Using my cell phone to Google is one of my favorite cool tools. When I'm on the road or out of my house, and want to find the phone number to a restaurant, movie times, or the Oakland A's score I use my cell phone to ask Google (# is 46645). I even used it in a class to find the capital of Bhutan (Thimphu) and win a prize. My cell phone company charges me to send and receive text messages, but this is WELL worth the 20 cents to me. It answers back quickly (sometimes almost immediately after you send it, but usually within a minute or two), and accurately. You can convert currency, get directions, translate words, get weather forecasts, get word definitions. Without having to talk to anyone. A lost or confused introvert's best friend.

If you've got a bunch of 4x4 posts to install on a deck or fence or whatever, this tool is *sooooo* useful. It is a simple thing that wraps around two sides of a 4x4 so that you can level two planes at once. Big ol' rubber bands attach it to the side and wrap around it four inches or so, and it has three levels built into it so you can level in two directions at the same time. Guys I know who do this for a living carry at least a pair of these, if not several pairs. You just leave one strapped onto the far pole, or each post/corner of a deck, to make sure it remains unchanged while you jiggle the near one. I use one if I'm building shelves in a vertical position, or for anything that requires leveling on two planes at once. It's in that "why didn't I think of that?" category.

Sooner or later, most people need to move something too heavy to lift or too awkward to handle. This little book presents the basic physics, tactics, and best moves. Lift that piano without fear of hernia. Get your truck out of the ditch without calling for help. Stand that 500 lb. 55-gallon drum up on end with a flick of the wrist. Here are the tools, knots, and safety precautions you'll need. The formulas and tables for calculating the capacities of ropes, chains and cables are here, too, all described in the proper lingo (e.g. "swigging" and "parbuckling " - very useful moves) and illustrated with the author's classy drawings. Long out of print, and really missed, this classic book is now available again.

-- J. Baldwin

Moving Heavy Things
Jan Adkins
2004, 48 pages
$11
Available from Amazon

Sample excerpts:

Precept Two: The Geezer Ploy
When the old fellows didn't have diesel cranes to pull their fat out of the fire, they were obliged to be fiendishly clever. Ask yourself how they would have set up for your problem in 1900, in 1800, 1700, and so forth.

*

Precept Five: Applied Sloth
As stated in the stagehand's axiom: "Never lift what you can drag, never drag what you can roll, never roll what you can leave." Creativity germinates in indolence, and the cleverest people are often the laziest: they are always looking for an easier way. The easiest way is often the simplest, most direct, and the best way.

*

*

I live in Phoenix, Arizona which has a vast network of grossly under-utilized bicycle trails and paths. My daily work commute is 50 miles, which, by car, is environmentally obscene (and not at all uncommon) and further costs about $7/day just in fuel alone.

I tried bicycling the old fashioned way for a couple weeks, but 25 miles urban each way in a Phoenix summer is suicide no matter how good your physical condition. I began looking for an assist-motor for my bike. Most "whizzer" type bicycle engines are a hassle. Electrics don't have the range for a 50 mile daily commute. Two-stroke motors are a pain and become expensive due to the necessity of pre-mixing oil and fuel. Friction-drive bicycle motors wear out tires rapidly and behave badly on rough surfaces & water.

I eventually found a 4-stroke motor and belt drive kit from Golden Eagle Bike Engines that weighs very little, operates quietly, and gets me to work and back for about 45 cents a day in fuel. This engine comes as a 25cc Subaru-Robin 4-stroke kit for $549 including shipping. It was delivered 4 days after I ordered, and it took me just under 1/2 hour to install on my $200 department store mountain bike.

This is the smallest and lowest powered kit Golden Eagle sells, and requires me to pedal a little when accelerating from a stop or climbing steep hills. Doing this is very natural and it feels just like riding a bike the old fashioned way. Top speed with 26x1.95 dirt tires is about 25mph on flat pavement, or 23mph on flat dirt. Wind, inclines, sand, and other factors significantly impact the top speed, but it will even typically maintain 18mph under most typical adverse conditions. I know from prior experience with the same bicycle that I can sprint it up to 24mph without the engine, so having the engine on is equivalent to being able to sprint all the time. Up very steep inclines I pedal with the engine at partial throttle and maintain 12mph where previously I would go 3 or 4mph without the engine. I have ridden in moderate rain with no ill effect other than getting myself very wet. The drive is unaffected.

