By Rain Noe - Feb 15

These Bolts Change Color When Tightened Properly

SmartBolts obviate the need for torque wrenches, and make spotting trouble easy

I love torque wrenches, because they let me ensure that dangerous parts like lawnmower blades are properly tightened. But what if you didn't need the torque wrench (which are pretty damned pricey) at all? A company called Stress Indicators Inc. has invented SmartBolts, which feature a red dot in the

By Joel Moskowitz - Feb 13

Tools & Craft #126: A Better System for Keeping Tools Sharp

How did craftspeople in ancient times build incredible things with crappy tools?

I was wandering around the Metropolitan Museum of Art when it occurred to me: nothing much has changed over the millennia. Before the mid-seventeenth century, steel was not common. Craftsmen had a choice between expensive tools made of blister steel and iron tools that were case hardened to get a

By Rain Noe - Feb 13

Demonstration: Does That DOMOM Deburring Tool Actually Work?

Short answer: No, it's a cheap knock-off of the Uniburr

Last month we posted about what appeared to be a wondrous tool, the DOMOM Deburring Tool. We weren't the only ones to spot it/be suckered by it; following an extensive social media advertising campaign, DOMOM's product bought their way onto the radar of many, including a YouTube channel I've been

By Rain Noe - Feb 07

Workers Develop Clever Up-to-Down Brick Transportation Method

Understanding the gravity of the situation

Two guys are on the roof removing bricks, and they need a quick way to get them down to the ground, where a third man is stacking and loading them. No problem: These guys should be on the same crew with the guy who figured out how to unload

By Rain Noe - Jan 29

Mystery Tool Used by Yellowstone Workers To Clear Seven Feet of Snow From a Roof in Chunks

Whatever this tool is, their slice, block and move technique is clever and efficient

Park employees at Yellowstone have an interesting system for clearing massive amounts of snow--in this case, seven feet's worth--from the roof of their structures. Here's what visitor Kerry Countryman observed taking place on the roof of the Canyon Village General Store: Shot by Kerry Countryman What's not shown,

By Rain Noe - Jan 25

Nut and Bolt Thread Checkers, Both Manufactured and DIY

The satisfaction of finding the perfect fit

If you have any kind of workshop, you undoubtedly have a collection of random nuts and bolts. It's incredibly satisfying when you can dip into the stash and locate the exact size you need to complete a project. The second most satisfying is when you bring a nut/bolt of unknown

By Rain Noe - Jan 24

Nissan's Mobile Workshop Van for Woodworking Pros, with Solar Charging for Power Tools

It stores both tools and energy

Nissan's creatives have been busy. In addition to their crazy snowgoing Altima from Canada, they've turned an NV300 into a workshop on wheels. Conceived of as "a mobile workshop for creative woodworking professionals," Nissan produced the vehicle in collaboration with UK-based design/build firm Studio Hardie. The vehicle is kitted

By Joel Moskowitz - Jan 23

Tools & Craft #125: Book Recommendations for Those Who Like Making Things

I read a lot and I firmly believe that no matter how indispensable a YouTube video, a blog, or a magazine article can be, the long form of writing - a book - can both entertain and educate the way no other media can. Here is a short list of

By Rain Noe - Jan 21

Work Boots Review, Plus My Muddy Boots Indoor Control Method

CAT Footwear's Composite Toe vs. regular muck boots

I've been using the CAT Footwear Throttle Composite Toe Waterproof Work Boots I mentioned in the last footwear entry. I've had these for about a month and so far I like them. They're waterproof, comfortable, offer toe protection and are easy to get on and off. I paid $135. Here's

By Joel Moskowitz - Jan 16

Tools & Craft #124: The Future of Furniture, Part 6 - Solid

After detailing the final steps of the project of making a dresser, the anonymous author of Joiner and Cabinetmaker describes how cabinetmakers would use veneering and other techniques to set off the dresser to a different level of work. Such was the distinction between joiners work and cabinetmaking in the

By Rain Noe - Jan 15

Bosch's X-Lock System for Quick Angle Grinder Accessory Changes

Swap wheels in seconds, no tools necessary

Angle grinders are meant to be used at, well, an angle. That pesky lock nut that holds the blade on prevents you from grinding with the wheel flat against the workpiece, should your application require it. More importantly, the lock nut is time-consuming to remove/re-attach and requires you keep the

