I love scissors. I use them in my kitchen, in the laundry room, at my desk, and throughout my apartment. Yet, I rarely have a pair with me while on the go. Or, at least I rarely had a pair with me until I found the KUM Pencut.

Traditional scissors are potentially hazardous items to throw in a bag (which is why I never used to carry a pair with me). They rarely come with a sheath, and without protection the likelihood of dulling the blades, or accidentally tearing a hole in your bag (or hand) is significant.

The KUM Pencut is an ingeniously designed pair of scissors that masquerades as a pen. When folded the blades are kept hidden beneath a sturdily affixed pen cap. The pen-like form gives the impression that there is nowhere for your fingers to go, but pull the plastic sliders down and two pieces of nylon fold out creating comfortable finger holds.

Outside of being cleverly designed, the scissors are very sharp, while also having full tang blades (which gives the scissors a surprising sturdiness). With the cap on, it's very easy to mistake the scissors for just another pen that I've slipped into a pen-holder in my bag; it also means that it stays in place, and is there when I need it.

The biggest downside to these scissors is the price, but given they're sturdy build and how many conversations they've started I'm confident it's worth it.

I have been a carpenter for thirty years or so. I started out as a framer on single family homes, where I used the flat carpenter's pencil. Its sturdy lead stood up to marking rough lumber but was a little tricky to sharpen. You want a flat chisel point not a conical point. This is accomplished quickly and easily with an inexpensive Keson pencil sharpener.

My framing days are long gone, thankfully. I have worked in many aspects of the field, from general carpentry to boatbuilding to cabinetmaking and am currently installing interior doors and high-end trim. Through it all I have held on to that flat pencil. It never ceased to amaze me how many employers (and I've been through a few) have told me to lose the flat pencil and get with the program and use a round pencil. To my mind, the only thing a round pencil is good for is taking a lunch order or making out the bill. The point breaks easily when marking wood and is difficult to sharpen unless you have an electric sharpener under your chopbox, which many guys do.

I always used to buy epoxy locally in disposable dispensers that are supposed to dispense equal ratios of the components. The dispensers never work that well: one side always starts to move first and then to get a reasonably equal mix I have to mix up a lot more than I need.

The 3M duo-pack adhesives are sold separately from the dispenser. Because the dispenser is not disposable, it can be a decently built tool, like a caulk gun for epoxy.

The way it works is that you slip on the adhesive cartridge. The applicator has a plunger that pushes up the adhesive cartridge. Think caulk gun. The epoxy comes in double tubes like a doubled tube of caulk. When an adhesive has a different mixing ratio the tubes in the cartridge have different diameters. And there is a different plunger that fits in the tube. The supported mixing ratios are 1:1, 1:2 and 1:10 because those are the ratios of adhesives available. When you buy the system you get the first two plungers, but the 1:10 plunger is sold separately as it is used only for DP-8005 and DP-8010, I think. Just like a caulk gun you can, but you need not remove the adhesive cartridge between uses. The gun stays clean. There is no need to clean it. (Unlike a caulk gun, the adhesive doesn't leak out the back and get on the gun.)

In fact, if you're not so worried about waste there's even a further convenience: static mixing nozzles. These nozzles attach to the end of the epoxy tube and do all the mixing for you so that it really works like a caulk gun: what comes out is ready to use, completely mixed epoxy.

But even if you don't use the somewhat wasteful mixing nozzles you can still use the gun to extrude the correct ratio mix of 3M adhesive products and then hand mix. I have been able to mix up just the amount of epoxy I need when with the old system I would have mixed ten times what I needed. (No exaggeration here.)

I first got this system because I was trying to glue zinc-plated magnets to polyethylene. I tried regular epoxy. It doesn't stick well to either one of these materials. There are two adhesives that I think are of particular note in the 3M lineup.

The DP-190 (which I have only used a tiny bit) is supposed to stick to everything except the "low surface energy" plastics. I saw that it is recommended for use with the zinc-plated rare earth magnets (by the magnet sellers). The DP-8005 is designed to stick to low surface energy plastics. I got it for my application.

I also got a small mat made out of teflon because nothing is supposed to stick to that. This was great for repairs using epoxy. I repaired something and laid it on the teflon and it peeled right off after it was cured.

According to 3M, epoxy shelf life is less than a couple years, so you don't want to buy a lifetime supply at any given time. The shelf life of DP-8005 is only 6 months. The shelf life of the previously reviewed Scotch-Weld Two Part Urethane is 1 year.

Long live kits! Here is a fantastic collection of 175 of the best kits available today. Each one selected, tested, and reviewed by the folks at Make magazine. Each kit is rated on five criteria.

Kits offer many of the benefits (fun, thriftiness, satisfaction, personalization) of making something yourself while removing many of the hurdles. A kit relieves you of sourcing all the parts (only a mildly creative task), insures compatibility of ingredients, and increases the likelihood you'll finish it and that the project will work. These are no small advantages, and worth the small extra expense of a kit -- which may still be less than buying a similar product. This kind of directed assistance is perfect for kids, giving them confidence they can eventually build things without kits.

Kits are also perfect and cheap way for adults to try out new areas of interest. In recent years I've completed a number of kits to get a feel for a brand new craft. My greatest achievement was in making a dulcimer from a kit.  I've also made some things from kits that did not work as advertised, which is why the recommendations from Make are worth getting.

Kits have been around a long time but are undergoing a renaissance due to innovations in fabrication which permit small economical runs for niche products. There's an intoxicating variety to choose from. About half of the kits reviewed in Make's Guide involve electronics, but the other half are refreshingly diverse. There's a kit to make a working replica of the original Apple I computer, or to make airplanes (both model and actual), an egg decorating machine, RC vehicles of all sorts, real boats, complex scientific tools, cool toys and rockets, food and wine-making, and various musical instruments.

Of course, kits make great gifts, too. I recommend this Guide as a first step, or even as a gift itself.

Eight months ago I started searching for a small quality table saw for my personal shop. Spoiled by being raised around an Altendorf sliding table saw, I dreaded having to compromise with an undersized contractors saw. I started researching for the best solution. I had seen the SawStop on CoolTools and welcomed the advance in safety. I had also used the previously reviewed Festool tracksaw and admired it’s small storage size and dust collection. However, a commenter on CoolTools led me to EurekaZone and the EZ-One Power Bench. After using EZ tools for 8 months I don't know how I ever lived without. They’re brilliant.

The EZ-One Power Bench makes repeatable, straight, clean cuts better and more safely than a table saw. For most woodworkers, including myself, it can inexpensively replace a table saw, panel saw, miter saw, joiner, and router table.

This system has so many advantages over the traditional power tools I grew up with: the ability to get clean cuts with cheap blades, excellent dust collection, increased safety from accidents, pinching, and kickback, and all using any circular saw or router. The system requires far less space and can be adapted to work in more ways than I can imagine.

The EurakaZone (EZ) system is remarkably affordable. One can get started with a basic track for around $150 and use any circular saw you have around to make clean straight cuts. One isn’t penalized for starting with a smaller system. EZ sells parts individually for everything they make. You can build up as needed - everything works together - and there’s plenty of help and DIY ideas on the forums to make your own customizations.

Another advantage is the small, New Jersey based company. Far from a slick faceless corporation, it’s an idiosyncratic organization and personally I find their independence and owner/inventor Dino Makropolis to be very endearing. The entire operation from r&d to production is based in one location. There are no dealers or advertising, everything is basically word-of-mouth. The videos posted online have zero edits in order to prove that there are “no tricks” to the tools. Makropolos is a gifted inventor, committed to making an outstanding tool in order to share the love woodworking. (He once suggested turning the company into a non-profit) He is active in the forums uses feedback from customers to implement improvements and upgrades.

In my own experience with the EurekaZone tools, it’s hard to find words. I love these things. I sincerely believe it’s an extraordinary leap forward for woodworking. It’s like an alien from The Planet of Common Sense came and showed us all what power woodworking tools should be. And the logic truly is alien at first. It was difficult to get my head around after being raised with traditional tools. (The Core77 video helped immensely, but I am still learning).

In fact, the one downside to the EurekaZone system is the time and attention it takes to learn the new paradigm; wood is always safely clamped in place, expensive blades aren't needed for clean cuts, crosscut before ripping, and more. So far I feel challenged by the tool and smarter for using it. Whenever I think I found a limitation, I discover a smarter way.

If you relish using a great jig, or programmed a computer to find a better, more efficient way of working, then you’ll love the EurekaZone system.

The iconic battery-powered Panasonic KP-4A, my previous favorite pencil sharpener, is no longer sold in the US. As it happens, I had been growing increasingly disenchanted by the noise and poor job the device sometimes provides. So I started researching to see what was out there in the manual small sharpener space. After ordering about six different models, I settled on the KUM Long Point Pencil Sharpener.

It's different than other sharpeners in two respects. First, it has two holes: #1, labeled as such, trims the wooden barrel, and #2 hones the point. It also has an automatic brake built-in so you don't waste time and lead after you've achieved a perfect point. Besides being silent and great fun to use, it produces a fantastically good point. There's also a nice clear lift-up lid to easily empty shavings.

I'm not the first to recommend this, as it turns out Clive Thompson fell in love with the tool long before I made the discovery, calling it "the best pencil sharpener I've ever used in my life". Mark Frauenfelder featured Thompson's love-in on Boing Boing earlier this year, with not one but two videos in which the sharpener struts its stuff.

Crimping tubes from the beading craft can be used for small repairs, construction projects, and some remarkable tension-oriented models. Beadalon’s crimp tubes are used to secure the ends of lines and to make loops of line. 500 of their #3 crimp tubes are available for about a two cents apiece. Small crimping pliers reliably pinch those little tubes. These crimpers put a notch along the center of the tube and then squeeze the two separate channels shut for a secure and permanent connection.

Beaders typically use these tools with thread or metal wire for their bead artwork; I prefer monofilament fishing line. Monofilament line has superior tensile strength; the line will stretch a bit under stress but will rapidly return to its original length. Fishing gear manufacturer Jinkai makes a variety of strengths of fishing line; their 50 lb. test line works perfectly with the Beadalon #3 crimp tubes. Jinkai also makes their own line of crimp sleeves (in 12 different sizes) for fishing tackle. While Jinkai’s sleeves are a bit more expensive, they are very strong: the largest sleeves paired with their strongest monofilament line has a rated strength of 920 lb. test.

Crimped monofilament line has all sorts of mundane use around the house. Packages can be sealed. Odd-shaped parts can be held together during construction/repair — or held together permanently. I recently fixed a portable fan by securing the halves of the protective screen together with a small loop in about a minute. If the excess line is trimmed with a pair of flush cutters, this kind of repair is elegant and professional.

The most interesting use I’ve found for the monofilament line loops is for high-tension tensegrity models. Many have created tensegrity icosahedron models (also called six-strut models) with rubber bands. The Skwish toy, an infant tensegrity-based toy, uses stretchy fabric lines.

Tensegrity is one of nature’s cool tools: structures can have rigidity when needed and fluidity the rest of the time. Floating compression is used for all scales of biological structure from the the cell’s nucleus to our musculoskeletal network. Biomimetic researchers are creating tensegrity-based robots. Swiss graduate student Sinan Korkmaz has created a tensegrity bridge which can sense its load and alter the tensions (thus the behavior) of the structure on the fly.

Kenneth Snelson invented tensegrity models over 60 years ago; Fuller’s Synergetics was published in the mid-1970s. Nature uses tensegrity everywhere, but the structural dynamics remain elusive to most of us. That will continue until many people get hands-on exposure to these remarkable models — especially the high-tension ones. I have outlined project plans for DIYing low-cost high-tension tensegrity models similar to Hamilton’s (more detailed notes here).

A paint brush spinner is used to clean paint brushes or roller covers. With water-based paints or varnish you simply insert the brush handle into the tongs or grippers, or slide the roller cover over the outside of the tongs. Then while running the brush or roller cover under water from the utility sink (or garden hose and garbage can) you get it spinning.

The brush spinner has a spiral shaft that when pushed into the body rapidly spins the brush or roller cover. The whole process is similar to a child's spinning toy, with the end result being that dirty water and paint is flung off. A similar process can be used with oil-based products.

