It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Consumer Reports Responds
After reading Kevin Pace’s Hot or Not? Consumer Reports post — and the great comments it’s generated — our friend Bob Markovich over at Consumer Reports dropped us a line to respond. Read on past the jump to read his note we received last week:

FYI: Why Tape Measure Claws Move Around
Today a friend asked me a question that the folks at Stanley tell me they hear all the time: why does the claw — you know, the little catch at the end of your short tape measure — move back and forth?

Eat its Dust: Drywall Dust Eater
Whenever you work with drywall, dust gets everywhere — ceiling, walls, and floor — and getting it off all those surfaces is a chore. That’s where Wooster’s Drywall Dust Eater comes in. It’s a triangular tool that looks like a mop but uses a specially-treated material that attracts and holds dust without water.

Folding Pocket Sharpener
Do we really need more stuff in our pockets?  We already have keys, cell phones, knives, multi-tools, wallets, change, and even Pocket Chisels. So now FastCap recently introduced yet another tool we can stuff into our bulging pants: a pocket diamond sharpener. 

Hot or Not? Harbor Freight Knockout Punches
The industry standard for knockout punches, Greenlee screw- or hydraulic-actuated two-piece piloted dies are designed to make holes in sheet metal for conduit and instruments. But what about for the weekend warrior or the guy starting out in the trade?

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Get Down To Bare Metal With A Needle Scaler
If you want to remove paint, rust, dirt, or welding slag without damaging the metal surface, you may need an air needle scaler.  This air-powered tool has a piston that drives a number of needles or small chisels back and forth very quickly.

Add More Parking Space To Your Garage
Who doesn’t need more space in their garage?  Whether it’s that extra car that sits outside, all your lawn care equipment, snowmobiles, or ATV’s, there never seems to be enough room for it all.  With these four-post lifts from Dannmar you can recover that wasted space above your vehicles to store your stuff. 

Grinding, Milwaukee-Style
One of the reasons we like going to talk to the folks at Milwaukee is because we get to see all the latest tools and paw all over them with direct access to the folks designing and building them a few feet away.

Case Burnt Barnboard Handles
Since I tend to drool a lot in actual knife stores, I do the majority of my blade shopping online. The Burnt Barnboard handles from Case caught my eye this week. The orangey/yellow colors and rough texture carved into calf bone look beautiful and rugged at the same time.

Reader Question: Miter Saw Troubles
Kimberly in Salt Lake wrote to us about a problem she’s having with a Chicago Electric miter saw. The head of the bolt that holds the blade on sheared off and Kimberly is looking to get it repaired.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Midget Ratchet Gets Into Tight Spaces
You might not need a small ratchet like the Midget every day, but there are times when they’re indispensable — like when you’re lying on the floor of your vehicle trying to remove the fan speed resistor or another part that’s tucked up under the dash.

The New Color Of Sears: Green
Sears launched their new green website earlier this month — they’ve dedicated a section of Sears.com to tips, ideas, and products designed to help their customers live “greener” and more eco-friendly.

Editorial: The Next Generation
At the Milwaukee product event last week, a passionate man named Michael Callanan spoke to us about a problem with the next generation of skilled workers:  there aren’t enough of them.  Looking ahead, the NJATC has created a program to fully prepare and train electrical apprentices and journeymen.

Hidden Power
The once-simple telephone is now so complicated that you need a manual to figure out all its functions, and you can’t just plug it into a phone jack anymore — it needs its own source of power.  Usually that means stretching the power cord to some distant outlet, but with Leviton’s Out-of-Site PowerJack you can get back that neat and clean look for your phone.

Preview: Milwaukee M12 3/8″ Drill
Milwaukee unveiled their newest frontline products in the sub-compact cordless wars last week, and the M12 3/8” drill/driver was one of the first out of the gate. This offers a couple of insights:  first, this new drill is proof positive that Milwaukee has no plans to drop their M12 line;  and second, if you’ve been lamenting the limited choice of tools in this line, you’re in for a good year.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

It’s Just Cool (Or Hot): H2Glow
You can buy an H2Glow for the safety of the little ones — though in the fine print of their installation PDF, Sector Labs points out that the H2Glow is not a safety device — or just because it looks really cool.  It makes your water glow as it flows out of the tap, blue if it’s safe to touch and red if it gets too hot.

