DieHard Portable Power 750 with 12 Volt Outlet and Light Review

Sears DieHard 750 portable power. *****





After having this unit for over a year I figured a review is needed. So this is the DieHard 750 jump starter. I bought one when we were taking a long extend vacation that would entail driving over 4000 miles. I had been looking around for something like this for a few weeks before I decided to buy this one. It has saved me once from a dead battery and that for me means it has paid for itself.

Pros:
easy to use
good size battery
solid construction

Cons:
no lead supplied to recharge
incandescent lamp

As far as the cons go, you can recharge with a male-male 12v plug or you need an extension cord of some sort. This does not mean it is a bad unit just some forethought is required to remember to bring an extension cord (which on its own can come in handy). Also, when I bought this, LED lights were just making it into everyday items so since it was not included I don't really consider it a big failing.

As a portable power unit it was nice to have on vacation. We had rented a house and had some family stay with us. They had only brought 12v car chargers with them. Whenever they wanted to charge their ipod or cell phones they had to go out to the car. I remembered I brought this along and figured it could work for a while. They could charge them in the house now and it hardly drained the battery after a week of this.

I would give it four stars if only for the lack of charging cord. I would buy it again or give one as a gift.

My Review of GSI JavaGRIND Coffee Grinder

Originally submitted at REI

Nothing starts a morning or ends an evening in camp like a fresh cuppa joe. With the GSI JavaGRIND™ you can take "fresh" to a whole new level.

GSI JavaGRIND Coffee Grinder

Great little manual coffee grinder

By jhill1440 from Hamilton, MT on 1/12/2011

 

4out of 5

Pros: Compact, Lightweight, Durable

Cons: Unstable

Best Uses: Car Camping, Single cup, High Altitude, Backpacking, Hiking

Describe Yourself: Casual/ Recreational

What Is Your Gear Style: Minimalist

Was this a gift?: No

It was a long search to find a good, reasonably priced manual coffee grinder. It holds a fair amount of beans so you will not have to carry more if you are going away for a few days. It is a little unstable but if paired with the GSI press it fits just right. I would buy it again for a gift for someone else if I could.

(legalese)

My Review of Yaktrax Pro

Originally submitted at REI

Regain your confidence when walking on packed snow and ice with the updated, simple-to-use Yaxtrax Pro traction devices.

Yaktrax Pro

Great Product

By jhill1440 from Montana on 1/3/2011

 

5out of 5

Sizing: Feels true to size

Width: Feels true to width

Pros: Easy To Put On & Adjust, Great Grip

Describe Yourself: Casual/ Recreational

Was this a gift?: Yes

I got these for Christmas and love them. I walk to work on some icy streets and at times almost fell down. With these I can walk comfortably and not feel like at any moment I am going to fall.

(legalese)

Just "Screw it"

Yes, yes. I know it has been a long time since I posted but we all have our reasons right. Mine are as follows: Graduating (finally) and getting my PhD, getting a new job, moving across the country for said new job, expecting our third daughter in November and losing what little shop space I had. But hey as my wife says I have "male nesting" going on, so I need to build something. And the project is.......Bunk Beds. Our two girls share a room and bed right now and with the addition of a third coming it seemed like a good time to give the oldest a little more space of her own. She has taken to sleeping on the floor to get away from her younger sister.

So anyway, why the post title? Gold star screws is the reason. I might never go back to phillips. They are self drilling....no really they are. They have a Torx head on them so you don't have to press down to keep the bit engaged in the screw. I know, Torx you say, not everyone has a Torx bits lying around. But in fact if you do any car maintenance on newer cars you have come across them, in quantity. Also, the bit was sold right next to the display for $0.88.

I would HIGHLY recommend these screws. Just as a disclaimer, Gold star did not give me anything for this. I was simply at the hardware store, saw them and thought I might give them a try.

For the Bunk beds, it will be a twin on top and a full on the bottom (we have the mattresses already so no need to by new ones). I am making them out of "2 by" white pine material. The rails will be 2x6 and the legs will be a corner made from a 2x4 screwed and glued to a 2x6. They will be sturdy that is for sure. Probably way over engineered but it puts my mind at ease. I will post pics in a few days and the girls will probably be sleeping in them next weekend after a good coat of paint.