The only downside is that the spinner spiral shaft eventually gets rusty and needs lubrication. In the past I've used DL Waterless Hand Cleaner to remove any rust that builds up.

This blog focuses on photography rather than just cameras. To paraphrase Lance Armstrong, it's not about the camera. It's about the eyes, about seeing, about technical compentance, about tricks, techniques, creativity, and what you do with all the images you make or take. It's about having fun with photography, as well as making money with it. There's also a lot about the rights of photographers and the complex issues of copyright and "borrowing" from other photographers. There's plenty about low tech pinhole cameras, and point and shoots, and phone camera photography. And yes, there's bits about the newest cameras, but that part is not overwhelming. I've been reading it daily (about 3 or 4 short posts per day) for the past 18 months and it is continually helpful. The site is brisk, surprising, informative, current, and is not trying to sell gear. It's one of the better blogs for enthusiasts of any stripe that I've seen. Almost anyone taking pictures will find it useful.

This two-sided page contains the wisdom of an entire book on how to write better. Nay, it distills an entire shelf of the world's greatest writing manuals (and I have them all). After 30 years as both a writer and editor I can't think of much I would add to these 50 short tips. This PDF is now my favorite guide to writing well. You can print it out for free. If you want its pithy reminders fleshed out with more examples, see the book form, or the website. But the free tip sheet itself -- one paper printed both sides -- rewards a quick review anytime you get down to serious writing.

Oh my goodness! Do my eyes deceive me, or have bobby pins not yet been recognized for their incredible utility?

Apart from the obvious use of keeping your hair up or out of your eyes (which they're really good at), some of the helpful uses I've found include:

As an emergency stylus, either as is or straightened out. As a pointy thing to push a recessed button, such as a hard reset button. As a lockpicking tool. (I've only picked things like bedroom door locks, but I have read--no doubt in scholarly journals--that they can also be used for more serious lockpicking tasks too.) As a paperclip, bookmark, or other weak clip to hold something like a bag closed. As a replacement for a broken zipper pull. To fashion a very crude hook or pokey stick thing for any number of purposes, from getting something out of a drain to deflating a ball.

A bobby pin is just a small metal stick with two rubber ends, which can easily be removed with your teeth if you need a metal end or a finer point, which makes it unusually versatile. The best part is that they're dirt cheap and super portable. You can just carry them around in your hair!

I learned about this spray paint a while ago from an old gent that restores appliances. The paint is a super-hard washable epoxy coating for appliances that have scuffed or discolored surfaces. The spray paint goes on very smoothly; I've used 4 cans worth, and have not had any drips or runs. I used it first on an old refrigerator, the front of a gas stove and the vent above.

Heat doesn't seem to bother it, or at least it hasn't bubbled. The paint dries in about 2 hours to a touchable surface, but it is best to let it sit for a few hours, and it really looks good. Price at Home Depot was $6.00 a can, same as any other Rustoleum product. It comes in several colors and can also be purchased, apparently, in gallon cans. For the price it is hard to beat, and for this application I haven't seen any comparable product that works as well. It is a very easy and practical way to refurbish old appliances. My wife even likes it.

For someone looking for a high quality soldering station at a reasonable price the Hakko 936 is hard to beat. I've had mine for a few years and use it mostly for electronics and instrument cable work. I think I paid around $80 new for it, and the price included a separate cast metal pencil rest with an integral sponge tip wiping pad.

The power supply is a transformer type, controlled by a rheostat mounted on the front panel graduated in both Celsius and Fahrenheit. The only other control is the on-off switch mounted on the right side. There is a red LED pilot lamp on the front which illuminates only when regulated power is actually being applied to the pencil. The pencil's cable plugs in to a 5-conductor receptacle and locks in via a threaded collar. The extra wires going to the tip are for a thermocouple near the tip for precise and stable temperature regulation.

The pencil itself is very lightweight and is attached to a lightweight, flexible silicone rubber-insulated cable.

The tip heats up very rapidly upon turning the unit on and setting the temperature on the dial. The user is informed when the desired temp has been reached when the LED goes out. During a soldering session, the LED will be observed turning on and off as the selected temperature is being accurately maintained.

There is nothing fancy about it such as a digital temp readout; just a solid, no nonsense, precise and stable soldering tool. Before acquiring this unit, I thought of soldering as something of a chore. With the Hakko I can do precise, quality soldering with minimal effort. The manufacturer has recently discontinued the 936 but they still seem to be widely available on eBay.

I am a fine woodworker and in 2004 I bought a several-thousand-dollar table saw. In 2005, I bought this Festool plunge cut circular saw that runs along a rail instead of being stationary like a table saw. While the Festool doesn't replace my table saw, if I were a home hobbyist or a contractor considering a table saw I think the Festool would be a cheaper and far better substitute.

Though it is on rails, it is fearsomely and effortlessly accurate. I can always get within 1/32" of where I want to be, and the cut is always square. Really square. It fits in a small box and weighs just a few pounds which makes it easy to transport to and from job sites. It has great electronics, and a riving knife. It is way safer than a table saw, especially for less experienced users. It really shines in cutting down sheet goods. Dead accurate, no tearout. If you want to rip cut lots of lumber it's not the right tool. But every once in a while it can pull that off, too.

This Festool saw is part of a larger system that includes a dust catchment system, expandable rails, and other accessories. As such, it can get expensive, but you only have to buy what you need. I don't always think much of Festool stuff- it is generally way overpriced for what it does. This tool, though, for 5 or 600 bucks can easily replace a table saw of twice the cost. Other circular-saw-on-a-guide-rail setups are not in the same class. The Festool is about the details. If I were contemplating a really low-end contractors table saw, the Festool would still be my choice.

After trying to bring a desk down the stairs single-handedly and knocking a three-inch hole in the drywall, I needed an easy solution. Surveying the many options at the hardware store led me to choose Duck Umbrella Patch for about $7.00.

The device goes through the hole like a folded umbrella; once inside, it is opened and a center ratchet is levered against the far wallboard, thus creating a tight fit into which drywall compound can be placed and allowed to dry before final finishing. Very elegant yet simple solution!

This is one of those impulse buys that makes up for all the crappy ones. I was midway through a floor tiling project using 16"x16" tiles. When I stopped at Home Depot to pick up some supplies, I came across these little plastic tile spacers. Their purpose is to make all your tile edges line up with no "lippage," a task that gets harder the bigger the tiles get. I was skeptical, but picked them up, figuring I would end up taking advantage of HD's generous return policy.

I was pleasantly surprised! They easily cut my tile laying time in half, and produced a much more professional look. They also act as 1/16" spacers - a common size for larger tile - saving you a small purchase. If you want wider space between your tiles, you can use up to 1/4" spacers in addition to the LASH spacers.

I have used this circular saw guide for years and it has saved so much time. At about $15 it is a no-brainer. If you build decks or do a lot of cross-cuts you will love this simple tool.

Basically the first time you use the tool you cut through the guide itself with your saw snug against the left fence. You have just customized the guide to show you exactly where that saw blade will cut - because you just cut through it at that point! Genius!

Just make your measurement and then place the Pro-Cut on your mark ensuring perfect right angle cuts every time. Easier to use than describe!

These Gingher scissors are simply stellar. They are strong, durable and well-made. They have extremely sharp points which can make smaller, more precise cuts than any other scissors I have ever owned. As such, I have had numerous Gingher sewing scissors over the years.

I have also discovered that Gingher offers repair and reconditioning for all of their products. Simply ship any Gingher item to them and they will sharpen, repair and recondition it for $7.50. What a deal! I sent in a few pairs of scissors that I have used for years, including one which had mistakenly been used to cut wire (ugh!). A couple of weeks later they came back working as if they were new. Such a service for such a price is something truly rare these days.

I discovered Bench Cookies at the Rockler woodworking store more than a year ago. Billed as "work grippers," they have smooth plastic sides and textured rubber surfaces on top and bottom. You just place them under objects you're sanding, sawing or painting to hold the object in place. There's no clamping or screwing involved. They're amazing. Wood chips and dust have no effect - they do exactly what they're supposed to. So instead of rummaging for scraps of wood or an old book or two to prop up a project, I reach for bench cookies.

I took them to the print shop where I do intaglio printing. Inking and wiping a large copper or zinc plate on a glass table used to be a nightmare - bench cookies make it a breeze. They hold the plate in place and I can pick it up and turn it as I work, and since it's off the table I can wipe the edges, too. I don't think Rockler had any idea how useful they'd be in an art studio.

Their great function and inexpensive price make them a perfect present for anyone that does any kind of project. Turns out Rockler's even made some nice black ones now for uses outside the workshop, like holding up your turntable, keeping it stable and providing vibration reduction.

I have used this wood filler for about a year year and I make a point of having it with me in my tool bag at all times as I am a renovation contractor.

What I like about it is that it doesn't shrink. It comes in white and is easily tintable with anything (including oil or latex). If it dries out, you just put some warm water in it and it comes right back. You can dilute it down to a light paste for filling minute flaws in painted surfaces. You can thin it even further and use it as a grain filler or a spot primer. It dries quick. And it is eminently sandable and workable.

It comes in several different wood-toned colors, too. Overall, this is definitely a superior filler that has an unlimited shelf life.

The Dowelmax is a tool that allows you to make incredibly strong wood joints quickly and accurately. I've been using the Dowelmax for about 3 years now and find new ways of using it most times it comes out of the case.

The joy of this tool is its simplicity. It is fabricated with such accuracy that it allows even beginners to create the strongest of joints in furniture making. Doweling is far superior to biscuit joining allowing almost total dry-fitting of a project before gluing, greater accuracy of surface matching, and a joint that is stronger than even a mortise and tenon in a fraction of the time. As the vast majority of connections a woodworker makes are invisible, this tool saves an immense amount of time over traditional joinery techniques and results in a joint as strong or stronger than any of them.

The tool is adjustable to suit any thickness of wood and, using the included spacers and register pins, one can dowel any length of board with pin point accuracy. The tool can be taken apart and re-assembled in different geometries for various kinds of joints and you can also, as I often do, build your own jigs to use the Dowelmax in ways that probably were not intended.

This is a tool you'll quickly learn to love. I make my living as a woodworker and I don't own another tool that gives me greater satisfaction to use. At about $300 for the kit one might think its only for the professional however I've had friends using it after only a ten minute lesson who were putting together joints as well as they can be made! Check out the website which shows quite clearly what it can do.

The Knipex Pliers Wrench is best described in the US as a smooth-faced channel lock plier/wrench. Or, as a pliers-handled crescent wrench. I have a set of 3 different sizes and have used them for a year. They allow one to rapidly, safely and strongly grip nuts or bolt heads for tightening or loosening.

Rapidly: an adjustable crescent wrench is not rapid. One must adjust the opening to the nut or bolt head, and between tightening turns, in removing and replacing the wrench, inevitably the wrench loosens a bit and must be retightened. An open-ended or box wrench or socket is the best tool to use, but then one must keep in hand a range of sizes for each size of nut/head. In contrast the Knipex pliers wrench loosens and tightens like a pair of pliers or channel lock wrench.

Safely: an adjustable crescent wrench tends to loosen, rounding off the corners of the nut or bolt head. Pliers or vice-grips are worse, putting teeth-marks on the nut or head. In contrast the Knipex pliers wrench has flat, smooth, and parallel heads ensuring no rounding or gouging of the nut/head.

Strongly: the lever arm of the Knipex ensures a strong grip on the nut/head. I've used them to squeeze small solid aluminum rivets in building an experimental airplane.

To summarize, the Knipex pliers wrench combines the best features of other tools, enabling one to grip and turn nuts and bolts with a single tool, and apply considerable squeezing pressure on objects without gouging or tooth marks.

Sugru is a soft moldable material that reminds me of Fimo clay. But unlike Fimo, it does not have to be heated to cure. It air drys and is rubbery and sticks to anything. I used it to make a new button for my utility knife when the plastic one broke. I made bumpers for my cell phone. I put some on my tools so they would not roll off the table. I am still discovering ways to use the product.