Getting to work across Phoenix now takes me about 10 minutes longer than it typically took me by car (yes, traffic is THAT bad) but the ride is far less frustrating or stressful because I'm not stuck behind someone, I'm hauling ass. There are some fun shortcuts and interesting parts of the city to see, as well. One tank of ordinary pump gas gets me 22 to 25 miles, urban riding. The tank on this model is just about 11 ounces, so that equates to somewhere approaching 250 miles per gallon!

About the engine: it has an automatic centrifugal clutch that just kinda applies power all the time (when you are pushing the throttle) so you otherwise ride the bike like normal. But it's more like as if you're always riding downhill -- so you don't need the lower gears. My mountain bike has relatively low top gears and with this motor I leave it in the topmost gear almost 100% of the time -- and just pedal 4 to 6 strokes when accelerating from a stop while applying moderate throttle. I also give the pedals a few kicks when re-gaining speed after slowing down. The motor drive is fully independent of the pedal-chain drive. There is only one "gear" for the motor, it does not have any type of transmission or torque converter, just an automatic clutch. When you let off the throttle, the motor disengages and keeps idling but does not apply force to the bike until you press the throttle again.

The first time I ever started it, it started first pull. Since then, in normal operation it starts first-pull almost all the time and never more than third pull. I routinely shut it off when riding across areas where motors are not legal, and then just reach back and give it a yank while riding to get powered again, without slowing down.

It has a muffler, albeit a small one. It makes about as much noise as a modern low-noise weed wacker. In other words, it's not silent by any means but makes much less noise than an average dirt bike or go-ped. However it is not quite as quiet as a proper scooter like a Honda Helix, and there is an unfortunate rasp to it. I ride it through my urban neighborhood at 6AM and feel confident I am not waking people from their slumber any more than a typical car might.

The drive belt makes very little noise, just a very quiet "whirr" that you can't hear over the engine. When pedaling without engine power, you hear the "whirr" a little. If you take the time to disconnect the belt entirely (takes seconds) it has no effect at all on standard pedaling and makes no sound at all.

I feel this model is superior to other bicycle engines because: the belt drive is quieter and significantly lighter than gear or chain type drives; the name-brand engine, Subaru-Robin, which is well respected in professional applications like compressors, yard tools, etc, is presumably superior to other, questionable brands; the belt drive does not wear tires or slip around or beat up the engine bearings like friction-drive kits do; the 4-stroke engine allows you to fill up anywhere on regular gas.

-- Apanthropy

Golden Eagle Bike Engine
25cc Mini-4
$614
(w/shipping & handling)
Available from Golden Eagle Bike Engine

There I was, in driving rain, cooking breakfast under a tree over an intense, portable fire. Fresh coffee and scrambled eggs.

It was a Sierra Stove I got for $52. It's a mini-forge, forcing air into a small insulated chamber where a double handful of twigs (or dung or whatever) can heat water in a couple minutes---just a little longer than a butane stove, but with NO fuel or fuel containers to carry. One enthusiast hiked from Mexico to Canada cooking with one, claims Chip in *The Compleat Walker IV.* Chip himself now claims to camp largely solar--with backback solar charged batteries running his flashlights and his Sierra Stove.

The basic unit I got weighs 18 ounces and is clever and well-evolved. Accessory goodies can be found at the manufacturer's site. The newest item is a titanium version that weighs only 10 ounces, for $130.

I was impressed at how little fuel was needed, and how funky it could be. A switch offers high or low speed on the fan, driven by one AA battery. No igniter--my Bic failed me in the rain, but a Lifeboat match and lil' firestarter saved the day. Unlike butane, the Sierra Stove does blacken your pots and pans, which is the main nuisance--they go in ziploc bags anyway though. All in all an impressive little rig.

We'll all want one when the economy collapses completely and we have to live homeless.

Serious chefs know that a hot bed of charcoal or wood coals is the best way to grill meat. Unfortunately the 30-40 minute wait (and air pollution) for the fire to be ready are a major drawback to using a traditional fire, but most propane grills are too feeble to be a useful alternative.

