Tools We Keep in the Truck

There are very few tools we keep in the truck at all times. The small space behind the seat is prized real estate and not to be wasted on redundant tools that are easy to come by on a job site. Instead, we reserve this spot for those special tools, the ones that can do things no other tool can. The ones that, when you need them, you need them. Over the past few months, we've narrowed down our repertoire to a select few. They are as follows:

Hitachi 12-Volt Right-Angle Impact Driver (our review here): This tool is worth it's weight in gold, which, oddly enough, isn't all that much because it's so light and compact. It has a clearance that is so small it can fit anywhere and while it's powerful enough to drop a 2" screw in a 2x4, where this tool shines is with the small fussy tasks, like working up in a shade pocket or behind a fan coil unit.

Fein MultiMaster (our review here): With the expiration of Fein's oscillating tool patent, the market has been flooded with other models by everyone from Craftsman to Bosch to Dremel to Rockwell. But the funny thing is that even though there are now a ton of oscillating tools on the market, the Fein still has no real competition. This isn't to belittle the others, we've tested out the majority of the new tools and they're fine, it's just that the MultiMaster is nearly a work of art. Once you hold one, you'll know what we're talking about.

Milwaukee Hackzall (our review here): Of the tools on the list, this is the one that has elicited the greatest response from the rest of the site. It has been affectionately dubbed, "the turkey carver" and it's constantly getting borrowed by carpenters, plumbers, electricians, and anyone else who needs to make a quick, no-hassle cut. The only downside to the tool is that it comes with the single worst case in tool history.

Milwaukee 12-volt Power Port and Flashlight (our reviews here and here): This is sort of the emergency kit and hangs out under the passenger seat next to the first-aid bag. It's always good to have a flashlight on hand and the Power Port is good for a quick cell phone charge here and there (the truck stops charging when the engine is off).

...and those are the ones we keep close at hand. Granted, we've been in the finish phase of the job, so these are all detail oriented tools, good for the small fussy stuff. It's likely they'll get cycled out during the framing of the next job, but for now they're there, constantly getting us out of trouble.

HItachi Right Angle Impact Driver at Tool Barn
Fein MultiMaster at Amazon
Milwaukee Hackzall at Amazon
Milwaukee Power Port at Amazon
Milwaukee Flashlight at Amazon

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Northern Tool 2009 Fall/Winter Master Catalog

Finally, a tool catalog so badass it has to be delivered in a cardboard box. And it's freakin' hardcover! To us, the Northern Tool catalog marks the seasons more reliably than the solstice. Even though it's still about 97 degrees where we live, the fact that the Fall/Winter catalog just hit means that it's time to start thinking about the first stages of buckling down for the winter. Should we pick up a generator this year (after being without power for six days last December)? Is it time to get one of those tent vehicle enclosures? Should we stop wearing white, now that the Fall/Winter catalog is here? These are some of the thoughts prompted by the arrival of one of the best tool catalogs out there.

And it's not just tools. In fact, power tools only take up 27 of the 591 pages here. The rest is packed with automotive, heating, storage, hydraulics, and on and on and on.

Order your free catalog here.

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Tool Crib's Harbor Freight Buying Guide

This is great. Our pals over at Tool Crib have compiled the ultimate Harbor Freight buyers guide. It's a massive list of what tools are worth buying (for maybe one or two uses) and which ones to avoid like the plague. The article is split into the following chapters...

1) Developing Your Harbor Freight Shopper Philosophy
2) Top Ten Things NOT to Buy at Harbor Freight (Humor)
3) Derogatory yet Slightly Loving Harbor Freight Nicknames
4) My Harbor Freight Prediction: Prices Way Up Soon... End of the HF?
5) The List: Good Enough, the Bad, and the Abysmal
6) Harbor Freight Tips and Tidbits
7) Harbor Freight Resources Used in this Article

That pretty much says it all. It's fantastic stuff and a good example of why the internet was invented in the first place. If you have your own harbor freight stories, you're encouraged to leave a comment at Tool Crib. It might make it to the next update to the guide.

Check out the Harbor Freight Buyer's Guide here.

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Tool Snob's 2009 Father's Day Gift Guide

Father's Day is June 20th this year, so it's time to start thinking about getting the old man a token of appreciation for all the times he's bailed you out of jail. A nice new tool seems like a fitting gesture, so we've put together a small list of potential gifts.

