ToolSkool Reviews

During the National Hardware Show this past May, my attention was diverted to a booth that had a very fascinating demonstration.  They were showing a roll of silicone tape that could be wrapped around most any kind of pipe, or tubing including electrical wiring, water lines, even a radiator hose.  It’s called Rescue Tape.  Once wrapped in place, this tape is waterproof and even somewhat fire resistant.  The demonstrations included wrapping a spewing water line, wrapping a pipe under water, and taking a flame to the tape once it’s wrapped around a tube and waiting for several seconds before it even seemed to scorch it.  It will eventually burn, but not quickly.  

So, I took a couple of rolls home, so that I could give it a try, and forgot about it.  A couple of months ago, I went out of town for a business trip, and when I came home I found that I had quite a bit of standing water in my kitchen.  The water line to my refrigerator had developed a couple of small pinholes, and water was spewing out of the line and going all over my kitchen, even leaking into my basement.  That’s when I remembered that I had the Rescue Tape and decided to try it out.  

The first pass I made wasn’t quite as easy as they had made it look in the demonstration at the booth, but hey, that’s what they do at trade shows all the time.  They have a lot more practice than I do.  I decided not to give up.  I re-read the directions to make sure I was following them correctly and I decided I might not have used enough tape or stretched it out far enough when I was wrapping.   So I cut off another piece and began pulling harder to stretch it out and wrapped more of it around the leak (which was still spewing when I made the repair).   I do have to say that’s it’s kinda hard to stretch it like it needs to be stretched when you are by yourself, trying to hold both ends of the tape and the water line! But I kept trying,  and the second layer was far smoother and better than the first. 

I saw significant improvement in the leak after the second wrap, but I still had a drip or two coming out of the ends of the wrap.  It wasn’t bad, mind you, but I wanted it to be stopped completely.  So I called the guys at Rescue Tape.  They returned my call quickly and told me that for leak repairs, I probably needed to do 3 to 5 layers.  I had only done two, so I took her suggestion and wrapped 3 more layers onto the area where the leak was.  And presto!  The leak had stopped.  

Now you may ask, “But does it last?”.  Well, so far, so good!  I’ve had Rescue Tape wrapped around the water line for almost two months now, and it has stayed perfectly dry the entire time!  I’m pretty pleased with it and would certainly recommend keeping some on hand for life’s little emergencies.   I just would say it might not be a bad idea to practice.  It tends to get stuck on itself if you’re not careful and it takes a bit of strength to stretch it as far as it needs to stretch to get the proper hold.  

The waterproof tape comes in 7 colors, plus clear if you need to be able to see through the tape after you’ve made the repair.  It’s about $8 to $10 a roll, for a single roll, but you can also buy packages of multiple rolls to get the price down.    

Recently, at The National Hardware Show, I saw the UltraTech Power Precision Screwdriver in the General Tools booth, and I thought, “now that’s kind of cool”. Changing batteries in the grandkids’ toys came immediately to mind.  The kind folks at General Tools generously gave my one to review, and would you believe that it wasn’t in the house 48 hours before the first task sought it out.  I have this old calculator that I use at the office and the batteries died about a month ago.  It’s just been sitting around, waiting for me to do something to bring it back to life.  Keep in mind that right now, my motto is “Purge, Baby, Purge”.  Everything in my line of sight has to justify why it’s taking up space.  While yes, I can use my phone or my computer as a calculator, this last month has proven that I just like using a calculator.  

The battery compartment on the calculator has one of those tiny screws… you know the ones, almost all toys have them and they make you pull your hair out while the kids scream for you to put the batteries in.   Well, my calculator his the same kind of screw.  I don’t know about you, but every time I need one of those little, teeny, screwdrivers I either can’t find one, or the one I find doesn’t have the right head.  But now that I have UltraTech Power Precision Screwdriver, I have the tiny screwdriver and all the heads I need right there, ready to go.  

Here’s why I like it: 

- I’m more likely to give it a home, ensuring that I can find it when I need it, because it’s powered and has stuff (bits) with it.

