Tools: 10-in-1 Screwdriver

I thought it would be nice if I started posting about some of the tools that I've collected over the years. I have no motivation for advertising particular brands, but I will try to describe my rational for choosing what I did.

So let me start with a great screwdriver. In fact, I would go so far to say that this is probably the only screwdriver you will need for most projects you face. Needless to say, this is a great start for building a basic tool collection.

This is the Klein 10-in-1 screwdriver. I got it for a summer job a few years back doing low-voltage electrical work. It runs about $12 at most places I've seen. I've had it for about four years, and it's never let me down. When I need a screwdriver, I grab this one about 90% of the time.

What makes it so special? Well, for starters, it really is 10-in-1. It has two phillips, two slothead, two Torx, and two Robinson (square) tips. In addition to that, it also provides two different sizes of nut-driving ability (I thought about it, and that's probably the least funny way I could say that). One nice feature is that you can just pop off the end of it and throw it in a drill. Heck, it even works as a drill extention.


I only have one issue with this screwdriver. Probably the best thing about it is that you can use any old 6-sided screwbit tip for it. However, it doesn't lock in when you do. I wish it used a different mechanism to hold in the bits so that generic ones worked too. Also, it's not magnetic. That's a handy feature sometimes (but then again, sometimes you *don't* want a screwdriver to be magnetic).

This has got to be one of the most reliable and useful tools that I own. If you're looking for a screwdriver, or even a set of screwdrivers, you might want to consider this one. But be careful, I know a lot of places sell low-quality 4-in-1 screwdrivers or ones that appear to be similar to this one. I can confidently say that Klein makes high-quality tools that should last many years.

Growler Lamp

So I was tidying up the garage today, and I found this broken old table lamp. About two years ago, I got the cheapo lamp at a local evil big-box store. Within a month that thing broke. One of the "metal" legs gave out. So I pulled a MacGyver and attached the workings of the lamp, which amazingly still worked, to an empty beer bottle.

It was quite handy, but the 12 oz. beer bottle didn't serve as a good base. I didn't give it much use. Back to the garage this morning, and I'm wondering what I can do with it. Well, I decided to use it with a growler bottle which would serve as a much better base.

This is an easy project and here's how to do it...

You'll need the workings of a lamp. I discovered today that you can easily get everything you need at your local home improvement store. It's all very easy to put together if you have all the pieces. Of course, you'll need the growler bottle. Here's the tricky part, you'll want to be able to pop the lamp part off if you ever need to use the bottle. So the best solution is to attach the lamp part to a cork, which fits snugly in the bottle neck. So go get yourself a cork too.


Here, I had just drilled through the cork and attached the lamp part to it with a bolt. Be gentle when drilling through the cork, since it is a cork and all...


Depending on your lamp pieces, you may not have this problem. I had to find some way to attach the bulb holder to the shade holder. I used a cable tie and some hot-melt glue.

Here's the final product. Not too shabby, huh? It might be a good idea to fill the bottle with something to give it a solid base. Grain or hops would be appropriate. Beer is probably not a good idea.

Not shown is how I did the wiring. It's pretty simple. Just attach the wire to the two connections on the bulb holder part. Pretty easy stuff.

This is a fairly easy project and it sure won't take all day. In fact, this went very quickly and I didn't run into any problems at all.

I hope this inspires you.

Broken Office Chair... Again!

Not again! Why can't a good office chair last more than two years without breaking? Remember this?: http://collegiatehandyman.blogspot.com/2008/03/how-to-2-fixing-that-busted-office.html

This time, my friend was just sitting there, albeit perhaps leaning back a little too far and maybe a little intoxicated, then WHAM! He's on the ground and there is a chair arm flying through the air.

It's the classic 'lean too far and end up ass over teakettle' scenario. Wheels are a nice convenience on an office chair, but they can quickly go from your best friend to worst enemy in a split second. To recreate this incident and warn everyone of the dangers of leaning back too far, I've enlisted the help of a local 3rd grade sketch artist. Here's what he came up with:

Please excuse the simplicity of this illustration. I hope you get the point - DON'T LEAN BACK TOO FAR!

Now, what to do about that arm? Well, first gather up all the pieces; those are probably important.

In this case, three screws along with the arm went flying. The screws actually tore out of the wood, so we'll have to get creative to reattach it, since those screw holes won't work with the screws anymore.

If you can't find the screws, you'll have to go get some new ones from the hardware store. You may need longer ones if this next step doesn't work for you...

Here you can see that the screw holes are torn up. Now I could use longer screws, but I managed to find all three and I plan on making them work.

This picture is actually of me in the process of turning that bracket around. I'm going to use those screws on the other side of the wooden arm support. Genius!

If you have access to a drill, predrilling the holes makes it a lot easier. Otherwise, wrestle them in there.

That's it. You're office chair lives to break again.