By Joel Moskowitz - Jan 09

Tools & Craft #123: The Future of Furniture, Part 5 - Forming Sheet Goods

I think it is fair to say that most furniture is made of solid wood or sheet goods - the latter being plywood, melamine, or MDF, depending on budget and design considerations. As discussed in the last blog, cutting sheets goods accurately and with a clean, ready-to-glue edge isn't trivial,

By Rain Noe - Jan 04

Cool Tools: The DOMOM Deburring Bit for Fixing Stripped Bolt Heads

You lose a couple millimeters, but it shaves the end into a clean chamfer

So some jerk (not you, it's never you) accidentally cross-threaded a bolt, and now you're stuck trying to clean up said jerk's mess. If the bolt is removable and replaceable, no problem; but what about when you can't get it out of your part, and/or the store is closed? Enter

By Joel Moskowitz - Jan 03

Tools & Craft #122: The Future of Furniture, Part 4 - What Can a Newbie Build?

Now that woodworking is no longer regularly taught in schools, young people as a group have a distinct disadvantage compared to the youth of bygone eras when it comes to skills and equipment. (Yes, I know this doesn't apply to everyone. Many customers come to our showroom with their kids,

By Rain Noe - Dec 28, 2018

2018's Best of Cool Tools, Part 2: Unpowered

There should be a word for this in German: That particular joy you experience when, after suffering for a long time with the wrong tool for the job, you finally acquire the right tool for the job. It's even more satisfying when you didn't even know this wondrous right tool

By Rain Noe - Dec 27, 2018

2018's Best of Cool Tools, Part 1: Powered

Rather than cover the shop and homeowner tools that most of you already know, this time we're going to focus primarily on the unusual specialty tools you've probably never heard of.

By Joel Moskowitz - Dec 26, 2018

Tools & Craft #121: The Future of Furniture, Part 3 - Information

Thirty years ago it was fairly common for students to have classes in some sort of craft in high school. Arts 'n' crafts for younger kids, and as kids got older, probably home ec for the girls and shop for the boys (and all three for the lucky minority). This

By Joel Moskowitz - Dec 19, 2018

Tools & Craft #120: The Future of Furniture, Part 2 - Goals

What kind of furniture will furniture makers make in the future? Before we can reasonably predict the future of furniture, we need to understand the goals and values of the furniture's makers. Is it to build something practical? Engage in creative expression? Work practically within time and money constraints? Are

By Rain Noe - Dec 19, 2018

LogOX's Brilliant Back-Saving Forestry Multitool

An under-addressed area gets some much-needed design attention

Out here in the country I've worked alongside three guys in their 50s, 60s and 70s, and they all seem to have bad backs. Bending over to pick up dropped fasteners and tools turns into an excruciating slow-motion task for them. Doing manual labor to keep your farm or homestead

By Rain Noe - Dec 17, 2018

Rural Design Solutions: Figuring Out How to Fell a Leaning Tree Without a Chainsaw or Wedges

...and without getting crushed, of course

Two types of loud, percussive noises I often hear on the farm: Local gunfire, and trees cracking during a storm. After I moved in, a neighbor told me that "this is the shootingest neighborhood you'll ever live in," and he was right; everyone around here owns a rifle and apparently

By Rain Noe - Dec 13, 2018

Cool Tools: The Overhead Automatic Screwdrivers That Factory Workers Use

Deprag's tools even auto-feed the fasteners

Back when I visited Festool's factory in Germany (image below), I got to see workers assembling a variety of their power tools. At their workstations, the workers had these cool automatic screwdrivers hanging overhead. When they needed to drive a fastener, they grabbed the tool, brought it down to the

By Rain Noe - Dec 11, 2018

Making Custom CNC Workholding Fixtures

To execute a unique design, Frank Howarth invents a unique workholding system

People rave about the painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, but few discuss the scaffolding used to get Michelangelo up there. Sometimes when you're creating something, whether it's a work of art or an object, you first have to make an absurd amount of supporting jigs, fixtures or

By Joel Moskowitz - Dec 05, 2018

Tools & Craft #118: I Think Better on Paper - My Return to Fountain Pens

This entry will be a little different than the others

I've switched back to fountain pens. I used to use them all the time, stopped, but recently I went back to them. I think the reason might be that like using hand tools in the workshop, there is a feeling of a direct connection with what I am doing, and it's less

