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:

DeWalt’s New(ish) Heat Gun
I’ll admit that most heat guns look the same. This one makes hot air (adjustable from 120 to 1100 degrees F) and offers a nice nozzle protector to keep the heat on the project and off your hands. You can also kind of see at the bottom a swing-out hook that makes the gun easier to store hanging up.

Saving Cash With An Arbor
One of the biggest complaints I hear when the word “Shopsmith” is brought up is cost. It’s true SS products can be a little on the pricey side, but being the cheap bastard I am I can’t bring myself to send the cash down the $80-a-pop hole that is the Shopsmith saw blade product line. That’s where the 5/8” Saw Arbor comes in.

Basic Automotive Troubleshooting, Explained
Reader Scott pointed us to his blog where he asks the following: What are these little blue and grey caps called? What do they do? Are they part of the cooling system? What happens if they are not there?

Hog Ringer Pliers
Unused hog rings kinda look like rounded staples. When you squeeze them with hog ringer pliers they form a ring capturing whatever happens to be in the center. They’re used in all sorts of applications, like fencing, landscaping, mattress and automobile seat construction, and even holding sausage casings closed.

Easydriver Set
Many years ago I either bought or was given the original Easydriver. This version did not use standard hex bits: It has a simple shaft with a slotted screwdriver on one end and a Phillips on the other. Nevertheless, I did find it useful, and I still keep it in the kitchen tool drawer.

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.

I’ve gotta go along with Sean when he said (in reporting a similar recall last August) “sometimes I’m glad I don’t own a gas grill.” The manufacturer and importer of the SLG series “Perfect Flame” brand outdoor propane or natural gas grills is voluntarily recalling almost 663,000 of the above-pictured model in the United States and an other 1,700 in Canada. Why?

The firm has received about 40 reports of fires from the burners deteriorating and about 23 reports of the lids catching fire. The firm is aware of one report of an eye injury requiring surgery and 21 incidents of minor burns to the hands, arms, or face.

Ouch!

The recalled grills are “stainless steel or painted black or gray metal” and the CSPC has published a listing of specific model numbers included in the recall here. (If you have one of these grills, you can find your model number “in the compartment under the cooking chamber.”) The grills in question were sold exclusively at Lowe’s stores between September 2005 and May 2009 and in Canada between December 2007 and May 2009.

And one follow-up to Sean’s comment about “hearing of folks’ houses burning down after faulty shutdowns.” From him, I suppose, it’s hearsay. But the “folk” he’s talking about is my father, a long-time machinist and pretty all-round capable guy. A hose failed on his couple-year-old gas grill starting a small fire, which he relatively quickly put out. But according to the fire department, even though the wall nearby was cool to the touch, inside it was smoldering near the ignition point. It took eight more hours before it ignited, catching his kitchen — and eventually the whole house — on fire. Thankfully he escaped, though he almost bought the farm turning back just a few yards to grab his wallet.

Lessons learned:

1. Pay attention to your grill and its maintenance. Both charcoal and gas grills can easily start fires. If you have a gas grill, pay attention to all parts of the system from gas bottle to burner. If you have a charcoal grill, pay close attention to where you store charcoal and starter fluid, and always dispose of charcoal correctly. (You’d be amazed how many fires start from people throwing not-quite-cold ashes into a trash can. Doh!) And whatever kind of grill you have, don’t assume it won’t catch fire. Watch it at all times when it’s in use, and don’t put it right next to your house.
2. Don’t assume that once you’ve put out a fire in your house it’s completely out. Continue to watch the area carefully, and call in the pros if you have any doubt.
3. If your house is on fire, get yourself and your family out immediately and don’t worry about your crap. My dad didn’t backtrack more than a little way down a hallway, but he ended up on his hands and knees and almost didn’t make it out. Every second may count, and waiting until then to make your exit is dumb. You can always replace stuff, or just damn well live without it. You and your family are not replaceable. Keep that in mind.

