Alrightlythen! It's holiday time!!!
If you're anything like me you struggle to find something unique AND useful for the special someone's in your life. So, this year while racking my brain for ideas I thought I'd share some of the things that gave me an Ah HA! or WuT, how did I not know this existed before?!?! kinda warm fuzzy.
Number one, get a decent blowtorch. Specifically one that lights when you pull the trigger. Just do it, you won't regret it! I fiddled around with butane lighters and the manual style torches for a few years but never really used them because they were hard to light or ran out of fuel too quickly.
For real, get a blowtorch. I mean come on, it's a blowtorch! Mine even has a name!
What will you use a blowtorch for?
You'll be surprised. This is the "every tool's a hammer" kinda tool! I use it to solder, remove stubborn bolts, heat treat / anneal metals, light the BBQ, light the fire pit, trim my hair accidentally, preheat parts prior to welding, melt aluminum, bend metal, test the flammability of surrounding objects, remove that crappy finish on black pipe for rusticy furniture, caramelize sugar on deserts, sear sous vide steak, kill weeds, impress the neighbors, and seriously I think I've just scratched the surface!
Get a blowtorch.
Here's the one I have
Blowtorch: https://homedepot.sjv.io/jYxPb + Map gas https://homedepot.sjv.io/D7955
Even distance divider tools.
It makes it sooooo easy to evenly space things with no need to do any real mathing or tedious layout lines!!! I even made my owner version, you can check it out on Instructables here: https://www.instructables.com/Even-Distance-Divider-Tool/
I also now own a metal version of the tool, like this https://amzn.to/36fDhcE
Similarly, did you know that center rulers exist? I didn't until one day when I ended up in the nether world section of McMaster Carr... https://www.mcmaster.com/2346a31
You can also get flexible center finding rulers for measuring center on curved surfaces! https://amzn.to/3q7KMdy
Pest Control
The most entertaining way to eradicate insects from your shop is by far the Bug-A-Salt
https://amzn.to/2KFsZtU It's like a nerf gun that shoots salt, and kills bugs!
I went full baller and added a laser sight too... Zero regrets! It's fun AND effective!
Reclaiming Lumber, De-Nailer
Nail guns are awesome, but reverse nail guns are even, um, awesomer-er! Like seriously, this is suuuuuuuch a satisfying tool to use and makes removing nails from old lumber fun! Ka-Thunk! Check out the video below!
Here's the Instructable with the info to also build a nail deflector if you're interested! https://www.instructables.com/De-nailer-Deflector/
Hearing Protection
Not as sexy as a blowtorch, but an important part of the shop. And if you're working with your earmuffs on for any length of time you need your tunes right?!
I used to do the earbuds under the earmuffs hack which works, but just gets annoying with extra wires and stuff in your ears. So a little over a year ago I splurged and got a set of the 3M WorkTunes. And guess what, they're awesome. They just work, are super comfortable, the Bluetooth connected easily and the AM/FM reception is great! The little attention to detail/user interface is also surprising, like if you're wearing a hat you can remove part of the middle of the headband so it doesn't press on the button of the hat! Plus the buttons are big and easy to use when wearing gloves.
That's a good place to stop for today! Thanks for reading and I'd love to hear what some of your favorite or weird tools are!
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