Enter the ceramic infra-red burner by the Thermal Engineering Corporation (TEC) of Columbia, South Carolina. Ceramic plates perforated with thousands of burner ports heat up to 1700 degrees and throw off as much heat as any bed of coals. From a standing start, it's ready to cook in 5 minutes, and will put a deliciously crispy seared crust on whatever you're grilling. It's highly fuel efficient, too, since radiant heat transfer is roughly proportional to the fourth power of the burner temperature. Don't be fooled by the modest BTU ratings, those are a measure of the fuel input, not the heat output.

One improvement can be made: replace the factory grid (stainless steel channels) with the Char-Broil cast iron replacement grid sold at Home Depot.

Yes, these are expensive, but I have seen similar prices for grills that are really nothing special... all show and no go. TEC has a press release that says Char-Broil will be using TEC's technology in 2007, so the entry price may come down soon.

I've been using the Patio II model for 5 years and am very happy with it.

This is the best tool for drawing lines, guiding saws, and basically all carpentry that requires a 90 degree angle. One edge is set perpendicular to the rest of it so you can quickly push it up against a straight side and have a 45 degree angle and a 90 degree angle to mark or saw with, etc. Hard to explain, but once you have one, you won't know how you lived without it.

-- Peter Lawrence

A good metal square is an essential tool for home building, especially framing. It helps you figure out rafter cuts quickly and easily, and it also has a ruler for quick measurements.

There are a number of different models of square out there, but Swanson's Speed^® Square is the best. Why? Well, sturdy aluminum alloy construction makes it nigh indestructible, and the recessed tick marks and numbers are colored in black so there's good contrast for legibility.

The metal construction also makes it super-handy for making square cuts on lumber. Just snug it up and use it as a guide for your circular saw. Plus, all this utility fits in the pocket of work pants without any trouble.

I found these guys a about three years ago while researching small watercraft for fishing lakes/ponds in my area. I was originally looking at flat-bottom boats onto which I would mount a trolling motor, but I read an article about these canoes that described how the owner was trying to build a better fishing canoe that was more stable/comfortable/fishable than a traditional canoe. The result is a pretty tricked-out little watercraft, and at just under 13 feet it's small enough (and light enough) to transport easily on my car-top. They come in various configurations, and are extremely stable; I've even fly-fished standing up in the center of mine.

I went the canoe route as I wanted something that was small (and most importantly thin) so I can get in-and-out of hard-to-navigate places. In the areas where I fish, there are lots of off-shoots and channels through marshes where anything wider than a canoe wouldn't allow you access. And a skiff (in my opinion) is really a lot of wasted space (deeper and wider) that I'd simply being throwing all of my gear into. I also wanted a craft that would take a small trolling motor and be navigable with such under-power (anything larger can be a bear to manage nimbly) and a skiff (or similarly-sized craft) really demands an outboard.

So, while the cost was obviously high for a canoe, this little bugger fit all of my needs -- small, nimble, well-laid-out, and most importantly created with fishing as the primary design principle.

Of all the options available, my personal favorites are the integrated drink-holders, the swivel seats with umbrella mounts, and the fact that all of the wiring for the trolling motor is run through the gunwale with hook-ups along the way. My wife loves this thing as well, which is a bonus as it wasn't cheap. I ended up getting the complete package and the only thing I've found a little less than useful is the solar panel battery charger because it doesn't really provide that much juice. Many of the options they use are available through Cabela's or other outfitters, but I like how they incorporated everything into a single package.

Long ago a contractor friend of mine turned me onto a simple fixture for a powerdrill. It's an inexpensive gizmo that allows anyone to drive long screws in straight and fast. That's a huge plus now that sheetrock screws have replaced nails for most homestead projects. The guide fits into any chuck. You slip the screw head-first into the extended tube. A magnet at the bottom holds it. You place the loaded guide with the tip of the screw poking out over the place where you want to screw and the tube collapses as the screw goes in. The result: no muss, no-hands, quick, straight-in screw first time. Kids and newbies really love it. I keep one permanently affixed to my drivers. I use it for short as well as long screws. In fact I had forgotten how dependent I had become on the guide until I misplaced one recently and had to work without it. Now I have multiple backups. I don't think the brand matters; I use a $5 one. Make your life easier: keep one on your driver.

