Once upon a time, when pneumatic nailers were all the same — to me at least — this fine tool would’ve escaped my attention. This is a multi-blow nailer, which means there’s no depth adjustment; you simply hold the actuator until the nail is driven to the depth desired. If you hit a knot, just hold the actuator longer.
Budgets are tight lately, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get some decent deals on tools if you’re willing to look. A quick glance at the Depot’s site led me to a section for reconditioned tools. Though this is a loaded topic on either side, the fact remains you can get tools for around forty percent off if you pull the trigger on the right deal.
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, companies keep coming out with multi-use tools. Some multi-use tools, like the combination square and the speed square, have stood the test of time and have found their way into just about every handyman’s pouch. Does the Universal Square fit into this category, or is it yet another tool doomed to be forgotten?
D-Unique, the makers of the Universal Square, designed this 12oz aluminum tool for framers, but they claim other tradesmen such as iron workers, electricians, carpenters, and cabinet builders will find it useful too.
Edge routing can be tricky if your router doesn’t have a large enough base. The router’s center of gravity hangs over the edge of the workpiece, making it easy to accidentally tip the router and ruin your crisp profile. An offset router base gives you more leverage to keep the router from tipping.
Milescraft offers an affordable 13″-long offset base made of clear polycarbonate. It sports an oversized knob to make the base easy to grab, and the scratch-resistant surface helps ensure the base’s transparency.
The Snozzle cove-base adhesive nozzle attaches to your cove-base applicator — or “caulk gun” to the layman. It saves you time by covering more surface area in one pass, and it evenly distributes the glue for a well-bonded installation.
The Depot is rolling into summer with a deal: for the next week or so they’re discounting “select” ceiling fans by 40 percent. You’ll have to go online for some of them, but most are discounted and in your local store now. Though we’re a bit surprised to see a deal on fans at the outset of summer, it’s a welcome break.
We’re always leery when we see “select” in the fine print. As we suspected, some of the fans on sale are models from years gone by that didn’t move or were too strange-looking to install in the living room. But the nice-looking Hampton Bay 52″ Leland is selling for $53 instead of $90 — it’s worth consideration.
40% Off Ceiling Fan Sale [Home Depot]
Chisels can cause injury in a lot of different ways: flying metal fragments can damage unprotected eyes; striking the chisel causes pinging noises that can damage hearing; vibration and kickback can cause joint trauma; and don’t forget missing the chisel altogether and hitting your hand. Hard Cap has set out to build a safer chisel, and they’ve addressed all these modes of injury.
Home Depot is gearing up for Father’s Day, June 15th, with this online coupon for $5 off any purchase of $50 or more. You can’t apply it to windows or siding, and there are other exclusions. To get your $5, enter the coupon code DAD2008 at checkout — as usual, orders over $49 qualify for free shipping. The coupon expires June 4, 2008.
Home Depot [Corporate Site]
I traded in my gas-powered leaf muncher for this Toro garden vacuum last year, and I couldn’t be happier with its performance — what I’m not happy about is that I didn’t get it for $50 at Home Depot. The Toro Rake and Vacuum, a 3-in-1 blower, vacuum, and leaf mulcher, easily moves debris and wet leaves, with two speed settings and a top air speed of 210 MPH. You can attach the vacuum, blower, and leaf-bag attachments without any tools, and it comes with a two-year warranty.
Rake and Vac [Toro]
Rake and Vac [Home Depot]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
This is the best type of coupon: you don’t need to cut anything out or mail anything in. Simply copy and paste “SPRING21″ when you check out at Home Depot’s website, and instantly receive a $5 discount on your purchase of $50 or more. But read the fine print — some items are excluded. You can save with the code through May 11, 2008.
Tools [Home Depot]
Here’s a sweet deal from HomeDepot.com: All summer long, they’ll be shipping most power tools for free. According to Home Depot:
“The offer is valid on select tool purchases from 2/21/08 - 7/31/08 only. Offer includes: combination tool kits, drill presses, cordless drills, corded drills, impact drivers, screwdrivers, screwguns, sanders, polishers, grinders, hammer drills, chippers, breakers, lathes, staplers, planers, joiners, routers, recip saws, spiral saws, cut-off saws, circular saws, jig saws, band saws, worm drive saws, mitre saws, table saws, heat guns, nibblers, shears, stationary table saws and nailers. Offer excludes garden tools, plumbing tools and electrical tools.”