And if you have one of these grills, contact the importer at 888-840-9590 (or visit www.lowes.com) to get the replacement parts you need to make yours safe(r).

Recall Of Gas Grills Sold At Lowe’s Stores [CSPC]

Full disclosure: I know very little about TIG welding. I’m okay with a MIG rig, and I can stick weld well enough to hook things together, but I’ve never handled a TIG torch. So when I received a press release from Weldcraft indicating that they’d expanded their gas lens line a bit, I had to hit the ‘net to discover that a gas lens is simply a fitting that re-directs the gas normally emitted from the torch, focusing it to provide more even coverage and flow for a given welding situation.

It makes sense to me, then, why Weldcraft would be proud of offering a relatively wide range of lenses in standard size, large diameter, and stubby to fit just about all their air and water-cooled TIG torches.

Gas Lenses Improve TIG Welding Performance [Weldcraft]

If given the choice I almost always gravitate towards shops that look like this — mostly because it’s simply not possible to get a space to look this way without putting some time and effort into it. Also, because there is always an unfinished something in the works hanging around that catches our eye.

Right off the bat in this case, we’d ask about the homebrew toolbox in the center there propping up some other items and find out what its story is — we’re sure it has one. As always, reader ghb624 has an interesting-looking workspace even if it is a bit on the busy side. Well done, sir!

Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]

On a recent junkyard trip Sean and I came across this monstrosity in a Ford. Sean’s comment: “Wanna take one guess as to how this guy crashed?” Known most commonly as a “spinner knob” (or alternatively as a “suicide knob”), more sturdy and functional versions of this thing made cranking a whopping huge steering wheel around three or four full revolutions lock-to-lock easier. But with the advent of modern power steering — and a strong desire among most state motor vehicle departments to discourage the inaccurate steering inputs that lead to over-control — spinners are actually illegal in some places around the U.S.

But a non-spinning version made from nylon tape and a golf ball? That’s just an accident waiting to happen.

It’s also pretty desperate, considering that one can easily score a full-on-styled chrome skull knob for just $17. Toss in another $2 and you can have an 8-ball, cue ball, or even a purple 4 ball [What’s This?]. For the truly budget-minded, JC Whitney’ll sell you a plain-Jane model for $11.

Kidding aside, though, unless you’re driving something from the ’50s or have a medical need to drive single handed, why not just keep both hands on the wheel — and your car out of the junkyard?

PS: We also saw another head-scratcher on this pick-n-pull trip in the form of a car that looked for all the world like it’d been through a crusher. But on closer examination we found little circles all over the car — almost exactly the same size as a five-pound sledgehammer. Damn.

Everybody’s trying to come up with the next gotta-have-it multi-tool like the try-square. Great Neck Saw’s attempt packs 10 measuring tools in one device. The Mayes Squangle is basically a square with an extra adjustable arm that swings from 45° to 90° and locks with two thumbscrews. To increase their tool count, they threw in a bubble vial.

Great Neck Saws wins bonus points by actually listing all ten uses without making us guess and without splitting hairs, unlike some other multi-tools.  It can be used as a:

1. Square
2. Rafter square
3. Protractor
4. Level
5. T-square
6. Sight plumb
7. Straight edge
8. Layout jig
9. Pitch finder
10. Ruler

While the Squangle may be of dubious utility, at least it won’t cost you a ton of money to give it a try — it runs anywhere from $9 to $14 before shipping. They include an instruction book to make sure you get the most out of your purchase.

Squangle [Great Neck Saw]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

Amazon has a good deal on the Earthway 1001-B Precision Garden Seeder right now at $39.99 with super saver shipping.

Okay, maybe it’s a little late to seed your garden this year (although depending where you are, it could be the right time for some winter crops) but an implement like this can make seeding a garden a lot easier than flinging handfuls of seed, or manually placing seed along a 100′ row. The 1001-B Seeder has 6 seed plates for seeding sweet corn, bean, peas, carrots, beets, and radishes. Other plates are available as well as blank ones. It plants to the correct depth, covers the seed and packs the soil. Easy!