Stihl MS 211 C-BE Chain Saw
Chainsaws are cool — they’re also dangerous and can bite you pretty hard if you don’t handle ‘em carefully, but they’re really cool.  The folks at Stihl are trying to make ‘em even cooler by adding low-emission features to their saws, without nerfing the power.  Enter the MS 211 C-BE chain saw, which sports all their best features for occasional-operation saws plus some green additions thrown in for good measure.

Protection For/From Hose Ends
I’m not sure if the Hose End Safeguard (HES) is the solution to a problem I never had or a cheap way to make sure I never have the problem.  WenDan Enterprises claims the HES will save you money in the long run by protecting your stuff from scratches and saving you from having to replace the hose end.

Hot or Not? Modular Tool Sets
Modular tool-storage systems have become more common in the past few years, and recently some companies have expanded this “modular” trend to the tools themselves, allowing customers to piece together large sets, all at once, with only the tools they need.

High-Pressure Or High-Volume Grease Gun
Legacy Manufacturing, not to be confused with Legacy Woodworking, claims their MEGABOOST grease gun is the most powerful pistol-style grease gun out there.  If you set the gun for boost, it’s able to deliver 10,000 PSI — or, if you set if for volume, it’ll pump out more grease per stroke than other similar grease guns.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Hurricane Window Clips
When a storm is about to hit, the last thing you want to do is waste time screwing plywood over your windows.  PLYLOX window clips let you quickly cover windows with plywood without installing any hardware or modifying your window casings.

Preview: The Tow-N-Stow
People keep telling you, “You don’t need a truck if you don’t haul stuff regularly.  Just get a trailer.”  I see some problems with that logic: for one thing, a trailer requires extra storage space that you might not have. The Tow-N-Stow may not help with your planning ability, but it definitely takes care of the problem of where to store the trailer.

Mow And Aerate With Your Riding Mower
Whether you’re a fan of spike aeration or not, you have to admit that the Mow-Aerator treads would look pretty badass on your riding mower.  Plus, once you’re done aerating you can take your lawn mower mudding.

Editorial: The Demise Of GM
Certain things become parts of our everyday lives; GM was one of those things.  I completely feel for the folks who’ve already lost their jobs, and for those who know their days are numbered.  I’ve been on the downside of that scenario, and honestly there’s absolutely nothing good about it.  My question is, what did GM think was going to happen?

Weber Genesis E-310 Grill In Espresso Brown
Any good Toolmonger knows that the best part of a project is the celebratory beer and barbecue when it’s finally finished.  A major project requires a major celebration, and a major celebration requires a major grill. If you’re in need of a new gas grill this season, take a look at the Weber Genesis E-310 in espresso brown.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Can’t Miss This Hammer’s Sweet Spot
You can’t swing a hammer to save your life — is a bigger head going to help?  Stanley claims the larger sweet spot on their new hammer will reduce the number of misses and deliver more power to the blows that do hit the nail on the head.

The Ultimate Welding Table
You may have seen optical tables on TV or in a lab somewhere — thick metal-topped tables with threaded 1/4″ holes spaced every inch or so that allow you to precisely place equipment.  Strong Hand Tools makes their BuildPro Welding Table with a similar design.

Dremel Lawn Mower Blade Sharpening Attachment
To get the best quality cut out of your lawn mower, you’ve got to keep the blade sharp — but it’s not exactly easy holding that thin sheet of rusty metal at just the right angle over the rapidly spinning abrasive stone on your bench grinder. Lawn-conscious consumers can make the job safer and easier with Dremel’s lawn mower and garden tool sharpening attachment.

SoSimpleCrown Do It Yourself Crown Molding
Installing crown molding can be the hardest part of remodeling or redecorating a room — one wrong cut, one misplaced finish nail, one incorrectly angled miter, and the entire project falls apart. To make things a little easier, SoSimpleCrown offers pre-cut DIY crown molding, eliminating all the hard parts and leaving nothing but the installation.

Oops! You Left The Garden Tools Alone In The Dark
Ever since the discovery of the spork, people have been trying with limited success to combine two implements into one and give it a catchy contracted name.  Now some company has decided to merge two indispensable gardening tools, the rake and the trowel, into what they call the Trake.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Sports Team Tool Belts
With Father’s Day about a month away, I’m sure many of us are scrambling to find this year’s present.  If your dad’s a sports fan and a Toolmonger, you might want to check out these sports-themed tool belts from Fantasia Memorabilia.

