Here’s an interesting find… A set of government issue SAE ratchets. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen them before and was wondering if any of you fellas have the goods on them. The site offering them claims the utmost of quality for around $150. Regardless, they are damned cool looking!

Check it out.

I’ve recently been outfitting a vintage, sort of condensed, tool box at my office. In doing so, I’ve been thinking a lot about socket organization. Typically, I’ve always used Hansen style socket trays as pictured above. I just like the fact that with a glance you can see what sockets are in use and which you might need. That said and as silly as it sounds, they don’t exactly reflect the vintage atmosphere this particular set of tools requires.

The obvious choice in this situation is a nice set of all metal socket rails and I did, indeed, buy a set off eBay. Unfortunately, they were junk… sockets were hard to attach and when they did, they frequently fell off the rail.

So, my question for you guys… Who makes the best damn set of all metal socket rails? Failing that, what do you guys typically use for socket organization?

One of our members sent me an email the other day and included a link to a Flickr account that featured some amazingly restored old tool boxes. I’ve been staring at them for the last few days and have finally decided to post them for all to enjoy. Take some time and browse all of these photos… You will be glad you did.

GET STARTED!

So I was just sitting here at the Atomic Industry world headquarters, minding my own business, when some dude walked in with a book under his arm. Turns out, it was Lee Klancher and he wanted to show off his latest release - Motorcycle Dream Garages. A quick flip through proved he was on to something. The book features excellent photography of not only showroom garages, but real working garages as well. It focuses mostly on motorcycles shops, obviously, but the concepts are true for us all.

For more info, check out Lee’s site.

I recently got an email from a guy in Copenhagen who had just finished up his new garage space. Interestingly, he focused on using old/aged materials in the construction of his benches, shelving units, and other items in an effort to give his new space and old feeling. From the limited photography he has posted on his blog, it looks like the effort really paid off.

Check it out.

In any case, this got me thinking… Who else out there has tried using reclaimed material in the construction of their shop environments? Post pics…

It’s dangerous to leave a man to his own devices - especially if he is surrounded by tools and has a mind dead set on speed and fear. Dowie found himself in such a position and just had to be concerned about what might happen. It was warranted…

Introducing the motorized creeper. Every garage needs one.

Now here is something you don’t see everyday… Some guy in Tennessee disposes of airplanes for a living. One day, while preparing to dispose of a DC-10 fuselage, he gets an idea.

“Man… That thing is damn near big enough to make a garage out of…”

And something glorious was born.

Check it out.

I was cruising another blog this morning and stumbled across a brilliant set of “mini” saw horses. Use them for taller subjects or stack them and have a standard set of saw horses. They also look to be great as extra seating, step stools, etc…

For plans and details, check out this site.

If you don’t read Mr. Jalopy’s blog, you should… He’s one of those guys that just isn’t quite right upstairs. Maybe some wires got crossed or maybe something over developed as a kid or… something. He’s the definition of eccentric. He’s also brilliant.

Anyway, he recently posted about hand painting his vintage tool box and tools. The post has been all over the internet, but I figured I should post it here for the fellas that might not have seen it yet.

Check it out.

Back in the day, Popular Mechanics was THE magazine for fellas like us. For whatever reasons, the publication kind of disappeared and folks just stopped thinking about it… Or, at least, I did… Recently, I’ve been paying more attention to Popular Mechanics - especially online. Today, I stumbled across something great.

Popular Mechanics reviews Duct Tape!!!!!