-- Philip Lipton

This stuff comes in tiny pouches of different primary colors. You knead a bit with your hands until soft, then you apply it where you would like an additional grip, or stop, or section of repair. It's pretty sticky, can be worked like clay, but dries into a hard rubber. The photo shows a paring knife handle that was falling apart from years of dishwasher use. I coated the outside with Sugru and it now it feels great and is dishwasher proof. See Sugru's website for other ways it can be used.

-- KK

I was first introduced to the many uses of the margin trowel fifteen years ago on a heavy construction site. I left the job but have carried the tool on every job and project ever since. When I moved to a desk I threw the tool into my tool bucket and still use it for just about everything.

The trowel is a simple piece of flat, quality steel attached to a wood handle. You can use it to finish concrete, set mortar, sling stucco, lay tile, scrape, pry, chip, hack, or cut anything not tougher than high-carbon steel. It is especially effective for cleaning other tools, such as shovels, concrete trowels, bbq's, and garden implements. With only a modicum of care it will last for years. If you're foolish or careless enough to permanently bend it then shame on you, but you can get another one for about $10.

It is superior to others because it's cheap, reliable and robust. I prefer the feel of a wood handle to rubber, although the wood handle will chip if used as a hammer.

When I moved into my apartment I found it had a through-the-wall air conditioner sleeve. I ignored it and installed my window air conditioner. When that old AC died about 3 years ago, I was told by the co-op board that the rules had changed and I had to use the sleeve. I guess I should pay more attention to coop board announcements. My problem was that next to the sleeve was a 110V outlet but every AC that fit the sleeve required 220V.

After being quoted over $1000 to run 220V to the sleeve I was desperate to find another solution. Luckily, I found the Quick 220 Power Converter. All it took was the 110V outlet near the sleeve and an extension cord from another 110V outlet on a different circuit. Instantly, I had two 220V outlets. And at $160.00 I was very happy with the price. They also throw in an outlet tester because both 110V outlets must be wired correctly (not something you can assume in an old apartment) for the Quick 220 to work.

I have pushed literally thousands of linear feet of putty in the process of window glazing, and have been using this putty knife for the last twenty years (yes, the same one).

If you really want the professional edge when glazing an old wood window then you need this tool. The bent blade allows you to point the putty exactly where it needs to be. With very little practice the tip of the blade becomes an extension of your index finger or thumb for exact setting and cutting of glazing putty.

Simple, cheap, highly effective and very satisfying. Means it's a cool tool in my book!

These ingenious sewing needles can be threaded blindfolded. You pull the thread into a spiral from the side, and for the most part the thread will remain in the eye as you sew. That is not true for calyx eye needles (invented a hundred years ago) as a solution to the vexing problem of threading the eye. It's as easy for the thread to slip out of the open slot at the end of the calyx needle as it is to slip in, and this wavering can fray the thread. The spiral eye needle doesn't snag, but in my experience it will occasionally let the thread slip out. Expert sewers might find that annoying. It is dead simple to slip back on, and the thread is not frayed, so I can put up with that small inconvenience.

Spiral Eye needles are expensive: $5 each. However they should last a lifetime if you don't lose track of them (they look very similar to regular sewing needles). What I really want is a side-threading sewing-machine needle. Schmetz makes some in limited sizes, but of a less ingenious design.

Back before wire ties, cables were bundled with lacing cord -- a flat or round waxed nylon string (flat vs. round require different knots). To this day, lacing cord is used in certain situations where a more flexible bundle is needed, when wire ties are too bulky, or when you need to pull another cable alongside and the lumps of the wire tie would cause problems. Depending on the job, lacing cord comes in a variety of different coatings, materials, strengths and lengths.

Other advantages of lacing cord are that it's cheap; there isn't a specific size (cut to any length needed); and it's good strong cordage that can be used for other things. The main disadvantage is that it takes a bit of skill with knots. You have to be able to tie a clove hitch for the flat cord, or make a slip knot for the round '12 cord' and then finish with a half-hitch knot.

I've been using lacing cord for over 20 years. As for brands, one brand is pretty much the same as another.

The best resource for sewing and quilting needs is Clotilde.com. It's been around for ages and offers a complete selection of templates, needles, scissors, rotary cutters, patterns, fabrics and on and on. They have the largest array of seam rippers I've seen anywhere: lobster-clawed, flat-handled, round-handled, two-sided with an awl, lighted, retractable. They sell many unusual and specialized"feet" for sewing machines with adapters to ensure fit on your particular model.

The best online source for quilting fabric is eQuilter.com. It's a very personal, small company out of Boulder, Colorado with the largest online selection of fabrics in all genres: batiks, Asian, novelty prints, solids, tonals, etc. They have great prices and sales, rapid shipping, and excellent customer service. I usually try to patronize my local small quilting shop, but this is my go-to source for things I can't find locally.

The best resource for quilting kits is Keepsake Quilting.com. Why kits? It's easy to overbuy fabric for quilting projects and the fabric is expensive. Also, Keepsake puts together breathtaking combinations of colors and designs. My most recent purchase was #2990 which I had been lusting over for some time and it would have easily cost more buying the fabrics individually. If you want to use your own quilt pattern, try their medleys of fabrics like Nara Gardens #1646 or the Aquatica Medley #7582 or the Intergalactic Medley #7564.

A few years ago, on the advice of my roofer, I bought Maze stainless steel nails to hold the cedar shakes on my older home. I found the nails to be very well made and noted with approval that W. H. Maze Company has over a century and a half in the building products business. I recommended the brand to others and in the conversations that ensued, I found that they are best known for their cut nails for hardwood flooring and also for the hot-dipped galvanized nails that they pioneered.

Hot-dipped galvanized nails are steel nails that are dipped into molten zinc. The process creates an alloy on the outer layer of the nail that makes it incredibly resistant to corrosion. Another bonus is that all of the steel and zinc used in producing Maze Nails is sourced from recycled scrap metal that qualifies them as a LEED certified building material.

Like everyone else, I buy nails by the box, but use them one at a time. And a hammered nail is often a choice that you can't undo. It only takes a few poorly-made nails to make you question the economy of your purchase. Once you find a brand that seems right, you will seek it out.

Maze has a good website that tells the whole story of the three U.S. mills that make a broad range of standard and specialty nails. The website has helpful information on nail selection and use. I was pleased to find that there is a dealer locator widget so I can get my fastener fix locally.

Be it ever so humble, a nail is a cool tool if you have the right one for the job. Maze Nails probably makes that nail.

Twenty years ago, when I was first starting out as a metal sculptor, I was advised by my art teacher that if I made only one purchase I should get a Beverly Shear. It remains the best advice I've ever received.

Sounding like a 1940's B movie star, this wonderful tool has been the center of my studio ever since. It lets me cut metal and other materials into complex shapes without misshaping the metal and leaving a clean edge that needs only light finishing. I use it not only for my sculpture work, where I cut parts out of salvaged sheet metal without harming the patina, but also to cut plastic, rubber, old vinyl records, and even cutting corrugated roofing diagonally and along the ridge.

Though I have used the larger models that the company offers, I find that the B1 is the perfect size for almost any task, and does a great job of cutting out small and delicate parts. It is rated to cut 14 gauge steel (18 gauge stainless) and does so with minimal effort with its geared rack and pinion mechanism. There are imitations that go for less money, but I wouldn't trade my Beverly for anything.

I'm a long-time tool-renter. It's a great way to go for all kinds of needs. Years ago I had to cut a 4" iron (not steel) pipe deep in a hole in my backyard. (The pipe led to a septic system that was supposed to be 18" underground, but was actually 6 feet underground.) I needed a clean cut, and iron has a way of shattering if you hit it wrong. I tried a variety of methods, including an abrasive cutting wheel hooked up to a circular-saw-like motor. Nothing worked. Then the resident old-timer at my local tool rental place recommended a chain cutter, similar to this one, though much more well-used.

It consists of a flexible chain that you wrap around the pipe and lock in place. Inside each link of the chain is a small circular cutting blade. Once locked in place, you use the handles to ratchet the chain tighter and tighter around the pipe. The circular blades provide even pressure from all sides, and within a few ratchets you hear a satisfying snick sound and your pipe is cut clean and even. This was definitely a cool tool, one that made an otherwise impossible situation ridiculously easy.

I've always done my own painting. I've owned a number of boats and have restored an 80-year-old house. Through all that I used dozens of metal and plastic roller pans, the standard variety that are widely available for next to nothing. While they are ubiquitous and cheap, they don't keep the roller out of the paint; they don't have a place to keep a brush out of the way and out of the paint; and they're easily knocked off your ladder's paint shelf. This one by Bercom rules them all and is well worth the money.

It's listed as a ladder pail, but it's really best as a replacement for a standard paint tray. I can fill this bucket with paint, hook my roller on one side, a good brush on the other and proceed to neatly and easily paint both from the ground and from up on an extension- or step ladder.

I've used it for more than a year and have done a number of rooms with high ceilings in two different houses. The ability to suspend both the brush and the roller above the paint and use either without interference, easily, on a ladder make this bucket a joy to use. All the fittings are first rate. The shape is perfect. Even the little details shine, such as the molded-in channels to make pouring the paint from the bucket back into the can smoother.

And the magnet that holds the brush is removable for cleaning, which means I can easily get the bucket back to like-new condition. All in all, I highly recommended it. I won't paint on a ladder without it.

I’ve used the Kreg pocket hole jig to repair a broken chair, build shelving, and customize framing around a media box. I like it because it's simple to use, requires no glue and little woodworking experience, yet it results in a tight professional joint.

I also bought the right-angle clamp (basically a Vise grip with a pocket hole clamp end, model KHC-RAC), and it works very well. It helps keep boards straight and steady when making a 90-degree joint, and therefore made this unit superior to a more-portable plastic jig I had previously used. The best thing about the Kreg jig is it's simple, doesn't require a lot of space, and all you need is a drill to make it work.

SparkFun Electronics sells electronic components aimed at people creating DIY projects. The unique thing about SFE is that they don't just sell a component (such as an accelerometer), they read the data sheets for the component and figure out what other parts would be helpful to add on a board, making it vastly easier for mere mortals to incorporate into a project.

The electronics industry supplies components to manufacturers who build things in huge quantities. Increasingly, however, there are people interested in building things in very small quantities, where a low unit price is not as important as an understanding of how the component works. SFE caters very effectively to this latter audience, not just with their designs, but with tutorials, projects, and their customer forum. I've used SFE as a source for the Arduino, a very inexpensive microcontroller board available in a variety of sizes programmable with open-source tools. They also sell a variety of add-on components for this system. SFE is an example of an enthusiast source that not only serves a community, but enabled it to exist in the first place. They've done this in at least three ways: 1) connected with tool makers to provide a retail outlet for their work, 2) designed example projects and boards to make the use of raw electronic components more accessible to a larger audience, 3) provided a way for people building stuff to share their experiences.

My favorite avocation is carving, and I've built up a modest collection of tools to turn wood blocks into sculpture. The first tools I used when I started carving were standard ¾- and ½-inch Stanley bench chisels. I then added a set of seven carving tools from Power Grip: ⅛-inch #10 gouge, ¼-inch #8 gouge, ⅜" #5 gouge, ⅜" #3 gouge, 5/16" straight chisel, 5/16" skew chisel and 1/4" V-parting tool. These are smaller than the Stanley chisels, better suited for the small pieces that I carve. The gouges are very good at removing a large amount of wood quickly and are essential for carving out hollows. However, they don’t suffer abuse as well as the Stanley chisels. I also have a basic whittling knife that’s good for removing large amounts of wood and allows me to use a grip different from the one I use with the chisels. Switching between different grips helps me minimize the development of carpal tunnel syndrome.

The Carvin' Jack fills yet a different niche in my work. The first is the addition of some new tools to my collection. In total the Carvin' Jack includes six blades. Three of them, the gouge-scorp, the V-scorp and the hook knife are new to me and very useful. The gouge-scorp and the V-scorp both allow me to gouge or part using a whittling grip and motion. For some work this provides more control. The hook knife can be used to remove a lot of wood quickly or to carve wide shallow hollows.

The other three Carvin' Jack tools are a standard whittling knife, a straight gouge and a chisel. Of these I use the whittling knife most often.