Via Amazon [What’s This?]

(TV Tonight, Friday, November 20th, 2009) We get Stud Finder tonight, where finalists compete to be the next DIY network useless host. Worth watching if only to give you another reason to hate the DIY network. We also get a new How It’s Made.

All times are central

• Holmes on Homes: Completing a Nursery and Bathroom Renovation (HGTV, 5:00 pm)
• How Do They Do It?: Space Shuttle, Rollercoaster, Pool Tables (Science, 5:00 pm)
• How Do They Do It?: Empire State Building, Extracting Copper (Science, 5:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: Classic Update (DIY, 6:00 pm)
• Dirty Jobs: Leather Tanner (Discovery, 6:00 pm)
• How Do They Do It?: Fighter Jet, Baseball, Sports Car (Science, 6:00 pm)
• Ask This Old House: Pruning, Hot Water Heating (DIY, 6:30 pm)
• How Do They Do It?: Rescue Services, Rotating Boat, Parachutists (Science, 6:30 pm)
• Top Gear (BBC America, 7:00 pm)
• How It’s Made: Playing cards, crossbows, technical glass, washing machines (Science, 7:00 pm)
• How It’s Made: Giant tires, movie cameras, glass Christmas ornaments (Science, 7:30 pm)
• Stud Finder (DIY, 8:00 pm) NEW/Stupid
• How It’s Made: Headphones, Diving Regulators, Reflector Light Bulbs (Science, 8:00 pm) NEW
• How It’s Made: Surfboard, stickers, sandwich cookies, concrete rooking tiles (Science, 8:30 pm)
• Deconstruction: Copper (DIY, 10:30 pm) NEW

Will lasers make wigglers obsolete? There’s a case to be made that you can set up your mill faster and with less fuss with a tool like the pictured laser edge/center finder. Move the laser beam to the edge of the workpiece and zero your scale. You can just as easily locate the mill over scribed lines or center-punch divots by aligning the laser dot over them.

The finder is accurate to 0.001″ and the dot size is adjustable with a polarizing attachment. The finder uses SR44 batteries that last for over three hours of continuous operation; of course you’ll probably only turn on the finder for short sessions, so the batteries should last a while.

The laser edge/center finder is available with 1/4″, 3/8″, 1/2″, 6 mm, and 10 mm shanks to fit in commonly-sized collets and mill holders, or you can chuck it into a drill press or lathe to aligning operations on these machines too. The down side is it’ll run you $85.

Center/Edge Finder [Corporate Site]
Center/Edge Finder [Little Machine Shop]

Specialty tools for a given engine family drive me nuts. Is it really that difficult to design something which works with thousands of preexisting tools? Unfortunately, General Motors didn’t do that with their Ecotec engines’ oil filter caps, which are so common that nearly every mechanic is going to run into one at some point. Ecotecs have an unusual cartridge-style filter design. Instead of a paper filter element contained in a disposable metal casing, there’s an aluminum housing cast into the block which accepts a standalone paper filter, and it’s covered by a plastic cap with unusual artillery-pattern threads and a 32mm male hex on top.

Strictly speaking, you don’t need this socket to change the filter, but 32mm is a relatively uncommon size, and a metal socket will certainly cost more than the $5.70 RestockIt.com charges for this plastic 3/8in-drive Lisle. Yes, plastic is a strange material for sockets, but the low torque spec for that cap simply doesn’t require metal, and the low-profile design neatly sidesteps clearance issues. While Lisle’s description states that the socket is for 2.2 L engines, it should work for the whole Ecotec family. If you own an Ecotec-powered car and don’t need a 32 mm socket for anything else (like the same engine’s camshaft chain tensioner), this could be $6 well spent next time an oil change rolls around.

Lisle LIS14700 Ecotec Oil Filter Socket [RestockIt.com]

Right now CPO has a reconditioned Skil 7-1/4″ Worm Drive Circular Saw for $99.99.

