Believe it or not, your dust collection system doesn’t have to sound like a 747 taking off every time you fire it up. The Supressor dust collection muffler won’t reduce the noise to a quiet whisper, but it can help reduce it to a more bearable level. Penn State Industries claims the Suppressor can reduce up to 50% of the noise from a typical dust collector.
Bics are reliable fire-starters, and they don’t leak in your pocket and leave little square burns on you if you forget to sit ‘em out overnight before carrying ‘em after refilling ‘em. But how can you be cool flipping open a Bic? Answer: you can’t. Now you can have butane reliability and Zippo cool with the new Zippo BLU line.
(Ed. Note: I don’t smoke, but I often carry a lighter. How else will you finish the tip of cut nylon rope or activate heat-shrink tubing on the go? My point: lighters a great for non-smokers, too.)
During our recent trip to Maker Faire in Austin we witnessed quite a few people wearing gloves in various applications – everything from fire protection to general work gloves. What we didn’t see the entire time were fingerless gloves. We still see them on the shelves, and folks like Milwaukee still think they are useful for something around the jobsite.
What do you think? Are finger-free gloves still around for a reason, or are they only good cyclists and winchers on sailboats? Let us know in comments.
Fingerless Work Gloves [Milwaukee]
Street Pricing [Google Product Search]
Yeah, BSW has (sadly) passed, but we’ve still got demo gloves to give away, so the destruction continues! Today’s winner: TM reader and photo pool member jason.leanard.peacock who posted this photo (and about a hundred more) of him ripping down a garage.
Enjoy your gloves, Jason. They make the work a lot easier if you wear them. And if you have a minute, how ’bout stopping by and leaving a comment to tell us a bit more about the project?
Toolmonger’s Photo Pool [Flickr]
Remember old-school Toolmonger that was all young, dumb and full of… vigor? So do we. Check out what we were discussing a year ago this week:
Of course, you don’t have to wait for us to call out these great old posts. Try plugging your areas of interest into TM’s search engine to turn up hours of old-school TM fun. See you next week.
Why spend the money to buy a separate laminate trimming router and spiral cutout saw when you can purchase one tool that will do both? Marvel — an MLCS brand — makes a motor-driven cutting tool with interchangeable bases and collets that allow you to route, cut, grind, and even engrave.
Some deals come from unexpected place, like this 8′ x 24′ Gladiator Garageworks floor covering over at Abt Electronic for $471. The Gladiator Garageworks line of floor cover is available in 24′, 30′, and 36′ lengths, all feature diamond-plate-style grip and are made from a non-porous, chemical resistant and fire retardant material that’s UL Classified in accordance with ASTM E-648-03 (”The Standard method for Critical Radiant Flux of floor covering systems using a radiant heat source.”)
And installation of this flooring couldn’t be easier: just unroll it and it’s ready for use – no adhesive necessary.
GAFC0824PN [Gladiator Garageworks]
GAFC0824PN [Abt Electronics]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
(Wednesday, October 31st, 2007) You get to watch a new Mythbusters tonight, just don’t forget to answer the doorbell or they’ll egg your house.
All times are central.
Enjoy.
‘Tis the season for the ritualized evisceration’s of America’s favorite squash. That’s right: it’s punkin’ carvin’ time! The Pumpkin Gutter takes what is arguably the least fun part of doing up your pumpkin right — scraping out the guts and seeds — and turns it a great excuse to break out your favorite new cordless drill.
The debate is heated: to shell or not to shell. If you’re planning on carrying anything that might not easily withstand rain or moisture, a camper shell is pretty much a necessity. But at times they’re constricting, too; you’ll never move anything that sticks up higher than the cab.
What’s your take on this classic question? Is you’re truck equipped with a shell, or do you drive it au natural? Let us know in comments.
Our friends over at Case checked in with us today to let us know they put out a few cool Halloween-themed knives this season. The one pictured above is a Small Saddlehorn pattern with an orange bone handle. Instead of the standard Case shield, the knife features a “spooky Halloween scene” on the handle. Its skinner blade is partially-serrated and the knife ships in the pictured gift tin. Production of this model is limited to 350 units, which MSRP for $120. Sadly, Case says they’re likely already sold.
But if you’d still like some Halloween joy in your knife, you’re not completely out of luck. Case tells us they’re also producing a Mini-Trapper pattern in orange bone with similar engraving and a partially-serrated clip blade that’s cheaper — MSRP is $94 — and probably still available as it was produced in larger numbers.
If you’d like one, you’ll find ‘em at your local Case dealer.
There’s little cooler than making a toy for your kids (or friends’ kids). The sparkle in their eyes as they run off to play not only warms your heart — it also ensures another generation of people who know how to make things. Here’s an easy way to start: a yo-yo kit from Penn State Industries.
Just select a kit that matches your woodworking prowess. If you’re a wood newbie, you can choose the kit with all the parts you need to make custom a yo-yo. If you’re a little more experienced, though, they sell cutters you can chuck up in your drill press to turn out ready-to-assemble yo-yo blanks. And if you have a lathe, they offer a mandrel for turning your own kick-ass custom blanks.
The Shoulder Dolly supposedly helps you move heavy objects by supporting them on your shoulders, taking the stress off your back. One possible downside: if your partners slips going down the stairs, you, him, and that refrigerator are all going down together.
Wiha makes a lot of great tools, and they’re currently offering a free pair of lineman’s pliers when you spend $100 or more on their website. The pliers retail for $23, are made from forged CV tool steel, and feature hardened jaws and cutting edges held together with heavy-duty steel rivets. They also include soft vinyl grip handles which are oil and solvent resistant.
If you’re looking for suggestions on what to buy, I recommend the Tech Rack that contains 50 of Wiha’s precision series tools including ten slotted, four Philips, ten nut drivers, ten torx, six metric hex, ten standard hex, and a chip lifter.
Free Pliers with $100 Spent [Wiha Tools]
Tech Rack [Wiha Tools]
Sure, you could cut hinge mortises with a router and a template, then finish ‘em off with a plain ‘ole chisel. But unless you’re a practiced woodworker, the results can look, well, less than perfect. What you really need is a corner chisel. Just place the corner chisel in the corner of the mortise, strike it with a hammer, and clean out the waste with a standard chisel – perfectly square corners every time.
And with Amazon selling the Grizzly corner chisel for $6, there is no excuse for sloppy looking mortises.
Corner Chisel [Manufacturer]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon
(Tuesday, October 30th, 2007) Tonight: we get a new Dirty Jobs that promises some industrial strength costume ideas for Halloween. Sheet Metal is always worth watching again, but Sheetrock just dredges up old nightmares, spookier than any horror movie.
All times are central.
Enjoy.
It looks like Amazon is holding a sale on two-packs of Pure Oil’s Purolator Oil Filters which start at $6.24 depending on make and model of car. The good news: they qualify for the free shipping. The manufacturer claims that their PremiumPLUS filtering media removes 10 to 20 micron sized particles and meets or exceeds engine manufacturers’ requirements.
Purolator Filters [Pure Oil]
Via Amazon
Street Pricing [Google Products]
www.flickr.com
|