Dual-Cut Lopper
When you’re pruning, you don’t want to carry around a bunch of tools, so Fiskars’ Dual-Cut lopper lets you cut both large and small branches cleanly with the same tool.

Installing A Heated Tile Floor
You can count on the good Southern boys at Extreme How-To for good content and solid plans for tackling projects you may not have considered for the homestead.  Right now in a three-minute video on the main page of the site, Matt Weber runs through some of the major steps involved in laying down a radiant heat tile floor.

Get Your Bins Off The Floor
Create more space in your garage, shop, basement, or other room by getting your bins off the floor and hanging them on the wall with the Enviro Stacker.

In-Outlet Surge Protection
If you don’t own a surge suppressor for your whole house or building, the next best thing might be surge suppressors built right into key outlets around your home or office.  There’s less clutter without the power strips, and you’re protected even if you plug your electronics right into the wall.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Bike Chain Cleaner
Dirt and metal particles on your bike’s chain can accelerate chain and sprocket wear and cause shifting or other performance problems.  Park Tool sells its Cyclone chain scrubber to keep your bike’s chain clean and operating at peak performance.

Remove Thatch With Your Lawnmower
Dethatching the lawn by hand with a rake or proper dethatching tool is hard work.  You can buy or rent a power dethatcher, but that’s just one more piece of equipment to worry about — or for around $15 you can outfit your lawnmower with Arnold’s universal-fit 16″ dethatching blade.

Craftsman Nextec Multi-Tool
Next week Craftsman is set to release its newest addition to the existing 12V Nextec line:  the Multi-Tool.  If the shape seems a little familiar, it should — except for a few slight differences in the casing, it looks very similar to the Bosch PS50-2B multi-saw.

Add A Reclosable Spout To Any Bag
The three-piece Smart Cap from Evriholder Products adds a screw cap and spout to any bag so you can easily pour, seal, and store bags of pet food, seed, potting soil, or any other products that comes in a plastic bag.

Easily Cut Strips Of Drywall
Warner calls this tool a drywall edge cutter, but perhaps a better name would be drywall strip cutter.  That’s because when you run this tool along the edge of a sheet of drywall, it scores both sides, allowing you to snap a strip of drywall off the edge of the sheet.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Reader Question: Cross-Pein Explosion
Reader Gil sent in a question about acceptable tools for the job.  He asks, “Can I use a 3-pound cross-pein #3 sledge hammer on masonry chisels?  Or will the hammer explode like a clay-more?” Toolmonger readers sound off on what’s up.

Grizzly Master Plate
Yesterday I mentioned Grizzly’s SuperBar, but if you really want to be accurate when adjusting your saw blade, you’ll want to use that gauge in conjunction with a Master Plate.  You install Grizzly’s Master Plate on your saw’s 5/8″ or 1″ arbor — unlike a blade, the Master Plate won’t flex when you’re making your measurements.

Innocent-Looking Starfish Makes Your Home Safer
This innocuous little starfish will keep sliding glass doors from opening too far, especially ones where the door slides on the outside and you can’t use a bar to secure it.  The SecureIt can also keep windows from being opened too far, much like a window lock.

Book ‘Em, Er, I Mean Hook-Um Dano
The creator of the Hook-Um Dano ladder lock must have been a fan of Hawaii Five-O, but then, who isn’t? We’re not exactly sure how this product relates to a cop show set in Hawaii — what it does do is secure one or two extension or step ladders to your ladder or roof rack, quickly and without tools.

A Good Read: Popular Mechanics Shop Notes
Popular Mechanics used to release an annual book containing all their shop tips and tricks, appropriately called “Popular Mechanics Shop Notes.”  I own several original volumes from the ’30s and ’40s which make for entertaining bedtime reading.  Now the folks at Lee Valley Tools have reprinted every volume between 1905 and 1930 at a low cost:  $7.50 each or $32.50 for 5-year increments.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Use Truck Stake Pockets For Something Useful
You know those fake stake pockets that manufacturers put on trucks nowadays, the ones that’re maybe 3″ deep and pretty much useless for anything but those pop-up hooks?  Well, Master Lock has come up with a pretty cool use for one:  turning it into a U-lock for locking up your tools.