Nail Jack & Nail Hunter - Since reviewing the Nail Jack a couple months ago, we've only gown more impressed with the tool. Of all of the items that we look at, not many make it into our day-to-day repertoire of tools, but the Nail Jack certainly has and each day it proves its worth. Our full review is here. Nail Jack and Nail Hunter ($25-$30) at Amazon

Skil 7.2 Li-Ion Power Wrench - We've been fans of this tool for a while. It's a versatile around the house screwdriver/right angle drill that can help with any number of small projects. We also just noticed that Amazon is selling it for $22 which is quite a bit lower than the $60 when the tool first hit the market in late '07. Our full review is here. At Amazon

Milwaukee Hackzall - Like the Nail Jack, the more time this tool spends with us, the more useful we find it to be. Just the other day, it was our main weapon in a vicious battle against the bittersweet invasion into our yard. Later that day, we used it to cut a pipe in the basement. Even for the amount of time we've spent with this tool, we're far from discovering all of its uses. Our full review is here. $175 at Amazon

Rockwell JawHorse - It's hard to explain how useful the JawHorse is. It's an extra set of hands, it's a clamp, it's a work station, and it's a sawhorse. Honestly, it doesn't matter if dad's a beginning wood butcher or an experienced cabinet maker, he'll be really into the JawHorse. If you don't believe us, page through the Amazon customer comments. Our full review is here. $180 at Amazon

Subscription to Extreme How-To - There are a million do-it-yourself, construction, and woodworking magazines out there and of all the ones we've read (and we've read thousands), Extreme How-To is one of the best. The articles are about things you actually do to your house. How to correctly build a fence...how to install crown molding...how to frame a deck...etc. The writing is clear and concise and the advice is all good. They've got a sample issue online at their site. Get one year for $19 or do what we do and get two years for $35. Subscription details at Extreme How-To.

Also, check out our '08 Father's Day Gift Guide (with links to the '07 guide).

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Summer Project Plans from Lowes and Skil

Lowes and Skil have teamed up to offer four nice project plans to enhance your summer outdoor activities. They are all relatively basic and are actually part of a contest encouraging families to build the projects together. The plans are for a birdhouse (not the one pictured); two different lawn games; and a nice deck cooler, so when you're done building, you and your 12-year-old can pound some cold Budweisers.

The plans are nice because they don't leave any room for error in the 'materials acquisition' phase. They tell you everything you need right up front so there are no return trips to the store to get the wood glue you forgot. They're also very easy to understand and they cover the basics so well that if you want to get creative and improvise, it'll be pretty easy.

To enter the contest, you need to make one of the four projects with the assistance of your wee one. Grand prize is a trip for four to one of ten theme parks, other prizes include a Skil workshop and other Skil tools, including the amazing Power Wrench (our review here)

Birdhouse plans
Ring Toss plans
Bag Toss Plans
Deck Box Plans
Information on the Lowes/Skil contest is here.

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Tool Blogs That We Read...

We spend a fair amount of time reading about tools, and some of that time is spent on the other tool blogs. We like to see what they're covering, what they think is interesting, and how we can sabotage their sites so that Tool Snob is the last one standing in the brutal Thunderdome of tool blogging.

So here's a list of the sites that we hit up at least once each week to see what else is going on in the world of tools.

Toologics - This is the tool blog for the online retailer Tool King. At first, we were a bit suspicious of the whole 'associated with a retailer' thing, but we quickly learned that Jude and the other writers there are all very fair and honest.

Tool Crib - These guys cover a lot of woodworker-type tools (stationary table saws, etc.), but also things like this cool little game. Their posts don't happen everyday, but when they do, they're worth reading and very thorough. Tool Crib is also a retailer, but that's a fact that doesn't seem to have any impact on what they write or how they cover tools.

ToolMonger - This site has been around the longest and as far as sheer number of posts go, they pummel the competition. Not everything they cover is going to interest you, but they just cover so much that there's bound to be something that you're going to read. It's worth going through the archives for the hands-on reviews. They haven't done many of them lately, but they're great to read.

CopTool - Another retailer blog that has earned its credibility. CopTool is the blog side of Ohio Power Tools (an advertiser on this site). Because Ohio Power Tools deals mostly in the heavy-duty tools (Milwaukee, Bosch, etc.), that's what the blog tends to cover.

Tool-Rank - This one started up not too long ago, but it found its legs real quick. In addition to the articles covering tools, they're promoting their ranking system, where they're trying to get users to rate the tools that they own with the end result being a giant database of user reviews. If you're into that sort of thing, there's also ToolCritic.com.

Professional Power Tools - This site is run by a bunch of contractors out of the Chicago area. Their reviews are very thorough featuring both text as well as video. For the most part, it looks like they stick to the heavy-duty tools you're likely to see on a construction site.

There are also a couple new guys that we think might be worth watching...

ToolGuyd - This one just got going last December and features tool news and other odd bits.

Tool Talker - Another one that is just getting started, Tool Talker is the blog side of Tools Plus, an online retailer. So far there's less than a dozen posts, but what we've seen so far, we like.

So those are the tool blogs that we check out. We didn't include other great sites like Charles & Hudson and The Hardware Aisle, because they primarily cover other aspects of the DIY world.

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Charles & Hudson DIY City Guides

Our friends over at Charles & Hudson have started a series of DIY city guides. With the help of local bloggers they're compiling lists of vendors, tradesmen, and other helpful resources all within city limits. So far they've managed to cover Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland, Or.

The guides have everything from hardware stores to salvage shops to tub refinishers. These articles are 'living' and if you're familiar with the area, Charles & Hudson is encouraging you to email them with your own favorites to add to the list.

We contacted a friend of ours in the Chicago area and asked what they thought of the guide and they told us that Charles and Hudson hit it right on the head with the selection of stores and vendors on the list.

