Hand Tool Reviews

I used this tool when I built the addition on to our home. I was able to apply construction adhesive on the floor joist in a very quick and safe manner and could control the flow with very little effort. Construction of the tool is superior, very well built it should last for years. The guide centers the gun over the joist and you just slide it along as you control the flow with one hand. Best of all it is made in the USA.

This is a very good tool. The reach is obviously a back saving feature. The trigger works well, and the guide allows a very neatly laid bead along a joist. The only problem we had was when you let the pressure off, the tube wanted to jump out of alignment. This minor annoyance was easily remedied by wrapping a piece of duct tape around the gun and tube. This tool made the task much easier.

I was a bit of a "doubting Thomas" with the description of this fixture. Just couldn't see how a fixture like this could lock solid on a round post. I have had the Tormek system for several years and all of my other fixtures for sharpening gouges, chisels, plane blades and jointer blades work like a charm. This one is no different. I guess the secret of its "lock ability" on the tool holder is the eccentric hole used to mount it. I've mainly used it to sharpen round nose lathe scrapers, but I've also found it very useful for touching up the edges of gouges and skews between full sharpening. This jig, just like anything Tormek, is expensive but works so very well. I don't hesitate to recommend it. I'm sure there are many uses that this fixture can be put to that neither I nor Tormek have noted.

At first, when I read the description, I thought that the "Torlock" thing was a salesman gimmick! Well, it isn't. It is a simple idea that stabilizes the working surface very strongly so you can hold your tool securely. Good job! A little over priced, though (like the rest of the machine...)

Vise-Grips are the tool to use for those tough jobs that shatter lesser tools -- like turning rusted bolts. Indestructible, solid, heavy-gauge steel and the right size for almost any use. It comes with a full lifetime warranty but it will probably outlast you.

WHEN YOU PURCHASE A VISE-GRIP LOCKING TOOL YOU ARE GETTING THE HIGHEST QUALITY HAND TOOL YOU CAN BUY. WHEN YOU LOCK ON TO AN OBJECT IT STAYS TIGHT, NEVER LOOSENS, LIKE A LOT OF IMPORTS! VISE-GRIP IS SUPER! I USE THEM ALL OF THE TIME FOR ALL OF MY HOME REPAIR PROJECTS.

These vise grip pilers are so very useful. You can use them to hold something in place or use them as a pair of pliers or even a wrench when you lock them down on a bolt. This particular pair is of good quality and low price. I would highly recommend it as a great product, not too much, not too little. In the end this is a tool everyone should have on their "short list" of things to own.

After carrying one of these with any vehicle I've ever had for the past 33 years, I finally lost `old reliable' somewhere - think it must of disappeared into a Black Hole where a lot of tools seem to wind up?! At this price, I went and purchased 3 more of these and distributed them throughout the house (plus one in the Harley's saddlebag) - this so (hopefully?) I'll be able to find at least one when I need it!? This tool has saved my bacon more then once over the years. Last time was out in the Mojave Desert (which has more then once jumped up and bit me!) when my Harley decided to loose it's shift lever (not uncommon) within a 100 plus mile stretch. What to do? Clamp on the ol' Vise Grips onto the shifter shaft and start looking for a replacement. Did it slightly damage the spines on the shaft? Of course. But choosing that as opposed to becoming Buzzard fodder was an easy choice!

This tool remains one of the few good deals remaining out there: American-made, high-quality and very nicely priced. My only gripe about it? They have so many styles now of this Vice-Grip available it was extraordinarily difficult just finding the basic general-purpose model! Also be forewarned: there are many imitators on the market of this tool - they are absolute garbage! As you will find out when you're broken down in the middle of bum friggin' Egypt and they just won't do the job! If it doesn't say `Vice-Grip', pass it by! :)

I've been using Vise-Grips for decades. These soft handled ones are really nice...far more comfortable than the bare handled ones. They do take a bit of getting used to if you are used to the old style, but its worth it. I've also used many different clones ("locking pliers", etc.) and nothing compares to the original Vise-Grip brand.

