There are two main factions in the tool belt world; the leathers and the nylons. It's sort of like the carpenter version of the Sharks and the Jets. Us? We usually dodge the question by opting for the simple nail pouch with a separate hammer loop. Our quasi-supervisory role at work doesn't allow us to spend too many days fully tooled up. But on those days when we're forced to do it, we go for the old leather belt that we have. In our opinion, there's something about them that just feels more...well...authentic. But we don't have anything against the nylon belts, it's just that we've never really found one that we've been all that into. They seem a little too modern and futuristic for us.
But we're open-minded folks so we jumped at the chance to review the the nylon ToolRider GSR Suspension Rig when Rooster (also makers of McGuire-Nicholas rigs) offered to send one on.
While we were flipping through the latest Extreme How-To (a magazine that we love and would recommend to anyone), we noticed an ad for the Xtend & Climb Telescoping ladder. Having lived in some very cramped apartments, we're particularly sensitive to those of you with zero storage and thought that this product was worth a mention.
The Xtend & Climb is a compact ladder that is capable of extending, step by step, into a much larger ladder. Sort of like an extension ladder that starts at about 3' and can make it, depending on the model, up to 15-1/2'.
There are a number of different models that have different safety ratings and extend to varying heights. They do have job site ready models with a ANSI rating of 1A, which means that they can handle up to 300 lbs of your twinkie-eating ass.
This kind of ladder would be good for anyone from the apartment dweller to the homeowner to the traveling handy-man. With the kind of durability and storage capabilities that the Xtend & Climb has, it could be useful to actually anyone who is in the market for a ladder.
As far as price goes, it looks like a wash. The Xtend & Climb 780P, which is comparable to a standard 16' extension ladder sells at Amazon for $249.99. The Werner 16' Extension Ladder with the same safety rating goes $249.25, so unless you're really into penny pinching, it's the exact the same price.
This isn't exactly something that you're going to bring to the job site or workshop (although you could), but we thought it was interesting enough to mention. It's a Surge Protector that has an internal timer that you can set so that it kills the outlets completely during certain hours.
In their press release, APC gives a good example of the uses this could have,
For example, users can program a charging station to power on upon arrival home from work to recharge an mp3 player and cell phone and then program to power off the next morning once the user departs for work. The LCD timer's flexibility allows multiple users to set a variety of on/off times for all of their energy needs.
We also think it could work for temp lighting and heat at a job site. Or also to keep the lights on for a few hours at night to scare away the seedier elements of society.
There are two models available; a 4-outlet (all on timers), wall-mounted unit, and a six outlet (five on timers) strip unit with a 3' cord. According to APC, the annual power savings to be $40 and $60 respectively. The protectors cost $17 and $20.
APC SurgeArrest Power Saving Surge Protector - Review
Anyone who was reading this site back in December knows that we had a little power outage and anyone who has read the site since knows that we've made a career out of bitching about it (see here and here). Well why stop now? What follows is a review of a surge protector, which, admittedly is a bit outside of our area of expertise (and by 'a bit' we mean 'a lot'), but before you click back over to your favorite celebrity gossip site, you should know that we found that the item had an intriguing feature that translated very nicely into the workshop setting.
As we've mentioned, we recently spent six days without power. Two of those days (the middle two) were spent elsewhere but we decided to return to the house to keep the wood stove going and to keep an eye on the pipes, hoping that we wouldn't have to go to any major preventative measures such as draining them or fussing with anti-freeze. During the course of the episode, we realized that there are a few items that came in really handy. And when we say, "really handy," what we mean is, "we couldn't have gotten by without them."
The items that achieved MVP status are as follows:
On Friday, we told you about Tool Crib's scoop on the possible Nail Jack takeover of a Nebraskan Vise-Grip factory. Today, we're lifting another one of their posts, this one containing a new video of the famed SawStop.
We've all seen the SawStop vs. Hot Dog video and have been impressed, but there was always a part of us that thought that using a hot dog to demonstrate the finger-saving blade brake was a little lame. If this tool really works, why doesn't someone from the company step up and jam their finger in the thing? Well now, the inventor of the tool Steve Gass has done just that.
The clip looks like it's a segment from some Discovery Network show. It's got a lot of great video of the saw brake in action and at the very end, you get to watch a guy stick his finger in a whirling table saw blade. The whole thing is amazing.
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.
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.
We're fans of anything that makes a table saw safer and push sticks are at the top of that list. The ones that come with the saws, the long stick with the little bird mouth at the end of it, are nearly as dangerous as not using a push stick at all. Sure they can push something through the saw, but when the piece of wood starts to ride up on the blade, you're screwed. We always recommend to people that they throw those out and make their own out of a piece of 1/2" plywood, one that extends out over the top of the work piece. But after today, we might just suggest buying a Bench Dog Push-Loc.
According to Reuters, since 1991 the number of annual nail gun injuries has increased about 200%. The actual number is now around 37,000 per year. Not good. The interesting thing about this increase is that the number of work-related nail gun injuries has stayed about the same. This indicates that the swell is due to all of you DIYers out there. The article states:
"This increase likely corresponds to an increase in availability during the 1990s of inexpensive pneumatic nail guns and air compressors (to power the nail guns) in home hardware stores; however, no sales data are available for confirmation," the CDC reported.
This may be so, but the responsibility to take your tools seriously lies with you. Nail guns are very dangerous and you’re a moron if you’re not wearing eye protection every single time you shoot one off. If you can blast a nail through engineered lumber, flesh and bone aren’t going to stand much of a chance. Please understand your tools and their safety features and each time you pick one up, stop for a second and think of all the damage it can do to you.
Read past the jump to see what can happen if you are not careful with a framing nailer.
We all know that the table saw is the widow maker of the tool world, ranking just above chainsaws and shapers. Using a table saw is like scratching a rabid Doberman behind the ears; you might be OK this time, but if you let your guard down for just an instant and become too comfortable, you're going to be missing a hand, an arm, or a face. The biggest risk is undoubtedly to the fingers, and when things go bad, they go bad fast. Human reflexes don’t even count when they go up against a table saw. But one company has created a saw that drastically reduces this risk.
The saw is called the Saw Stop, and on top of about a thousand other great features, it has a very unique safety system. The saw constantly reads a slight electrical charge that is carried in the blade, and when the charge is disrupted by, say, a thumb, the saw engages a brake and automatically lowers the blade. There is really no way to describe how fast this happens. The only thing you can do is watch.
The guys at Workbench have a longer movie that gets into greater detail if you're interested. It's really amazing.
ToolRider GSR Suspension Rig - Review
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Craftsman 10" MiterMate - Review
