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In the basement workshop, I previously had a rather large "tanker" desk. I decided to restore it and move that to the room that's the other 75% of the basement and put my computer on it. It's exactly 60-inches wide. The way the shop was organized, you couldn't really get anything but the lap...

Been perusing Lowe's seeing what they're putting out for Christmas this year. I was hoping for them to bring back the 125mm Cobra and 150mm Pliers Wrench clones they had last year. They did--except they also added a Twin Grip clone! And it's just $20, or $5 more than last year's set...

I like the mini prybars off the tool trucks--but A: it's hard to catch them at the shops where I normally meet them (though they tend to always show up somewhere at one of the restaurants near my Lowe's) and B: really expensive. I also lose them again and again. I lose the Snap-On monthly, and...

I'm wondering--when (and who) came out with 1/4 hex bits--now pretty much standard screwdriver bits? Seems that for a long time, most screwdriver bits used semi-proprietary shanks--as with Yankee push drills and Xcelite/Vaco nut driver/screwdriver sets.

I have a few 8-pt. sockets from the '60s out of an old Craftsman set my Granddad had--I thought they were mostly for square bolts and nuts. Recently, I was ordering a couple Williams sockets to replace Kobalt ones I'd recently lost out of my 1/4 kit (for US-made and the same price as imported...

For most of us, I'm sure the little orange carb adjustment screwdriver (as well as Screnches and T27 L-Keys) are familiar Stihl tools. But, apparently they have some nice German-made screwdrivers sold through the parts system. The dealer had a nice looking T20 laying on the counter--it was...

Been helping a buddy of mine a lot with his stuff, and his family's stuff is almost exclusively '80s and '90s GM. And it's been requiring a lot of metric, same goes for the '01 Deere riding mower of ours. Problem is--I'm not that good on metric. From when he was younger than me, to when he was...

I've been helping a family friend (and learning in the process) do several maintenance/restoration jobs on various (mostly '80s GM) vehicles. Thus, I've decided to build a box I can throw in a car/UTV easily--based on automotive work only, as opposed to my current hand boxes being pretty well...

After my Granddad passed in '23, I've been slowly organizing tools and getting an organized shop. However, my shop's actual toolbox (a 27" Craftsman from the '90s) is virtually destroyed. My Dad used the shop for years, and tended to break a lot of my Granaddad's stuff. He had overloaded the...

Last year, I decided to dip my toes into cordless outdoor power equipment, starting with this little Craftsman which was on sale at the time. A little gutless, but works amazingly well in tight spaces. The reduction in noise, vibration, and especially weight make it much easier to use. Mostly...

Recently got started on sharpening a Kobalt (made in Mexico) 1.25 lb. hatchet so that I could use it to save my good USA (Kelly/True Temper, Collins, Estwing, Council) and European (Finnish Fiskars, German Ochsenkopf) from chips. I was using an old Nicholson USA mill ******* file, and I noticed...

I've got an old '80s-ish rototiller with a 4 (maybe 4.5?) HP horizontal Briggs and Stratton engine that I recently pulled out of storage, since for near 20 years, it had been replaced with a 5 ft. PTO model that goes behind the tractor. The engine is, effectively, worn out, and it's been out...

I am getting ready to warranty an oldish Mac X8R 3/8 drive next week--in addition to being stripped/broken, it was pretty rusty and beat up. I asked the sales rep a couple months back before I re-located it; and he said that he'd try to get it warrantied despite the poor condition. I don't...

I was watching an old 1999 episode of Modern Marvels, in which they featured Stanley Antivibe hammers being made in Shelbyvlle, TN. Yet, they're all made in China now--including the Mac and Proto ones. I'm curious, when did this plant close? My only Stanley hammer is about 40 years old, so...

I retired an heirloom 6" Crescent (which despite nearly six decades of constant use and abuse--still works quite fine) in favor of a Proto J706 (which I assumed would be old stock USA--got modern Taiwanese) and was not impressed with it--too heavy, rattled, and just felt cheaply made for the...