Veritias MKII Honing Guide

I said I would post a review after I had a chance to try different blades and such in the jig. My first impressions: a well conceived and well built guide.

Veritas MKII Honing Guide


The first blade was a 3/4" chisel: easy to set up. I did not know it but I my chisels were ground at 30 degrees and not 25 as I had thought. Now I can put them back in the guide and with only a few strokes, a sharp edge appears.

The second was the Zen Toolworks plane blade. It came beveled but not honed. I flattened the back (easy as it was essentially flat to begin with), then put it in the guide and away we went. After about 5 min of working through the grits I had a honed, micro-beveled blade.

My conclusions
Pros:
I never really had a sharp edge before this. I only thought I had a sharp edge. The difference between what I could achieve freehand and with the guide is night and day. All my chisels can now pare end grain like butter. Before it was really difficult and frustrating, now it is almost a joy to see them flow through the wood.

I like that I can come back to the same settings easily and without fuss. Makes getting and maintaining an edge a much more enjoyable process.

Cons:
Holding thin chisels can be tricky (1/4"), they want to skew as they are worked on the grit. You have to be extra careful and tighten them in the guide well and be mindful on keeping the chisel straight when drawing it on the grit.

All in all I give two thumbs up. Look around for the best price. I got mine off ebay (NIB) but only saved $2 dollars or so.

Zen Toolworks Plane review

So I've had the white pine plane for a month and have properly sharpened it and used it on a couple of different woods. NICE! It is a great little plane. I have not done any shaping yet to make it fit my hand better but the way it comes is very good. The blade is fairly thick and takes and holds an edge well (at least as well as I can sharpen at the moment). I never really had great success with my bench plane (craftsman #5) so this plane was nice to use. I would highly recommend Zen Toolworks and am looking forward to getting a couple more. He has a scrub and a shoulder plane I have my eye on for the next ones.

Zen Toolworks Plane

So with my Christmas money I went out and got myself a new wooden plane. I found this small one person shop, Zen Toolworks, that was resonable and had great reviews. This plane actually came off his ebay store for $36.99. Hand made with a great blade. That is a great price considering what the price of a new plane costs these days. So today I received a small box well packed with this inside.




So the details: Measurements are about 9x1.5x2.5. The blade itself is with my none caliper ruler 3/32" to 1/8" thick, nice and stout. Instead of a wood blade holder it has a brass cap with a well knurled thumbscrew.


Here is a close up of the throat. It is square with the body and well cut. The blade ramp is smooth and there is no wobble with blade that I can feel.


Overall I am quite happy with the plane. I have not made any shavings yet but I have not been able to properly sharpen the blade yet. I have my eye on a Veritas MK II honing guide and setting up a "Scary sharp" system. This blade will be the one I run through that. Should just be a week or so.

Just as a side note. Hard maple is a pain to cut dovetails in when it is 3/4" thick. I am making a shelf for over the stove and thought this would look nice. It will contrast with the oak trim I put on for the kitchen remodel.

Also a tip of the hat to Kari at The Village Carpenter. I don't know what you use to compose your thumbnail pics but this was with powerpoint. Yours always look great so I thought I would try it. More refining needed on my part.

Woodwright school

Well it has finally happened. Roy Underhill has opened his own school. 'bout time. Anyway we all knew of its existence about a year ago but they finally have it all going and even a schedule. You can find it at www.woodwrightschool.com. The prices seem inline with other schools and the projects are what you would expect. I hope one day to be able to attend even for just a seminar.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Ya'll.

peace

want a $100 subway giftcard?

Hello,

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Want a Sams gift card?

Go to mommy23monkeys and enter her contest for a Sams club $100 gift card.

Alexis 3001 Dual flush/Low Flow Toilet

So this is way off topic for this blog, but this is a great product and needs to be reviewed.



We were shopping at Sam's club and I saw they had "Alexis 3001 Dual flush/low volume toilet in a box" on the rack. I have never seen these at Sam's and they were $100 each. Have you priced such an item lately? They regularly go for $200 at your local big box hardware store or $300 at a kitchen/bathroom showroom. I jotted down the model and went to google to find some info on them. All of the reviews were excellent, not a bad one in the lot and now I know why. We have had them in for a month now and no hiccups yet. They are quieter than the ones they replaced, vintage 1963 water hogs, but that's no surprise. Low volume, yes the refill time is 8-15 secs. depending if you choose flush 1 or 2. As far as assembly goes, everything and I mean everything you need is in the box, all the screws, bolts and even a toilet seat are in the box.