-- KK

Dewalt Compact Magnetic Guide
$6
Available from Amazon

During an emergency, instilling order, confidence, and calm is the major assignment of the first aider. Over the years of running a large household I've found that keeping medical supplies together in one handy place helps me provide that stability in those early moments of panic. My highly-evolved first aid kit has become extremely refined, but also slightly less portable. I could no longer get all that I needed quickly out to the yard, or in the car, or packed into a backpack.

After some experimentation, I found what works best is a pre-packaged medical kit. They appear to be expensive, but are really not when you tally up the costs of the components -- most of which have a pretty long shelf life.
The kits from Adventure Medical Kits are highly praised in search and rescue fields. Expeditions carry larger versions. The case is hardy, lightweight and quick to navigate through. An amazing amount of stuff is squirreled away inside, all easy to reach.

The kit I prefer, the AMK Fundamentals, contains a full spectrum of basic first aids, burn materials, CPR mouth barrier, scissors, tweezers, syringe, plenty variety of bandages, a SAMS splint (which I wish I had earlier when my wife broke her wrist), a decent small emergency medical book (Wilderness and Travel Medicine), and extra containers for personalized pill transport. With this kit you'd be prepared to handle most injuries a non-doctor could manage. It is rated for 1-8 people and is one of the more complete versions available.

AMK offers all manner of kits customized to particular outdoor sports like kayaking or biking. This one is perfect for a family on the go. I'll pack it along when we go on vacation. (I also carry one of AMK's ultralight kits in my briefcase bag.)

A carry-around tool that can pass through airports security (without me even taking it off) is the Tool Belt. It is designed for snowboarders but is useful all the time. The buckle can be disassembled easily (without removing the belt) and gives you a phillips, a flat head and 8, 10, and 11mm hex wrenches (which turn out to have handy standard equivalents). It's also a good tough and comfy belt which I have been wearing and using since 1999.

-- Alexander Rose

Tool Belt
$32
Available from Daddies Board Shop

Manufactured by 686 Enterprises

Flying with a guitar that you care about can be a nerve-racking experience. Normal guitar cases don't offer enough protection and the professional's standard Calton cases are $600+ and heavy enough to make your arms lengthen.

Here's a case designed for flying that is light, well designed and pretty much indestructible. It costs around $160-$200 and you can put your instrument in it by itself, in a soft and light gig bag or in your normal hard shell case. I like to put the guitar in a gig bag to use for light weight protection when I get to my destination.

The case also comes with well designed wheels that you attach with velcro and are stored in the case when not in use.

-- David M. Siegler

CaseXtreme Clam
$235
(shipping not included)
Available from CaseXtreme

If weather is your religion, this book is good news. It's the best cloud identification guide I've seen. It's excellence comes in part because great photos of each cloud species have been selected from the world-wide fan club for clouds called the Cloud Appreciation Society. (They also have a great online gallery of unusual cloud photos.) Additional goodness stems from the enthusiastic, clear and lyrical descriptions of the author, who is Chief Cloud Appreciator. Better than anyone else, he's made the reasons behind cloud differences clear to me. I've become more of a cloud connoisseur, able to read the weather a bit better. Finally much of the charm of this book comes from its handsome presentation; the welcoming design is a throwback to an earlier era of bookmaking with clear tables and clear figures.

In short, this is the clearest guide to clouds I've encountered.

-- KK

The Cloudspotter's Guide
Gavin Pretor-Pinney
2006, 320 pages
$5
Available from Amazon

Cloud Appreciation Society

Sample excerpts:

We pledge to fight 'blue-sky thinking' wherever we find it. Life would be dull if we had to look up at cloudless monotony day after day. We seek to remind people that clouds are expressions of the atmosphere's moods, and can be read like those of a person's countenance.

*

This rare Cirrus formation is known as a Kelvin-Helmholtz wave cloud and can form in the region between shearing winds, moving in different directions.

*

The mamma cloud formations, sometimes known as 'mammatus', are named after the Latin for 'breasts'. As described earlier, these can appear on the underside of a number of different cloud types - Cirrus, Cirrocumulus, Altocumulus, Altostratus, Stratocumulus, and Cumulonimbus - and at their most dramatic look like a field of smooth, globular udders.

