As Gary pointed out the other day in his Quick Tip, a simple ruler can come in really handy on the jobsite and you probably have an old one from a combination square lying around somewhere. But is the Paolini Pocket Rule from Woodpeckers better solution?
Stanley Tools is celebrating the 50th anniversary of what is probably the most popular tape measure in the US, the Stanley PowerLock. To commemorate the anniversary, Stanley will be releasing a series of five limited edition tape measurers.
As a finish carpenter, I have an apron pocket assigned for a small combination square. (In addition to whatever else finds its way in that pocket) But I notice that after tightening the ruler in the base over and over again, inevitably the day comes when the ruler no longer tightens in the base and it's time for a new combo square. So it was that as I was digging around in my tool box, I found a couple of loose steel rulers. Now I'm not one to throw something out if it has a purpose, but what can...
Johnson has come out with a couple of new torpedo levels designed to meet the specific needs of tradesmen. These 6-inch and 9-inch levels are not your typical plastic torpedo levels but instead are machined out of solid aluminum and offer other professional features.
A couple of years ago Johnson Level first introduced their bamboo levels. Bamboo is advantageous to use for a number of reasons including strength and sustainability, so is it any wonder that they have decided to introduce a line of T-Bevels and Try-Squares that use the fast growing grass?
Kreg has come out with a new layout tool that just might be good enough to replace your combination square for good. Why? Everything I use my combination square for the Kreg Multi-Mark can do, but it can also do so much more.
Bosch currently has five different laser distance measurers on the market today, so you would think that they have every customer covered throughout their range. But the original DLR165K is no longer available and it looks like Bosch is going to fill that gap with the new smaller GLM 50 that made its way to us from across the pond.
Update: Website and additional photos added.
Early next year Swanson Tools will be launching a new professional line of hand tools called Savage. Now I always figured Swanson tools were already for professionals, so I guess this new line of tools will be for more professional professionals, not just your everyday run of the mill professional.
When we are looking for accurate and repeatable measurements, we often turn to the trusty story pole. Though, our story pole usually consists of just a scrap piece of wood that is either cut to the right length or has measurement markings drawn on it. After all, being able to use the scraps we already have on hand, is what makes the story pole great. But what if you are doing a lot of measuring, and you need something that is going to be able to handle the abuse that goes along with production work? ...
Finally we have a solution for getting marks or lines in really narrow places. Countless numbers of times I find that I need to mark layout holes for brackets, but the small holes combined with the thickness of the brackets make it impossible to get the tip of a pen or pencil through. Bleispitz has a new product that is specifically designed to reach into narrow places and make marking a simple task again. What they have is a marker with a tip that is almost a full inch in length (25mm). The tip...
