July 26, 2012

Coast HP7 Flashlight and HL7 Headlamp - Review

Since we started writing this site, we've become aware of a strong flashlight sub culture; a group of people obsessed with lumens, watts, and focused beams. These apparent dwellers of the dark seem to go hand in hand with knife enthusiasts, because, when you think about it...if you need a flashlight...there's a good chance you could also use a knife. So it's not much of a surprise that Coast is a company that has built a reputation around this marriage of steel and light beams. Recently, they sent us a knife to check out (more on that another day) as well as a flashlight, their HP7, and a headlamp, the HL7. And while we're by no means manic about flashlights, we are definite fans of their practicality and lead a lifestyle where they are an essential part of existence (i.e. "is that a raccoon up in that tree?" and "yes, dear, I'll go out to the wood pile even though it's 11:30 pm and the wood box is full).

So on to the review...

Continue reading: "Coast HP7 Flashlight and HL7 Headlamp - Review"

July 10, 2012

LaSquare

Adding the prefix "La" to anything construction is a bit unexpected, but in this case, it's a play on a guy's name, so it passes the test. The guy in question is Robert LaGesse and he's the inventor of the LaSquare. What's cool about the LaSquare...well, it's a combo square with a 2" wide foot on it.

Why is this interesting and worth a mention? Have you ever used a combo square to mark a metal stud, a piece of tubing, or a pipe? With the traditional tool, there's not enough flat edge to wrap the curve, but with the LaSquare's extended foot, the task becomes much easier.

Check out the video if you're not sure about what we're talking about...

Continue reading: "LaSquare"

Read More in: Hand Tools | Measuring & Marking

Doug Mahoney Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This |

June 13, 2012

Duo-Fast DCR175-CN Cap Nailer

Duo-Fast has a nice looking new cap nailer that looks to fit the bill for your under-layment needs on your next roofing project. According to Duo-Fast, the gun takes any standard coil roofing nail and adds a cap to it and -boom- your felt paper is installed. There is also a toggle that shuts off the cap feed, so it only shoots bare nails. This means that quick roofing repairs can be had with this tool.

The nailer weighs a little over 8 lbs and can move between bump or sequential fire (this one is all about the bump). Sells for $450.

Press release, with lots more in the way of details, is after the jump.

Continue reading: "Duo-Fast DCR175-CN Cap Nailer"

May 30, 2012

General Tools CL10

Ever dug into a wall and cut a wire? How about a pipe? We've all done it and it's not a good scene, especially that first moment of "awwww....come on!" General Tools has come up with a downright futuristic way to avoid the problem and it's all contained within the two-part tool they're calling the CL10.

Continue reading: "General Tools CL10"

Doug Mahoney Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This |

May 25, 2012

Ansell ActivArmr Gloves - Review

We've gotten enough of those massive vertical grain fir splinters (the ones that look more like large toothpicks) to be really in favor of gloves. For finish work, we'll sometimes bypass the hand protection, but with framing work, we've gotten to the point now where we feel naked if we don't have gloves on. It's slowly ingrained itself in our mind the same way safety glasses have. They're just part of the fabric now.

So we were pretty happy when Ansell sent us a pair of their ActivArmr Gloves to beat on. That was months and months ago (sorry Ansell and thanks for the patience), and we've worn them quite a bit and have come to our final conclusions on the gloves.

Continue reading: "Ansell ActivArmr Gloves - Review"

Read More in: All Reviews | Clothing | Safety

Doug Mahoney Permalink | Comments (0) | Email This |

May 22, 2012

Disappeared Again...

Yeah, we vanished for a little while there. Sorry about that. We once again got sidelined by the renovation. Lately we've been working on the house in the evenings, which leaves us little time for updating the site. We're going to be back at it this week though.

To give an idea of what we're up against, above is a shot of Tool Snob HQ (the part you can actually walk through...the other half is actually much worse)...it's pretty brutal. Clean up time has been reduced as well...I think I see Jimmy Hoffa behind the welder.

April 30, 2012

StirWhip - Review

This is one of those odd little tools that has been floating around the shop for some time now. Prazi sent us one a looong time ago (probably close to a year, yikes), and we've used it off and on since then. We've always liked it, but it wasn't until our recent tile-a-palooza that we really got into the StirWhip way of life. Over the course of about two weeks, we tiled two bathroom floors and a tub surround. That was a month ago and now we're starting another bathroom and we realized it's well past time we spread the word on this valuable little item.

Continue reading: "StirWhip - Review"

Doug Mahoney Permalink | Comments (1) | Email This |

April 26, 2012

Husqvarna Fast Tractor

Husqvarna has announced the release of something called the Fast Tractor. It's apparently the fastest riding mower in its class (mowers under $2500). And it's not just a little faster, it's quite a bit faster. Regular boring mowers top out in the turtle-like range of 5-6mph, but this cheetah can chase prey in the 7-8mph range.

Continue reading: "Husqvarna Fast Tractor"

April 24, 2012

Furniture Society = Insanity Society

Because of all the tool writing I do, I've ended up on just about every single email distribution list that is even vaguely associated with the idea of a home. I've gotten pretty good at hitting the delete button, but this one made me stop and read...

Apparently there is something called the Furniture Society (not to be confused with the great band from the early 90s, The Information Society) and they have an award called The Award of Distinction. This year's winner is someone named Rosanne Somerson, who is the Interim Provost of Rhode Island School of Design.

Here are some of her award-winning designs....

Continue reading: "Furniture Society = Insanity Society"

April 11, 2012

Makita 15 Amp Reciprocating Saw - Review

We've been meaning to write about this tool for a long time now, a few years actually. Back in 2009, we had two of them on a site and they were worked so hard and treated so abusively that everyone was stunned they somehow survived. Pictured is one of those two tools as it looks today; a little ragged and worn, but still a complete warhorse.

Continue reading: "Makita 15 Amp Reciprocating Saw - Review"