They are at their most impressive when wed to a mighty Cumulonimbus. Forming on the underside of its incus, mamma appear when the top of the anvil cools, by radiating heat up into the atmosphere, and parts of it sink into the air below. When this air is relatively warm and humid, some of its water vapour condenses into cloud droplets as it mixes with the cold air. The process is like the reverse of convection currents forming into Cumulus clouds: rather than air warming at the ground level and rising to forum clouds, here air is cooling at the top of the troposphere and sinking to form them.

Mamma tend to be far less dramatic on the other cloud types. On the whole they are only plump, full and abundant when there is a mighty thunderstorm in the vicinity. The more powerful the Cumulonimbus, the more buxom the mamma.

This site was recommended to me a few years ago by a friend of mine who works for a large architectural firm that builds all its computers in-house from parts bought from this site. Since then, I've built half-a-dozen computers and have bought parts for several others from them, without any problems. They are almost always cheaper than anyone else, with the exception of extraordinarily large or small items which run more expensive due to shipping costs.

A couple years ago, a motherboard I got from them quit working. I used their on-line return form, and within an hour I received an email stating that they no longer carried the same part, and offered to replace it with a later model motherboard from the same manufacturer, or pay me back the purchase price. I chose the former, and had my replacement within the week.

One of the unique features of this site is the review system: unlike most .com stores, a large percentage of the products sold have multiple reviews by customers, and if an item is consistently rated poorly, it is removed from sale.

The site's organization also stands out: items can be separated by features, brand, and price in any combination, using either the "power search," enabling a wide variety of options at once, or by "drilling down" through several searches, isolating items by category.

By the way, NewEgg sells lots of tech gear, not just computers. For instance, as I write, the Lumix TZ1 featured in Cool Tools is available from Newegg for $45 less than the price quoted by Amazon.

Mechanics here in Boston call this a "jump kit." It's a briefcase-sized, 20lb, 12V battery with built-in 12v/120v charger, and with built-in jumper cables attached. The Jump-N-Carry is a much easier way to jump a car; no jockeying the live car to kiss bumpers, no stretching jumper cables between cars. I tend to keep mine in my car, so it's quick & easy to help anyone who needs a jump. A cute trick for a dead alternator is to hook up the jump kit, lay it inside the engine well, close the hood as well as you can, and drive to the shop. One of my mechanics has a J&C with a case that melted from doing this trick, but it still works fine.

This model can be charged from your car's cigarette lighter, but I just plug mine into a wall outlet with any extension cord that's handy. It holds its charge for months without recharging. I've had one, trouble-free, for a year and a half.

-- Don Davis

Jump-N-Carry
$107
Available from National Tool Warehouse

I was shown this knot earlier this summer as a way to secure my boot laces, which were constantly coming untied. My boss, who taught me it, called it the "super knot." How to make it: (if you tie your shoes with one loop then wrap another loop around it) - pass the loop through a second time. (bunny ears method) - pass one ear though a second time.

I've tested this knot for 8 weeks of hiking around in the forests of New Hampshire and it has never come untied. I noticed that Ian's Shoelace Site has some other recommendations for knots, but I cannot vouch for their security. I know that the Surgeon's Shoelace Knot works for me.

-- Sam Johnson

See Ian's Shoelace Site for pictures and a clear explanation.

Who knew that Google needed a manual? Google's simple interface covers an immensely sophisticated tool that does all kinds of tricks, many of which have little to do with searching and much to do with harnessing the collective power of the web. As a non-programmer I probably won't use many of those hacks. But simply by enhancing my ability to google, this guide -- now in a meaty third edition -- is worth the price. It's the Missing Manual to Google.

Invisible to most drivers, there is a 26,000-mile network of long-distance bicycle trails criss-crossing the US. These mapped and designated routes offer travelers researched paths with plenty of information on nearest bike shops, profiles of difficulty, and indicated sleeping possibilities. It all started with Bikecentennial's 1976 TransAm route, the first to cross the continental US, connecting Oregon and Virginia. Thousands still use this route, now overseen by the non-profit Adventure Cycling.

I once rode a bike across America using my own route (more adventure) but I have followed long sections of other Adventure Cycling routes. Their materials are well-worth the price; you will however have lots of companions -- which many enjoy.

Adventure Cycling puts out a pretty good magazine for bicycle long-distance touring (a place to solicit travel companions), runs bike tours, has a decent catalog of touring paraphernalia, and continually pioneers new routes. The newest: the world's longest mountain bike trail, runs 2,500 miles along the Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico. For that kind of amazingly rugged off-the-road trip (which only a few have completed in full), their maps (waterproof) and guides are essential.

