July 31, 2008
Gorilla Tape
From the amazing company that brought us Gorilla Glue and Gorilla PVC glue, comes Gorilla Tape. It's been out for a while, but we've been using it lately and are starting to realize how great it actually is.
Gorilla Tape has 2-3 times the adhesive of regular duct tape, allowing it to fill gaps and stick better. It also has an extra strong backing, so it won't rip (but you can still tear it with your hands).
We were first given a role by a friend who is a full convert and won't even buy regular duct tape anymore. After using it for a bit, we can see why. According to Gorilla's website, duct tape is meant for smooth, flat surfaces, while the features on Gorilla Tape make it ideal for a more uneven and rugged operation (which is pretty much 94% of what you end up using duct tape for anyway).
You can get a 35 yard roll for under $10. By comparison, regular duct tape is around half that (prices vary by brand quite a bit). There is more information on Gorilla Tape at the Gorilla Website. If you've never been there, it's a great site and worth checking out just so you can watch the gorilla fingers wiggle.
At Amazon
July 30, 2008
Ridgid microExplorer Digital Seesnake Inspection Camera 30063
The guys at CopTool have some cool information on Ridgid's second generation inspection camera. It seems that not only has Ridgid addressed any complaints with their first version, but they've added a whole lot more sauce as well.
New features include pan, zoom and a self-leveling camera. This is all well and good, but the real leap with this tool is that it can capture both images and video. And we're not talking about grainy 'here's my photo of the UFO I took in my backyard' resolution, we're talking about 1280 x 1024 images and 320 x 240 video. And once taken, the images and video can be easily transferred to a computer.
This looks like an amazing tool and a gift from the heavens to anyone who has ever had to track down a leak or find out what's in the way of that duct. But the impressiveness of the tool doesn't end with the features, it includes the price as well. This fella is going to go for a smashing $785. It's a boatload of money, but if it's a tool that you could use, it's a price worth considering.
Right now, Ohio Power Tools is taking pre-orders for a reduced price of $690. Order yours here.
July 29, 2008
Keith Walendowski: American Hero
On July 23rd, Keith Walendowski did what most of us only dream of doing. He woke up, began drinking heavily and tried to mow his lawn. When the mower wouldn't start, he got his shotgun and unloaded some ammo on the uncooperative machine.
We can understand how he must have felt (minus the early-morning blurred vision), and we have a hard time blaming him for his actions. We've been there and know how absolutely frustrating a lawnmower can be. Unfortunately for Keith, the local authorities weren't too thrilled that the gun he used was a short-barreled shotgun, possession of which is a felony. Our man is now looking at six or so years in the slammer.
The article on the event contains this hilarious line:
Dick Wagner of Wagner's Garden Mart, 6075 N. Green Bay Ave., said shooting the mower didn't help Walendowski's odds of getting it repaired.
"Anything not factory recommended would void the warranty," he said.
Read all about the incident here.
July 28, 2008
July 24, 2008
The Push Broom: Public Enemy #1
Some safety nuts in England have recommended that carpenters and woodworkers no longer use brooms to sweep up dust and wood shavings for fear of asthma attacks and increased chances of nose cancer.
Instead they are advising carpentry firms to buy state-of-the-art vacuum cleaners and air purification systems which can cost thousands of pounds.
When brooms are outlawed, only outlaws will have brooms.
Read the article here.
Fight the power and buy a few push brooms at Amazon.
July 23, 2008
Zip Sander - Review
Zip Sander, you're the one.
You make sanding lots of fun.
Zip Sander, we're awfully fond of you....
Tools that look like bath toys aren't usually up our alley, but the Zip Sander seemed pretty interesting, so we thought we'd take a closer inspection and try one out. And to be honest, we're glad we did. The Zip Sander proved to be a versatile addition to our sanding repertoire for a number of reasons.
Continue reading: "Zip Sander - Review"
July 22, 2008
Got a Vise-Grip Story....Win a Custom Chopper
Irwin has just kicked off a cool contest. All you have to do to enter is send in a little story concerning some experience you had with one of their Vise-Grip tools. Since every one of you should own at least one item in this amazing line, it shouldn't be too hard.
The prizes are where this contest gets impressive. Grand prize is your choice of an Irwin custom motorcycle or $25,000 cash. The runner up gets a $1000 Cabela's gift card, and second runner up gets a $500 gift card. On top of that, all three top winners get a trip to NYC to present their stories. There are also 10 semi-finalists who each walk away with $500 worth of Vise-Grip tools.
Entries will be accepted until October 31st (so if you don't own any Vise-Grip tools there's still time to pick one up), and winners will be announced around December 19th.
At their website, Irwin has some stories up already and they range from the interesting to the...well....not so interesting ("Love my Irwin vise-grip tool - use it at least once a week for something").
Contest information is here.
