Construction, Remodeling, Pro Tool Reviews, Best Practices, How-To Tips, Tool Buying Guides, Home and Garden, and Solutions to Remodeling Problems Targeted to the Professional and Do-It- Yourselfer
Ralph Mroz grew up in an extended family of tradesmen, and worked at the trades summers and weekends through school. He put those skills to good use in renovating the five houses he and his wife have owned. Even while working in the white-collar and law enforcement worlds, he's always had one foot in the construction trades.
Husky Folding Utility Cart The Husky Folding Utility Cart (model #00069) is something I’ve been waiting for for years. To my knowledge, it’s the first trades-capable, reasonably-priced, widely and easily available folding utility cart on the market. There have been other folding utility carts that were suitable for construction work, but they were quite expensive…
Shear-Cutting MARVEL Lineman’s Pliers (and Scissors) MARVEL pliers are produced by MARVEL Corporation, a Japanese company focused mostly on tools for the electrical trade. Their MVA-200 lineman’s plier is one of the few shear- (bypass) cutting lineman’s pliers available (as opposed to the traditional pinch cutters on almost all other lineman’s pliers). Since I’ve never…
Feature Rich BAUER Sawhorses from Harbor Freight The two BAUER sawhorses from Harbor Freight described here are cost-effective examples of feature-rich versions of this basic tool. After all, every pro and DIYer absolutely need a few sets of sawhorses, and today you have your choice of features over and above a basic stand. If you…
Irwin Quick-Lift: Less Expensive and Eats Less than a Teenager By now you’ve probably seen the ads for the Irwin Quick Lift (part number IRHT83100). It holds and raises/lowers items weighing up to 330 pounds in a controlled manner over a 10-inch range. Whether you’re installing cabinets, windows, pre-fab walls, stairs, drywall, or electrical panels,…
Their Reputation Precedes Them If you’ve been in the trades anytime during the last 20 years, you know about Knipex pliers. Knipex pliers from Germany have pretty much everyone who’s used them singing their praises. However, if you’re a pro, maybe you haven’t had an opportunity yet to try a pair out; if you’re a…
High Quality From Japan The Tsunoda pliers we look at here are a great example of quality tools from Japan. There are a handful of countries with a reputation for producing top-quality goods, and Japan is certainly one of them. While hand tools from Europe have gotten most of the attention in this regard lately,…
Made in the USA and More Milwaukee’s MiUSA lineman’s pliers are one of the first products to come out of their new West Bend, Wisconsin plant. While the made in USA feature is the one that’s getting all the attention, it was what Milwaukee has decided to do with these pliers that intrigues me most. …
CHANNELLOCK has Electricians Covered CHANNELLOCK electrician pliers is kind of a tautology. That’s because CHANNELLOCK makes many versions of all the pliers that electricians commonly use, including the four pliers that are in almost all electricians’ tool pouches all the time. These are lineman’s, dykes, tongue-and-groove offset head (known generally as “Channelocks”, because CHANNELLOCK invented…
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