-- KK

Adventure Cycling Association
800-721-8719

Adventure Cyclist Magazine
9 issues
included in $30 membership to Adventure Cycling Association

Cyclosource
Maps, Books, and Gear for the Adventure Cyclist
$2 catalog

I have been building small portable solar systems for camping and power outages using 12 volts. You can run regular 110-volt devices by sending the 12 volts through an inverter, or more efficiently, there are some really great 12-volt products out there. Unfortunately, most of the 12-volt devices you can buy come with a cigarette lighter plug. These plugs are often of poor quality, and are much too bulky, especially when you want to hook up multiple things to a power source.

I went searching for a better connecting system, and it turns out the ham radio crowd found a great solution years ago. They are called Anderson Powerpoles, and are perhaps the perfect 12-volt connector. Some of the advantages:

* Flat wiping contact system (cleans the contacts every time you use them)
* Interchangeable genderless design
* Colored, modular housings
* Polarized, so you can't hook things up wrong way
* 15/30/45 amp contacts use the same housing

I chopped off every cigarette lighter plug I have, and now put these on everything. Of course I still keep one lighter plug around (with a powerpole on the other end) for when I need juice from a car.

PowerGrips give most of the benefits of toeclips or clipless/cleat systems on bicycle pedals, without most of the downsides. The concept is simple: an asymmetrical strap of cloth that attaches securely to most bicycle platform pedals. The strap is attached in such a way that it loosens when you rotate your heel away from the bike, and tightens when you "heel-in". This gives you similar benefits of a clipless/cleat system; greater efficiency in pedalling, because you can pull on the pedals' upstrokes, rather than just being able to push down. They are just as easy (if not easier) to disengage from. The PowerGrips also have a couple of other benefits which fit well with all but the higher-end performance cyclists:

* Can be used with regular shoes or sandals. Almost no lock-in to a particular type of clip/cleat system.
* (Relatively) cheap, at only $20-$25.
* You can get off the bike and walk around without looking like you're doing some sort of odd balancing act, or scratching up whatever floor you're walking on.

Because the PowerGrip strap is directly above the pedal, gravity does tend to flip it upside-down when not in use. Just as with toe-clips I can pedal on the upside-down pedal to get started, then flip it over with my foot when I'm moving and insert my foot into the strap. Since my riding is commuting to/from work, I have a fair amount of stop-go traffic at intersections, and feel less likely to get a foot stuck and fall over sideways when I have to stop. The PowerGrip strap is totally loose enough for me to quickly get my foot out at a stop, and it has the unusual benefit of being as tight as I want it to be (without using my hands), depending on how I adjust the strap, and how far I heel-in to the pedal. So the "float" can be adjusted on the fly, according to my current riding conditions. This takes a little getting used to, but in my opinion, involves a lower learning curve than clipless pedals.

My wife and I are renovating the bathroom on the second floor. We needed a way to get debris out of the house and into the dumpster parked on the street. Since we preferred to not carry buckets of plaster through our house, we needed an alternative. I found a link online and thought I would give Demo Bags a try. We sealed ourselves into the bathroom, filled the bags, and duct taped them shut. Then we threw them out the second floor window and dragged them to the dumpster. Not one of the 40 that we filled broke open. For a small remodel these are ideal! Our only mistake was to make them too heavy. Do yourself a favor: buy a lot of 'em, and make them light!

-- Matthew L. Cartwright

Demo Bags
$20 for 20
Available from Accent Shopping

Or 4 packs of 20 for $92 from Ace Hardware

Manufactured by DemoBags

Come-alongs are a must-have for country living. They're most often used to tug vehicles out of ditches and unsuccessful stream fordings, and to tighten fencing. I've also used mine for erecting and tightening large tents and canopies, pulling objects into and onto trucks, hoisting 350 lb carcasses for butchering, encouraging crunched automobile bodies back into proper shape, pulling stumps, straightening sagging barns back to verticality, moving large logs, turning trailers to face another direction, erecting pre-assembled 2x4 wall sections built on the floor, cinching loads onto flatbed trucks, dragging heavy boats up the ramp onto the dock or onto their trailers, erecting wind generators, extracting and installing engines in vehicles and boats. In other words, moving just about anything up to 2 tons. Come-alongs should not be used to move people, since a well-used cable can snap.