Irwin Vise-Grip tools at Amazon
July 21, 2008
Dremel Multi-Max Oscillating Tool System
We just got word the other day that Dremel, one of our favorite tool companies, is on the verge of releasing a new oscillating tool. This is some unexpected news for us. We've been carefully watching the potential release of Bosch's
PMF 180 E Multi oscillating tool and here comes Dremel out of nowhere with their own model. If you've never played around with an oscillating tool, you've got something coming. Not only are they precise, but they can be used an a staggering number of situations; everything from sanding to flush cutting to grinding to polishing.
Continue reading: "Dremel Multi-Max Oscillating Tool System"
July 16, 2008
Milwaukee Tools Ad
It isn't often that we get to see an ad for a power tool company. It's even rarer (1:1000) that there are no half naked women in it (like here). It's actually funny too.
July 15, 2008
July 14, 2008
July 11, 2008
Design a Power Tool in One Hour
A design website, Core 77, recently sponsored a contest inviting its readers to design a power tool in under one hour. The winners were chosen last week and the grand prize goes to a cool idea called Air Force.
It's worth going through all the entries; they range from interesting (Digi Drill) to insane (the hamster-powered circular saw).
Check out the winners here.
Get a load of the losers here (there are three pages of entries).
July 10, 2008
237-Piece First Aid Kit
If you're dealing with power tools or hand tools, you always want to have a good first aid kit at hand. We keep one in the shop and one in the truck. The tweezers alone are worth the whole kit.
We looked around and found a kit that looks like it has a good selection of the basics; enough to deal with the minor issues, as well as a few things to assist with the bigger ones. One thing that we particularly like about this kit is that the tweezers are metal. Our experience is that the plastic kind are useless and should be replaced at the first opportunity.
That said, we've also found that places like Wal-Mart and the other big box stores usually have nice kits for short money.
Hopefully you'll never have to use it.
At Amazon
July 9, 2008
You Can Steal It, We Can Help
It appears that some inventive thieves broke into a Home Depot in Florida and once inside, they used some of the power tools that were on display to break into the vault, cut the hinges off the safe, and make a clean getaway with an undisclosed amount of cash.
We've found this story in a number of papers, but the details are scant at best. What we just wrote is about as much is as known. Key details, such as what tools were used, are missing. Is the new 15 Amp Milwaukee Sawzall being sold at Home Depot. If so, that gets our vote for "Hinge Cutter."
An article on the story is here.
July 8, 2008
Campbell Hausfeld Air Tools - Review
This month Campbell Hausfeld, one of the most well respected names in the pneumatic world, is releasing a number of air tools to be sold exclusively at Home Depot. The tools come complete with storage cases and accessories. We had the opportunity to check out a few, so we gave them a good beating and here's what we thought.
In total, the series includes five tools; an impact wrench, an air ratchet, an air hammer, an air die grinder, and a cut-off tool. We tested the wrench, the ratchet, and the hammer.
Continue reading: "Campbell Hausfeld Air Tools - Review"
July 3, 2008
Layoffs at Hyde Tools
It was announced last week that Hyde Tools made the decision to layoff 14 workers (approx. 7% of its workforce). An article on the subject, appearing in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette News, states,
Hyde Tools president Richard M. Clemence cited a downturn in housing starts, falling home prices and a drop in revenues for such home improvement retailers as Lowe's, Home Depot and Ace Hardware.
"This is tough for all of us," Mr. Clemence said in a statement. "We have no choice but to flex to meet the industry decline. We simply have to buckle down."
We hope this trend doesn't continue both for the employees sakes and our own. One of our all time favorite tools is their 6 in 1 (if you don't have one of these, you're really missing out).
Read the article here.
Hyde 6 in 1 at Amazon
Other Hyde Tools at Amazon
July 2, 2008
Festool Tape Measure
It looks like Festool has a new tape measure that they're offering only while supplies last. And since it's a Festool, it has to be all reinvented and fancypants. But of course (because it's Festool), all of the innovations are smartly done. First, the tape is in both metric and imperial (which to us American users, gives us a nice reference point for our other Festool tools, which are all in metric). Second, the tape has a viewing window on the top of the body, which reads inside distances, so you can just back the tape up to an inside corner and look in the window to get your distance. No more adding some odd dimension like 3-3/16" to get the measurement. Third, the tape has a flip down tap that can be used to mark a radius.
Of course Festool had to show everyone up and reinvent the tape measure. The innovation in that company is seemingly without bounds. We hope they take on the hammer next.
The tape has a maximum distance of ten feet and costs $25. Like we said, it's a "while supplies last" deal, so if you want one, act fast.
At Jamestown Distributors
July 1, 2008
June 2008 Monthly Roundup for Tool Snob
June was pretty fun around here. If you were paying attention, we gave away three Dremel tools for Father's Day. Other than that, we got to test out a few very cool tools. Skil's Power Cutter is yet another great offering from a company that is totally on a roll, but the Tool of the Month goes to Duo-Fast's Cordless Framer. We wrote the review for this one the other week, and since then, we've continued using the tool and it keeps proving it's worth.
This next month we're looking to post up reviews of Festool's Trim Router, Paslode's new Roofing Gun, a few of Campbell Hausfeld's new pneumatic tools, and a few other cool items we've got in the shop.
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Festool MFK 700 Modular Router - Review
