King Arthur’s Tools claims that being able to see what you’re sanding means you’ll work faster because you don’t have to keep removing the tool to see your progress. With their Holey Galahad carving discs, you can actually see through the disc to the surface you’re cutting. The discs can be used on wood, fiberglass, plastic, foam core, soapstone, and other materials.

Made in the USA, the discs will fit most 4-1/2″ and 125mm angle grinders — just be sure to keep the speed under 14,000RPM. The 4″ diameter steel discs have sharp conical tungsten carbide teeth bonded over the cutting surface and can be used on both the face and the edge

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Not many people are going to need a stainless steel pipe polisher, but the tool just looks really cool.  You can use Fein’s RS 12-70 to grind pipe welds, sand pipes to a satin finish, or polish pipes to a mirror finish and anywhere in between.

The variable-speed sander can drive the belt to speeds up to 22 m/s.  The belts rides on what I’m assuming are spring-loaded arms that allow the belt to flex around the pipe so you can surface all 360° of the pipe in only two passes.

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I could have been a little more specific and called these quick-release pins, but how often do you get to start every word in a title with the same letter? Pegasus Racing pushbutton quick-release pins are handy little devices for critical, frequently-serviced assemblies. What makes them remarkable when compared with stainless marine versions or mild-steel hardware store parts is their strength. How does an 8,200-pound breaking strength when mounted in double shear sound? And that’s for the smallest of the lot, with only a 1/4″ diameter. Larger sizes (5/16″ and 3/8″) are also available and ratings increase accordingly, topping out at 18,400 pounds for the heaviest 3/8″ version.

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A casual glance will tell you these are not standard slip joint pliers or cutters. What’s a little more rare is the person who can tell you they are Grozing pliers. Whittemore-Durgin Glass Co. has this pair of Inland brand Grozing pliers on sale for $5.92. 

Grozing pliers are used for nibbling glass and tile as well as breaking glass along the score line left by a glass cutter. The jaws are smooth and ground such that they have clearance for different thicknesses of glass, unlike regular pliers that won’t grip thick work properly. They’re a must-have for glass work, and there are other times having a pair of smooth jawed pliers just comes in handy, such as for bending small pieces of metal.

Inland Grozing Pliers [whittemoredurgin.com]

General Motors’ recent financial problems have really rocked the boat for U.S. industries and financial institutions, to say nothing of everyday households. However, the court-ordered sale of many of GM’s assets has created a windfall of high-quality machinery on the open market, and much of it is being auctioned by industrial liquidation specialist Maynard’s.

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OK, so it may not strictly be a tool — although it is done using a computer, which is a tool we use for reading TM — but it is a lot of fun. The site offers other options including building, gas station, and highway signs. You can also do computer error messages:

Atom Smasher [Manufacturer's Site]

Rockler has a small autoloader screwdriver (see TM 2006 and 2007) for $10 as an online-only special. The unit comes with 6 bits (Phillips #0, #00, #000; slotted 3/32″, 1/8″, 5/32″; all bits are 5/32″ × 1″) that are accessed by pulling back on the handle, twisting to select the desired bit, and then pushing the handle forward. A large autoloader with 6 bits (Phillips #1, #2, #3; slotted 1/8″, 3/16″, 1/4″; all bits are 1/4″ × 1″), is also on sale for $15 (online-only). Free shipping with promo code V9789. This online sale ends this Wednesday, September 30.

Small Autoloader Screwdriver [Rockler]
Large Autoloader Screwdriver [Rockler]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

(TV Tonight, Tuesday, September 29th, 2009) Such a boring Tuesday night, they can’t even be bothered to even make new info-mercial episodes of Cool Tools. 

All times are central

• Machinery of the Past (RFD-TV, 5:00 pm)
• Ask This Old House: Squares for general carpentry, patio with concrete paving-bricks (DIY, 5:30 pm)
• Cool Tools: Better Basics (DIY, 6:00 pm)
• World’s Toughest Fixes: Solar Power Plant (National Geographic, 6:00 pm)
• Cool Tools: Yardwork (DIY, 9:00 pm)

Starrett designed the almost 4″ jaws and 3mm diameter tips of their new 5006BZ-14/350 electronic groove calipers to measure the width of internal and external grooves. The caliper will measure outside grooves from 0″ to 12.5″ and inside grooves from 1.654″ to 15″.

They manufacture the calipers from hardened stainless steel and the tips can be installed facing in or out or to measure either outside or inside grooves respectively. The calipers read with a resolution of .0005 of an inch or 0.01mm.