One of my favorite attributes of the Carvin' Jack is that it's much more portable than my chisels and Power Grip tools, and therefore the perfect tool to carry on the road. Everything's in one place, and there are enough tools that I can do most of what I'd want. The Carvin' Jack is also surprisingly light. This was a little disappointing at first but I grew to appreciate this feature. The tool isn't an annoying weight in my pocket when I take it places. The tools on the Carvin' Jack sit between the Stanley and Power Grip tools in terms of robustness.

I'm not aware of another tool like the Carvin' Jack. I have other multitools, but nothing designed specifically for carving.

Using your index finger to press and steer a can of spray paint gets old very quickly. If your paint job lasts more than a few minutes, you really should use a snap-on pistol grip. It saves your knuckle, keeps paint off your trigger finger, and gives you an easy way to guide the spray. For years I've used an earlier model of this grip (called simply Can-Gun), but that one was only operated with a single finger trigger. This new version uses your whole palm. It's comfortable, quick-on and off, and the only way to spray. I had a 5-can job on a chain-link fence and the Can-Gun made it kind of fun. Even for small spray paint jobs, I slip one of these on.

For my work building models and automata, I own two Proxxon miniature power tools, and they are both amazing. Not amazing for their size; just plain amazing.

The Proxxon Miter Saw (table area 9" x 9"; weight 12 lb) has been a valuable addition to my tool collection, and it would also be ideal for anyone who has limited space in his/her work area. This miter saw is great for cutting 90-degree and 45-degree cuts in a variety of materials. There are detents every 15 degrees for cutting a range of angles. The saw has a really clever integrated clamp to hold the material and ensure that each cut stays on the mark. There's also a built-in stop that helps me when I want to cut a bunch of pieces to the same length. Nice.

Micro-Mark sells a lesser miter saw that is slightly cheaper ($140), but it only takes cut-off wheels, not blades, so its range of functionality isn't as broad as the Proxxon's. The Micro-Mark allows for angled cuts, but doesn't have the 15-degree latching detents of the Proxxon.

A full-size miter saw is a powerful machine. A small, loose cut-off piece can get swept up by the blade into the blade guard housing. I know; it happened to me. This can be both costly and dangerous. It's not an experience I ever want to repeat. The Proxxon is more appropriately scaled for cutting small pieces, so this is less likely to happen. Compared to free-hand cutting with a cut-off wheel mounted in a Dremel tool, the Proxxon is safer and produces cleaner, more accurate cuts.

These miniaturized tools are clearly not toys. The Mini Table Saw (overall size 11 13/16" x 10 5/16" x 6 43/64" w/o extension wing; weight 11.5 lb) can make a clean cut in 3/4" hardwood, and it's barely bigger than a toaster. Cutting small very parts on a full-size table saw requires that you spend a good deal of time constructing jigs and zero-clearance inserts in order to make the cuts safely. Unlike another miniature table saw I own, there a ton of useful accessories available for the Proxxon -- some that are simply not available for full-size machines. The Proxxon's variable-speed control also sets this saw apart from lesser miniature tables saws, allowing me to adjust the speed depending on the blade in use and the material being cut. This can make the difference between clean, smooth cuts and ruined materials.

The truly handy thing about owning the miter saw and the table saw is that they use the same blades, and a surprisingly wide variety at that. I can get blades for slitting, cutting wood and cutting metals, and they're all interchangeable between the two tools. Consider, for example, the diamond-coated blade, which allows me to cut things as hard as tile and stone. I've found the miter saw mounted with an abrasive blade for non-ferrous metals to be a great way to cut brass rod and bars to length.

If you ever had occasion to use expanding polyurethane foam to mount a window or the like, you may have thought like me "Great stuff, wonder what else I could use this for?"; But standard polyurethane foam cans are only good for a short while. Once used, the valve and application tube glues itself shut within a few hours, regardless of how much product was left in the can. Keeping a can around for those odd jobs and bright ideas is just not worth the waste.

Enter foam guns. The point of foam guns is right up front, so to speak. The exit valve is right up at the very tip of the rigid application tube. When you mount a can to the gun, the whole inside of the gun is pressurized with product just like the can. There is nowhere inside where the foam can expand or harden.

That's the theory, at least. In practice it still won't keep indefinitely. On first try mine hardened right trough in two weeks, and I had a nasty job cleaning it out mechanically. Subsequently, I have taken care to store it with the can upside down, and I tested it every few days for a while, and now it seems to keep fine for at least two weeks. Perhaps it just needed to self-seal.

I don't have a particular brand to recommend. I just got the cheapest all-metal model on eBay at the time, which I've seen since both branded and unbranded, and at wildly different prices. My experience seems to indicate, though, that staying away from the plastic models was a good idea, as I had to use considerable force to disassemble the gun for mechanical cleaning.

With these caveats, I'm still pretty happy about this discovery of mine. Only this week I used it to assemble a life-size doll my girlfriend made, and fix it to its plastic pipe skeleton. It really feels like I've got a whole new material in my kit.
Discovering what else it's good for is going to be fun.

Latex gloves and the better purple nitrile gloves can be irritating to the skin, reduce the ability to feel what you're doing and are easy to drag, pinch, and tear when working on mechanical things. If you've ever tried to wind a wing nut or fiddle with a fastener with those thin, sticky gloves you know what I mean. With Invisible Glove, I can work with my hands directly on the job in front of me.

A tube of Invisible Glove for less than ten bucks will last months. You put it on once and work all day -- just one more application after you wash your hands to have a meal. With latex gloves, you're going to go through several pairs in a day and end up spending more money.

I do a lot of different things, some of them greasy and grimy like working on an old engine or painting and yard work, and others like client meetings and dinners out where nasty hands with grease under the nails just don't fly.

Invisible Glove is a simple, cheap solution. It goes on like a hand lotion -- just a bit greasier. It only makes your hands slippery if you put too much on. It works exactly like it says, though. Oil, grease, dirt, paint, solvents, and pretty much anything else just washes right off when you're done. No more greasy black fingernails and paint-stained hands.

My work includes design and fabrication for an antenna measurement systems company. For years we had used a modular building product that was very expensive and not adequately flexible. It was also limiting in its lack of accessories. Worse still was its 6-8 week lead time for parts orders. I started looking and discovered 80/20, which not only eliminated all of the negative aspects of the old product, but even provided many new benefits. It isn't cheap, but it is a great value. We all know that for the most part, you really do get what you pay for. Cheap products usually aren't good, and good products usually aren't cheap.

Firstly, its modular design is fantastic. It allows prototyping of fixtures, stands, bases and many other items we need to build for in-house use or bring to market very quickly. The number of accessories available is mind boggling. They have wheels, handles, latches, panels, leveling feet, linear slides, hinges and many more components. You can build some pretty slick items and it all just bolts together with a few simple hand tools. The finished product looks very professional, as all of the individual components are designed to work together.

All components are pre-finished. Our in-house fabricated and/or machined assemblies require outside processing (anodizing, cadmium plating, painting or powder coating), which means additional time and cost. With the 80/20, all structural extrusions and components already come painted, powder coated or anodized -- simply assemble and ship.

While 80/20 certainly will find more applications in an industrial environment, where the cost is also offset by the utility, the possibilities for home use are limited only by your imagination. You could build things such as a work bench, bicycle storage system, cabinets, stands or many other home items that will likely last a lifetime.

As with anything, 80/20 has its limitations but they are far outweighed by its capabilities. I have discovered zero fault with this product. Many of our products require very large, product-specific and engineered weldments and machined assemblies. The 80/20 will never fulfill all of our needs, but for the smaller systems we frequently design and build this "Industrial Erector Set" is superb.

I live in a 112-year-old brick house. Brick lasts a long time. Mortar does not. Most of my house's tuck pointing is in great condition, but a few isolated spots are almost completely devoid of mortar. Small spots, but bothersome. And bound to become bigger spots if I don't take care of them soon. So today I decided to take care of them.

I assumed that I would mix mortar for the repairs, but the prospect of carrying a 60-pound bag of dry mix inspired a change of heart. Scrounging around Home Depot's cement aisle I stumbled upon Quikrete Mortar Repair. It's sold in tubes for use in a caulking gun, but it's not caulking. It's a sanded acrylic designed to do the job of mortar, without the mess of mixing and applying the real stuff by hand.

The square applicator tip is supposed to make finishing the surface easier, and in fact it worked well. Although a wet finger did an equally nice job. Water is key to patching mortar, and with this stuff a wet sponge was extra helpful not only for smoothing the mortar as it cured but for wiping excess off the face of the bricks.

The 10-ounce tube cost me about $4; still a premium over dry mix. (It's also available in a 5.5-ounce hand-squeezable size.) But for the handful of single-brick-sized repairs I needed to make, I was very thankful to avoid the setup and cleanup that mortar mix would have required. Not to mention the hassle of effectively getting the mortar from my unskilled hands into the open joints.

It is neither practical nor advisable to use Quikrete Mortar Repair to cover a large area of wall. The acrylic isn't designed for structural tuck pointing so much as it is intended to fill in the gaps and keep water out, which is crucial if you want your brick wall to last a long time.

I used to use dish soap to clean oil paint from my brushes and my hands, but it didn't do a great job. My brushes didn't get perfectly clean and didn't last long. My hands were raw because I had to use a wire scrub brush with the dish soap, removing not only the paint but the top layer of my skin, too. A friend told me about The Masters brush cleaner and hand soap, both of which work better than anything else I've seen.

This soap's not cheap. I paint a lot, and therefore go through tubs quickly. Still, the brush soap's a great product, and it has allowed me to continue to use the same $.99 brush for the past year, if not longer.

The pumice-like brush soap has a little grit to it, and I've found it leaves a bit of residue on the towel I use to dry my brush. I can wipe my hands on the towel afterward, and get them mostly clean. I keep The Masters hand soap bar around for the finishing touches.

I recommend the Lincoln for arc welding for one simple reason: It always works. I've used this welder for farm equipment repair and fabrication for more than 35 years with absolutely no problems. It's ideal for any light-duty work and just right for a weekend welder.

Its range is 40 to 225 amps, and for 85% of my work, I use it at 90 amps; there's plenty of range available. It's not cheap, but you'll likely end up disappointed in anything less. Wire feeds in this price range are almost useless. It does require 220 volt power, but welders that will operate on 110 power are generally a disappointment. You won't regret buying this one and your grandchildren won't wear it out.

The solar panels I installed on the roof of our off-grid desert home charge a bank of eight 6V deep-cycle golf cart batteries. They are hooked up in series/parallel, providing 12VDC power. Maintaining the batteries' electrolyte levels is the key to getting the most performance and life out of them (they last for about five years), and the Profill makes refilling them as quick and simple as possible. It used to be a messy and dangerous 30-minute job. Now it takes about five minutes, with no exposure to battery acid and zero mess.

The manifold and winged valves allow for fast, simple and tool-free installation. For filling, I use the Profill hand pump. When the battery chambers are full, the bulb
hardens and I know I'm done.

Another feature of the Profill I really like is, with a simple and very inexpensive manifold change, the system can be reconfigured for any batteries that have different cell spacing. Profills are such a great product, I have added two of them to our scissor lifts at work. This greatly reduces our maintenance costs, associated with these heavily used pieces of equipment. Tough to beat the five-year warranty, too.

Finally, good all-around caulk. Sikaflex-1a is a premium-grade, high-performance, moisture-cured, one-component, polyurethane-based, non-sag elastomeric sealant. It is simply the best there is for the money. I've used it for the past 10 years to seal windows, doors, siding and cracks in masonry. It is what silicone should be. It stays completely flexible and is paintable and easy to work with. It comes in many colors and is relatively cheap -- $4 to $8 a tube in good hardware and paint stores. The only disadvantage it has is that it can't be sanded.

Other caulk is either difficult to work with, sags or degrades over time. Silicone is especially frustrating. I've had to dig it out after a few years of exposure to the weather as it loses its adhesion and no longer provides waterproof protection. Goodbye silicone, hello Sikaflex.

It's stickier and firmer than Play-Doh and comes off easier than Poster Putty. A little pinch of museum wax on the back of a frame stabilizes it, and holds its position firmly against a wall. Level your artwork and it'll stay level. If you rotate works on display at home, pull the framed art off the wall, remove the wax, and then reuse it on the next piece you hang. It's handy for gently tethering display pieces to shelves, too.

