Now This is a Hot One!

BernzOmatic 2 Piece Brass Utility Torch Kit UL100

There’s something seductive about using a propane torch for soldering: the scent of hot metal, the sizzle of solder flux beneath the flame, the nearly invisible blue flame, and that faint tang of incompletely burnt light hydrocarbons tickling the cilia at the back of your nose. Yeah, sweating pipe – it’s my latest addiction: no namby-pamby soldering irons and little globs of solder on wires for me, gimme that graceful cone of blue fire any time.

OK, buy me that graceful cone of blue fire… my tool of choice is an everyday ordinary brass torch from the people who brought propane torches to the masses: BernzOmatic. My Dad had one of these puppies at least forty years ago (hmmm, wonder where that one disappeared to?), so it's made by a venerable company. I picked up one of their UL100 kits when I started sweating pipe myself this past spring, and here’s what I got:

How to Make Putting Up Fence a G-Rated Task

Cooper Tools Heavy-Duty Fence Pliers BMC-3276

My dad was a quiet man, a man not much given to “blue” language;neither of which traits I confess I didn’t fully inherit. However, there were a couple of incidents that could usually make my dad loose his cool and mutter an oath or two (and not always under his breath, either). One of those things – for both of us, in fact – is a good shot on the thumb with your hammer.

Makes Cutting Carpet Pad a Breeze

Rockwell RW8943 Sonicrafter Sonishear Scissor Attachment

A couple of years ago my wife gave me a Rockwell Sonicrafter as a Christmas present. The model 5140 came with a handful of attachments, some of which I’ve already used in projects. In particular, the little cutoff saws have proven very useful for working in tight places.

Not long ago, I had an occasion to use another attachment, the Sonishear Scissor Attachment (model RW8943). All the rugs and runners in the house were slipping hazards on our hardwood and tile floors, so that same wife picked up a big sheet of Mohawk’s rug pad. The problem, of course was that the pad was about 8 x 10 feet, but the rugs were… well, let’s just say “smaller.” The upshot? We needed to make four cuts in the thick mat, a total of about 26 feet of slicing. The rubber-backed fiber padding was far too thick (about ¼ inch) to cut with regular scissors and while my attempt to cut it with tin snips was successful, I figured it would take a couple of hours (and some very sore hands) to finish all that cutting.

The Power Tool I Didn't Know I Needed -- Until I Did

Rockwell RK5140K 3.0-amp Sonicrafter

Apparently every well-equipped DIYer’s workshop needs an oscillating multitool – at least that’s what the BigBox stores told my wife when she was shopping a couple of Christmases ago. That’s why she gave me a Rockwell Sonicrafter kit that year. 

I’ll be honest: I looked at the thing, took all the pieces-parts out of the handy carrying case, and then shoved it under the workbench with several other power tools that only come out for special jobs, like a palm nailer and an angle grinder. I pretty much forgot all about this tool until starting my latest DIY job, remodeling the powder room in the new home. After pulling all the fixtures and removing the molding, my next step was to pull up the cheesy-looking sheet vinyl floor in preparation for laying ceramic tile. I’d started that rather laborious process by hand, using a heat gun and a scraper, before I remembered the multitool sitting unused in the workshop. Yippee! Not only did I have a chance to use the new toy, but I had a much faster way to strip that crummy flooring!