In a Tight Spot? That’s Where You Need Some Finger-Bit Screwdrivers

Titan 3-Piece Finger Bit Screwdriver Set

All you toolheads out there have heard someone say, "A thousand clamps is a good start." The same adage works for screwdrivers: just when you think you have a screwdriver for every situation, a different screw proves you’re wrong. So I'm quite likely to buy the next weird screwdriver design when I have the chance. That’s the main reason I have a Titan 3-Piece Finger Bit Screwdriver Set. 

Description

Unlike a traditional screwdriver with its long handle and integral shank, a finger bit design is stubbier than the stubbiest screwdriver in your toolbox. Each driver consists of a 1” disk about ½” thick with a 1-inch cylinder centered in the disk. The cylinder has a female hex socket on one end and a female ¼-inch drive socket on the other. The disk’s rim has a diamond pattern for better grip. The whole assembly is somewhere about the size of a ping-pong ball, and all told weighs maybe 1¼ ounces. 

Sometimes, Building a "Better" Mousetrap Doesn't Make Sense

Lufkin L725SCTMP 25-foot x 1-inch Self-Centering Tape Measure

It used to be that products stood on their own because of their virtues, whether they be convenience and quality or something else that's intangible. Apparently now, manufacturers believe every product must always be continually “new and improved” or the shareholders won’t get their dividends. Who cares what the customers need, let’s give them what we think they might want! 

KomelonUSA 2125 Gripper-X Tape Measure ~ 1" x 25' from: Hardware World

A while back I inherited (that’s a long story) a Lufkin L725SCTMP 25-foot x 1-inch tape measure. Like almost every other tape measure in its price class, this product has the obligatory belt clip, inch-wide fluorescent yellow tape marked for 16-inch stud spacing, thumb lock, and power return. It’s a bulky package at 3” high, 3½” front to rear, and about 2” thick (including the belt clip). It’s beefy, too, sagging those jeans with a whoppin’ 14 ounces of high-visibility orange plastic and black “ergonomic” rubber trim.

Electric Receptacle Safety Checks, Easy and Inexpensive

Gardner Bender Receptacle Tester and Circuit Analyzer GRT-3500

Buying your first house can be an educational experience. By the time you get to the fifth or sixth purchase, you notice patterns – and one such pattern seems to be how many do-it-yourselfers are confused about the simple task of wiring an electrical outlet. I’m happy to say that not a single outlet in the house we just sold was wired with reverse polarity. Not so with the new house, which features a finished basement where work was done by “an engineer.” I suspect an engineer of the software variety, since an electrical engineer is pretty unlikely to install the light switches upside down. Ya think?

Oh, well, at least he didn’t use lamp cord instead of 12-gauge Romex® to control ceiling fans on 20-amp circuits – been there, seen that, about three houses ago…

One Room Down and Eight to Go: Replacing Ugly, Dated Ceiling Fans

Harbor Breeze Springfield 52-inch Fan

Realtors tell homeowners that painting the walls white makes it easier for a potential buyer to visualize his or her stuff in place, and therefore more likely to sell. Maybe that’s why the previous owners of our house turned everything white: the walls and ceilings, the floor tile, the kitchen appliances, the molding, bathroom fixtures.... and ceiling fans. There were nine ceiling fans in the house, all totally white or white trimmed in bright brass. "Yuck!" We replaced them all, one after another. 

The first fan out the door was the noisy, wobbly critter in the upstairs room. It was also butt-ugly and not big enough for the space. The neighborhood Lowe's sold us a Harbor Breeze Springfield 52-Inch model. It didn’t have a bit of white: it was black. The next day, the old fan came off and the new one took its place in a fairly typical DIY fashion (I estimate that I’ve installed almost enough ceiling fans to be considered a “pro”)

You're Still Running Black Tires? Mine are Bright Orange!

Fenner Urethane Bandsaw Tires

I once picked up a 14-inch band saw for free – all I had to do was haul that hefty ol’ Delta 28-243 from Houston to Austin, Texas. You can’t beat that kind of deal with a stick. When I got it, it was about fifteen years old and had spent its entire life in an un-air conditioned Texas garage. In other words, the original rubber tires pretty much disintegrated the first time I used it, so I picked up a pair of replacement tires online – Fenner Urethane Band Saw Tires, most notable (at least at first glance) for being the precise shade of orange of a Tennessee Vols fan’s favorite t-shirts. More to the point, though, I slapped them on and the saw has functioned just fine ever since. 

Is a Framing Nailer for You? Heck Yeah: Hammers are so Twentieth Century!

Porter-Cable FR350 Round-Head Framing Nailer

In case you hadn’t noticed, no one uses a hammer on a construction site any more. Instead, at most sites you’ll find air hoses snaking everywhere and the air filled with the sounds of the “sneezes” that are the trademark of air nailers. After owning a Porter-Cable FR350 Round-Head Nailer for several years, I know why: they beat the heck out of a hammer!

Specifications and Usage 

If you thought your bulging biceps would miss that 22-oz framing hammer, you’ll appreciate the 12.7 pound heft of the FR350, about the same as other brands’ competing models. Using the nailer is easy once you get used to the weight and bulk, thanks to its dual-mode trigger and quick-load magazine. The nailer is shipped with a ¼” male quick-connect and an adjustable exhaust vent, You'll be glad you can rotate the vent after one a face-full of exhaust! The nosepiece comes with a removable rubber cushion to protect more delicate surfaces, its removal reveals a barbed foot that improves toenailing. The FR350 comes with a bottle of oil, the 3 hex wrenches you’ll need to adjust it or clear nail jams, and a plastic carrying case. The case has space for about a dozen nail strips. 

If You’re Building a Cabinet with Plywood, Here’s how to Hide the “Sandwiches”

Band-It Wood Veneer Edge Banding

Every time a woodworker plans a new project, he (or she) must make a choice:  build with solid lumber, or use furniture-grade plywood? It’s easier to decide when we're building a project without large, flat elements; but if you’re crafting a cabinet or some other enclosed piece, quality plywood means saving on material cost; plus plywood is sometimes easier to work with than solid lumber. I've used plywood to build bookshelves from birch and maple, and built a Mission-style media cabinet with oak. Most times the "sandwich" edges of my plywood are hidden by solid-wood face frames, but in some cases the edges remain exposed. Where an edge would be prominent, like the top of a cabinet, I’ll use solid wood to frame the plywood; but for the surfaces that remain hidden most of the time I use Band-It Wood Veneer Edging.