I first found out about this stuff from friends who did art-handling work in museums, where it is, in fact, used. Outside of the galleries, it's also a prime tool in the museum's photo studio. While on staff photographing artwork from the permanent collection of a Southern California museum, I was taught to use museum wax for shooting still-life work: Museum wax is just right for table-top photography of smaller objects, particularly to hold the object being photographed to its out-of-view support. Small dabs of museum wax are easily positioned to remain unnoticeable, and wipe clean off ceramic and glass surfaces without the need for solvents. It's a key tool for food stylists, too.

A little of this stuff goes a long way. It is reusable, and doesn't seem to dry out or lose it's tackiness. I still have a clump I was given many years ago.

If you have a screw-back watch that won't open, get one of these plastic balls. They actually work, and they will not scratch the watch case.

I own the Pittsburgh watch case opener, and it will usually open watches. However, I have one favorite watch that defied the Pittsburgh tool. I read about the Watch Case Ball, and bought one online. Within five minutes of picking up the mail, the watch was open. (I had to inflate the ball; it's shipped flat.)

The ball is made of plastic. It's not actually sticky, but when you press it onto a watch back, it conforms to the surface and won't readily slip on it. Now I go to this tool first, because there's no chance of marring the watch case with it, and it works on all screw-back watches with no set-up at all.

This is my favorite source for hard to find tools. Garrett Wade has been around since 1975 as a mail order company selling fancy woodworking tools, but in recent years they offer a marvelous selection of hand and speciality tools of all types. They still have the best selection for wood planes and the classic woodworking stuff, but it's their stock of cool and unusual pliers and saws and drill bits and fantastically weird clamps that make it worth a visit. The modern version of the Yankee screwdriver is a Garrett Wade bestseller. In general their prices are on the high side compared to say discounters like Harbor Freight, but quality is usually up a notch as well (and their prices seem better on the web). They produce a paper catalog, which some folks like. Often a great idea begins with the possibilities suggested by the existence of a tool.

I know Cool Tools has featured ratcheting screwdrivers before -- that's where I got the idea to get one. I went out and bought the Sears version, since I couldn't justify the cost of the Snap-on, and right after picking up the Sears driver, I found this Klenk 4:1 Multi-ratio driver. It is a basic ratcheting screwdriver with two big advantages over the Sears model.

First, it has a black knob on the shaft that when held, allows the bit to turn four times for every one handle turn. It's phenomenally fast and rivals drill drivers on small to medium jobs, where you don't want to drag out the heavy equipment. It's best suited for long screws, where the 4:1 gearing can really speed them in or out. However, since it is essentially high gear, you can't put a lot of torque on it.

The second improvement is the bit storage and retrieval. The Sears version has these clips to stick the single-sided bits in. Getting them in or out isn't smooth. The Klenk has a system with a hole in the top and you sort of lift to disengage the lock and dial the hole to the bit you want, which you can see through the side of the handle. The bits are also double-ended. It holds 8 double-ended bits for a total of 16 heads.

One improvement I'd like to see on this tool is for the ratchet mechanism to be tighter, since in narrow spaces where you can't turn your hand much, the play in the ratchet can result in not getting much of a turn. Also, the 4:1 knob prevents it from reaching in narrow places to begin with. Overall, though, the 4:1 gearing is worth the $20 even if you already have a Snap-on or Sears model.

Working in industrial design, I constantly acquire small sets of parts to use for multiple clients and projects. I've tried using a variety of translucent plastic boxes to contain and organize these parts, but they've been flawed in a number of ways: the parts are difficult to pick out with your fingers; the small pieces migrate from compartment to compartment; and finally, the latches break.

I think Akro-Mils has solved all of these problems with their cases. The latches span the entire front side of the organizer, work well, and don't seem to break. The bottom of each compartment is curved on at least two sides to allow picking up those 0-80 screws, and the top has ridges that surround each divider to make it much less likely for the parts to jump out of their compartments. The two Akro-Mils organizers I have been using are the small (05-705) and the large (05-905). There's a medium available, too. I think I paid $4 and $7, respectively, which is about the same price as products with none of these features or durability.

I've encountered many precision screwdriver kits intended to help you get past the tiny screws that keep you out of the most interesting parts of electronic equipment. Most are poorly made. I have long used tools similar to the jeweler screwdrivers previously reviewed on Cool Tools. The metal grooves in the shaft wear on your fingertips after awhile, making longer projects a real pain. You also can't exert quite as much torque, since each tool is so spindly. They don't come close to the usefulness and execution of the Husky 8-in-1.

The Husky 8-in-1 uses removable, double-sided, magnetized bits, and stores them all inside the driver handle. The result is a versatile, compact, easy-to-carry tool. The best part is knowing that everything you need is contained in one small organizer.

The Husky's handle is made from rugged, squared-off plastic and is easy to grip without being clumsy or too large for practical use in narrow spaces. It also has the rotating top you'd expect for this kind of tool, allowing you to apply pressure on one axis while rotating the driver from another. Thoughtfully, the handle tapers to a long, narrow metal shaft for access to out-of-the-way screws. The most satisfying part is how cleanly the bits engage with the screws. They fit perfectly every single time.

Husky makes a Phillips/slotted version and a Torx version. Having both sets gives you 16 screwdrivers that can pry loose just about any tiny screw you might encounter in an electronic device. For the low price and lifetime warranty, they're tough to beat.

Before I decided to purchase this Pelican case, I did check out some other options. One that I considered was the Stanley FatMax 4-in-1 Mobile Work Station, but it isn't waterproof and doesn't seem as durable as the Pelican. While the Pelican tool chest is pricier than most of its competition, it has several features that have made it well worth the extra cost.

First off, it's virtually indestructible. No matter how rough I am with it or how often it gets banged up, it has not been damaged. The same is true, of course, for the tools tucked away safely inside. Secondly, I live in Southern Louisiana and our weather is often humid and wet; like all Pelican cases, this one's watertight and it ensures that my tools are kept safe from moisture and corrosion. The few times I've left the chest in the back of my truck in the rain everything inside the case stayed as dry as can be.

A variety of drawer configurations are available, including custom-made, and the drawers even extract for on-site mobility. This case isn't light -- about 40 pounds without tools -- however, the trolley handle and wheel system make it possible for me to move it around easily on my own.

Ive had the same one for almost ten years. Sometimes called the "two-bit snapper" it's a very simple and clever spring-based hammer that you use instead of the nail set-hammer combo normally used to pound in finishing nails. It's excellent when you need to put up molding in tight spots and corners. Its compact size means that it can always live on your tool belt. You just pull back one end and the spring does the hammering for you.

It seems to be a lot more accurate than a center punch-hammer combo, since one hand holds the tool and nail together, while the other pulls back to snap the spring; you get fewer errant holes around the nail you're trying to punch in. It's one of those tools that is so simple, I wonder why more people don't have one. I've only used it for finishing nails, but Spring Tools makes it in other variations, as well. This tool is just so elegant: simple, functional and as utilitarian as a bicycle.

I have the Stanley Panel Carry, previously reviewed on Cool Tools, but greatly prefer the Gorilla Gripper, which works with panel widths from 3/8 to 1 1/8 inch. It is about six times more expensive, but it works significantly better for moving large panels.

The Stanley tool goes under the bottom edge of the sheet. This can be awkward if it’s heavy material, such as plywood, and seems more likely to result in damaged corners. Using the Stanley holder, I had to bend my back at an awkward angle to pick up the sheet -- the length from the tray (where the bottom edge of the sheet rests) to the handle is too short. The Gorilla Gripper lifts from the top of the panel, so there’s less need to bend before lifting, and I can keep my back straight. Also, with the Gorilla Gripper it's easier to adjust your balance, since you don't have the friction of the material moving the tool from side to side.

A classic bone folder is made of real bone, not plastic or Teflon, and resembles a fat, blunt-edged tongue depressor, rounded at one end and pointed at the other. With it, I can turn a digital print, piece of cardstock or watercolor paper into a professional-looking note or greeting card.

Pulling the pointed end alongside a straight edge and across the paper produces a subtle score that facilitates a perfect fold. Next, I fold the card very gently by hand along the score, and then stroke one of the short, straight sides of the bone folder along the score to flatten the rounded fold to a sharp crease.

When sending a letter that I want to look good, I make two quick strokes of the folder along preliminary hand folds to create folded edges that are sharp and square. Bone folders also can be used to burnish paper as it is glued to cardstock, album or scrapbook pages. They produce accurate and sharp folds and creases on origami papers as well as facilitate sculpting, architectural modeling or bookbinding with paper.

I recommend rubbing your bone folder with olive oil from time to time to avoid flaking or brittleness. Folders made of real bone are best, unless you wish to use a Teflon folder to avoid the slight luster sometimes created by the friction of a real bone folder.

Ravelry has more than 360,000 members, and if you like to knit or crochet, it's an indispensable tool for networking. The site allows you to explore thousands of patterns, some free (download PDF's and try them yourself) and some for sale. The ability to see other people's versions of a pattern is amazing, especially seeing photos that show how the same pattern looks not only in different yarns but on a hundred different people.

The profile feature is helpful as well. I was in a yarn shop recently and wanted to purchase yarn but couldn't remember exactly how much I needed. I had posted the pattern details on my Ravelry profile, so the shop owner was able to look it up for me and retrieve the information I needed. I also use the favorites feature, to keep track of patterns I see that I like and might work on in the future.

A feature I haven't used yet is the Stash. Users catalog their spare yarn (always good to know what you have on hand), including extra yarn they're willing to trade or sell. So, if you start a project and need just one more skein of yarn of a certain dye lot, you may be able to find someone else who has it. Otherwise you're out of luck.

Of course, Ravelry also has groups for regional get-togethers, and forums to post questions and answers and share discoveries. It's a great site for connecting with others who share your passion.

I am an engineer, so I admire the way Ikea consistently uses a small set of fastening systems, all suitable for untrained labor. Ikea has even invented this tiny plastic device to protect customers from smashing their fingers with tack hammers.

A pinch of the clever friction-grips opens a small crevice in this utensil, and it neatly grips any small nail. Place it against a wall, tap the nailhead, and the nail goes in quite straight. Remove it and you are ready to safely hang a picture. The ergonomics are brilliant, the understanding of process is good, the operative results are excellent, and many innocent fingers go unsmashed. A real triumph of Swedish design!

Best of all, this plastic utensil is so cheap that it's as free as hotel matches. In fact, if you venture into Ikea and talk knowledgeably about Ikea things you have built, and then ask for them for fasteners, they will commonly hand them over for free. And they're good components, too: you can build whatever you want. Please don't wreck this good deal for the rest of us by abusing Ikea's patience.

A significant improvement to the original screw clamp, these ratcheting spring clamps feature quick releases similar to a vice grip. You can hold your project in place with one hand and attach the clamp with the other -- all with one squeeze of a trigger. Allows you to spend more time on your project and less time screwing around (...and around, and around).

We purchased two of the four-inch clamps at Lowe's about a year ago and use them a lot in our boat repairs. In the last month, they've come in handy on two projects: to hold an awkward[shaped piece of fiberglass in place while we trimmed it; and to clamp some teak to the workbench so that it could be sanded. We have also used them to attach a straightedge to 4x8 pieces of plywood to provide a cutting guide.

We don't normally take the clamps with us out to sea (or let any of our tools get wet for that matter) so they should hold up fine. The clamps are made out of heavy duty resin, so they should never rust; this also explains why they're so lightweight, especially compared to old-fashioned metal clamps.

Along with opening blister packages, removing product labels from items is an unavoidable annoyance of contemporary life. After years of scratching with my fingernails and scraping with a sharpened tongue depressor (works well, dulls easily), I've discovered the ultimate solution: ScrapeRite Plastic Razor Blades, double-edged plastic blades designed for light scraping, not cutting. The blades are available in three materials of varying hardness; my experience is with their General Purpose Blades, the softest of the three, which is said to have the consistency of a fingernail and are relatively safe to use on just about any surface, including the paint on your car.

