Ready to be the envy of all the other guys at work, and still have skin left on your knuckles? Say you find yourself trying to drive a screw that is too close to a wall or other obstruction; what do you do? Normally you would try to drive the screw with your screwdriver at an angle, and lose a bit of skin against the wall in the process. This sometimes gets the job done, but often ends up stripping the head of the screw at the same time. A right angle driver might be a solution to this problem, but it will still leave the driver tip a good distance away from the wall. I believe the correct answer would be to use a flexible shaft, like the 392 Flexible Shaft bit holding screwdriver from Wera. Its flexible head allows users to screw or unscrew without having a direct line of sight to the screw. It accepts all standard 1/4” bit tips, so even those specialty screws will be no match. For under $20 you can own this German engineered bit holding screwdriver complete with a lifetime warranty.

Wera - [:cicn:] Amazon

The search for the perfect tape measure is no small task. I have yet to find one that I am 100% happy with and have been on a never ending search ever since I started working in construction. For the longest time it seems as though manufacturers were content with tape measures as they were; without even trying to come up with new ideas. Thankfully that has all changed, and the last few years have been full of a lot of really good tape measure ideas.

Johnson Level has now entered the tape measure game with a complete line of their own, and I say, the more the merrier. I don't know if Johnson has the tape measure you have been longing for, but they do have a line up that offers a ton of great features. Their top of the line Big J model includes all the features I look for in a great tape, and many more. Big J uses an extra wide 1-3/16 blade that allows for extended standout, has measure markings printed on both sides of the blade, uses a double sided hook, and is all housed in a rubberized stainless steel case. Have you ever seen a tape measure with a stainless steel case? I will be keeping my eye out for the Big J in stores. The new Johnson tape measure line has features like auto-locking and magnetic tips, to fit jobs of all types.

Johnson - [:cicn:] Amazon

OK, this is not the end of the composite world as we know it just yet, but if things keep going the way they are going now, it is probably not too far off. Last month I wrote about how SKIL has stopped selling their X Bench in California because it did not meet the new formaldehyde standards for composite wood set in the state. Well, I guess President Obama liked the new California standard so much, he decided to make it a national law. Starting January 1, 2013, all products sold in the United States will have to meet a 0.09 parts per millions or less emissions standard for formaldehyde. This means that the materials in question can release no more then 0.09 ppm of formaldehyde into the air.

We have already seen what this new standard has done to the sales of the X Bench in the state of California. Can we now expect the same thing to occur nationally? This will probably be the end of the SKIL X Bench unless they move to an approved MDF composite, but they still have a couple more years to figure things out. This new standard will affect just about any wood product that makes use of glue, so you can expect to see price increases in everything from skateboards to workbenches to home furniture. One bit of good news is that the California deadline has been extended until December 31, 2011.

via TheWoodWhisperer

It looks like there is a little bit of product moving going on amongst the brands owned by parent company Black & Decker. The very popular scroll saw that was once the DeWalt DW788, is now the (soon to be popular?) Delta 40-690. As far as specifications go the tools are exactly the same, but here is why the change is a good move for future scroll saw buyers. The Delta version of the saw comes with a 5 year warranty, while the DeWalt version comes with only a 3 year warranty.

The move also makes sense for both brands. Delta is a brand that is known for their shop and woodworking tools, and DeWalt is a brand that is known for their contractor tools. The scroll saw is hardly a saw I would consider to be a contractor tool, and would be much better represented by the Delta name. So why was the saw under the DeWalt name to begin with? Because when the DW788 was first launched Delta was not yet owned by B&D; this would not take place until years later.

It would be interesting to see if the country of origin has changed in any way because of the move. Suggested retail price for the 40-690 is $599 including stand (DW788 does not include stand).

Delta

It would be interesting to see if the country of origin has changed in any way because of the move.