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Yup, pink. TM has previously mentioned the LifeHammer and ResQMe. Now, if you buy the pink versions, the distributor, nov8, will make a donation to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.  If someone you know has been affected by breast cancer — it took my Mom after a long struggle many years ago — then this might be a way to support or recognize them. So far, I’ve only been able to find the pink ResQMe available for $12 online at Ace.

ResQMe Pink [Ace]

No one’s ever accused Zippo of making flimsy, insubstantial products — quite the opposite. They make heavy, mechanical, downright bad-ass devices which also happen to be bloody practical. Since the flame burns without holding down a button, you can set these on your workbench and use both hands to maneuver your work in the fire, so everyone from mafiosos to mechanics uses them. But Armor Zippos add something worthwhile to a product lineup worryingly populated with gothic crosses and opal inlays.

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This is the gaze of a man who doesn’t want to start over. That’s what I normally look like when turning anything. Total focus and somewhere in the back of my head hoping I secured the wood to the lathe correctly. Reader Rboyett, however, is probably just thinking about how the taper on his cup should look.

Our collective hats are off to all the turners out there cranking out bad-ass stuff. I recently made a few attempts to turn a few projects myself; though they were very similar to cups you might have seen before, the quality of my craftsmanship will not be displayed at any art shows anytime soon — or ever, on any planet we know of.

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Starrett is arriving late into the digital inspection scope arena with their recently-introduced inspection scope. Made in the USA, the scope features an auto-focus digital camera with a full-color resolution of 320 x 240 pixels. The camera can focus on object anywhere from 0.4″ to infinity and displays the image on a 2.5″ LCD with a 55° degree viewing angle.

Powered by 4 AA batteries, the device lasts 4 hours on average. Dual LED’s give can be set to three different intensity levels. The inspection scope comes with either a 3′ or a 6′ water-resistant shaft that measures .42″ in diameter at its widest point and can be bent in a 2.5″ radius circle. It also has an RCA output that will connect to an NTSC monitor.

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Set the Wayback machine for 1984 and read “Auto Body Repair” by Duenk, Williams, and Brooks. The book is a comprehensive manual for auto body repair as done in the 1980’s. The book has it all, starting with an overview of the construction and assembly of the auto body. Then we move to chapters on body repair tools and shop equipment, use of hand tools and techniques including specialty tools. Frame straightening and underbody repair are covered along with welding, brazing and heat shrinking. Minor and Major repairs are covered along with the types of accidents that produce the need for such repairs.

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Generally speaking, a machinist’s measuring tools receive the same level of protection and reverence as the Holy Grail. Every reader’s probably had his ears filled with endless tales of how the mechanisms of calipers and micrometers must be regularly oiled, protected from dust, and kept away from moisture. Not this set.

Mitutoyo’s model 500-752 is marketed as coolant-resistant, which is really something, considering that automotive coolant is a powerful oxidizer that quickly rusts any iron it touches. Not exactly stuff you want around your $150 (from Production Tool Supply) measuring instruments. Other features include inch/millimeter reading with 0.0005in/0.01mm resolution, auto-shutdown, and shatter-resistant (IP67 compatible) display. The waterproofing also makes the calipers dust-proof, and with a claimed three-year battery life, they’re not likely to suddenly crap out due to wear, abuse, or battery death.

A retailer called Reliable Paper is selling the set for $12 less than PTS, but they’re unrated according to Google’s product search.

500-752 [Mitutoyo]
Mitutoyo 500-752 [Production Tool Supply]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

(TV Tonight, Monday, September 28th, 2009) We’re not sure a clip show qualifies as new content, but we’re desperate.

All times are central

• Trains & Locomotives (RFD-TV, 5:00 pm)
• Ask This Old House: bathtub drain trap, repairing a cracked drywall ceiling (DIY, 5:30 pm)
• World’s Toughest Fixes: Columbia River Dam (National Geographic, 6:00 pm)
• Top Gear: Best of Season 7 Special (BBC America, 7:00 pm) NEW
• Top Gear: Season 7 Ep. 6 (BBC America, 8:00 pm)
• How Do They Do It?: Amazing Sea Vehicles (Science, 9:00 pm)
• King of Dirt: Replacing a Beloved Tree (DIY, 9:30 pm)

(TV Tonight, Sunday, September 27th, 2009) Another Sunday better spent out in the garage.

All times are central

• MythBusters: Viewer Special (Discovery, 5:00 pm)
• MythBusters: Myth Evolution (Discovery, 6:00 pm)
• Weapon Masters: Repeating Crossbow (Military, 6:00 pm)
• Successful Farming Machinery Show (RFD-TV, 9:00 pm)