Tools

Tools, tools, tools. Out of (morbid) curiosity, we once weighed the tools and materials that we carried with us to a job. It turned out to be 625 lbs! But, when you need something, it's great to have it. Our essential toolkit includes screwdrivers, knives, sharpeners, gauges, center punch, scriber, tweezers, calipers, reamers, pliers, files and file cleaners, tape measure. They won't make much of a difference in your muscle mass but they are a great help. Stock up today!

4-in-1 Screwdrivers

Ah, my personal favorite on the job site. This way I don't get stuck with a Phillips when I need a slotted and visa-versa.  These well made screwdrivers come with interchangeable Phillips head (large & small) and slotted (large & small) tips stored in the metal shaft in the red handle. 

23-311	Mini 4-in-1 Screwdriver Phillips Nos. 0 & 1 bits / Slotted 1/8"& 3/16" bits (3mm and 5mm)		$10.25
23-312	Standard 4-in-1 Screwdriver Phillips Nos. I & 2 bits/ Slotted 3/16" & 5/16"bits (5mm and 8mm).		$11.95

Pocket 2-in-1 Screwdriver

This one is a personal favorite around the office. Same great quality as the big guys, this little one tops out at 4-3/4" long with one sloted bit and one Phillips head bit. And it comes with a nifty clip for your pocket. Great for mountmaking and for tight places. Get two: one for your toolbox and one for a friend.  (They'd be taking yours all the time anyway!)
 

Ratchet Offset Screwdriver

Oh no, this is really my favorite. You know how sometimes when working in close quarters there's no room for the length of a screwdriver? This indispensable tool combines a right angle offset and a ratchet for driving screws in otherwise inaccessible places. It has a Phillips head No. 2 blade on one side and a 1/4" (6mm) slotted blade on the other.

Foam Knives

These knives combine stiffness and sharpness, making them particularly useful for cutting shapes in Ethafoam. The square point knives are good for straight lines, while the pottery knife lends itself to making curved shapes. The sharpness of the blades on these knives permits you to cut fine, detailed shavings from Ethafoam blocks. To keep them sharp, use our diamond hone, below.

23-211	4" x 1" Square Point Knife (102 x 25mm)	$11.75
23-212	6" x 1" Square Point Knife (152 x 25mm)	$13.75
23-220	5-1/8" Pottery Knife (130mm)	$15.50

Diamond Hone

An essential companion to the foam knives. Keeps them sharp. Use it dry, without oil.  It sharpens very fast.  Made of industrial diamonds set into a plastic matrix, it comes with a protective leather sheath.

23-230

4" Diamond Hone (102mm)     Reduced Price

$39.95

Rolling Sharpener   TIP

This handy little tool doesn't have diamonds but it could be worth it's weight in gold.  I have one from years back that I use all the time on the Ethafoam knives.  The knife fits in the groove between the sharpening stone and the metal edge (holding a proper angle on the blade).  Then you just roll it back and forth a couple of times on the work surface...repeat with the blade's other side and you're done.  Nothing like sharp and easy.

Drill Gauges   TIP

We use these gauges to size the brass stem of the mount before we drill  into the case for installation.  For a tight fit, choose a drill bit one size smaller than the stem diameter; for an easy fit, choose the same size.

23-521	Fractional Drill Gauge    1/16" - 1/2"  (1.6 - 12.5mm)		$21.95
23-522	Numbered Drill Gauge    1 - 60 (the standard drill index)		$21.95
23-523	Numbered Drill Gauge    61 - 80 (for our tiny drill bits)		$23.95

Automatic Center Punch

Use this adjustable-force center punch to keep your drill bits from skating across metal surfaces. The impression left by the spring-loaded punch catches a spinning drill bit, giving you accurate starts to holes in metal and plastics. Comes with a spare point.

23-411

Automatic Center Punch

Discontinued Item

Needlepoint Scriber

A hard, fine point for scribing and marking out lines on brass, stainless steel, plexiglas, etc. Comes with four spare points stored under the cap.

23-421

Needlepoint Scriber

$7.50

Calipers

Indispensable when you need to know the size of the brass you're working with. The sliding action, since brass is a "self-lubricating" metal, just gets better with time.  
Divided into 16ths and mm, opens to 3.149"/ 80mm .
Made in Germany

23-030

Brass Calipers

$29.95

T-handled Reamer

To clean burrs from the edges of holes drilled in brass, or to remove flash from the inside of sawn tubing.  Also a must for making a hole just a wee bit bigger. Tapered for holes from 1/8" to 1/2" diameter (3 - 12.5mm).

Tweezers

For delicate placements, getting threads out of the way, pulling splinters, etc. Stainless steel with a fine serrated point and serrated finger grip area. 4-1/2" long (114mm), opens wide to 5/8" (16mm).

Pinning Pliers    TIP  

We've had made what we consider to be the easiest to use and most versatile of pinning pliers, a copy of the customized ones that we've used for over 20 years. These pliers have a groove across one jaw for a firm grip on pins and a curved nose to provide a fulcrum for leverage.  Made for us in Germany.
Of polished steel with box joint construction and PVC-coated handles, 5-1/8" long (130mm).                       

Chain Nose Pliers

The chain nose plier  has short round jaws which are good for making a range of angled bends. They are made of polished steel with box joint construction and PVC-coated handles. 5-1/8" long  (130mm).  

23-120	Chain Nose Pliers	$26.50

Forming Pliers

We're very happy to announce that the forming pliers are back! Here's our old favorite back, fresh off the boat from Germany, with jaws shaped to our specifications. One jaw is flat, one is round. We use them all the time to make either sharply angled or curved bends, as needed. Made of polished steel with box joint construction and PVC-coated handles. 5-1/8" long (130mm)

23-110	Forming Plier		$34.95

Nicholson Needle Files   No longer available

These high quality Nicholson files are indispensable for finish work on mounts, including fine shaping, restoring damaged screw threads, cleaning-up, etc. 5-1/2" long (140mm), sold in a set of 6, profiles below.

23-610

Nicholson Needle Files

Nicholson Mill Files   No longer available

Great all-purpose files for shaping and preliminary finishing. The 10" long (254mm) rectangular section mill file is for large work; the 6" long (152mm) general purpose file comes in rectangular and knife-edge sections. We try to keep files used for plexiglas separate from those used for brass.

23-621	10" Mill File (254mm)
23-622	6" Mill File (152mm)
23-624	6" Knife Edge Mill File

Foot/Metric Tape Measure

Measurement underlies all installation and mountmaking work. This rugged Stanley Leverlock retractable rule has a broad, yellow ruler surface, graduated in feet and inches on one edge and in centimeters on the other.  You'll need them both. Overall length is 10'/3m.

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