And when I say big, I mean BIG. You can win a custom built Vise-Grip Chopper, or $25,000 cash. All you have to do is tell IRWIN VISE-GRIP your unique story on how you use your Vise-Grip.

 For years, IRWIN has received hundreds of unsolicited stories from professional tradesmen, contractors and do-it-yourselfers about the unique ways they’ve used a VISE-GRIP product outside of its traditional use to solve various problems either in a pinch or as a permanent solution. The stories range from makeshift nut crackers and portable camera stands to temporary gear levers for dirt bikes and door handles.

From July 1 – Oct. 31, 2008, consumers can enter their VISE-GRIP stories at www.irwin.com/vise-grip. Entries must describe the way they used their VISE-GRIP in 100 words or less and can include a photo of the product in use. The contest entries will be judged from Nov. 1 – 15, 2008 to identify the top 50 stories. The story entries will be selected based on creativity, originality and how the story fits with the product theme. Consumers will have a chance to vote on the top entries to help select the winner from Nov. 16 – Dec. 19, 2008. The contest winner will be announced by Feb. 2009.

But that is not all; Irwin Vise-Grip also has a bunch of other prizes that you can win, without having a cool story to tell. Via a random drawing.

For complete promotion contest rules and details, please visit Irwin Vise-Grip

I am not one to get all googly over anything that is green. Even though the website is the color green, you wont find me living in a tree, or trying to save an endangered mosquito. Even still, I do try to recycle as much as possible.

The one tool that everyone needs. From building multimillion dollar hotels, to do it yourself home repairs, we all need it... the pencil.

So what makes a pencil a Super Pencil™ ? It must have super powers of course. The Super Pencil looks very similar to your average carpenter pencil, but aside from that, they are nothing alike.

OK enough with the small talk. Lets get down to the features.

• It is wood free. That's right boys and girls, a non-mechanical pencil without a  wooden exoskeleton.This means it has a 100% writable surface.
  

That should make the tree lovers happy.

• It is made completely from a non-toxic graphite composite.

That should make the environmentalist happy.

• It is flexible, and water and smudge resistant.

Something that should impress the Olympic gymnastics and swim teams.

• It is extremely durable, never needs sharpening, marks on wood, paper, and concrete, and lasts seven times longer then wooden pencils.

Something we all can love.

Sounds to me like it lives up to its name.

Be sure to check out more cool products and the Super Pencil at C.H. Hanson's website .

Bosch has come out with some news blades that should really make a lot of people happy.

First up is the long awaited stainless steel blade. Anyone who has had to cut stainless steel knows how hard it is to cut with a standard bi-metal blade. You could only get a few cuts out of one blade before it was useless, and that was even while using cutting oil. The new stainless steel blade from Bosch has an 8% cobalt steel additive, which increases heat and wear resistance. It is also recommended that you use cutting oil on the surface to reduce heat build-up, and the tool should be in the non-orbital mode running at less the 1,500 strokes per minute. They are available in 18-TPI for 8 to 16 gauge steel and 36-TPI for thinner steel, from 16 to 26 gauge.

Next up is the Bosch Extra Clean for Wood jigsaw blade. What makes these blades different then your standard blade is the fact that they cut on both the up, and down stroke. Most blades cut in only one direction, leaving the opposite side of the material vulnerable to chipping or splintering. The Bosch patented tooth design has a scalpel tooth to produce clean cuts on the bottom, and a pointed tooth to cut the top. The Extra Clean for Wood blade is ideally suited for fine woodworkers, cabinet makers, or finish carpenters .

You can visit Bosch Tools to find a dealer near you.

Milwaukee is coming out with a brand new line of 12" miter saws. They are looking to step up from their 10" line. The saws are set to go on sale early in July, which is surprising considering how little information there is about them. The 12" sliding compound miter saw 6955-20 will cost $700, and the non-slider 6950-20 will be $500.

There are a few things that do make these saws unique. They have 2 built in lights to illuminate your material, and they are the first contractor saw to offer a digital miter degree readout.

Milwaukee Miter Saws set the new standard for quick, repeatable accuracy. Miter angle digital readout provides repeatable accuracy to 0.1°. Miter angle fine adjust with detent override makes it simple to dial-in precise miter angles. Dual integral jobsite lights increase productivity by fully illuminating the cut line. - MilwaukeeToolNews

You can see one light just to the side of the blade, and I would assume it would be the same for the other side. The digital miter readout can also be seen, just in front of the miter control handle. One thing I do not see in the above photo, is the rails that the sliding compound miter saw slides on. This saws looks to be very promising, so if you are in the market for a new 12" miter saw, you will definitely want to wait a month, and check these out.

Related reading - Toologics

 Well, maybe not, but they look like they are supposed to be fun.

Have a little caulking to do, but don't need a full tube? Or maybe you don't even own a caulking gun. GE has taken something that already exists , put it in a fancy package, given you less, and is charging you more. 

Why?

Because they need to pay for all that fancy packaging. Well, at least that is my theory. I guess they are targeting the ultra hip and modern generation. The kind of person that will buy something based only on its looks.

75 cents a package is worth it, $2.48 is not. 

The day we became free, and a day we celebrate being free. Happy 4th

If you are one of the few that can afford the $1300 Festool Kapex, you can pre-order yours today form Rockler , and it will ship for free July 1. If you can not afford one of these ultra cool saws, but you just want to check it out, head on over to your  local Rockler store for a Demo. Then you will see how amazing it is, still not be able to afford it, and wish you had never even heard of the Kapex. :)

The Lift-n-LOK is the type of thing I like to see. Small family companies building functional products, made in the USA.

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It is a little too late for Fathers day, but this would sure make a great gift for just about anyone. From birthdays to Mothers day. Just be sure that if you get one, review it here.

The Lift-n-LOK looks like the best tool/fastener organization system I have seen in a long time. The only thing I would like to see, is more sizes, and some available with wheels and luggage style handle. This would make it more portable for jobsite work.

If PDY Systems would like to send me a free demo, I would be happy to do a full review. :)

I hope you all have received/given lots of tools for Fathers Day.

Just say no to Ties