A friend’s Skil saw recently gave up the ghost so I looked around for the cost of a replacement saw. This seems to be the best deal, especially if their free shipping offer works and you don’t have problems with buying a reconditioned saw. The saw has a 2-7/16″ depth of cut, 15 amp motor (for all that’s worth…), a worm gear drive, and it uses a 7-1/4″ blade.

Skil 7-1/4″ Worm Drive Circular Saw [www.skilshop.com]

Deep.See.Bits™ are bits with marking bands every ½” (in the Imperial-sized bits; 10mm in the metric-sized bits). They look like they could be a reasonable alternative to plastic or metal depth stops and the ever-popular masking tape. I recently tried to drill some shallow holes in plywood using a metal depth stop, and the drill flutes kept getting clogged because the depth stop prevented the drill from clearing. M.POWER®, from Wiltshire, England, makes Deep.See.Bits™ as HSS twist bits for hardwoods, metal, and plastics, or as carbon steel brad points specifically for woodworking. All bits are available in both metric and Imperial sizes. Japan Woodworker carries an eight-piece brad-point set (1/8″, 5/32″, 3/16″, 1/4″, 9/32″, 5/16″, 11/32″, and 3/8″) for $19.75, but it can be found online for $12.63.

Deep.See.Bits™ [Manufacturer's Site]
Etched-Index 8 Piece Bradpoint Drill Set [Japan Woodworker]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

This is definitely in the don’t-try-this-at-home category, but this guy pulls off a neat trick. He uses a large screwdriver to change what I believe is the water pump drive belt on an old VW Bug engine while it’s running. The video’s only 33 seconds long, and the guy doesn’t even use that entire time to pull off the change. I can’t imagine when you’d need to change a belt that fast, but it’s impressive nonetheless. Try this with a modern serpentine system, and you’d find yourself in the ER with a five-rib belt wrapped around your neck, a few broken fingers, and a running engine busy seizing itself in the workshop.

The video is on YouTube, located through Streetfire.
Fastest Belt Change Ever [YouTube]

(TV Tonight, Thursday, November 19th, 2009) An odd night of TV for sure… We get a new Street Customs where they try to make a Lamborghini sexier? Then a new American Chopper builds bikes for a White Sox pitcher and Coleman Corp. At the same time we get a new How Do They Do It? about more stuff being done. The weirdest bit is the special, Family Armor, which blends Mormonism, car customization and firearms together into what will be either the best or worst reality show ever.

All times are central

• Junkyard Wars: Submarine Racers (Science, 5:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: Multi-Task (DIY, 6:00 pm)
• American Chopper: Ornge Rescue Bike (TLC, 6:00 pm)
• Junkyard Wars: Railroad Racers (Science, 6:00 pm)
• Ask This Old House: Mulching, Sash Balancers (DIY, 6:30 pm)
• MythBusters: Swimming In Syrup (Discovery, 7:00 pm)
• Street Customs: Lamborghini (TLC, 7:00 pm) NEW
• American Chopper: Mark Buehrle Bike (TLC, 8:00 pm) NEW
• How Do They Do It?: Military helicopters, metro systems, artificial reefs (Science, 8:00 pm) NEW
• Successful Farming Machinery Show (RFD-TV, 8:00 pm)
• How Do They Do It?: batteries, perfume and artificial islands  (Science, 8:30 pm)
• Family Armor (TLC, 9:00 pm) NEW

Our old friend Harry Sawyer wrote a piece a few weeks back for Popular Mechanics imagining five (funny) fake products that could result from the Stanley/Black & Decker merger. Harry’s mashup of Black & Decker’s campiest holiday gags and Stanley’s popular products result in flights of fantasy like the AutoFat tape measure and the AlligatorVibe AntiLopper — great for yuk value.

But what if you mash up these corporate giants’ home runs? Read on past the jump for five serious results we’d like to see from the merger.