It's an ambitious project, but one that we think is well worth the effort. We're looking forward to see what other cities get covered.

Read the guides here.

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Northern Tool 2009 Spring/Summer Catalog

Yesterday, the Northern Tool 2009 Spring/Summer Catalog came in the mail. Other than Grizzly Tools and Victoria's Secret this may very well be our favorite catalog.

The 600+ page book boasts over 10,000 products which range from logging equipment to hand tools to the off-road commode (a.k.a: the bumper dumper). It's a great catalog to have around and one that's perfect to keep next to your non-off-road-commode.

Go to Northern Tool and sign up for the free catalog here.

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Popular Science: Best of What's New '09

The good folks at Popular Science have just announced that they've started accepting nominations for their 2009 Best of What's New issue, due out in December. The issue looks at all of the most innovative, useful new items in a number of categories such as home technology, automotive, and personal health.

In order to be considered, your product must have a release date of no earlier than October 1, 2008.The entry fee is currently $300, but goes up to $350 after August 15th. The deadline for entries is August 21.

It's a great issue and one we look forward to. If you have time, it's fun to browse the last few years of winners.

Check out the rules and regulations or submit a product here
Previous winners here: 2008, 2007, 2006

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Best of the Tool Blogs '08

A bunch of our favorite tool blogs have done year end round ups of their most popular articles. Here's the run down:

Tool Crib's 25 Most Popular Articles
Toologics' 10 Most Read Articles of 2008
Charles & Hudson's Most Popular Posts 2008
CopTool's Top 8 Blog Posts of 2008

And of course, our own list of the Top Five Reviews that appeared on Tool Snob.

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Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Nails, But Were Afraid to Ask

Seriously, everything.

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Ridgid 2009-2010 Calendar

We saw over at CopTool that Ridgid has unveiled their 2009-2010 Calendar. It's not exactly "family-friendly," but if you don't mind your workshop looking like the back room at the auto-parts store, it might be perfect for you.

It costs $15 and is available directly from Ridgid or if you purchase over $100 of Ridgid tools at Ohio Power Tools you can get one for free. Details here.

At Ridgid

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2008 Holiday Gift Guide for Tool Snob

Here's our gift guide for this year. This time we categorized it by price, so once you rank your loved ones you'll easily know what to get them. As an added bonus, last year's list is still relevant and it's here.

Over $500
Festool Kapex - If you've got buckets of money to burn, why not get your loved one the most talked about, most ridiculously expensive compound miter saw in existence? Could you pick up a nice DeWalt for 1/3rd of the price? Sure, but isn't it worth something to say, "I bought dad a $1300 saw. He'll love you forever.
At Beaver Tools

$250-$500
Cadex CPB23.50 23 Gauge Pin Nailer - This might be the nicest tool that we've ever touched. Holding it in the hands, you get an overwhelming sense of quality. We can't say enough about it really. It's expensive, but we think it's worth every penny. Our review is here.
$290 at Amazon

$100-$250
Paslode Angled Finish Nailer- This is a great finish nailer; it's small, lightweight, and backed by the great Paslode name. Our review is here.
$175 at Amazon

Milwaukee Hackzall - This is an amazing little tool that is as versatile as it is compact. Ours has been practically glued to our hand since we first picked it up. Good for pruning branches, cutting rigid insulation, trimming plywood, and a whole lot more. Our review is here.
$182 at Amazon

Rockwell SoniCrafter - The best of the second generation oscillating tools. Powerful enough for a job site but inexpensive enough to be accessible to DIYers. By far our favorite of the new oscillating tools on the market. Our review is here.
$120 20-Piece Kit at Amazon
$140 37-Piece Kit at Amazon
$180 72-Piece Kit at Amazon

$25-$100
JacPac - Any around the house handyman would love the JacPac. It's a portable pneumatic power source, perfect for all those little tasks where setting up a compressor is a complete hassle. Our review is here.
$80 at Amazon

Skil Power Cutter- This nifty little item is just as at home in the kitchen drawer as it is on the job site. The auto-sharpened blade can cut cardboard, Tyvek, carpet, fabric, wall paper, and, as you can see in our review, Pottery Barn catalogs. Our review is here
$53 at Amazon

Under $25
A Cabinet Maker's Notebook, By James Krenov - This book is less of a how-to and more of a philisophical meditation on woodworking and cabinet making. Krenov is one of the world's best and his little book is a must have for any aspiring woodworker.
$15 at Amazon

Zip Sander - This little hand sander is a great stocking stuffer for the woodworker in your life. We use ours all the time and as each day passes, we like the thing more and more. Not bad for something that's cheaper than a mixed drink. Our review is here.
$6.50 at Amazon

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Project Inspiration from Triton

Every once in a while, we find ourselves with some free time on our hands and no idea of what to do with it. Over at Triton is a nice little gallery of projects that people have sent in. They range from the small (box making) to the large (bed and desk combo). There's not a whole lot of information provided other than what tools were used, but it's always good to see what other people are building out there, in case you're looking for an idea.

View the gallery here.

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