Fenner PowerTwist V-Belts
Most belt-powered shop tools ship out with the cheapest belt that’ll keep the tool running — and thanks to lower manufacturing standards, these belts can cause excess vibration and noise.  Fenner offers a replacement V-belt option that’ll work not only with your shop tools but with any belt-driven device, to keep ‘em running smooth and quiet.

Ice Isn’t Always Cool
Where I live, it’s already pushing 90 in the heat of the day, so a/c is your first, last, and only line of defense against sweating your ass off.  Unfortunately, my a/c stopped working recently, and when I checked it out I found the coil crusted with ice.  In this case, ice is not cool.

Grizzly Handheld Pneumatic Sander
What do you do if you need to sand a curved project that’s too big to get to your oscillating spindle sander — an assembled piece of furniture, for instance?  Most of us aren’t big fans of hand sanding, so this Grizzly Handheld Pneumatic Sander looks pretty appealing.

PaintMiser: Hyde’s Other 10-In-1 Tool
Hyde likes the number 10.  First it was the 10-in-1 Painter’s tool, but that wasn’t enough 10’s, so they made the PaintMiser 10-in-1 tool.  Instead of carrying this tool in your pocket, you probably want to leave it close to the paint — most of its functions have to do with getting every last drop from the can.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Jot Some Notes On A MagNote
Stick one of these MagNotes from Rockler on any magnetic surface in your shop and instantly create a place to jot down notes.  You write on the 4″ by 3″ MagNotes with #2 pencil and erase the note with a standard eraser when you’re done.

Editorial: Sad But True — Shop Pic
Talk about Doh!  I look back fondly on December of ’08, because it was the last time my shop was functional. It’s my own fault. This is what happens when you become the dumping ground for other people’s crap or projects — the junk seems to swell beyond capacity and beyond any semblance of control.

Lincoln Welders Backpack
Welding gear is expensive — even if you start with a basic unit, all the accessories you need will cost you some more of your hard-earned bucks. Wouldn’t it be convenient if there was a complete package that could hook you up with everything you needed? Here comes Lincoln Electric with the Lincoln Welders Backpack.

Autocloser Closes The Garage Door For You
How often does this happen to you:  You’re lying in bed and the wife asks, “Honey, did you close the garage door when you came in?”  You can’t remember, so you get out of bed to check.  You can avoid this whole scenario if you install Xceltronix’s Autocloser.

Head 2 Head Hands-On: Bosch SPS10 vs LI3000 SmartDriver
One product at the Bosch event which received close to no attention was the little SPS10 screwdriver, Bosch’s entry into the palm driver market.  We decided to pit it against one of its slightly elder brethren, the B&D SmartDriver, to see how it stacked up.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Stop Corrosion With Zerust Drawer Liners
We’d like to give credit to reader fred who recommended some Zerust products in this post almost a year ago — we forgot about it until we saw these liners for sale.  Of course we’ve talked about non-slip toolbox liners before, here and here, but if you’re thinking about throwing down that kind of money for the Craftsman product, why not buy a non-slip liner that also protects your tools from corrosion for almost the same price?

Portable Pit-Stop Ramp
If you need to get under your car using a ramp that’s portable and easy to set up and that you can partially disassemble once the vehicle’s on it, Race Ramps makes a product that might fit the bill.  It seems like an awfully specialized target market, but if you need it, here’s a Portable Pit-Stop Ramp.

FastCap Ballistic Apron
I can see the benefits in wearing an apron in the woodshop — for one thing, it’s nice to keep my often-used stuff close at hand — but half the time I forget I’m wearing it, and my pockets just end up full of sawdust. That’s not a problem with FastCaps’s Ballistic Apron, because its pockets are attached with Velcro for easy emptying.  Another plus:  the Ballistic Apron is “self healing.”

The Safe Way To Remove A Stuck Ring
This ring cutter from American Diagnostic Corporation is the tool to use for removing rings from swollen fingers.  We can almost hear the Toolmongers mutter something about a Dremel with a cutoff wheel as they read this — but remember, when you’re an emergency worker you want to make the situation better, not cause more damage.

