made me want to post something on first aid kits. I carried around a home-made first aid kit – thanks to my wife and mother-in-law – with me for a few years. I couldn’t imagine not having one anymore. We’ve used it for many things from trail side (4×4 trails) patching to scraped knuckles in the garage, and when a friend had an allergic reaction to something at a church potluck we had the right meds to help her out.”
“Mine was stolen recently so I bought an Adventure Medical Kits ‘Outfitter Kit’ first aid kit. I like to have a fairly complete kit, so that is why I chose the Outfitter, but AMK has a lot of other kits available.”
“Amazon has it at a decent price — as opposed to getting the components separately – and it’s a great value. Basegear.com also has them (and much more) for a good price. When supplemented with more bandaids, more generic drugs, a flashlight, an emergency blanket, etc. you can make a good kit like this great.”
“The old kit was in a red, Stack-On tool box and had “First Aid” written on it in reflective tape, so it was easy to find for anyone who was just told ‘get the first aid kit.’ The new one is soft-sided which is good and bad: good in that you have less wasted space — almost the same contents, 1/2 the space – but bad in that everything can get crushed easily and it is denser, so it is harder to find the one thing you need.”
Another tip to the casual rattle-canner: pick up a decent respirator. Yeah, you can probably “get away” with filling your lungs with chemicals and your nose with paint a few times, but why take a few years off your life when you can pick up the a bare minimum decent respirator for under $30?
We picked up the AO Safety model pictured above at Lowe’s for $29, though they list it online for $28. Better yet, we found it on Amazon for $25. It’s not the finest available, but it’s quite reasonable. We didn’t have any trouble adjusting it for a good fit, and it made a big difference in how we felt after painting for a few hours.
Roscoe scores again today with another winner. He writes: “These lithium smoke detector batteries are guaranteed to last 10 years in a smoke detector. They’re $7 or $8 at Ace Hardware, but they’re well worth it, and they’ll quickly pay for themselves. The cost is especially worth it in detectors that are hard to reach or those near bedrooms that might will start chirping in the middle of the night.”
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