Battery Tester

When you’ve got a kitchen drawer full of batteries of every type, don’t just save them for posterity. Test them instead, on the most accurate and versatile battery tester you can own. Not a crude toy, but a sophisticated, microprocessor-based instrument that puts a 2-second test load through each battery before bright LED’s display condition from 20-100%. So you’ll know exactly how much life is left. Tests not only common 9 volt, AAA’s AA’s, C’s and D’s; but 3v lithium photo batteries; 1.5v series; NiCd rechargeables, and 1.2v NiMH. All the battery types that we depend on for portable power! Runs on 4 AAA’s.
Multi Battery Tester $29.95

The Digital Battery Tester. £5.99. Useful little widget for battery users everywhere, especially if you’re fed up fiddling around with a multimeter to check on old cells.

The LCD display of this Digital Battery Tester clearly indicates the voltage of D, C, AA, AAA and 9 V batteries, especially as there are two different scales for 1.5 V and 9 V batteries. It’s compact design is another advantage.

Better-Than-a-Barrow

Use Better-Than-a-Barrow around the yard, or to haul bulky gear to your boat. Its rugged steel frame can carry loads of over 350 lbs. — so you can move large loads of firewood with ease. Best of all, the collapsible main sling lies flat on the ground. So you can rake, roll, push, or slide heavy cargo right in — without arduous lifting. Low center of gravity makes it a cinch to control and stabilize bulky, heavy loads that would topple a wheelbarrow. Heavy-gauge, powder-coated steel frame folds easily with quick-release system — hangs up to store in surprisingly small space. Weighs 21.5 lbs.; 69” long. $129.95

Jeweler’s Screwdriver

5-in-the-Barrel Jeweler’s Screwdriver

The repairs seem small, but they loom large if you don’t have the right stuff. Keep 5-in-1 handy, and you can swiftly repair watch bands, eyeglasses, small hinges, cameras, and delicate electronic equipment.5 different blades (Phillips and slotted) cover most applications. Knurled hollow handle, beautifully machined from a solid bar of anodized aluminum, gives surprisingly good leverage for stubborn screws. Steel tips with black oxide coating store inside — so they’ll never get separated. Just twist the barrel to lock a blade in place, and solve today’s challenge! Made right here in the USA. 5-in-1 Tool $19.95

Dongle management

Two plugs for each power strip outlet.

"10 amp/125 volts; will not overload power strips."

$14.95 for two here.


Liberate Your Power Strip From Transformer Tyranny — Use All the Outlets You Paid For!

Industrial designers have gotten clever. Offload the AC-to-DC conversion circuitry onto a transformer plug, and you can create sleeker, smaller, lighter gear. Unfortunately, you and I have to deal with all those bulky transformers, which completely block all the adjacent outlets on your power strip. Instead, just plug these fully grounded 12” patch cords into your strip’s outlets, then plug the transformers into the Liberator’s receptacle. You’ll have a neater installation, and regain full use of your power strip.

Monkey Hook

What's A Monkey Hook™

The Amazing Monkey Hook™ is a US Patent-Pending lightweight, super-strong spring steel product that enables anyone to hang a picture, mirror, or wall accessory of up to 50 lbs. securely and in just seconds, with No Tools Needed!!

Electrical Code changes

[via Mike Holt's listserve] ARTICLE 388 Surface Nonmetallic Raceways

A surface nonmetallic raceway is a common method of adding a raceway when exposed conduit systems are not esthetically acceptable and concealing the raceway is not economically feasible. Surface nonmetallic raceway is less expensive than comparable surface metallic raceway and more easily installed, but may not be as impact resistant. However, it does not dent, deform, or loose paint like the metallic versions, so it may retain its appearance longer.

When surface nonmetallic raceways are used for both signaling and power, the raceways must have separate compartments, one compartment is for power and lighting, and anther compartment is available for control, signaling, or communications wiring. The revised text clarifies that identification of the separate compartments can be accomplished by methods other than color.

Tri-Tower Masonry Lift

This Masonry Lift [scroll down the page] is used to transport cinder blocks and bricks around the work site. Reduces the weight supported by the masons during bricklaying activities. To study additional ergonomic interventions for the construction industry, please contact: Dr. Gary Mirka, mirka @ eos.ncsu.edu, Associate Professor of Industrial Engineering at North Carolina State University.

New abrasive concept

Abranet is a revolutionary product for vacuum-assisted sanding operations.

The secret to the dust free characteristics is the mesh backing, which strongly resembles a window screen. Thousands of small holes allow dust and air to flow freely through the entire disc virtually eliminating air born dust.

Abranet discs outlast traditional abrasives for greater efficiency because the mesh design reduces clogging and pilling and paper life is extended greatly.

Please Note: Use of a conversion back-up pad is required to achieve dust free sanding.