The Maasdam Pow'r Pull is the best (though not the cheapest) come-along you can buy. It is built better than knock-off copies -- especially the $19.95 ones -- in every way. There's an accessory wire gripper that enables the Maasdam (or any other pull tool) to tighten fences, clotheslines etc. I've beat the hell out of my 1969-model, and it has never failed. It will pull 2 tons. You can buy very expensive aluminum giant come-alongs from several firms, but the fine print with them sez that they are also 2-ton, so I don't see much point in them except they are beautiful and classy-looking. Any tool that carries a high loading should be of the very best quality, as failure can be deadly or at the least scary. The Maasdam is good stuff.

Hints for working with a come-along: Many folks loop a come-along's cable hook around an object and then hook it back onto the cable like a noose. This is very unsafe, as the hook will either cut or seriously damage the cable. Users should invest in a couple of suitable "Shackles" (any hardware or boat store) for such duty, and never hook anything directly to a come-along's cable. Hint for come-along use where there are no trees or objects to anchor it to: Bury your spare tire a couple feet down and hook to that. Come-alongs also need some sort of anchor for the mechanism. I keep a length of 3/8ths chain for that purpose.

Looking for an effective weight loss motivator? Check out this all-too-realistic anatomically correct replica of one pound of human fat, complete with blood supply. Keep it on your dinner table and watch everybody lose their appetite. For even stronger motivation, you can buy the five-pounds-of-human-fat version.

I have a number of jobs to do on the roof of my house. In my younger years I had no trouble working high, and even spent time caving and some rock climbing. However when I hit sixty my comfort level working high vanished, and now I am quite insecure over a few feet above ground. Roofing was not one of my many earlier stints, so I really do not know where to begin in setting up a securing system for working safely at height. Surely there must be some easy-to-use "cool tool" for people working high. If anyone can help me with a recommendation on this, I would appreciate it.

-- Mike Saunders

This is a non-conductive (plastic), non-contact voltage sensor that glows red and/or beeps in the vicinity of an energized conductor. In other words, it lights up near a "live" wire. You don't actually have to make contact to see if the line is hot. It lights up even if there is no load on the line, since it senses the electric field, not the magnetic field. It's much easier to use than a contact indicator light or meter. It works for AC line voltages. Also it only lights up when near the "hot" line, not the ground or neutral, so you can immediately see if an outlet is wired backwards. Works great for finding the dead Christmas light bulb on a series string of lights too (not as easy though when you have two or more strands braided together.) I always rub it against my shirt first to see if it is working. Static discharge sets it off. A number of vendors besides Fluke make this type of device, but Fluke is a high quality name brand.

-- Bruce Bowen

Fluke Voltalert
90VAC to 600 VAC
$23
Available from Amazon

Manufactured by Fluke

In case you haven't noticed, sand castles have become very elaborate and sand sculpture a new art form. Building them is a complicated business. We've used the simple methods here to build sandcastles we can be proud of without too much equipment. In our experience the most important part is finding a beach with suitable building sand. For the rest, follow this book and/or DVD.

-- KK

Most beach trips I would sit and read while my wife played around in the sand building castles. This year, I found a great resource that had me building sand castles and sculptures that stopped every passerby on the beach.

The Sons of the Beach Sandcastles Made Simple book showed me how to build high-reaching towers and arches by hand, without any buckets or forms. Their tool set was perfect for giving professional looking details. Their optional DVD makes it even easier to learn their technique.

The first week I had their book, I built a 48" tall light house, several castles (one with a monorail train), and a snowman (they teach you how to make snowballs out of sand). Many people asked me how many years I'd been doing sand sculpture!

The book and DVD teach "hand stacking." This is a process of scooping a big handfuls of completely saturated wet sand and plopping them on top of each other. By jiggling the sand just as the excess water is running out, it fuses the new plop with the previous ones creating a stable tower.

Tools for advanced sand castling

These folks also discuss and sell large forms (5, 3, 2 foot diameter) which can be used for large competition sculpture, but that was more than I wanted to carry down to the beach.

