http://toolmonger.com All tools. All the time. Your source for news, information, and reviews of hand tools, power tools, and tools of all kinds. Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:32:52 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 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: How-To: Portable Solar Power Maverick of Maverick ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/06/the-week-in-tools-toolmonger-top-5-95/ The dresser rebuild is finally done. The finish work always feels like it takes forever but the outcome is normally worth the trouble. In this case almost anything would have looked better than what I started with. I opted for Red Mahogany Danish oil for the stain and achieved the color ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/06/projects-rebirth-of-a-dresser-part-2/ Cooper Lighting's Might-D-Light (a.k.a. model LED130) is an 80-LED rechargeable worklight. It comes with both AC and DC chargers, folds for easy storage, and, for hands-free use, has built-in neodymium magnets and a nylon swivel hook. Fully charged, its NiMH batteries should last two hours. As you can see in ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/06/might-d-light/ Midway has a whopping 2% off of list price on the Dem Bart starter checkering kits, $44.99. That's the best discount we've found! I'm listing it anyway as a caveat: these checkering tools are reasonably priced at retail. I made the mistake of thinking I was getting a good buy ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/06/dealmonger-dem-bart-checkering-starter-kit/ The latest issue of Milwaukee's Heavy Duty News alerted us to their upcoming LED replacement bulb.   Not only will this bulb upgrade your M12, M18, and V28 lights to LED, it should be able to upgrade most other flashlights that use similar sized bulbs running on 9.6V to 28V. Milwaukee claims ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/06/preview-milwaukee-led-upgrade-bulb/ You may not see news like this on Reuters or CNN, but we love reading about the latest tool releases -- like these new ratchets from Stanley Proto. In 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" sizes, these ratchets are narrower than Proto's previous offerings so you can cram 'em into tighter spaces. ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/06/stanley-proto-introduces-new-ratchets/ You don't own a boat or a trailer and you're wondering what to do with your vehicle's receiver hitch, so why not mount a grill? The Margaritaville from Freedom Grill sits on a heavy-duty swing arm that mounts in any 2" receiver. The grill's 20,000 BTU stainless steel burner heats its 352 ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/06/grill-anywhere-you-can-drive/ (TV Tonight, Friday, November 6th, 2009) We get a new episode of How It's Made tonight where they explain how the white stuff gets in Oreos, or Canadian Oreo equivalents. All times are central Holmes on Homes: Out of the Ashes (Part 2) (HGTV, 5:00 pm) How Do They Do It?: Ports, Contact ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/06/tv-tonight-icing-extrusion/ Right now Tooldiscounter.net has the Milton 4-in-1 tire valve repair tool for $1.05. The 4-in-1 tire valve tool is used to remove the valve stem of a tire valve, rethread both the inside and outside of the stem, and remove a broken valve. It's a handy little tool that you only ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/05/dealmonger-milton-445-4-way-tire-valve-tool/ In a world where cordless seems to capture all the headlines, it's always nice to see some love directed towards corded lines as well, like this new 3/8" corded tradesman's drill from Milwaukee. With an all-metal gear case and chuck, a whopping eight amp motor, and 0-2800 RPM variable speed, ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/05/milwaukees-new-38-corded-drill/ Our friend Brad seems to have more fun on the job than should be legal in most states. Here we see him working with some lighting. And by "working" we mean having some fun, and by "fun" we mean destroying things. Brad posted his short video of this chain of ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/05/from-the-flickr-pool-demo-of-lighting/ (TV Tonight, Thursday, November 5th, 2009) Not a bad night, starting with an IKEA factory tour, then new episodes of American Chopper and Street Customs. OCC building an electric bike? We bet they'll bring in some outside help for that. All times are central Junkyard Wars: Manic Mud Racers (Science, 5:00 pm) Ask ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/05/tv-tonight-flat-pack-fun/ Unless you have a fully-enclosed router table, your chip and dust collection probably leaves something to be desired. Instead of fully enclosing the entire table, Rockler's Dust