Couple of Useful Tools

[foakes]

Going through a few new tools while pulling out a couple of broken punches to take back to Sears for replacement later today.

This Irwin ergonomic plier vise is very useful.  Great for wiring, twisting, cutting, crimping, stripping, removing a hex nut, getting into tight places -- or my main use -- holding small parts safely when touching them up on a grinder or burnishing wheel.

The other surprise is the "Etape".

Well made, digital readout that converts to feet, inches, decimals, feet and inches, metric centimeters, inside or outside measurements, memory, zero reset, plus my favorite: press one button and it instantly shows the exact center point of a measurement.

While I love my 25' Stanley Fat-Max's because they are tough, and have a pull-out without collapsing of 13' 1" -- I can see many uses for this etape.  For now, it will stay in the main reel shop.  This is not some "RONCO" tool -- it is well thought out and very tough.  Impressive.  $28 on line at Home Depot.  Amazon is quite a bit more for some reason.

Best,

Fred