Two years of experience validates these claims: I've used mine on everything from a stainless steel soup pot and wooden cutting board to countless items from Home Depot or Lowe's. I use mine a few times a month and I'm still on my first blade. The two blades of harder, more rigid compounds are supposed stand up to rougher use, such as paint removal on glass, but may scratch delicate surfaces. Their main advantage over razor blades appears to be safety. (note: I have no experience with these blades).

While the plastic razor blades will fit into most standard blade holders, for around-the-home use, I use the manufacturer's inexpensive and compact plastic holder, which I store under a rubber band stretched around a bottle of Goo Gone. Since I still use my standard metal holder with razor blades for glass, I see no reason to buy an extra standard holder for these blades.

The Blade Runner quickly and neatly cuts the front and back layers of paper on a sheet of drywall at the same time so you only have to make one pass.How it works: little rolling blades are integrated in the top and bottom halves of the tool, which are held together by strong magnets but can be separated by two hinged levers. The drywall goes between the two halves. When you push the tool across the drywall the levers retract; the top and bottom pieces remain aligned; the cutters score the paper. A little tug breaks the board. There's no awkward added step of snapping the paper on the front face and then holding things steady to go around to cut the paper on the back.

I'm by no means a fast drywaller to begin with, but the Blade Runner cuts straight easily and does so faster and neater than a utility knife, the tool I usually use. It also cuts clean curves and closed openings that a utility knife will not do. You could cut out a window in the middle of a sheet, for instance, and just pop it out because the drywall is scored exactly both front and back. (note: it would not cut an opening for a electrical outlet or switch too well due to its size but most people use a rotozip for that chore anyway.)

It's not cheap I realize (I used company funds to buy the tool). But here's my rationale: while I am primarily a finish carpenter and furniture builder I end up doing dry wall occasionally, as much as a dozen times a year, usually on small jobs or repairs. I have always found it awkward to cut the paper on the back of a board after bending it and I've never had a lot of luck just snapping it back to pop the paper on the back side. That only works if the dry wall is very dry and crisp.

This speeds the job up considerably; I can cut clean curves; and I can work the drywall standing on edge, for the most part. The tool also seems really rugged. I haven't used mine for very long, but it is certainly immune to being dropped repeatedly (I work alone and the 10' boards I've mostly used the tool on are awkward). The manufacturer says it will cut 3500 feet of drywall before needing new blades, which are easy to replace.

This is, in my experience, the only tool one needs to open a threaded watch caseback, which are found mostly on 'waterproof' or water-resistant wristwatches. It's definitely a two-handed operation, but can be done by hand, with no other tools. The wrench comes with several sets of different-shaped pins, which you arrange on the tool to match the precise notch pattern on the caseback. This wrench will work with casebacks that have notches in amounts divisible by 3 and divisible by 2, which makes the tool adjustable to just about any size caseback.

It's not apparent from the appearance, but the tool's large handle rotates to adjust the bottom pin, and the thumbwheel in the middle adjusts the two pins above. Takes a little getting used to, but it's a good, solid feel when the adjustments are correct. Slow, constant force works best; no need to quickly jerk anything.

This type of tool is available from other stores, but Harbor Freight offers the best value. I'd say mine paid for itself about fifteen times over during the first week I had it. Over the last few years I've had several batteries run down on watches I own, including a Fossil titanium watch and a no-name Army field watch. So far, I have only used the tool's round, pin-end pegs. I'm actually not sure what watches require the other types of pegs included, but it's nice to be prepared.

Be aware the possibility of marring the caseback exists, and therefore you should be moderately careful when using this tool. Marring hasn't been an issue with the watches I've fixed, but if the metal is soft (gold alloys, for example), or if you're not careful, this could easily happen. The pins on the wrench appear to be hardened steel and would very likely be much harder than the watch caseback.

I'd seen these scrapers for years and always figured them to be a gimmick, just a glorified putty knife. Then a friend helped me with a roofing project and brought one along. The more I used it, the more I came to see it as the single most handy, versatile and cheapest jobsite tool I've found. The basic functions: scraper, putty knife, chisel, pick, paint roll cleaner (squeegee).

I have probably a dozen of them floating around right now, always one or two on a jobsite. At a buck or so a piece, they are an incredible bargain. The pointy end does a great job of cleaning out crevices, scraping off excess glue or weld slag, prying up staples and getting into tight places. Makes a great little pry bar for wood trim. They can be used as a wedge and make a dandy temporary door stop/door hold open. The point can double as a Phillips screwdriver in a pinch. The flat side does a great job of opening cans. Sharpened up, the large flat blade can be used as a wood scraper or wood chisel. Great for those places where you may hit metal and don't want to trash a good chisel.

You can also customize them for specific tasks easily by filing or grinding them down if, say, you're refinishing and need a specific-sized scraper for the trim or you want to sharpen one side to a near-razor edge. I have seriously beat on these with a hammer and never had one shatter or snap. But they don't bend like a cheap screwdriver when prying with them. The steel is high-quality enough to do the task -- quite stiff and does not bend easily at all -- but still relatively easy to work with, file, etc.

I've had more expensive versions and cheaper ones and there isn't a noticeable amount of difference in the tools. I prefer the Dollar Store ones with the wood handle (great for hammering cans closed, etc.), but the scrapers with the nylon handle (below) are also sufficient.

A few weeks ago, my 11-year old son and I decided to sculpt, so we got out SuperSculpey Firm polymer clay. After working with this newer style of Sculpey for a while, we decided it totally kicks ass on softer styles of Sculpey. Why? Because it doesn't flop over on its side when handled. And it's firm enough to keep its shape when carved. My son began making a tank. So I made a tank. We have yet to paint them.

The Sculpey brands are especially encouraging for beginners, yet professionals artists depend on them as well. Pros ranging from vinyl toy artists to designers for film use it. Unlike normal clay, Sculpey hardly changes shape or size when baked, and hardening takes place quickly, at the relatively low temperatures of a convection oven (even a toaster oven will do).

Because of its polymer base, there's loads of fun techniques to try with Sculpey: like baking your sculpture for only half the allotted time. When you take it out of the oven, prematurely, you'll find your little masterpiece has a soft, rubbery texture. In this state, it won't lose its shape and can be easily carved with a knife or a file. Have you cut too much away? Add a little more Sculpey and put it back in the oven, for more cooking!

I buy my Sculpey at my local art supply store, but it can also be found online.

While I have a wide variety of woodworking clamps in my workshop, over the past year, this adjustable plastic clamp is the one I've found myself reaching for first. It has an adjustable arm that slides easily on a notched shaft and locks into position when pressure is applied, allowing me to quickly resize a 4" clamp for 1", 2", and 3" jobs. It is feather light with comfortable handles and a decent throat depth. The spring pressure is just right and the pivoting faces provide a firm but soft grip (other spring clamps have narrow pads that contact the surface, causing possible indents on softer wood, for instance). If you're a woodworker you already have plenty of clamps. I've been doing woodworking for almost 50 years and currently have four pipe clamps and about ten old traditional all-steel medium to large screw-type C-clamps. Most have either deep throats or an extra-wide opening. I also have a number of simple metal spring clamps in a variety of sizes. I seldom use them anymore. Since the VarioClippix clamps are adjustable, a single clamp replaces all the various-sized ones, which also reduces the clutter in my workspace. Ever since I spotted them in the Lee Valley catalog, these clamps have single-handedly handled about 70 percent of my clamping requirements.

To cut your own boards from a felled tree, you need either an expensive bandsaw mill, circular saw or a bad-ass chainsaw and a bracket to hold the chainsaw parallel to some reference surface. The Alaskan mill attaches to the saw's chain bar and keeps the chainsaw in line with a flat surface, allowing you to cut slabs as thin as 1/2 inch thick. The Alaskan is easy to set up. There is really only one way the saw can fit into the mill. Then, you adjust the two posts on either end to the desired clearance (make sure both posts read the same distance). To make sure your first cut is straight, you use a slabbing bracket; I used the aluminum slabbing rails made by Granberg. Then, you just adjust the clearance to the width of your slab and use the surface of the previous cut to guide the next cut, and the next, and so forth.

After moving into a new house in a wooded area, I realized a dead, 100-foot Red Oak was just 50 feet from the house. Following a few spells of high winds, I knew it was just a matter of time before it might give out, so I hired a local arborist who methodically cut off the upper part of the tree (a 20-ft. section), then worked his way down, cutting more of the tree into 8-ft sections. We had a nice surprise when we finished: the wood looked to be in great shape and seemed like it might make nice flooring. But I soon discovered the professional sawmills near us won't touch a log less than 9 feet long. Instead of hiring someone with a sawmill to come to my property, I decided to get my own rig.

There are three different kinds of sawmills: circular saw, bandsaw, and chainsaw. I looked at the Lucas Swing blade, several different bandsaw mills and other chainsaw mills. If you have plenty of space and lots of money, Timberking makes some good mills. Most bandsaw mills and circular saws are portable in the sense you can hook them up to your pickup truck and tow them to the site, but they are not portable in the sense you can pick them up and haul them down the hill and through the woods. My number one consideration for the mill was that I should be able to take the saw to the log since I didn't think I could take the log to the saw. One thing to consider about a chainsaw mill is that it wastes a lot of wood. If you're going to build a fixed installation, a bandsaw or circular saw is the way to go. As I've learned, though, Red Oak is *heavy*, especially when it is wet. Getting the log to the rig wasn't an option, so I went with a chainsaw mill. I chose the Husqvarna 385XP saw with a 28-inch bar, along with a 30-inch Alaskan mill. That means the mill can be adjusted to fit any bar up to its maximum size, in this case 30 inches. You can install basically any size bar into a chainsaw. I chose 28 inches since it would be big enough to work with any of my logs (my largest log was about 20 inches in diameter).

What’s impressed me about the Alaskan mill is its simplicity, sturdiness and the geometry of the bracket. The bracket on the mill allows the user to keep the mill flat against the log. With other mills, like the more expensive Logosol system for instance, you attach a bracket to either end of the log and use it to index down through the log. This is probably a better system for indexing, but seems like a lot more work; plus the Logosol also supports the chainsaw only from one end. The Alaskan bracket provides support at both ends of the bar, and it comes in a size as short as 24 inches and as big as 56 inches. Granberg also makes a kit with a bar to allow you to attach *two* 385 power heads to the saw. They also offer an oiler kit to increase the amount of oil on the chain, and they manufacture special ripping chains that make cleaner cuts (I used one). I read one guy's review where he said you needed three sharp chains before starting a days worth of cutting. Maybe that's about right; I could never last more that one sharp chain worth of work before petering out. Some reviewers have mentioned the effort that goes into sharpening the chains makes a chainsaw mill unacceptable. I didn't really find it to be onerous. Since the Alaskan mill is basically the same size as the saw, storage isn't an issue. I just leave the saw mounted in the mill. (NOTE: I learned the hard way, that it is important to store the saw upright. When I stored the saw on its side one time, the next time I used the saw, it took me about 5 hours to get the saw started.)

A few things to remember about chainsaw mills: This is hard work and the going is slow. On my best day, I only managed to finish two logs. Had I been cutting 1- inch boards (instead of 2-inch ones), this would have been much slower. Admittedly, though, my wood was Oak; maybe, just maybe, pine is easier. Also, the saw vibrates a lot. I exchanged my saw's plastic handle for a foam grip, which helped some. Lastly, while the Alaskan rig makes the saw safer, you can never forget there is a lethal weapon in your hands. Although I've given up on the flooring idea, I still have all this good lumber which I'll certainly use for a woodworking project.

Traditional Japanese tools are not as esoteric as they once were. In part because for 35 years this venerable importer has been publicizing their virtues. Fine cabinet makers in particular have found Japanese-style saws, chisels, and wood shapers to be superior in many ways. But you don't need to be a cabinet maker to appreciate the tools featured in this catalog. I've bought some very reasonably-priced Japanese kitchen knives that we've maintained with razor edges for many years.

For soldering wires in places beyond an extension cord, or for burning stuff with fine details I use this butane-fueled micro torch. It is like a propane torch, only 10 times smaller. The micro torch generates a tiny, precise, very hot blue flame. Uses typical butane refill liquid. It's lightweight and agile. But unlike other self-igniting micro-torch models, including the previously-reviewed Weller Portasol, or the ones used by jewelers, this one is cheap at $12. It is good enough for the occasional heating I do.