-- Chris Evans

Sandcastles Made Simple
Lucinda Wierenga
2005, 128 pages
$12
Available from Amazon

Author website

Do plants have ideas? Yes.

I use this monthly to troll for the best in the art and science of gardening. Each month editors Greg and Pat Williams extract the meatiest, handiest, most practical innovations in vegetable, fruit and flower horticulture. They tirelessly glean material from obscure ag-extension bulletins, garden club newsletters, seed catalogs and dusty journals, reading it all so you don't have to, and translating it into clear English so you can use it. They run no pictures, no ads; only concepts, tools, and techniques. It's sort of like a Cook's Illustrated for your garden -- the advice is based on scientific testing, and the tools born out of genuine need.

The format is intelligent too. These days the newsletter (which has been in print for 20 years) can be emailed as PDF files. Because HortIdeas reports "news that stays new", I recommend the nifty CD of the last 7 years of their back issues. In all its forms this humble yet intelligent newsletter is an amazing service which should appeal to anyone with a love of perfecting what is possible.

Long ago, I saw a tree guy toss a small Stihl chainsaw 25 feet to the ground. His partner picked it up, refueled it, and started it on the first pull. While I certainly don't plan to abuse any of my tools to that degree, the incident stuck in my memory.

I've used three or four other brands of chainsaws but when a 50-foot-tall, 34-inch-diameter walnut tree fell on my barn, I decided I needed a better chainsaw than I could get at Sears. A brand new Stihl model 280 with a 20-inch bar cost $420 USD at my local store and I don't regret one penny. I've run my 280 continuously (well, with stops for refueling and lemonade) for eight or nine hours without problem. I pinched the blade at one point (user error) hard enough that I had to use a come-along and bow-saw to get it free, but afterwards it still worked fine! The balance is excellent, the weight is manageable (the less expensive model 290 "Farm Boss" is heavier) and there is noticeably less kickback than any other chainsaw I've ever used. All Stihl saws have a "recommended" or "stock" bar length but are capable of running shorter or longer. I wanted the lightest saw that could actually cut through a 36" diameter tree... so I got the lighter 280 with an extra-long 20" bar which fits perfectly and runs fine; it's chewed through 34" of black walnut, 24" of maple, and 10" of oak so far without complaint.

I'm less than happy about owning anything with a 2-stroke motor -- after all, I've been using an electric lawnmower for decades and driving a Prius since 2001 -- but Stihl has even addressed that concern. Their motors use a 50:1 gas/oil mix rather than the 40:1 ratio of cheaper saws, and they sell a (relatively) environmentally friendly bar oil. They also claim to use 50% less bar oil than other brands, and unlike every other saw I've ever used my Stihl 280 never leaks oil on the ground or into the carrying case.

Real pros -- men who use chainsaws eight to ten hours a day for a living -- will want to spend around $900 USD for the model 361, with weight somewhere between the 280 and 290 and *significantly* more horsepower. For the rest of us, a model 280 or 290 is a big, burly tool that will be more than sufficient.

When asked why the word's best selling chainsaw (it's pronounced STEEL, like the metal) is not carried by Walmart or Home Depot, Stihl representatives will proudly state "because we don't have to!" To find the Stihl distributor nearest you, use their web site's store locator.

These straps are incredibly strong. The tensile strength of these 1.5 inchers is 2000 pounds. With their cam locks these NRS straps are easily and infinitely adjustable and can be cinched down very tight. They have almost no flex/stretch and can be used in situations where a bungee would be too weak or stretchy and would not be "bomb-proof" like a cam strap.

If you are a river runner you are already familiar with these straps. They hold your boat, frame and oars on your truck for the drive to the put-in. You then use them to hold the frame to the boat, your bags, spare oar and rocket boxes to the frame. The originals are 1" wide and come in sizes from 1 foot up to 20 feet. As a commercial boatman I used these for everything from bundling firewood collected for that nights campfire to pulling a truck out of a ditch.

NRS has come out with a 1.5" model that is the perfect width. I have even been using one for several months as a belt. In a pinch it can be used (at the risk of my shorts heading south) to strap/bind/tow just about anything. I keep two of the twenty footers in my truck at all times. These straps are a permanent part of my kit, right next to the duct tape, bailing wire and channel locks.

-- Topher Stephenson

NRS 1.5" HD Straps
$7+
Available from NRS