Bucket just encloses the router to get the same level of dust collection. When used in conjunction with a fence collection port, the Dust Bucket ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/04/router-table-dust-collection-with-the-dust-bucket/ Following the more-is-better philosophy, the Bosch GPL5 uses five beams to project plumb, level, and square points. It also self-levels (up to 5°). Available for around $200, the 1 lb. unit is 4.125" × 3.125" × 1.625", and can be secured using its 1/4-40 or 5/8-11 threaded mounts, or via ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/04/bosch-gpl5-5-point-self-leveling-alignment-laser/ I mentioned a bit of a problem with my Shop Smith band saw that sprang up this weekend. The rubber tires that hold the blade on the wheels basically disintegrated after about 20 years or so, and the bottom one popped off the saw. I called Shop Smith and was impressed ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/04/band-saw-repair/ Right now Kingsley North has the Raytech Tumble Vibe TV-5 vibratory tumbler for $90 with free shipping. I admit I have tumbling on my mind a lot these days as I try to work out the best method for finishing production runs of our jewelry. Vibratory tumblers are excellent for using ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/04/dealmonger-raytech-tumble-vibe-5/ (TV Tonight, Wednesday, November 4th, 2009) A new Mythbusters tonight about hurricanes and liquid nitrogen. All times are central Ask This Old House: Replacing a Clogged Aerator, Proper Houseplant Care (DIY, 5:30 pm) Cool Tools: Power Play (DIY, 6:00 pm) MythBusters: End With a Bang (Discovery, 6:00 pm) MythBusters: Greased Lightning (Discovery, 7:00 pm) MythBusters: Hurricane ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/04/tv-tonight-a-mighty-wind/ This old dresser has been handed down through two generations of my family before I had it. It’s close to 50 years old and has been reworked more than once. It has no particular value save its clothes-holding properties. It has been in my bedroom for close to 30 years ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/03/projects-rebirth-of-a-dresser/ Anybody with kids or grandkids has gone through the childproofing stage. You find yourself crawling around on all fours, permanently damaging your nice cabinets (and maybe your knees) by installing safety latches to keep the wee ones out of unfriendly places like cleaning cupboards. Then after a few weeks you find yourself ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/03/magnetic-child-locks/ Judging solely from what I can gather from the serial number on the headstock, my father’s Shopsmith -- now pulling duty in my shop -- was built in August of 1984. Almost exactly twenty-five years later it’s still going strong. I mentioned a while back that my dad’s Shopsmith Mark V ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/03/its-just-cool-a-shop-birthday-of-sorts/ Maverick of Maverick Solar put the IkePak together to help his son after Hurricane Ike. He did not spend time doing extensive calculations, but just used what was readily available -- he runs a solar energy company, so he probably has a few relevant things available -- or easily obtained ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/03/how-to-portable-solar-power/ Those of you who happened to catch the Washington Business Journal yesterday probably did the same spit-take we did: "Power tool maker Black & Decker Corp. will be acquired by hand tool maker Stanley Works in an all-stock merger valued at $4.5 billion." That's big news indeed. We haven't had a chance ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/03/stanley-acquiring-black-decker/ This is a man with his priorities in order. Reader Lowside has finally figured out what to do with all that wasted space behind the garage door. As far as I can tell, this solves two problems. The first is he never has to try to cram them back into a ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/03/from-the-flickr-pool-wrench-space/ Apparently available only at Woodcraft, the $90 Vika Quickbench is way less expensive than the $475 Festool MFT/3 (see TM 7/27/09), and 40% less than the $150 Vika Twofold™, but does it warrant a place in your shop or garage? It has a 32" high, 30" × 24" work surface ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/03/hot-or-not-vika-quickbench/ (TV Tonight, Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009) We think that's a new Dirty Jobs and Disaster House tonight, although daylight savings seems to have driven the online TV schedules a bit insane. Also, we are coming to love Disaster House's honest brutality. All times are central Machinery of the Past (RFD-TV, 5:00 pm) Ask ... http://toolmonger.com/2009/11/03/tv-tonight-double-dees/