5. Serious Rotary Tools

Black & Decker’s 3-Speed rotary tool temps budget shoppers at just $26 — especially when compared to $54 for Dremel’s much more effective variable speed Model 395 at $54. It doesn’t take a creative genius to envision a Stanley-brand Dremel competitor — a fusion of Black & Decker’s basic model with DeWalt’s motor technologies. Price it around $40 and it’ll fly off Wal-Mart shelves.

4. Awesome Nailers

Bostitch and Porter-Cable already fight separately and successfully in the highly-competitive pneumatic nailer category. Could a combined effort (and combined product resources and technologies) propel the resulting hybrid up the market ladder?

3. Woodworking Tool Kits Containing Both Power Tools And Hand Tools

Talk about the ultimate holiday gift! How ’bout a $500 kit containing a circ saw, palm sander, router, chisel set, tape measure, screw driver set, and level — all Stanley-branded? Or how ’bout a $750 FatMax (or $1000 FatMax Extreme) version of the same kit with an up-scale router based on Porter-Cable’s awesome designs? For that matter, try letting your mind roam free with Stanley’s tool set model. What could you add to these from the newly-acquired companies’ rosters?

2. Updated Lithium-Ion Power Tools For MAC

Just like competitor Snap-on’s powered offerings, most of the power tools in the MAC line smack of re-branded also-rans only appealing to mechanics already financing a roll-away’s worth of tools. But lace those red drill/drivers with DeWalt’s lithium-ion batteries and battery managements systems and you’ve got a Snap-on killer tailor-made for the professional mechanic’s market.

1. A Serious, Mid-Priced Drill/Driver

Try this recipe: Start with Black & Decker’s low-price market and marketing savvy. Toss in DeWalt and Porter-Cable’s power tool manufacturing and design know-how. Now top it with Stanley’s management, quality control, and tool development teams. Simmer for about six months (in the hands of Stanley’s Discovery Team) and serve hot. Result: a reasonably-priced drill/driver option for non-professionals that’ll last more than a few months and actually get the job done.

And this is really just the beginning. Sure, we had a good laugh at Harry’s take. But we’re also seriously excited about what the merger means to the general public’s ability to pick up cheap, reasonable-quality tools outside of Sears. One thing’s certain: When you go holiday shopping this time next year, it’ll be a different environment altogether.

Few things in woodworking are more satisfying than making a perfect paper-thin shaving with a well-maintained plane. If you’re using a spill plane you’re actually trying to make special shavings called spills rather than trimming wood from a work piece. A spill is a long coiled wood shaving that was used to transfer flame, such as from fireplace to candles, before the advent of matches. Before finding this spill plane from Lee Valley, as far as I was aware, you either had to buy an antique spill plane or make one yourself.

Made in Canada, the 1 lb. 9 oz. ductile cast iron plane is based on a 1850 Edward Preston design. A channel in the 8″ long sole of the plane keeps the wood from straying away from the O1 tool steel blade. A 1/2″ tall by 2-1/2″ wide fence butts against the edge of a table while you’re sliding a 5/8″ to 3/4″ wide piece of straight-grained softwood over the plane. You can also mount the plane to a block of wood so you can clamp it in a vise.

Lee Valley’s spill plane will run you $49 before shipping and when you need a replacement blade you’ll shell out another $10. If you want to make one yourself I found a good set of instructions with excellent pictures by Darrell LaRu on the WK Fine Tools Site or, if you can find the episode, Roy Underhill made one on the Woodwright’s Shop.

Spill Plane [Lee Valley]
Making a Spill Plane [WK Fine Tools]

I made a replacement sight elevator for an air rifle the other day. It required me to undercut a groove in a tiny piece of plastic (1/4″x1/4″x1/2″). I found that I had some micro keyseat cutters (marked “Richards”) and gave them a try. Normally keyseat cutters are used to cut semicircular woodruff keyseats but they work okay for tee slotting and other slotting jobs.

Sorry for the picture quality — shiny metal and black plastic is a bit difficult to photograph. The tee slot cutting went well. I had to take small cuts as the plastic really wants to come out of the vise.

The finished part.

