LAB/SCHOOL

These light-up pens are one of the coolest things we’ve come across in a long time, but then again, look who’s saying that—a copywriter. But really, they’re hard not to love. Pull off the metal cap, put it on the other end and bam, the ballpoint is suddenly illuminated by tiny LEDs for all the midnight scribbling you can do! Pen measures 5” tip to tip, is all metallic, and feels nice in the hand and takes (4) AG4 batteries, included. Body is silver and cap, with a silver pocket clip, is either silver, black, white or red. Back end of the pen has a stylus, too. “It was a dark and stormy night…but really it wasn’t that dark because of this pen….”

Even before masks became a common sight, we sold a bunch of N95 particulate respirators because Surpies have a long history of woodworking, model building and DIY renovating. Contractors love these! These masks are from 3M, (we don't get 3M masks often) model #8511 with a cool-flow valve, and are for filtration of particulates. Cool-flow valve keeps your face cool and, perhaps more importantly, dry. You’ll get (10) per box, and yeah, they’re made in the USA. Date Code is 2025

Now for the 3M Specs

• NIOSH approved for at least 95 percent filtration efficiency against certain non-oil based particles 
• Features the 3M™ Cool Flow™ Valve 
• M-Noseclip adjusts easily for fewer pressure points and greater comfort 
• Braided headbands two-strap design with dual point attachment helps provide a secure seal 
• Spacious and durable Designed to increase comfort and wearability 
• Advanced Electret Media is designed for ease of breathing

Our coolest ruler, hands down. It’s dark blue plastic, T-shaped, and packed with information. It’s an American Wire Gauge and a screw-size gauge. It measures UTS and ISO screw pitch, has SMD capacitor info, conversion scales, transistor and diode diagrams. It has a list of SI prefixes, digital logic gates, logic identities, electrical units and abbreviations, colors and wavelengths, transmission line equations, a protractor, a breadboard and tons more. If you’re not into that stuff, use it a 13”/33cm ruler. Measures 15" x 6-1/4” x 1/16" overall, and you might need a magnifier to read some of it. Made in the USA.

Hang it all with this set of (10) magnetic hooks. The 1-3/16" long x 9/64" hooks screw into 1-3/8" dia magnetic bases with an approx 8-lb pull, which is heavier than most jackets and keys. Good for horizontal or vertical mounts, and dandy for adding hooks to gym or school lockers.

Our each is a package of (2) steel tech rulers. One is 6” x 1/32” for the first 2-1/2” then 1/64” for the next 1/2” then 1/16” for the last 3”. The other is 150mm x 0.5mm. Both have sliding markers/pocket clips, and both have mm:inch tables on the reverse side. You’ll need excellent eyesight.

We don't know why, but Bergamo, a town in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, has given its name to high-quality spiral-bound notebooks. They’re popular as journals or travel notebooks, and this one has (100) ivory pages lined on both sides. Also has a plain “soft-touch” cover (think suede-like). In a dark maroon/chocolate color. Measures 5-1/2" x 8-1/2". Jot down your thoughts and musings (you know you’ve got some good ones) or they might be gone forever.

What would you use to fill in those little circles? You’d use this extra-wide Scantek™ test-taking mechanical pencil? You passed! The lead in this beauty is the famous #2, and is .9 mm wide, like an italic pen nib. Comes with refill leads, a pocket clip and a large eraser. If our Tech Whiz Billy had had this pencil when he was younger, he'd have made double 800s on the SAT and wouldn't be working here today. Also great for doing calligraphy in pencil, which makes teachers swoon.

Scientifically speaking. This 8-1/2" x 11" science reference notebook is three-hole punched for inclusion in a binder. From McGraw-Hill, it's heavily illustrated and filled with facts, illustrations and definitions about biology, geology, astronomy, physics and much more. Science! Surplus factor: some may have been packed before the cover ink was dry, leaving a slight speckled pattern that has no effect on the science inside—we checked. And Science is our middle name.