The offer also excludes certain package weights and sizes, and they won’t deliver to P.O. boxes, Alaska, Hawaii, or Puerto Rico.
Free Shipping Deal [Home Depot]
Now until May 29th, Home Depot’s offering a sweet deal for anyone who’s in the market for a portable generator. You can get ten percent off, plus free shipping, on selected online generator buys. For instance, the Pramac S7500 (pictured) is marked down from $1,633 to $1,469.
It’s not a “buy one, get one free” deal by any stretch — but if you’re in the market anyway, this makes it a bunch less painful on the wallet and gets you a little breathing room to buy gear to go with it. Just remember: online only.
Generator Selection [Home Depot]
As if you weren’t already getting great bang-for-your-buck from your Ryobi tools — now they’re offering reconditioned tools through their official web distributor, at about 30% off retail prices. I’ve purchased a few items from them, and they were all in like-new condition. The only thing distinguishing these from brand-new is the “RECON” branding somewhere on the tool. They even carry a one year warranty.
If you have the One+ system, you can pick up some very nice additions for cheap, like the 18V angle grinder for $28 — nice!
Reconditioned Ryobi Tools [Gardner Inc.]
I’m looking to replace our old Grill Master with something a little better. It’s lasted 10 years, with a burner replacement about three years ago. But since the burner replacement, it’s never heated evenly — burning one side of a steak while the other’s barely warm. I’d like to spend my money on a grill that’s going to last and can heat evenly.
I’ve been looking around, and most of the grills tout stainless steel construction, but they’re 430 stainless steel — a lower grade of stainless steel that’s ferrous and rusts easily. I could see spots where the Home Depot employees had tried to scrub out the rust. I’ve determined that the larger grills in the $300 to $400 range are garbage, and I don’t want to pay $800 for a grill with real 304 stainless steel.
So I’m looking at a nice portable grill like the Weber Spirit E-210. Weber’s been around awhile, and parts are easy to find — unlike my Grill Master. Two stainless steel propane burners heat porcelain-enameled “Flavorizer” bars and 350 sq. in. cooking grates. The grates aren’t cast iron, but it can be retrofitted. It does have cheap stainless steel doors, but they really aren’t critical to the function of the grill, like the top or tables.
I’d like to tap into the vast pool of Toolmongers’ knowledge: Does anybody own a similar Weber model or have any suggestions for a quality portable grill? Let us know in the comments.
Spirit E-210 [Weber]
Review [about.com]
A friend of mine had a leaky upstairs toilet, and he didn’t find the problem until it had caused $40,000 in damage to his home. The water destroyed flooring, sheet-rock, and some framing. Zircon’s Leak Alert electronic water detector could’ve saved my friend some grief — you simply place it near sinks, toilets, sump pumps, fish tanks, water heaters, or any other appliances that use water, and the Leak Alert does the rest.
When I’m doing heavy grinding, I hate having to stop and change over to a flap wheel for the finishing work, so this is the perfect deal for me. Home Depot’s offering a two-pack of Makita 4-1/2″ grinders for $80. Most comparable grinders cost $80 for just one, so when I spotted this combo package while wandering through Home Depot’s tool corral, I couldn’t pass it up. But it’s in-store only, so keep your eye out!
Makita Grinder (In-Store Only) [Home Depot]
If picking the right push mower isn’t something you like to step into cold, the Home Depot website provides a sweet comparison tool — with voice-overs, tons of pictures, and more than a few models from five of the major manufacturers to choose from.
We can’t imagine anyone would ever pick a mower based solely on an online sales “showroom”, but with this super useful tool you can skim the best features of the popular models on the market, without having to leave the house — and we’re all about that.
Push Mower Selector [Home Depot]
www.flickr.com
|