A palm nailer is a magic hammer. Like a nail gun, you hook it up to an air compressor, but unlike a nail gun, it can be held in the palm of one hand. Its appearance doesn't make its usage obvious, but this air tool pounds in nail after nail without hurting my hand at all. Just place a nail exactly where you want it. Press the opening on the nailer over the nail, and BAP! BAP! BAP! BAP! BAP! -- compressed air drives a little hammer head inside the sleeve to gently pound in the nail. It takes about 10+ taps to get a nail all the way in, but in under a second.

I never knew about palm nailers until my brother-in-law clued me in -- and he learned from a friend who is a carpenter. They're perfect for working with precise positioning, like if you are putting together something with the previously-reviewed Simpson Strong-Tie connectors. I specifically bought mine to do the siding on a backyard shed with a fort for my kids. I just wish I'd known about it when I was doing the framing. I used a lot of Strong-tie connectors that required a whole lot of manual wrist-busting hammering of nails, because -- unlike the palm nailer -- a framing nailer just isn't accurate enough for the Strong-tie holes.

The palm nailer is a total joy to use. I love my air compressor and air tools (and have three nail guns already), but another plus is the palm nailer works with in any single nail, not just framing nail-gun feed nails. Also, the size of the palm nailer lets you get into places either a framing nailer or a manual hammer simply can't fit very well. I've only used a Bostitch-branded palm nailer that I picked up at Lowe's. It was like $80, so not what I'd call cheap, but it's made by a solid manufacturer and it's readily available online and if you're walking into a big box hardware store.

These are not your standard combination wrenches. They literally put a twist in it. The working ends are offset from each other by 90 degrees, which makes for a great handle that reduces stress and increases leverage. Beyond its heft and balance, the design of this crescent wrench/box wrench ratchet is much more comfortable, especially for repetitive tasks. By twisting the axis, that non-working end now makes for a more natural handle that diffuses pressure into the palm and across the fingers. The shaft of the tool is also slightly longer than many combo wrenches (small increases in shaft length greatly increase torque, or conversely decrease force required to achieve required torque).

I've been using this wrench for three months in near daily use. As a solar installer I use my gear heavily in adverse conditions: bolting solar modules to rooftops. When other installers tipped me off to this brand, I did some investigating. They are the only tools I have ever seen endorsed by the Arthritis Foundation. I figured that if they are good for arthritis sufferers, it has to be good for me, too. I was right.

Cordless power tools are obviously the way to go. I have a drill but what I really wanted was a portable cordless circular saw and sawzall. All instant cutting, no cords.

After eyeing the pro tool sections for years, I've finally got my wish with an inexpensive set of cordless tools from Ryobi. For $150 I got an 18 volt system with a cordless circular saw, a cordless reciprocating saw, a cordless drill/driver and two batteries. (A lamp is thrown in, too.) The driver is standard but the saws are a treat. I grab a cordless saw and charge out to the backyard, or garage without having to unwind a trailing extension cord. Zip, zap. Then back in their box. Neither tool is super powerful or industrial strength. Just zippy enough for weekend projects (nothing thicker than a 2 x 4), but cheap! Fine with me since I don't use them every day.

The battery charge lasted beyond my usual chores of cutting up plywood, rebar or pipe, and so on. I have not pushed them to their limits yet. I have an issue with the buttons on the reciprocating sawzall, but otherwise each tool is easy to handle. They yield astounding quality for the price.

The handiness of a cordless power saw, like all great tools, urges me to take on stuff I would otherwise not do.

If you've ever tried to slit electrical cable very far without ruining the inner wires, you know how hard it can be. This amazing little tool does in two seconds what can take a frustrating five minutes with a knife or wire cutters. You adjust the blade to the outer jacket thickness, clamp the thing on the cable, revolve it around the cable for the periphery cut (it rotates 90 degrees), flick the lever with your thumb, slit the cable lengthwise as far you want it, and the outer stripped jacket just falls off. Otherwise, especially on a long strip length, you either have to yank the jacket off the wire by hand or try to slit it with a knife, which is when you start damaging wires. This works great on heavy rubber SJO cord, coax, multiconductor, you name it. No nicks or cuts on the inner wires. You can even remove the jacket from the middle of a length of wire by making two periphery cuts and slitting away what's in between.

Even among electricians who strip cables for a living, this tool is surprisingly lesser-known. I've shown this to guys who wire up large industrial machines for a living and had their jaw drop open. And then I never see my slitter much after that anymore since it's always out on loan. It's a hard tool to find at any store (Berlands house of tools used to carry it). I discovered his tool in 1993 or so. Usage seems to go in spurts, depending on projects and which phase of machine building we are in (I design custom automated machinery for a living). Sometimes these five-foot tall electrical cabinets will have 100 wires running out of it, each having to be stripped & terminated. The electricians I work with especially love this tool.

I am an architect and have been working with programs like Photoshop for years, but Spoonflower really opened up a new world for me: fabric design. It's a service that let's you upload an image to a web site and the company prints the design as a pattern on 100% cotton fabric. Their customer service is great, and I think the fabric is reasonably-priced: it costs $18/yard, not counting shipping, and an individual 8x8-inch swatch is $5. The site is still in beta, so I had to request an invite to use Spoonflower, but a week after contacting them I was experimenting with patterns and ordering fabric.

So far, I've placed three orders with three different designs (3x3 yards worth) at $ 66 per order, shipping included. The trickiest part was preparing the image file so the pattern matches up. I used the "define pattern" command in Photoshop to test my image files before I uploaded them. I defined the image size (150 dpi), set colors to LAB color space and saved the files in TIF format. After I uploaded them to the Spoonflower site, they were automatically tiled to fill the desired fabric size. Then I specified the shipping address, paid using my credit card and that's it! The turnaround was reasonably quick: my fabric arrived in a month (I live in Switzerland). I made a skirt with the fabric from my first order -- a present for my Mom (pic below).

A couple caveats: I have noticed some distortion after washing the fabric and there was a little color shifting from my original designs. Still, the color shifting and fabric distortion really are minor. Overall, I'm happy with the color accuracy and I've been very satisfied with my orders. I have been having a lot of fun with Spoonflower and will likely place my fourth order very soon. I am even considering setting up an Etsy shop to sell some of my fabrics.

Related items previously reviewed on Cool Tools:

World Textiles

Books on Demand

Brother Sewing Machine

I've moved three times in four years, but never quite mastered the art of hanging artwork. Move any frame in our home and you'd be likely to find no less than two sets of holes. Well, not any more. At 36", this level seemed like overkill (especially since most everything I hang is in the 8" x 10" realm), but now that I have one, I don't know how I ever got by without it. On either side of the three bubble levels are two 10-inch rulers with sliding "targets." Each target has a t-shape cut out, allowing you to mark exactly where you want the nail(s) to go. More or less fool-proof. It's also incredibly light and easy to maneuver, even with one hand. These days when we buy art, I don't dread the prospect of putting it up.

I'm a technical theatre professional, and being able to tie the proper knot in the appropriate situation is critical to saving time and staying safe. For a number of years, I've kept several sets of the previously-untried Knot Tying Cards around for emergencies. I keep one in my messenger bag, one in the glove box of my car, one in my tool bag, and there's likely another one in the official junk drawer in the kitchen. While there are around 10 knots I use on an almost daily basis when I'm working, there are a handful of specialty knots I know when to use, but can never retain how to start (or finish) them. One particularly bothersome knot is the Trucker's Hitch. If done correctly, it will secure an unruly load in short order (and can be tied with one hand if you're dexterous). If you do one little turn incorrectly, however, It becomes a slip knot and won't hold squat.

That's where these flash cards come in handy. They have this and other bothersome knots, and the cards provide enough of a trigger that I can execute the desired effect. More often than not, when someone 20 feet away asks me to tell them how to tie a particular knot, I end up throwing the set to them. Much easier than explaining it! And they always manage to tie the knot safely. Not all knots are created equal, and knowing how to create and properly use a variety of them is useful for everyone. On the stage, though, a poorly-tied knot can quite literally kill someone. I've seen more than one "of course I know how to tie a square knot" load crash to the floor because hubris trumped common sense and basic knowledge.

That said, these cards are handy for those who already know how to tie proper knots, but don't do so every day and need a quick reminder. For the novice knot-tier, the previously-reviewed Morrow Guide has never been equaled, IMO. I once taught a knot-tying class to a group of high school theatre students. I provided a 50-foot piece of rope and told them it could become a ladder. I showed them the page in the book and let them have at it. In about 30 minutes, they had a load-bearing 12-foot rope ladder. You can't beat that!

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Surgeon's Knot

Theater Prop Handbook

Wouldn't it be great to have a full machine shop at your disposal, with dozens of industrial tools also at your disposal, and all you have to do is contribute to the upkeep? TechShop is just that -- a membership-based fabrication and invention shop. I've been a member since before TechShop really even started, back when it was just some guys passing out flyers trying to gauge interest. For $100 a month, members can use any tool in the shop on which they've received training. MUCH cheaper than buying your own gear. The list of equipment is pretty extensive, too, and new items are arriving frequently (like a new hot-wire foam cutter).

I've spent the most time with the laser cutter and the plasma cutter, and a bit of time on the mill and lathes. The laser cutters are the best "deal" since even a novice can start building really intricate objects out of plastics quite rapidly, and the fact that the laser cutters simply "print" with a laser beam makes them the most approachable for people who want to work off-line and who come in just to cut materials. The plasma cutter is a bit more picky, and requires a jump up to a 'real' CNC computer, which is not difficult and is just as rewarding. One of the first things I did at TechShop was to build a gib key puller for a particularly obstinate key on the flywheel of a 50+ year old diesel engine I'm restoring. The robotic plasma cutter made short work of cutting what would have been otherwise a difficult piece, and I learned basic CNC methods in the process. I've since progressed to fairly advanced CNC operation skills, which have been useful in more intricate object construction. I've used the lathe to finish off some custom valves, the laser cutter for cutting gasket material and making signs, and I'm itching to try the 3D material printer.

TechShop offers classes on their equipment, as well as general classes on various methods and skills. The safety classes are typically very good, focused on safety and basic operation of the equipment. Classes are required for any equipment as a 'basic' instruction set, though some equipment has advanced classes for better technique and more complex jobs. Classes typically cost between $20 and $30 dollars for the basic safety class, but that's still a bargain. This is just what I've been looking for, since most machine shop instruction I've seen has been terribly expensive, and has been geared for "lowest common denominator" instructions, which are typically agonizingly boring. The TechShop classes are taught for safety and rapid understanding to try to bring members to the point where they can start producing their own objects as quickly as possible. There is still going to be some trial and error, but the feedback loop is very short and it doesn't take long before you're comfortable and confident on the equipment. This is industrial arts instruction for people with a high level of clue.

Motorcycle customizers, automotive gearheads, robot war fanatics, electronics fabricators, modelmakers, metal benders, burning man artists, startup companies, mechanical engineering students: I've met all of these at TechShop, and I'm sure quite a few others that defy categorization. If you have any interest in making things, or modifying things, then TechShop is for you. Having spent years and a lot of dollars in outfitting my own shop, I can say that the TechShop concept beats anything I could possibly hope to have done on my own with the added benefit of the people that one meets at a shared space like TechShop.

While the tools and physical resources of TechShop are excellent, there is a hidden benefit to participating: the other members. The breadth of skills of the members and projects underway is perhaps the most impressive and fascinating part of TechShop. At any one time, there are a half-dozen people working on fantastic and innovative things, either as hobby projects or as budding startups who have found an inexpensive way to bootstrap themselves into prototyping a better mousetrap. Here's a word to the wise for smart venture capital folks: find a hobby that requires TechShop and spend some quality time in the building doing your project. You'll get amazing things done on your own project, and get to review a few hundred of the most clever projects happening as well as meet the working engineers that are often so difficult to find otherwise.

The downside to TechShop is that it is still only in Menlo Park, California. Later this summer, additional locations are scheduled to open up with the expansion. Other downsides: there are often waits for the laser cutters, since those are the most popular items in the shop. And, of course, if you are a "top-secret" inventor, you won't find much privacy -- plan on people being very interested in your project and asking lots of questions. There are also almost no places to store materials between visits -- pretty much everything needs to go home with you.