This 5 pc set is well worth the money, Irwin is a great brand and these vise grips are a great representation of their quality.

Just got one of these from Amazon, got here lightning fast! I must say I am very impressed with the quality of this chest. Its heavy and well constructed just like a real toolbox should be. I also ordered the bottom rack and am equally as happy with it. If you are looking for a good toolbox for home or the shop, this is an excellent choice. Overall, for the money this can't be beat. Highly recommended.

I loved this chest and the unit on casters that it sits on so much I ordered another. To put this into perspective, this chest is much heavier than anything Craftsman or Kendall make. It is in the boat with a snap-on chest. The drawers slide smoothly on roller bearings. The lock firmly locks everything in place with no give. I am SOLD on this brand. Buy it!

I've been using one all of my life - and I'm several years north of retirement age. The one I have was passed down to me from my daddy, and it's finally showing signs of wear, so I'd like to get a new one. It's an ideal tool for carrying in my tool box, because I never have to worry about dead batteries or lack of an external power supply. It's always ready.

This is such a brilliant item. I've been using them all my life; I can drill a hole through most things in the time it would take to put a bit into a cordless drill/screwdriver gadget.

This toggle bolt really saved me. I was trying to hang something, and the metal toggle bolts would pull out my drywall. This little guy can hold an enormous amount of weight and doesn't damage my wall. Very impressed.

you can spend a little more on one (or two) of these?

I had purchased a cheap caulking gun because it was "cheap" and I didn't think that it would make a difference. Boy was I dead wrong.

The gun did not even make it through one tube of silicone caulk before I canned it and bought one of these bad boys. Once in a while I need two kinds of caulk or one caulk/one glue. Heck I bought another just like it!

The built in sticker saves stepping on a gooey nail. And the cutter is real easy to find.

This is a real good tool.

Recently on the New Yankee Workshop with Norm Abrams I saw the show called, "French Side Table" In it Norm makes a Table out of Black Walnut. The interesting thing is that he glued up the table top without the use of biscuits this time, because the area of the biscuit would shrink over time creating a divot. The nature of biscuits is that they are fitted into a slot made by the biscuit joiner, and the biscuit is rather a loose fit. Even with the expansion of the biscuit from the glue it still doesn't fill the entire void. Furthermore the glue shrinks again when it fully cures. So that leads me to these dowels.
I had bought the Dowelmax complete jig system, who also sells these Expansible Dowel Pins. The Dowelmax creates a perfect fitting dowel. The precision of the tool, and the perfect fit that is created by these dowels, results in a fit so snug that the surfaces of the wood are in perfect alignment with one another. As I state in my review for the Dowelmax, the surfaces are so perfectly flush on every plane that you think you are running your hands over one piece of wood.
These dowels are compressed. What that means is that they take a slightly oversized piece of wood and compress it. When glue is applied and the joint is put together, the dowel gradually absorbs the glue and expands. This creates an incredibly tight joint.
OMS Tool Company should send some of these to the New Yankee Workshop. It ideally solves the problem that Norm is experiencing with the biscuits on table tops. Since the Dowelmax has included with the kit, a perfect registration system, and guide pins that enable you to create as many dowels as you want, over as great an area as you would like, all in perfect registration to one another.
So the advantage to this system for table tops is twofold. One there isn't any voids like with a biscuit that could later result in a divot in the top. Secondly, the fit of the dowel and its hole are so exact that it helps you to get the various boards used in the glue up, all aligned with one another. You know the problem is misalignment of glued up boards and unless you have a large and expensive production sander, you have to hand sand the seams resulting in an uneven top.
I like the glue up joint bit sold by leading router bit manufacturers to solve that problem, but the Dowelmax takes it a step further with added joinery strength.
Overall I highly recommended these expansible dowel pins, and the complete Dowelmax system.