It’s a cornucopia of stencils. All shapes, no alphabets. You’ll get a profusion of (8) clear acrylic stencil sheets, including: a raft of ovals; a preponderance of squares; a farrago of circles, hexagons, pentagons and triangles; a collection of a bunch of shapes, including trapezoids; a roomful of interior design shapes; a melange of electronic symbols; and an assortment we can’t altogether identify, but might be for printed circuit design. All have mm rules along at least one edge.

Can't beat a classic. These uncoated ceramic donut magnets have a 1-lb pull, which makes them dandy for classroom or refrigerator use. They measure 1-1/4" dia x 3/8" ID x 3/16" thick and are polarized on the faces. You get a wrapped roll of 29 donuts.

Imagine how much more Hemingway could have written had he always had one of these handy flip-top notepads with him. Measures 6" tall x 3” wide  (the notebook, not Hemingway), and fits perfectly in your pocket, where the stiff paperboard covers and solid white spiral 5/8" rings will preserve your pithy observations (and grocery lists) for generations. A regular moveable feast, each pad has approx. (60) pages of ruled white paper. In green or pink covers, and we’ll channel Ernest to pick the bravest, truest color for you.

You can do both with this book—no writin’ required! It’s The Little Book of Mathematical Principles, Theories, & Things, which is a title we love, despite the Oxford comma. By math whiz, author and professor Robert Solomon, the paperback volume has (224) pages. Measures an easily totable 5-1/2" X 7", letting you peruse a lesson on Binary Numbers, The Golden Ratio, Logarithms, Chaos Theory, Russell’s Paradox, Fermat’s Last Theorem, or about 115 others, each (1) to (2) pages long, whenever you have a spare minute to learn.

Our thinner picker-upper, but with a powerful 5-lb-pull, 9/16" dia magnet on the business end (for spilled nails, the screw that rolled under the stove, or the heavy wrench you dropped into the sump). The 5/16" dia x 5-1/4" long 4-draw barrel extends to a full two feet. Has a convenient pocket clip.

InkJoy is the Paper Mate® name for a particularly smooth ink, but it’s the medium 1mm points that make these so pleasant to write with. Measure 6” long with black ink and pocket-clip caps. Our each is a pack of (8) pens.

This plated N52 14,200 gauss neodymium magnet is shaped like a miniature silver ingot, measuring 1-1/2" long x 1/2" wide x 1/8" thick. Has a big hangonability quotient, which the manufacturer claims is 15 lbs of pull, meaning it's probably closer to 13 lbs. Impressive either way for such a cute little magnet. 

Good things come in (2) different small packages. Our pocket microscopes are compact and perfect for a clear, close look at stamps, coins, flora, insects or assorted minutiae. The 30X version measures 5-3/4" x 1-5/8" x 3/4" in black plastic with a focus knob, on/off switch, small LED for illumination, and a vinyl carrying case. Requires (2) "AA"s. The 60X version is a microscopic 3-1/4" x 1-3/16" x 3/4" and has a built-in white LED illuminator powered by (3) coin-cell batteries that are included. Magnifies from 60-100X, with coarse- and fine-focus knobs, and has a vinyl carrying case.

If you're devoted to explosions, and who isn't, you'll love the new expanded 2nd edition of William Gurstelle's Backyard Ballistics, now 25% longer, with 25% more ka-boomery. Still the go-to reference work for building rockets, cannons (carbide and potato), flingers, fire kites, electromagnetic pipe guns, tennis ball mortars, cleaner-bag balloons, ballistic pendula and petards. You simply can't have more fun with common household materials. The soft-cover, 210pp compendium includes detailed and illustrated instructions, parts lists and sensible ways not to be hoist on your own petard. Be careful out there.

We just want to celebrate…this magnet. (Classic rock fans, you’re welcome for the references.) This Alnico cylinder magnet measures 9/16" x 11/16" with a 5/16" x 3/8" slotted hole (we think that’s what it’s called) in the center. It’s a strong bugger at 10 lbs lifting power in the ends, and very shiny silver. Hole makes it great for attaching string to it and retrieving keys lost down the sewer or well. You know, when you lose your keys that way. Made in the USA. You’ll get (1) hyper strong magnet per order.