I typically am at TechShop one or two evenings a week when I'm in the Bay Area, but my work schedule has made that less frequent than I'd like (I commute between PDX and SFO for work). The good news is that with the planned expansion one of the nine prospective cities is in my home town of Portland, OR. This will be welcome, as most of my projects involve objects that don't fit well into carry-on luggage.

I've been easing into more and more metal work over the last year and half (propane art, collapsible fire fans and fire hula hoops a la Burning Man), so I drill a lot of multi-size holes in aluminum tubing. This is by far the best bit I've found for drilling through such thin materials. To get precise placement and a clean hole, normally I'd drill a small pilot hole, then run a larger drill bit in that hole to get the size and placement right. With this bit, I do not need to create a pilot hole (though, a center punch can help). I simply drill until I get to the right size (1/4" and 1/2" mostly). Because the bit has a single flute (cutting edge), it makes very clean holes. It's also very accurate: the bit is very stiff, so it wanders less when starting a hole. Since I don't need to change drill bits in my drill press to successively drill larger holes or change the jig I'm using to hold the part, it's become a real time saver.

By the same token as the Restickable Glue Stick, 3M's Scotch makes a product called Removable Magic Tape which I use extensively in doing rough page layouts of books with a lot of graphics on each page. It sticks to paper or just about any dry surface. Pulls off easily, leaves no residue. Unlike the regular Magic Tape, you can easily pick it up and move things around. I've been using it for over 10 years and find it's less messy and way quicker to use than the glue sticks. If you already have the Magic Tape dispensers, the removable refills come in a blue box (Cat. # 811).

If you like creating little DIY booklets or zines, but have been frustrated by the short arm length in standard staplers that forces you to curl up (or worse, fold) your notebook pages in order to get a center saddle staple, this two-way stapler is a terrific little solution. It looks just like your ordinary handheld personal stapler, until you twist the upper portion: it twists all the way perpendicular to the body of the stapler, so that you can easily staple booklets at the center fold. When I found it, I was kind of surprised I'd never seen this before. It's sheer genius and simple. I'm a huge pocket notebook fan. I have a boxful of Moleskines, which I love, but I've been playing around with crafting my own Moleskine-size blank notebooks for keeping notes on small projects or short trips. In the past, I've had to either fold up the pages a bit (and carefully unfold and smooth out the crease). Or I waited to go to someplace like Kinko's that offers saddle staplers. Neither was a very convenient solution and I didn't want to spend lots of money on an expensive "long reach" or saddle stitch stapler of my own. This one's not as small as a micro stapler, but it's as lightweight (plastic body) and is just a bit longer than the palm of my hand. No unnecessary bells and whistles. When you move the swinging piece, it snaps into place, and you can twist it either left or right. The loading area is very easy, not tricky at all. The only drawbacks are that it uses mini staples and can only staple 15 pages at a time. But as long as you don't have a really thick stack, it works like a charm. I'm almost tempted to buy a second one to keep at home, but it's small enough I can just carry it with me.

The problem I have with regular knitting is getting started. With a hat, for example, I have a lot of trouble getting my size just right and having the first row look neat and not sloppy. Knifty Knitters completely eliminate the size problem and allow you to make the first row just as neat as every other row. Each loom is basically a round circle with pegs on it. Since you are wrapping the yarn on preset pegs, the problem of keeping the stitches the same length is eliminated. I have the round set for hats and the long set, which is mainly for scarves and blankets. Each set comes with four looms. The round set labels the looms by size: baby, child, adult and the largest is either for a big-headed adult or for other projects (like ponchos). They come with directions, which are really easy to follow. I made my first hat while watching a movie. As you work, your hat starts to build up and hang down underneath as you go, which is pretty neat to watch. When it is long enough (the directions tell you how long for different sizes), you use this plastic needle to thread a piece of yarn through the loops at the end and drawstring it tight and tie. Then you use this little hook to pop it off. Done.

I totally recommend these for the serious and the totally not serious crafter. They're pretty cheap. They're easy. And even on your first try, you end up with a really good finished product you can wear or give to someone. I have about a dozen friends who have gotten them since my recommendation and all of them are really into them. Even my husband made a hat for his sister's kid while watching a movie and it came out perfect. The looms are made for thicker yarns, but if you have tons of old thin yarn you can double it up and use two strands as one (or even three) and that makes it so you can do all kinds of color combinations.

I found the long set a tiny bit harder when I got started (i.e. figuring out the corners), but after a few minutes messing with it I was rolling out a scarf. There are other looms I have not tried from Knifty Knitters, like a flower one and a rectangle one, which all make different things. They also have pompom and tassel makers and one that lets you make tube scarves. But there are tons of other things you can do with the same hat loom, too. My friend got a great book from her library; Knifty Knitters' web site has a few ideas; and I recently found a sock pattern on the Internet and made pair using the smallest loom in the round set. It was way way way easier than it looked and they came out perfect.

Knitting Without Tears

Brother Sewing Machine

Fresh Fruits

I've been using this cream for a couple of years to get a mirror polish on all the vintage bicycles I collect. Before discovering it on a listserv about classic bikes, I tried various buffing and polishing compounds (usually automotive) and Nev'r Dull, which worked fine but requires a lot of effort. Simichrome seems to work magically, with very little elbow grease needed to dissolve/remove surface stains and oxidation (the main ingredient is aluminum oxide). The results are astounding. I've used it primarily on aluminum, and a few chrome pieces. In my experience it works best on aluminum. Recently, I revived a set of oxidized aluminum cranks in under an hour all told -- sanding and steel wool to remove scratches and then less than 10 minutes (and minimal effort) polishing with the Simichrome. For aluminum parts that don't need scratches sanded out it takes about 30 seconds to watch a small section go from dull, oxidized metal to mirror finish (that's not hyperbole). Of course it depends a bit on the finish of the underlying metal, how big and complicated the part is and so on. I've tested it on brass, and though it wasn't as easy on that as it was the aluminum, Simichrome was still much quicker than anything I'd used before (Turtle Wax, buffing compound, Ajax, steel wool).

A hand-powered drill allows a subtlety and control you don't get from a power tool, so very much more direct and satisfying to use. From a sheer utilitarian perspective, my Schroeder 1/4" drill is a wonder to behold and use. The gearing is all-metal, so it's built to last. For the price, you won't find a tougher drill. I've used it for building cabinets and tables, puttering around the house and garden, pre-drilling screw holes, and mounting things to walls, etc. and it works like a champ. I used Fiskars hand drills for years but their inner gears are made of plastic and will strip out if you apply too much torque. They also can't be opened up for repair either, so once that happens it goes straight to the landfill, which is really disheartening. With the Schroeder, the solid, single gear is right there in the open. You have to hold it in your hands to appreciate it. Like the engineering in a 1970's Beemer or a piece of Shaker furniture, it's logical and simple, direct and pure. It makes me happy just to spin it.

I've used this epoxy to attach PVC pipe to wood, wood to wood, plastic to plastic. It works great, but I mainly love the way the applicator is designed. It is basically just two plastic syringes attached side by side. It makes it easy to squirt out equal parts of the two chemicals you mix together to make the epoxy. Then you simply retract the plunger and slip on the end cap and wait until you need it again. No mess, no hassle, and less waste!

I own, use and occasionally drag around my LS-2125i sewing machine. Like the previous version of this machine reviewed and recommended in Cool Tools, it's light, small, cheap and reliable. I use it for occasional household work and mostly to make repairs to uniforms and sew on patches. It can do ten stitches and that's more than enough for me. Especially handy is the buttonholer. This little box, in combination with a beginner's sewing book, can help you do everything that you can imagine short of embroidery. It has held up most admirably considering how much I use it. I'm an old Red Cross disaster guy currently flying with the Civil Air Patrol. For some missions, CAP is the USAF Auxiliary and as a result, we have two uniform types: AF and corporate. If you're active and train moderately, you can be promoted and you also get all these dratted qualification badges. Tailors or cleaners charge around ten bucks a patch, and a uniform can have LOTS. My BDUs: ten patches each. My flight suits: only five. But it gets nuts. The unit has paid for itself by simply allowing me to avoid patch sew-on charges. All else is gravy.

I tend to be rough on buttons (or maybe I'm just gaining weight). I started using Kevlar thread to sew fire toys and found it is very strong. I now use Kevlar thread for all my sewing. On buttons, I don't need to use as much thread to secure them and the thread is tougher than the fabric I sew into. By weight, Kevlar is five times stronger than steel wire and is used in bulletproof vests. Do NOT try to break it by hand -- you'll just hurt yourself. The very thin thread works well with beads -- it's very abrasion resistant -- and there are thicker varieties that I use for sewing leather.

This handheld tool allows miter cuts from 45 to 135 degrees of small pieces of wood, plastic, rubber, and even metal. As a miniaturist and model maker, this tool has been invaluable for cutting one or a myriad of small parts at various angles and sizes -- to change the angle you slide a self-indexing metal guide that runs perpendicular to the blade. I design and build furniture, accessories and sometimes houses of the 50s, 60s and 70s in 1:12, 1:16 and 1:24 scales. When I'm in the middle of a project, such as the architectural model I'm working on currently, I use the Easy Cutter fairly constantly -- a few hours at least a couple of days each month. I have been using my cutter about three years now and a friend has been using hers well over 5 years without any trouble. You can buy new blades for this tool, but neither of us has found the need, thus far. It's also worth mentioning I have some arthritis in my hands and many tools are simply too difficult for me to use. With one hand, I can easily clamp the Easy Cutter down enough to cut through three layers of laminated Popsicle sticks. Although profoundly solid (hardened steel, rubber coated handles, stainless blades), the Easy Cutter is virtually silent -- about the same noise as a pair of fingernail clippers, but without the annoying habit of flipping the cuttings through the air. Using it while talking or watching a film is completely unnoticeable.

I have also handed this tool to my young friends (no younger than 10) when they're helping create miniature worlds alongside me, and although the spread of the handle is not geared to small hands, they have nonetheless found the Easy Cutter quite usable. I must caution, however, that the blade is VERY sharp, and that this, as with any other cutting tool, is to be handled with respect for its damage capability and for oneself when using it. There is also a smaller version called The Super Easy Cutter, but I prefer to have too much power than too little when hand cutting through wood.

I don't know of another tool that addresses the need for an accurate, hand-held mitre-cutter (from 45 degree up to 135 degree) at such an affordable price. Northwest Shortline, a cottage industry out of Seattle that's been in business for over 40 years, has a series of tools that ROCK! Their Chopper series of cutters is very accurate (they're primary focus is the model train crowd). However, their cutters can be twice as expensive as the Easy Cutter. Also their Chopper requires a flat, stable surface. I prefer to carry a tray of materials and tools to a comfy spot and just work until a natural stopping point presents itself. The Easy Cutter allows me to continue working while talking and sitting on the couch or just on the porch with friends.

The word that best describes the Ridgid oscillating belt sander is "workhorse." It is one of those rare tools which ends up at the heart of your workshop -- fast, precise, durable. The belt rotates like a standard sander, but also simultaneously and automatically oscillates up and down 60 times per minute, giving you better space coverage and a wider stroke (about 1 in.); this is especially helpful with larger pieces, because you don't need to reposition or flip the piece to sand the whole thing.

I use mine almost daily to fabricate parts in wood, metal, and plastic. The metal platen provides plenty of support for serious, precision sanding. I routinely sand to the center of a 1/64 slot on an Incra ruler. Not bad. It's also very quick to swap out the belt and use it as an oscillating spindle sander, meaning you can handle both flat and curved sanding.

It's designed to sit on a bench top, but they also molded slots into the bottom so that it rests stably on a sawhorse. It has an incredibly well made tilt table, with fence, that folds down onto a molded storage bay which holds all the accessories it comes with. And a vacuum port is molded into the back of the unit for clean up.

Two things to know: I find I often have to adjust the belt tension to prevent the belt from rising or falling, but this is easy to do on account of a large, well-placed knob. Also, the belts and spindles it comes with are extremely aggressive and are meant for hogging away wood. If you want to do more delicate work, you need to get higher mesh belts from a specialty store like Rio Grande, Klingspor, or maybe Grainger or McMaster-Carr.