Stanley’s New Digital Level — Sort Of
You know the iPhone has entered the mainstream when big brand-name companies that have nothing to do with the original product start making apps for it — like Stanley’s iPhone level.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Keep All Your Blades Safe In One Place
A blade organizer like this one might be a little overkill if your tools never leave the shop, but if you’re constantly on the move, having all your blades in one secure location could be worth the $40+ price tag.

Craftsman Portable Automotive Service Tray
Usually when I work under the hood, I keep the tools that I’ll need in the next hour or two on the body seams or on the coolant and windshield washer tank — and these tools often fall off or just end up missing.  This new portable automotive service tray from Craftsman reminds me of a TV tray for mechanics, but it’ll keep tools and small parts at your fingertips, not down in the engine.

GearWrench Double X Hemostat Set
Straight from Dr. Frankenstein’s lab, these hemostats will help you hold on to smaller parts and keep fluids from spilling out of disconnected hoses.  I’m sure there are other uses for ‘em, too — think legal, folks! Store ‘em with the rubber gloves, dental mirrors and picks, and all the other medical tools that have made it into the shop.

A Hell Of A Lotta Features Packed Into One Level
Checkpoint packs a hell of a lot of measuring into their EV600 Square — it’s a combination square, torpedo level, and laser level, plus a bunch of well-thought-out features, all in one small package.

Even The Odds With The Brush Grubber HD
Pullin’ stumps — ain’t no better recipe for equipment damage and bodily injury.  ‘Round where I’m from it’s a spectator sport;  everybody grabs a cold one and watches the frame-twisting, chain-flinging, bone-jarring action from the sidelines, taking side bets on what’s gonna give first.  Maybe if you use the Brush Grubber HD you’ll even the odds of actually pullin’ the stump, ’cause it hangs onto it like stink on a wet dog.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Control The Ceiling Fan From Your Easy Chair
You want to install a ceiling fan in a room that’s not wired for controlling both a fan and a light.  Sure, you can operate the fan with the pull chains, assuming you can even reach them, but then you have to get up off your duff.  This RF remote control from Hunter has solved this problem for me and will hopefully help you, too.

Programmable Thermostat For Window AC Units
Programmable thermostats can save you money, but what if you only have a window air conditioner — are you left out in the cold?  Maybe not if you plug your AC unit into the WIN100 programmable thermostat from Lux.  The thermostat plugs into the wall and cycles the power to a window AC unit or space heater depending on the current temperature set point.

Power Probe III
I do a lot of work on my own cars, mainly because I’m cheap and I enjoy the work. I own a couple of test lights to verify that circuits are working, and I keep a small array of test wires that serve as jumpers, but the Power Probe III jumped out at me because it performs those functions plus many more.

Eastwood Rust Converter
My current truck is a ‘93 and I live in the Rust Belt, so the body’s getting rough. Hopefully I’ll be able to spend some time cleaning things up and installing patch panels to get things looking a bit better, but other emergencies keep popping their heads up, so for now I’m keeping up on my tetanus shots and hoping for the best. This new aerosol version of Eastwood’s Rust Converter looks like it might work to my benefit.

Bosch’s Edge Metal Recip Blades
Bosch’s marketing department created a lot of fanfare around the release and did a good job trying to make ‘em exciting, which is difficult — because it’s a recip blade, not the sexy front runner in a hard-hitting leaflet campaign.  Here’s what it boils down to:  Bosch says that, thanks to its new tooth design and many other features, the Edge cuts faster and lasts longer.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Be Your Own Sawmill
If you cringe at the price of wood at the lumber mills or, even worse, the big box stores, you might be searching for other options.  I checked out some portable sawmills and found that most of ‘em cost upwards of $3,000.  Then I found this more affordable tool by the Granberg Company — it works off your chainsaw.

Is This Quick-Change A Scam?
Recently Kreg introduced this quick-change bit set for use with its pocket screw jigs. Personally I’ve never understood why these quick-change kits are so popular, especially with keyless chucks becoming so commonplace, but if you’re a fan, now you can quickly switch between drilling pocket holes to screwing boards together.

Hot or Not? Electric Chainsaw Sharpener
Chicago Electric makes this inexpensive chainsaw sharpener that sells for $35 at Harbor Freight.  Sure, the quality of tools purchased from Harbor Freight can be suspect, but how can you screw up a chainsaw sharpener?