Two of the cutters I have. As I said they are marked “Richards”, which I presume means Richards Micro-tool but I was unable to find them in their catalog. I did find two suppliers of Carbide ones, Harvey Tool and Whitney Tool, although they are a tad expensive. I could have probably used a Dremel 198 cutter as well.

In any case, I thought it would be worth mentioning this type of cutter as it was certainly a problem solver for this project.

A bit of a scare with a careless student at one of the university labs has gotten me looking for a flammables cabinet for my colossal collection of caustics and combustible consumables. At the moment, they’re in a tall bottom drawer of my roll cabinet. It’s fine for easy access, but poor protection from heat.

I was pretty surprised at how inexpensive small cabinets can be. The larger ones run north of a grand, but a 12-gallon unit retails for $270 from (and manufactured by) Global Industrial. Twelve gallons is certainly enough for home use, but even if $270 is less than expected, it’s still a nice chunk of change. There’s no doubt that they’re a sensible idea, but is the extra degree of safety worth the entry cost?

If you think so, Global Industrial and Amazon sell an identical cabinet at the same price. Shipping costs will probably be murder given the weight and bulk of these things, but they might keep your house up.

12-Gallon Flammables Cabinet Via Amazon [What’s This?]
12-Gallon Flammables Cabinet [Global Industrial]

Or, based on the picture, maybe this post should be titled Flashlights In Space! Now I like flashlights as much as — or probably way more than — the average Toolmonger, but the mPower Emergency Illuminator that I recently saw on Gizmodo is a bit much even for me. Porsche Studios designed it, and mPower, a wholly-owned consumer products division of mPhase Technologies, uses its parent company’s AlwaysReady Smart NanoBattery technology to produce a two-tubed flashlight with two standard CR123 batteries in one tube, and an unactivated NanoBattery in the other. The NanoBattery side has a minimum 20-year shelf life with no power dissipation until activation. It’s to debut at CES in January, and should be available in March 2010 for a mere $250–$300. For that price you do get a “high power” LED  and an accessory USB connection for charging cell phones and PDAs.

Think there might be something better in the next 20 years?

AlwaysReady Smart Nanobattery [Manufacturer's Site]

It may look like just another angle grinder, and the motor spec certainly looks similar. But this tool’s designed with one purpose in mind: cutting through masonry in a nice straight line. Fitted with a 5″ segmented diamond blade, it’ll cut up to 1-1/4″ deep — perfect for trimming up concrete, brick, or tile.

Hook up an efficient vacuum to its dust collection port and Hitachi claims you’ll capture up to 95% of cutting dust, which often contains particularly nasty silica particulates. Besides that, you’re looking at a pretty standard set of features: a locking power switch, tool-less cover removal and blade replacement, a spindle lock, and a handle that removes and re-attaches to accommodate lefties.

Street pricing starts around $180.

CM5SB 5″ Concrete Masonry Cutter [Hitachi]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

(TV Tonight, Wednesday, November 18th, 2009) No new Mythbusters tonight, so there is absolutely nothing to watch.

All times are central

• Cool Tools: Lost and Found (DIY, 6:00 pm)
• MythBusters: James Bond Special (Discovery, 6:00 pm)
• Ask This Old House: Shower Valve, Recycling Batteries (DIY, 6:30 pm)
• MythBusters: Crash and Burn (Discovery, 7:00 pm)
• MythBusters: Myth Revolution (Discovery, 8:00 pm)

OK, so it’s actually called the Black & Decker V-3 Million Power Series rechargeable spotlight. But after a good 10 months of carting this sucker out for late-night grilling, hooking up trailer hitches in the dark, and finding a lost hitch pin in deep grass, we just call it the “vampire light.” It’s incredibly bright. In fact, it’s so bright it has a trigger guard to keep you from blinding yourself.

Two six-vol 4.5 Ah batteries deliver juice to two twelve-volt 75W quartz halogen bulbs, turning night into day on your command. The shape of the flashlight’s pistol grip places the large light assembly and battery in a perfectly balanced position. So even though the whole assembly is pretty heavy, it’s surprisingly easy to swing around in one hand and point the light where you need it.

