Ignition wrenches are one of those tools you’ll never need until that one moment when Murphy’s messing with you, and then nothing else will do. Normal wrenches have a 30-degree offset in the head to allow for rotating hex bolts by thirty degrees at a time, but that’s too much for some very tight situations. That’s where ignition wrenches come in. With a 15-degree offset on one side and an 80-degree offset on the other, you only need five degrees of rotation to spin a bolt. Tedious, yes, but sometimes those small increments are all you can manage.

Pricing is reasonable from Craftsman, at $20 for a set of eight metric wrenches, and the same price for eight inch wrenches. Snap-On, naturally, has similar options at the stratospheric price of $224. Personally, I’ll take 91% off and go for the Craftsman set.

8-piece ignition wrench set, inches [Craftsman]
8-piece ignition wrench set, millimeters [Craftsman]

You would think that with my collection of purchased and inherited tools and overall tool hang-up, I would have at least seen one of these before. I have some old Craftsman double-ended ratchet wrenches that are dog-bone shaped, but this version is new to me; I don’t know how I overlooked this.

Sears has their DOG BONE wrench in both SAE and metric for $20 each. Thorsen seems to have an equivalent for $15, although their version does not have the all upper-case name.

This could either be super handy to have around, sparing you trips back and forth to the tool box to find the right socket — or the bone ends would get in the way left, right, and backwards.

Sears [Manufacturer's Site]
Street Pricing [Google Products]

If you’re into the Craftsman C3 combo set, now might be the time to pony up and pounce. Sears has the 19v C3 drill impact driver set on sale for $99 until the end of the week.

It’s not the latest gear and most certainly not the greatest on the virtual shelf, but the pair of them are good, solid pieces of gear that will certainly last a while around the shop or jobsite. It’s not a Li-Ion set but for around a C-note you really can’t expect it to be, either.

C3 Drill Impact Driver Combo Kit [Craftsman]

In an industry that doesn’t get this kind of love very much, I must hand it to the guys over at Craftsman. The revamp of the Garage of Knowledge is pretty slick. It’s no longer a space reminiscent of an aircraft hanger but rather styled after a garage someone might actually have. It’s also a wrap-around 3D type of affair.

I must have played with it for 20 minutes the other day for no good reason other than wishing my garage looked like this. You can’t click on every tool hanging on the walls and such but they are at least getting a more manageable access to tools now. If you’re not into all the high-tech wrap-arounds and just want tools, the menu options at the top still work like always.

It’s worth a few clicks if you’re just messing around online drooling over tools.

Garage of Knowledge [Craftsman]

Cavemen still living without the magic of air power (and I’m one of them) will find a neat workaround in the form of hammer-actuated impact drivers. They’re old-school, clever little devices which turn the force of a hammer blow into torque, and plenty of it. Hit the casing with a metal-faced hammer, and a cam inside gives you a strong twist, exactly like a pneumatic impact wrench.

Though not quite as user-friendly or useful as an impact gun, they can still get stubborn bolts in or out. $25 is pretty cheap considering that it’s a Craftsman set. Even if you can find a pneumatic impact gun at that price, no one in their right mind would trust it, and these let you skip the compressor, too.

Impact Driver Set [Craftsman]

Once I saw this monster I quickly realized the race for the largest rolling tool chest had been won years ago by Craftsman. Near as we can figure, that is a three-piece, twelve-foot, rolling mechanic’s chest.

This image was taken at the Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates, IL. The chest itself was, of course, just an advertising prop, but we still tip our hats to them for coming up with the idea and wonder who managed to walk off with it when they were done with it.

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Yes, ladies and gents, this is a preview of the upcoming Craftsman C3 cordless chainsaw — they’ll add it to the existing C3 line in late July.  Craftsman recently released this information to Sears associates only, and just as of today it’s cleared for public consumption. On with the show! (more…)

A couple days ago Benjamen previewed the upcoming Tow-N-Stow trailer. However, the $2,500 price tag and the odd choice of pairing it with a stationary storage unit got some lukewarm responses from Toolmongers. In light of that, I’d like to see what y’all think of this new fold-up utility trailer from Craftsman.