Grey Water Heat Recovery
If we can take ReTherm’s claim at face value, by installing their device to recover waste heat that would otherwise go down the drain, we can save at least as much as we would with tankless water heaters, at a fraction of the install cost — which means the device might actually pay for itself in a reasonable period of time.

Many Materials, One Bit
Imagine carrying just one set of bits to the job site whether you need to drill into metal, concrete, wood, tile, or a combination of materials.  Bosch brings that daydream into reality with their multiconstruction bits.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Rockwell SoniCrafter
Now that the patent for the Fein Multimaster has expired we’re seeing several companies come out with more affordable versions, like Rockwell’s SoniCrafter.  These Dremel-sized multi-tools work by oscillating their attachments back and forth at high frequency, rather than spinning them around.  Our readers discuss how the knockoffs compare with the original Multimaster.

Twist-To-Connect Modular Receptacles
Are modular receptacles an answer to a problem nobody had?  Instead of attaching your hot, neutral, and ground to the receptacle, you connect them to a wiring module that twists onto the back of Leviton’s special receptacles.  We’re not exactly sure how that saves you any time or money — especially at a $15 to $30 premium price — but maybe somebody can set us straight.

Babē-Bot
This tool sounds like a robot that’ll hunt down an attractive “associate” for you, but really the Babē-Bot from FastCap will only help you with gluing. The Babē-Bot is the 4oz baby brother of the 16oz Glü-Bot, and you might think the larger bottle would be the better choice, but I don’t use a ton of glue so refilling the smaller bottle every few days is better for me.

Contractor-Grade Folding Cart
The Contractor-Grade Fold-A-Cart collapsible wheelbarrow can carry 400lbs or nine cubic feet — to give you some perspective, six cubic feet of water weighs about 370lbs.  When you’re done with the cart it folds down to about 20% of its full size and can hang on the wall with the included hanging bracket.

Snap-on Lighted Inspection Mirror
If you’re working under the hood or looking for something in a tight space in the house, a mirror’ll come in handy, but if you’re looking in a dark place, all you’ll see is dark.  If you’re both talented and lucky you can hit the old mirror with a flashlight to illuminate your target — I was never any good at that trick, so I’ll take Snap-on’s Lighted Inspection Mirror.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.

It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger.  If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select:

Three Metalworking Tools In One
For a Toolmonger looking to do some metalworking with limited space or budget the M1045 three-in-one metalworking tool from Shop Fox might be just the ticket.  This 12″ capacity machine can bend, shear, and roll metal up to 22ga.

Black & Decker’s 2nd Gen Smartdriver
We’d like to assume that the funky-looking new SmartDriver is a flaming piece of plastic with little or no value to everyday life;  however that’s what we did with the original SmartDriver, and we were dead wrong. In fact, the one I got over a year ago is still in active service and going strong.

Craftsman Crowfoot Flare-Nut Wrenches
These crowfoot wrenches caught my eye as I was walking through the local Sears — at first I thought they were the same old tool in a new package, but a second look showed ‘em to be a new-to-me flare-nut version.  Attached to an extension, crowfoot wrenches have often helped me get to out-of-reach fasteners, and these flare-nut versions should do the same trick for those hard-to-reach hydraulic fittings.

Roll Out The Velcro
I thought Velcro — or more generically, hook-and-loop fasteners — only came in adhesive-backed styles, but then I ran into these Velcro rolls at work, where we use ‘em for cable management.  The hooks are on one side of the roll and the loops are on the other.  I may be the last Toolmonger to come across these little round gems, but I thought I’d pass ‘em along just in case.

The Smallest Rosewood Square
Manny’s Woodworkers Place calls Gladstone Tools’ diminutive square “the world’s smallest rosewood square.”  They designed this square for model makers, but the two-inch square could also be useful in other tight woodworking operations, like getting under the shoe to check the squareness of your scrollsaw blade.

Help us choose next week’s Top 5!

We’d appreciate your help in choosing next week’s Top 5, which’ll be featured here, elsewhere, and in the podcast as well. While you’re reading TM this week, look out for the “Interesting Post” button at the bottom of the article:

When you see an article that piques your interest, click the button once. You’ll return to the same page, but TM’s software’ll score your click for future reference. We’ll check in on the totals before selecting next week’s Top 5.