Steel PopWroach

Hi Folks,

Well it's a cloudy Monday here in the northeast. At least it's a bit warmer now and it looks like we are finally out of the woods as far as frost is concerned. I will be planting a bunch of vegetables this week, but I'm still going to be cautious about my tomatoes and peppers and give it another week or two for those. I did spy a little flower forming on some protected zucchini (courgettes for the Brits, hehe) that I have going.

In other news, I never thought I would be stoked to go to the dentist, but that is where I am going this afternoon...my appointment in March was cancelled just two days beforehand because of the shutdown. So I have been waiting for two months to get a broken filling fixed. Really not fun, and a daily reminder of the utter craziness of this time. More on that shortly, because "The Captain" is coming...

So today I finally have the new PopWroaches ready to go. This is the latest tool in the captive bit Superbug series and it continues that evolution. In this CPM 154 steel compact tool I have included the new style captive bit dock, which allows for bit retention using just two o-rings. These are similar to the recent Mini LockNut Monsters, but theyare smaller and have a surface ground finish. Instead of the open wrench jaws on the front end, here we have a 5/16 wrench/cap lifter. I gave them a pointy but slightly rounded pocket friendly nose which can be used as a gentle pry tip, or in a pinch it can pop tape on a package. The back end has the usual pry tip/screwdriver with an oversized and generously chamfered lanyard hole to make these easy to throw on your key ring. There are my usual wide ranging variety of decorative stamps, and I have a few lefties available.

The PopWroaches will run $65 plus shipping and it's a modest batch so I will make it a one per customer limit on them please, so more folks get a chance at them.

Thanks as always for stopping by today. I deeply appreciate the continued support and interest in my crazy little projects, and especially in this difficult time when so many less fortunate folks have lost their jobs, or even their lives. Stay safe, stay sane and stay handy my friends!

Sold Out, thanks again everyone!

Twisted Tim 90s

Hi Folks,

Got a super quick little batch for you today...titanium Twisted Tims with 90 degree twist...these are the TT version with pry tip end.

TT90s will run $75 plus shipping and it is VERY small batch, so one per customer please. Stay safe, stay sane, and above all stay handy my friends! :)

Gone in a flash! Thanks guys!

 

Titanium QuickDraws!

Hi Everyone,

Well, it's pretty darned chilly out there again this morning. It was a rather frosty 34f when I looked at the thermometer earlier, and we'll be lucky if we make it to 60f today. Much to my horror and disgust, they are even calling for a chance of snow on Saturday and the high will only be 45f...this is totally nuts! I'm really looking forward to some warmer days but it looks like we are in for at least another week of this. Good time to do some sales...

For many years I have thought about making some sort of little drawing tool. In this age of digital design, there is still something very cool, dare I say refreshing, about taking a pencil to paper and making an actual mark rather than simply pushing pixels around on a screen. Modern technology is certainly wonderful in many ways, but I think there is still tremendous value in maintaining that connection with our ancient and simpler selves. The current Covid Crisis is making that even more apparent. No matter where it all takes us, or how fancy it all gets, using physical tools and making things by hand will always have their place. And it's an important human place that I believe is worth visiting every day.

Today I have a simple little drawing tool for you. I wanted something durable that I could have in my wallet and use as a quick reference for the angles 30, 60 and 90 degrees. I wanted a pencil slot so I could make a 45 degree angle mark. I also wanted two small measuring scales, and for an attachment hole a 1/4 hex was the obvious choice. The result is the QuickDraw!

Made of thin .076 titanium, these tiny tools are very light of course, but there is still enough there to have some substance. I have multi anodized most of them with bright contrasting colors, although there are a dozen plain ones available too. They are all stamped and have my usual wide variety of images...this first batch is titanium but I may make some with other materials in the future, we'll see how it goes.

Titanium QuickDraws will run $55 plus shipping. Thanks for stopping by today, hope you all are staying healthy, sane and handy in these crazy times!

All gone for now, thank you so much folks! :)

Mini LockNut Monsters

Hi Folks,

Well it's another freezing cold week here in Massachusetts, but at least the sun is shining. Spring is certainly taking it's sweet time getting here though with temperatures in April well below average, so it wasn't just my imagination. And so far May is looking like it will be quite chilly as well. But that hasn't stopped the hungry little black flies, which swarm around my head as soon as I step foot in the garden. I have a secret weapon against them however, a camo trucker hat with built in bug net. So I can wear that and then go about my business relatively undisturbed.


I don't have too much to report on new projects, but they are slowly coming along. Hopefully I'll have the little QuickDraw tools done by the end of the week...

Today I have a brand new version of an older tool for you. The Mini LockNut Monster is a bit lighter in weight and about 25% smaller than the original version which I made many years ago, measuring just 3.3" long. These are made of CPM 154 steel, with a light raw bar finish. Features include five American wrench sizes 1/4-1/2", rear pry tip/screwdriver, and my new compact captive bit system. I omitted the cap lifter from the original design to give these a smaller footprint.

These cute little guys are stamped with a wide variety of images. It is not a very big batch, so it will be a limit of two per customer please. I may make more later this year depending on how things go, but at least this batch will get them started.

Mini LockNut Monsters will run $75 each plus shipping. Thanks for coming by today and hope you all are staying healthy!      

All gone, thank you so much!