It’s easy to charge, too. The charger is built into the flashlight itself. Just pull back the rubber cover at the rear of the light assembly to expose a male two-prong 120V connector. Plug in a regular extension cord, connect the other end to the wall and you’re charging. At the base of the battery you’ll find a small indicator reminiscent of those on most modern power tool batteries. Press a button and LEDs light up to show the light’s remaining charge. And though we’ve never had need for it, the V-3 also includes a 12V DC accessory outlet — a “cigarette lighter” plug that you can use to charge your phone or drive other auto toys.

We haven’t dropped this particular light much, but it certainly feels durable — and has stood up to significant beating-about in the shop. The metal top handle feels firmly attached, and some parts of the light are rubberized, making it easier on your hand and much more likely to survive a fall.

But what made this a shop favorite over the last year is its brightness. This light is perfect for those times when you need a lot of light spread over a wide area — not just a little circle of light, but a miniature sun streaming forth. A great example: We often toss the vampire light into the truck when we’re towing at night. Once we lost a hitch pin somewhere near the trailer, but we had no idea where. Pointing this light around the general area turned up a flash of reflection — and the pin — after only a few minutes.

So should you buy one? If you never need anything bigger than a small hand flashlight, I’d say no. There are better lights out there for you (some of which are our favorites, too). But if you ever find yourself in a position where you want a big stand-mounted halogen light but need something portable, this is your light — especially considering that you can score your own for around $60.

But you can’t have mine. I’m grilling tonight.

V-3 Million Power Series Spotlight [Black & Decker]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]

I have to admit, I’m not entirely sure how these work, but they look like something from the end of Inspector Gadget’s forearm. They’re for precisely torquing large bolts in tight spaces, apparently mounting on the end of a long handle and accepting hydraulic feed and return lines. Unless I miss my guess, an internal pressure regulator determines how much torque is exerted.

If anyone’s ever used one of these, what are they like? The baddest torque tool I’ve ever used was a 3/4″-drive impact wrench, which is probably a pushover compared to these suckers.

Since the application is scarce, so are these tools. As far as I can find, no online retailer even posts prices; in accordance with “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it,” that makes me doubt they’re cheap. The model above — Hytorc’s Stealth — looks like a rare and high-quality piece of work, so odds are they’re worth it for the right user.

Hytorc Hydraulic Torque Wrenches [Hytorc Products]

This might make the perfect gift for a brand-conscious tool friend this holiday season. This flashlight and knife kit (on sale at Costco this weekend) includes all the necessities: an aluminum barreled, xenon-bulbed two-AA light, a miniature AAA model, and an aluminum-bodied folding knife — and, of course, the Snap-on brand prominently on display.

Admittedly, you can probably get more flashlight (and/or knife) than this for $18. And since I’d imagine few are likely to return it, the “lifetime warranty” stamp on the box doesn’t mean much to me. (I’m guessing your local Snap-on truck driver would laugh if you showed up with one of these for exchange.) But hey — some people love this stuff, and if you’re giving a gift it’s not all about you, right?

If you’re interested, hit your local Costco for more info.

For those of you who have — or lust after (e.g., like Sean, see TM 1/29/07) — a Gerstner tool chest, you might be interested in the Gerstner PORTA-DRAWER™. It’s a flip-up handle that installs in the bottom drawer of most current and older-model Gerstner chests, and it turns the drawer into a portable tray for carrying your tools or other items.

The install-it-yourself accessory (which comes with mounting screws, a drilling template, and full instructions) stores permanently inside the drawer when in its down position, and then can hinge up to become a handle, making the drawer a tool tray. When it’s in the up position, small slots in the side brackets help to center the handle and keep the drawer level. And it’s only $29.95, which, considering the price of Gerstner chests, is a real bargain.

PORTA-DRAWER™ [Manufacturer's Site]