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In a struggling economy retailers come up with creative ways to move more products, even if it means cutting their profit margins.  You’ll see Sears’ latest marketing effort in the main aisles of their tool department — Craftsman Value display boxes, containing special versions of their best-selling products: tool bags, utility knives, tape measures, levels, and socket sets, to name a few.

The tool sets in the Value boxes come packaged with extra items, for the same price as the standard sets found elsewhere in the store. The 48″ level includes a free 10″ torpedo level;  the 16″ tool bag includes a free 12″ tool bag;  and the 18pc. socket set includes a free 4pc. wrench set.

These prices may not be the best you’ll ever find, but if you need a new socket set or a couple of tool bags, or you’re looking for some nice gifts for Father’s Day, take a look at the in-aisle displays at your local Sears for a pretty decent deal.  All items are available as long as quantities last locally, and no two stores will have the same selection.  Approximately 37 different value boxes have shipped out, and they’ll be replenished randomly over the next six months, so you’ll find a wide selection to choose from.

Sears [Corporate Site]

I really hate cleaning out my hot tub.  Here in Florida, even if you overdose your tub with chemicals, you’re bound to see algae and scale buildup when you get close to the six-month cleaning.  I especially hate trying to remove that 10-15 gallons at the bottom, below the drain pipe. Today, instead of my classic method of bucket removal and swearing, I broke out my Craftsman two-gallon portable wet/dry vac.

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These days, a lot of manufacturers and retailers are trying to appeal to the eco-conscious consumer by selling products that make a minimal impact on the environment — it also doesn’t hurt if they save you some money. The new propane-powered string trimmer from LEHR promises to do both.

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For any sort of carpentry, woodworking, or masonry project, you want to measure your angles accurately.  If it’s time to replace that antiquated adjustable angle finder with a newer, shinier model, take a look at Craftsman’s new 4-in-1 digital angle finder.

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For some time now Sears has marketed their top-of-the-line hand tools under the name Craftsman Professional, attempting to set them apart from and above the standard Craftsman line.  Now, that distinct black and marigold color scheme has found its way to their lawn and garden department as well, on an assortment of commercial-grade powered lawn equipment.

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Next week Craftsman is set to release its newest addition to the existing 12V Nextec line:  the Multi-Tool.  If the shape seems a little familiar, it should — except for a few slight differences in the casing, it looks very similar to the Bosch PS50-2B multi-saw.

Craftsman designed the Multi-Tool for cutting, sanding, scraping, and grinding, all by means of the 15,000 OPM drive.  The unit comes with six attachments, a sampling of cutters and scrapers that Craftsman says will tackle anything from drywall to masonry.

Like the rest of the Nextec line, the Multi-Tool features an LED work light and a 30-minute quick-charger. The Multi-Tool will also run about $100 with the charger and bag included, which is less than half the price of the PS50-2B.

Nextec 12V Multi-Tool [Craftsman]

Here’s another one of those “why didn’t I think of that” tools:  a garage door opener that works even when the power goes out. Normally in that situation you’d have to pull the emergency release and open the door manually, and I can’t see my wife working too well with that option — with her luck she’d have the door on her foot in seconds.

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My cold drinks always get hot in the shop.  Sometimes I carry a small lunchbox with a freezer pack out there, but I usually forget about it and end up leaving it out in the garage for a few days.  For Toolmongers who don’t keep a mini fridge, or the “old” fridge, out in the shop, Craftsman makes this Retro Design Cooler — it looks cool and it keeps your drinks cool, too!

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My quest for a dado blade began on eBay where, after numerous searches, I picked up an older 7″ adjustable dado with carbide blades. The first time I used it I discovered that my contractor saws won’t hold most blades — the shaft diameter was right, but there weren’t enough threads to hold the blade on.  So I did some additional research, found out that I’d need to use a smaller blade, and ended up with the Craftsman 6″ Stacked Dado Blade.

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