TOOLS/HARDWARE

Not just hooking-and-looping anymore, Velcro® brand now makes adhesive for plastics. Our each is a 1-oz tube for porous and non-porous materials, including PVC, plastics, rubber and leather. Permanent and fast-drying, they say.

This buckish knife from Alpha Outpost is a heavy-duty—and weighty—single-blade pocket knife. Hang it at your side, but you might want to use the built-in belt clip so it doesn’t drag down your jeans. This is a solid piece, understand? Measure 8” long open, 4-3/4” closed with a 3-3/4” locking blade that’s 1” across at its widest. Handle is a wood-and-metal combination, and it’s got a hole to hang keys from.

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.

Teensy tiny brushes for cleaning teensy tiny tubes, airbrushes, spray guns, tattoo equipment, nozzles, etc. Think miniature bottle brushes. You get a set of (5) brushes: 1/32", 1/16", 3/32", 1/8" and 3/16" dia. All have nylon bristles, are 4" long, and are on a slip ring so you won't lose them.

This excellent 4-piece set of double-ended picks is made of nylon so you won't damage your electronics or electrocute yourself. They have hex-shaped shafts for a good grip, and assorted pick, probe, hook and scraper ends. Equally good for auto detailing or any place where you want to avoid scratching.

Yes, there’s a scientific explanation, but we prefer to think this magnetizing/demagnetizing tool relies on magic. Stick a screwdriver head in the bottom, it’s magnetized. Stick it in the top, it’s demagnetized. Fun for the whole family. Measures 2” square x 1-1/4” with stair-step ports for blades of different sizes. Never drop a screw again.

Prick tiny bits of gunk from nasty places with these U.S. made hardened stainless steel dental tools. But please don't use them for dental work. They are slight seconds, and some may have been re-worked which only matters to teeth. Trim excess glue from models, place a barrel on the deck of the ship-in-a-bottle, clean a rasp. If you need the strength and durability in a tiny pick, you need these tools. We have an assortment of the sort you've seen laid out on your dentist's tray. We'll pick (3) different ones for you.

Our each is a set of (4) removable sink strainers with stainless steel mesh wells and flat rims. The set includes (1) 4-1/2" dia for 2-1/4" drains, (1) 2-3/4" dia for 1-1/8" drains, and (2) 2" dia for 3/4" drains.

Cut your own. Our each is 16 feet of black flexible wire coated with 3/16" dia soft rubber, ready for you to snip off for your heavy-duty, padded twist-tie needs. Very nice stuff. Reusable. We're thinking cable bundling, sports equipments, tools, hoses, like that.

This 300 Lumen LED light is a mighty mite. Just under 4-1/2" long x 1" dia, you slide the sleeve and the beam zooms from a flood to a don't-stare-into-this focused spot. In black or gun metal anodized aluminum, it's weatherproof and shockproof with a latching button switch and a pocket clip. Depress the button halfway when it's on and it goes into a rapid-flash mode for emergency signaling. Visible for 275 meters. Five hour life with the included 1-"AA" battery and a 110K+ hour bulb life.

Stop wrapping duct tape around your vise, and protect delicate material the right way with this pair of hard-rubber, ribbed pads made to cover the jaws. The pads have (2) rare earth magnets embedded inside the rubber. Made for a 4" vise, they measure 4" long x 1-1/8" high x 3/8" thick with a lip along one long side. The rubber is 3/32" thick.

This all-purpose scissors is the favorite of everyone at A.S.&S.: Pat uses his to cut and strip wire. C.J. uses his to slit the tape on packages. Mary Ann uses hers to open bags of pretzels. It's 6-1/4" long overall, with a very sharp 2" stainless steel blade and large, comfortable handles. It would sell for $9.95 retail if it was new, but it was used for one day to cut cloth in the assembly plant of a major car company, then discarded. Quality control is a wonderful thing.

Whatever you call them they are super handy. Used for suturing, these are carbon-steel straight-locking needle holders, 5” long with narrow serrated 7/16” tips. And yes, you’re permitted to use them for other stuff if you’re not a surgeon. (Or even if you are a surgeon, actually.)

This set of (6) tweezers is as useful as it looks daunting. The (6) stainless steel tweezers vary in size from 4-1/2" up to 7". Two of the tweezers have serrated tips one is inverse, one has a slide latch and the others are straight flat tip. The set comes in a clear front plastic carrying case. Good for model cars, planes or hard to reach splinters.

Look, Ma, one hand! These 10" Powerbuilt® wrenches have spring-loaded, self-adjusting jaws made to bite, hold and turn virtually anything--round, flat, hex or oddly shaped--that will fit. The jaws open to 2-3/8" apart and remain parallel. Designed so the jaws will generate 4X the clamping power of the ANSI pliers standard. Unlike you, its jaws have hardened steel teeth. Good to have a few in the garage, workshop and camper.

You get (3) of these stainless steel surgical scissors, which have a shorter working length (with the hinge closer to the jaws) than regular snippers, but you still shouldn't try to remove your own appendix. Measure 4-3/8" long and are quite sharp.

Since the corner of a door has only so much real estate to hang stuff on, we all need to expand at some point. We do it with these durable, stylish, chrome-looking over-door hooks. No screws or drills needed. Just slip them over the top of any door up to 1-5/8”—bathroom, bedroom, entry, craft room, workshop, garage—and watch how much stuff ends up hanging from them instead of piled in a heap. They hang down 9” and stick out about 7” from the door, with a nice round ball on the end, and require a mere 1/16” clearance at the top for the door to close. That’s not a problem for most doors. Our each is a (3)-pack.

Screw around corners or practice your close-order drilling with this right angle chuck adapter for an electric drill. Ratio is 1:1, so the speed matches your drill speed and has all metal gears for long life. Has a 3/8” chuck & key and fits drills with 3/8" chucks. Includes a 2-3/4” right-angle handle that will screw in the left or right side for added leverage. Whole shebang is 5” long and is from eazypower.