Eagle-America sells grits from 80 to 600, yes 600, at $40 for 50 discs. The dustless pad is only available for Dewalt and Porter-Cable currently and costs $25. ToolPeddler is a bit cheaper.


Drywall sanding improvements:

The Deco Sander telescopic sanding tool heralds a completely new era when sanding walls and ceilings.

Sanding becomes faster, more effective and easier; and best of all, dust-free. The secret lies in Mirka´s unique sanding material, Abranet, together with a telescopic sanding tool attached to a vacuum cleaner.

Blow up drawings

The Rasterbator is a web service which creates huge, rasterized images from any picture. The rasterized images can be printed and assembled into extremely cool looking posters up to 20 meters in size. The Rasterbator is very easy to use. You can either upload a file from your computer or use any file that is publicly available in the Internet. After you have cropped the image and selected a desired size, the rasterbated image will be sent to you as an easily printable pdf file. Using The Rasterbator requires that you have Macromedia Flash Player 7 and Adobe Reader (or other pdf viewer).

Window cleaner

I've have never purchased a better glass cleaner than Invisible Glass. It is profoundly better than other methods and pays for itself with much faster cleaning.

Stoner Inc. was one of 7 organizations to win the 2003 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation's premier award for performance excellence and quality achievement. This recognition places Stoner among just 13 small business winners since the award's inception by Congress in 1987.

Electric Panel Heater

How economical is it to run the heater?
It is one of the most economical heaters on the market today. Because the heater is of such a low wattage (only 425 watts), it uses just pennies of electricity per hour to operate depending on the region. This compares well with other space heaters that use up to 18 cents or more per hour.

What size room will the heater warm?
A room about 10 ft long by 10ft wide (100 square feet) with average insulation. Our 425 watt heater model has been specifically designed to heat on average a room size of 100 square feet of floor area even in the coldest parts of northern USA and Canada. In rooms that have one or more of the following conditions: inferior insulation, many windows, staircases leading upwards, adjoining rooms that cannot be closed off (open plan) or outside entrances - this ratio may have to be lowered slightly. For rooms with above average insulation or warmer climates this ratio might be able to be increased. You can add as many heaters as you like to heat any size room, home or office. For rooms with no insulation or for rooms such as sunrooms with entire walls made of glass we recommend a ratio of one 425watt heater per 50 square feet of floor area.

About $70 at eheat.

Fish tape puller

"The More you pull the more it grabs"

Two-handed action for twice the pulling force!

Quickly and securely clamping a fish tape by its cam action hinge, this tool provides two-handled pulling leverage of a fish tape. It also safely holds the tape regardless of the pulling force, prevents, kinks in the tape and eliminates using pliers that can slip off the tape causing possible injury to the installer. Made of hardened steel casting, it is 11" long.

Precision hardened steel casting, 100% made in America, 8 oz. 11" long: "Hingenious" Fish Tape Puller

Swing-Saw hacksaw

An innovative solution to a tough problem: how to saw square by hand without even looking.

The Swing-Saw meets this challenge head on! Thousands of applications in automotive, aviation, boating, camping, construction, plumbing and electrical installations.

This labor saving hand tool is a clever combination of a vise and a miniature hacksaw. The top lever is moved back and forth as the body of the Swing-Saw is squeezed and the unique gripping vise clamps the part on both sides. Maximum vise opening is 1-1/2".

Unlike a conventional hacksaw and vise, the Swing-Saw has a six to one leverage advantage, providing strong cutting action. Using the Swing-Saw insures a perfectly square cut every time!

Sawsall square-cut jig

The Mighty Miter by Seatek Cuts Virtually Anything Perfectly Square.

This labor saving accessory makes it a snap to cut at a right angle any material: round, square, or rectangular tubing, wood or plastic molding, angle bar, EMT, extrusions, threaded rods, etc. The unique quick clamping system can be quickly engaged or disengaged and adjusted to accept all different sizes of material from 3/16" to 2". The Mighty-Miter can easily cut long lengths of material right on the ground! Simply clamp the material in the vee, start the saw and apply downward pressure. The clamping assembly is designed to automatically swing upward which provides a neat way to cut heavy or large size material in place.

Collapsing hacksaw

The Only Hacksaw that You Can Fold and Pack
The Fold-A-Saw can be quickly folded to a compact size for carrying or storage. It is comprised of two folding swing arms that nest neatly into the “U” shaped channel. Space is provided inside this channel for storage of two hacksaw blades and the Fold-A-Saw accepts standard 12" blades. It has a built-in guard and soft cushioned rubber inserts for comfort.

Light Bulb of the Future

Light Bulb of the Future Arriving Soon
What if you could buy a bulb that will last for 10 years, use about a tenth of the electricity and cost no more than three times that of a standard bulb? And it can bounce. Jack Goeken thinks he has created just such a "superbulb." Complete story