CMU School of Drama


Friday, September 26, 2008

The Week in Tools: Toolmonger Top 5

Toolmonger: "It’s been a busy week here at Toolmonger. If you’ve been spending time in the shop — you should! — and you haven’t had a chance to keep up with Toolmonger this week, we suggest you start with these posts, which our readers helped to select"

8 comments:

Aaron S said...

First off, who needs to square something over 100'. Building aren't that accurate, and the ability to measure it will just screw people over. Now the Shop Flash is just horribly designed. They make large bells that plug into phones so you can hear them in the shop. Let's just think about this. Something that flashes like a fire alarm in the shop wont be the least bit dangerous when it goes off. Toolmonger I am disappointed.

Anonymous said...

I have to agree with the post above me, what possible use is there for a 100' tape measure? Seriously? I honestly want to meet the person who had enough issues with the tried and true framing square that there was a need to modify and make one complicated? Then there was the fairly shore battery life of this device. I know, 25 hours seems like a long time, but forget to turn this thing off once, put it up on the rack, and next time (if ever) you need the laser aspect, it's not going to work.
I'm normally a big fan of Toolmonger's "Top 5" but this week just left me dissapointed. I had the wonderful choice between a rake, a set of boots, and a speed square that fixes something that wasn't broken. I'd like to see better tools on Toolmonger again.

Serrano said...

The wolverine boots look pretty tough, but they looked pretty standard. Nothing looked all that different.

I've worked with the shop phone light, and it doesn't necessarily look like a fire alarm, but it is annoying. Just get a speaker.

David said...

I have a 100' tape and use it all the time.

Who needs to square something 100'? People that work on big things.

Anonymous said...

The rake was fairly interesting but I figure that's what your own kids or the neighbors are for. Have to agree that the flashing attention grabber for the phone in the shop is annoying. It's just one more flashy thingy to distract u.

dmxwidget said...

The 100' tape is not too useful, but it is good to know that the tool is powerful and may come in handy in a rigging situation. The push stick is the best idea. There is no reason to purchase a push stick that will be beat up and need to be replaced. Just use the scrap you have lying around and everything will work out perfectly. The pickup rake is interesting, but it looks like it might brake easy enough.

Sam Thompson said...

I agree that making your own pushsticks is the way to go. We've always got tons of scrap ply lying around, so why not use it? Honestly, thought, their pushstick didn't look all that well designed. It looked kinda long to me, which would make it difficult to control what you're cutting. I'm a fan of the design we use, which keeps your control right on top of the piece while also keeping your hands up away from the blade. I'm sure they could have designed a better pushstick.

Katherine! said...

I would just like to add that this week in the carpentry stagecraft freshmen class we made push sticks and it only took about 30 minutes. The shop now has six new lovely pushsticks. Why would you ever buy something that you can make out of a scrap of plywood?