By Joel Moskowitz - Nov 28, 2018

Tools & Craft #117: Why New Tools Used to Arrive Unsharpened

Buying a sharp tool is actually a relatively new idea

When you purchase an edge tool (plane, chisel, knife, carving tool, etc.), it will either have a "Factory Edge" or be described as "Sharp and ready to use." The idea of having a ready-to-use status is a comparatively new idea in tool marketing. Up until fairly recently - let's say

By Rain Noe - Nov 27, 2018

Cool Tools: The Greenlee Ratcheting PVC Pipe Cutter

Clean, quick cuts, tool-less blade changes

PVC and vinyl tubing are super-useful not just for their original plumbing or electrical applications, but for DIYers and ID students seeking to cobble things together with a relatively inexpensive, easily-workable material. One potential issue is how to get clean, square cuts on the end. For vinyl tubing we looked

By Joel Moskowitz - Nov 21, 2018

Tools & Craft #116: What We Can Learn By Looking Inside Benjamin Seaton's Tool Chest

I own pretty much every hand tool ever invented. Then again, I'm a tool collector. But the reality is that many amateur woodworkers who don't think of themselves as collector also amass a huge range of tools. It's because they need them! As amateurs, we do a wide range of

By Rain Noe - Nov 21, 2018

Winner of the 2018 Collegiate Inventors Competition: The Rhino Rotary Hammer Attachment for Repointing

Hopefully it will be for sale…at a brick-and-mortar store

This week the National Inventors Hall of Fame announced the winners of the 2018 Collegiate Inventors Competition, which asks college students to demonstrate the future of innovation. We dig the competition because it focuses on actual, practical, real-world problem-solving objects. This year's Gold winner of Undergraduates came up with Rhino,

By Rain Noe - Nov 21, 2018

Australian Engineer Invents Brilliant Automotive Pulling Tool

The Mechanics Mate Quick Change Hydraulic Puller practically "makes the problem desirable"

A lot of mechanical things are created by tightly fitting one part onto another. This works well, but when things go wrong with a car, mechanics have to remove a lot of these parts: Power steering pulleys, harmonic balancers, Pitman arms. In many instances these parts have never been separated

By Rain Noe - Nov 20, 2018

DIY Bar Clamps, of Any Length You Choose

It relies on dimensional lumber for the length, and simple hardware for the rest

You can never have too many clamps, as the saying goes, and those of you who do a lot of glue-up work undoubtedly have some Bessey K-Body clamps, Jet clamps or pipe clamps lying around your shop. And there's no substitute for a good metal clamp. But let's say you're

By Rain Noe - Nov 16, 2018

Using Clever Techniques to Restore a Hopelessly Rusted, Frozen Vise

This man brings tools back from the dead

Making a boat anchor is easy: Just buy a heavy cast-iron vise, neglect it for 27 years and boom, you've got a rusty piece metal that can serve no other function. Unless, that is, you're the Swiss tinkerer behind the My Mechanics Youtube channel. He acquired an old, rusted and

By Joel Moskowitz - Nov 15, 2018

Tools & Craft #115: Paring Chisels

From the top: Paring Chisel, Ashley Iles Beveled Edge Bench Chisel, 2 more paring chisels, 2" Ashley Iles Bench Chisel, 2 Nishiki extra thin paring chisels, and a Registered Chisel. When a tool maker or seller talks about paring chisels, we don't mean chisels that can be used for paring:

By Joel Moskowitz - Nov 07, 2018

Tools & Craft #114: Thoughts on Tool Collector and Author David R. Russell's Legacy

Sometimes a person you have never met, and know only through a book, can have enormous influence on you. David R. Russell, the eminent tool collector and author of Antique Woodworking Tools, was such a person for me. I was saddened to hear that he passed away a few weeks

By Joel Moskowitz - Oct 31, 2018

Tools & Craft #113: Thomas Chippendale, Furniture Marketing Genius

What did furniture makers do before Instagram?

For many contemporary furniture makers, Instagram may serve the twin needs of inspiration and self-promotion. Whatever did the talented and ambitious do before #instafurniture, #interiordesign, #maker, #furnituregallery, and the like? I had occasion to mull over this topic at the current Metropolitan Museum exhibit, "Chippendale's Director: The Designs and Legacy