What you see pictured above are Ringers Gloves’ model R-21 “heavy-duty Kevlocs,” and they look like some of the most badass gloves for heavy automotive work I’ve seen. Seriously, with crazy-tough puncture resistance, high-tech padding in all the right places, and specially-designed grip surfaces, these put the scores of low-buck work gloves I keep around the shop to shame. Then again, they MSRP for $45 freakin’ dollars.
What do you get for $35 more than your average pair of work gloves? To start with, you get a specially-sewn palm that meets the European “CE 4342 EN388 Level 2 standard for cut and puncture resistance.” WTF-BBQ? Yeah, I had no idea what that was, either, so I did a little digging, and here’s how it works:
The larger li-ion battery packs tool companies are putting out today are getting closer to giving us the kind of power and duration they’ve been promising since the eighties. Just slide a pack in and do whatever you need to do — like mow the lawn. Sure, Ryobi isn’t the first electric mower or even the first to use a battery. What it really does is prove engineers are still working on solving all household issues with reusable battery packs; hell, Craftsman’s even got a 48v mower.
Pretty much everyone is producing one of these now, and here’s Skil’s version: the 2 amp model 1400. Not surprisingly, they chose to go corded, keeping the price down and the functionality high. (I love the fact that Skil, by the way, still offers corded drills, and that most of the big box stores choose Skil as the token corded drill they carry in-store. If you don’t own a corded drill, get one today. You know, like I suggested you do back in 2009.)
Specs are similar to others you’ll see: 12,000-22,000 OPM (oscillations per minute) with a nice variable speed controller. It’s pretty heavy at 2.75 lbs, but do you really care for a corded tool?
We love writing about flashlights here at Toolmonger, mostly because flashlights are incredibly useful but somehow almost always seem to end up as the least-thought-out “extra” in a combo count. We think (and suspect you do, too) that flashlights are good for more than just increasing tool count. So I couldn’t help but give a mention to Makita’s new offering, the excitingly-named (kidding) LXLM01. The name might be forgettable, but I thought one thing when I saw this sucker: it looks exactly like those awkward lights everyone carried around on Star Trek: The Next Generation.
We wrote about Craftsman’s Hammerhead “Auto-Hammer” way back in 2008. Our initial take: It was an interesting solution to a pretty rare problem. When came in possession of one a good bit later, we were surprised to discover that it worked as advertised. (For those of you not familiar, a small anvil inside the hole you see on the head drives a nail with hundreds of short but powerful blows. It feels a little like a pneumatic palm nailer, but it’s battery powered and — as we mentioned back in ’08 — features a much different shape.) But we just couldn’t see it as a serious solution for driving thousands of nails. Rather, we suspected it would find a home more as a specialty tool for tasks like, say, driving a nail in between studs or in other tight spaces.
Enter now the updated version, the Hammerhead G2, pictured above. What, you ask, might they add? Try a light. And a rotating head.
In the furious battle to provide the “complete” project experience, many outlets and home centers are putting packages together to help you get home projects and honey-do’s done. If you stop by the Lowe’s site, the front page has a link to the Home Profile Creation page. I have mixed feelings about this.
On one hand, it’s pretty cool to be able to plan projects and have list items, pricing, and the total material sums for the the project, as well as pictures of how it might look when completed. On the other hand, my projects never seem to wind up going exactly to plan anyway. And a certain amount of (ok, to be fair, almost all) home projects I’ve undertaken require tweaking followed by some fairly serious swearing.
For years I’ve carried a 1 gig USB drive on my keychain because you just never know when you might need a little storage. It appears the new Swiss Army Duo 2x is taking that just a touch further with an available 128 gig onboard their newest blade. You’ve probably seen it at trade shows, and it’ll surely appear on the most elegant of desktops very soon — but not without cost.
The road to bunkbed build completion was actually pretty quick on the carpentry side of things. Getting to this final stage of awesome completion did take a little in the way of staining, though. Okay, a load in the way of staining. But more of that later.
Retaining trim was added to receive the head and footboards. Since this wouldn’t be a structural piece, just gluing them in and popping a few brads home did nicely.
With the slots in place for the boards, the rest of the build happened in a matter of a few hours of work. The headboards were driven home and a roll guard was added to the front of the top bunk so restless little ones don’t face plant from a 5-foot drop.
The ladder assembly was a simple one that allows the climber to get on the bunk at the lowest point possible by making the ladder part of the foot board. Bigass carriage bolts held the ladder rails in place.
Slats were cut from a pile of white oak that had been left outside for a while and, due to cracking, wasn’t really great as full plank material anymore. It was, however, perfect for the 16 slats of 3″ x 1″ material needed to hold the mattresses. The slats were later planed, routed, sanded, and sealed. This wasn’t a quick process, but anything times 16 tends to be a while.
Next the hell that is finishing time arrived. I won’t bore you with details, but this process takes longer than most anybody who hasn’t done it will ever recognize. Five coats of tinted shellac went on to make a nice, lively, and warm red color that managed to hide the fact that four different types and shades of wood were used. It sucked, but turned out nice in the end.
Final install was of course a happy time for all concerned (except when they were made to hold still for pictures) and much little girl screaming could be heard among the climbing and shuffling of little feet.
Building things to make life better around the home is almost what woodworking was created for. There is often no better way to make things happen than putting some timber together. In this case, Reader Litcritter has fixed his daughter up a way to get in and out of bed with ease.
It’s not only that the project looks great or that it will last a long time — it’s that Litcritter has made everyone’s life a little easier with time in the shop and a few tools. The ladder hooks over the bed frame and lets the little one run in a out of bed without fear of falling and without running down other furniture as a makeshift step-down. It’s a win for all concerned.
Well done!
Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]
Since the time humans have been keeping “stuff,” we have enjoyed the happy task of finding someplace to put said stuff. For years, fasteners, bits, and bobs have lived in a draw in my workbench. For the last year of that time it has been increasingly harder and to get closed — until the last time I shut it. Apparently it really had reached that magic capacity where truly nothing else would fit, and in doing so, the final compression of the drawer closing popped a tube of two-part epoxy stored there. The resulting mess meant I was in the market for fastener storage.
TM on Flickr
Recent Comments
{ The lack of a standard is definitely a problem for this kind of tool. When the Fein patents expired the individual manufacturers should have standardized... } – Jan 28, 8:39 AM
{ Paslode did at one time have a framer which was designed to install hanger nails, as well as common framing nails. Not sure if it... } – Jan 28, 8:19 AM
{ I'm going to jump in on a really old post here... I make snow for a ski track, usually between 10 and 20 degrees Fahrenheit,... } – Jan 28, 8:17 AM
{ Ok I want these gloves too. So into my personal at home coffee can saving jar will go x amount of dollars each month. Till!!!...... } – Jan 28, 5:39 AM
{ I prefer these myself wwww.hexarmor.com } – Jan 28, 3:40 AM