- The variety of bits pretty much guarantees that the frustration of having a teeny screwdriver in hand that doesn’t fit the offending screw will no longer be part of my reality.

- The little thumbswitch doesn’t irritate my latent carpal tunnel syndrome.

- When the bit fits the screw correctly, it holds onto it after removal.  (I’m tellin’ ya, my age-challenged eyes can’t take much miniscule screw hunting).

At first glance, something like this screwdriver would seem gadgety. At $25-$30, it’s definitely a discretionary purchase, but I wouldn’t sneer at one being in my stocking at Christmas.

2 AA batteries are included in the package, and the bits included are: Phillips #0 & #00, 1/8” straight, 1/16” straight, T5 torx and T6 torx.  You can buy it at  General Tools - $29.95, Rockler.com - $24.99, Amazon.com - $24.99.

Recently, at the National Hardware Show in Las Vegas, I walked the show floor looking for new and unique tools and products to check out and ultimately review.  There are always interesting things to see at this annual trade show, and this year was no exception.  

Over the next few weeks and months, several of our writers will start reviewing the products I found, but here’s a Quick Pick to tell you about right now.  It’s called  ZoomiTags, and it’s a simple idea, but a good one for your safety and the safety of your tools, like lawn mowers, chainsaws, etc..

You know how you always have several fuel cans in your garage… One is for your mower, another for your chainsaw or weedeater, and maybe you even have some diesel or other fuels.  Unless you are super attentive and mark each can with painter’s tape or a marker, it can be a bit of a crapshoot identifying which type of liquid is in which can.  And even if you do mark them, a lot of times the chemicals themselves will cause the ink or tape to come off.  That is why ZoomiTags were invented.  

The creators of ZoomiTags came up with the idea because, being in the construction industry, the workers were constantly putting the wrong fuel into the wrong piece of equipment.  After several blown or damaged motors, and some fouled spark plugs, the light bulb went off and the idea of developing extremely tough identification tags was born.  

The tags themselves are made of a proprietary blend of polyester thermoplastic membrane that is solvent resistant and fits over the threaded opening of the fuel can.  The fuel or type of fuel is printed on the tag, and they are color-coded.  For example, mixed fuel that would be used in a chainsaw or weedeater, are printed in orange and say “mixed” or “chainsaw” or “weedeater”.  Straight gasoline tags are red and are printed with “gasoline” or “lawnmower”.  Kerosene is black, diesel is green, and water is blue.  

The tags have a 5 year unconditional warranty, but the sample I saw at the National Hardware Show had been on the same can for almost 9 years and was standing up just fine.  ZoomiTags are not yet on the market, but the creators are in negotiations to get them into stores very soon.  They tell me they’ll retail for a couple of bucks each… not 100% sure of the price yet.  

ZoomiTags are a good idea and a simple solution to a common problem.  For more information, go to zoomitags.com.  

The National Hardware Show was in Las Vegas, NV this past week (May 4-6), and I walked the show floor for the 3 days of the show to find out what’s coming out, what’s cool, what’s hot, and what’s not.  Over the next few weeks, you’ll be seeing some reviews from NHS, but I also thought you might be interested in seeing some if the clever inventions that may or may not be brought to market.  Inventors and vendors were there trying to sell their goods, and here’s Quick Pick #1. 

It’s called the Straw Claw.  Now to be completely honest this is not something you HAVE to have.  I mean, I tape the straws to cans of WD-40 with painters tape, but then every time you need the straw, you do either have to carefully remove the tape and then remember to put it back on or waste painters tape by tearing off the old and putting on new, over and over.  So, here’s a very simple idea, but a good one.  

It’s just a plastic “claw” that snaps onto your can, and it has a sleeve for the straw.  I pulled the straw out, put it back in, turned it over; and the straw stayed in place.  I had no problem with the claw, but the inventor is considering manufacturing it with and without the claw, and you can steel attach the sleeve that holds the straw to the can with elastic bands.  

Now, so far, this product is not for sale anywhere that I know of, but you can find out more about it on www.simplivations.com.   Just a clever idea I thought you might be interested in seeing!