The only hiccups I had on installation were 1) the flange on the drain pipe was rusted out so that needed to be fixed and 2) whoever installed the water shut off valve put it at an angle and so the connection hose that was supplied was just quite not long enough. Both of those issues are not related to the toilet though.

If you need a new throne to sit on, I give this one a hardy thumbs-up!

Plasma car

I know it's way off topic for this blog but. I want (no really my kids want it) a plasma car and the great lady at this blog (mommy23monkeys) is giving one away. If you have not seen or driven a plasma car, go forth and find one. Plasma car makers site.

VACATION

Hello, Sorry it's been a while. If you think this is sporadic, just wait. I will be leaving town with my family for a month going on a road trip to do and see lots of things. I will take pics of the things I have completed before we go and post them just so you didn't think I was just sittin' round being lazy.

Good fast and cheap work bench

Here is the PDF I used to build my work bench.


Good Fast and Cheap Workbench -

Wooden Mallet

So the other day I wanted a wooden mallet. I could pay the $15-30 for a beech or maple mallet that I would smash up eventually. Or, I could build my own out of some scrap material I had laying in the wood bin. Google "simple wooden mallet" and someone has already done the leg work for me. Thank you Sawdust making. It really is a good simple mallet that I won't mind banging up, why, because "I brought you into this world and I can make another just like ya". Anyways that money saved can go to wood for another project.

Things I did different:

Handle is 12" x 1.5"

Head is 3" tall

I adjusted the interior dimensions to accommodate the changes. I started with a piece of nice red oak 3/4" x 3.5" and tried to expand or contract dimensions to cut as little as possible.

Start of glue up. The 2 interior pieces glued to the handle.





Exterior slabs glued on:


Now time for the spoke shave to smooth the faces and round the handle.










I will drill for dowels through and through so it all stays together longer. I am not sure of the finish I think I might just leave it the way it is. All and all I think it was worth the time, 2 nights and money, FREE.

Compost bin

So the next project is .......the outdoor compost bin. Why? Well right now our compost pile is really just a pile, two actually, and they need a little help to be contained. So in scouring the web to find a design I liked I came upon this:




This is from the Riverside California waste management site. I like the layout but the changes will be : No top, at least for now and some of the screening will be wood slats. I will try and make the front slats removable, either separately or section by section. I have salvaged deck material from the in-laws that this will be made from. They are 2x6x12 treated lumber, most of the treatment has worn off but it is still very usable. This is the same lumber that the garden beds were constructed from. I think using 2x6 material is a bit overkill for this so to begin I am going to rip some in half and have 2x3x12 to work with. The whole unit will be screwed together unless I can find a better way.

Kids Bookcase

The kids bookcase is done. Its three sections wide on top (29") and two on the bottom (36"). I have to get a picture of the one at the library so you can see what I was going for. It is pretty much built so the kids can dance on it and it won't break. The bottom is 3/4" plywood and the top is 5/8" pine. The ply was salvaged from the side of the road and the pine was from our kitchen remodel. When I tore the kitchen out I saved as much of the built-in stuff as I could. I could have left the top un-painted but it had stains all over so it would have been much work to make it look nice. Anyway over all it turned out well and fits its function.





Next project is.....?

Workbench and Bookcase

So here is the finished workbench. I say "finished" but I think it will always be a work in progress. Adding something here and there, planing the top to make it smoother and taking out nicks. I think it came out OK considering it was my first try and it was completely built from scrounged lumber. So in essence it was free just my labor.




Sitting on the bench is the bottom to the kids bookcase. The lighting for the picture is horrible. It really is painted gloss white (easy cleaning).


Here is the top to the bookcase. It still needs painting and then attached to the bottom. I gave up on the finger joints for the sides and just used a butt joint with a through dowel. It is plenty strong and since it will be painted I figured there is no need to get really fancy. I will post a final picture, in good lighting, when it is done (maybe a few days).

Woodwrights School

Roy Underhill, host of the PBS show "The Woodwrights Shop", has finally opened his own school of woodworking. Since I don't want to copy the flyer, Here is the link. Below is a picture of Roy and his new school.




PS. I promise to update about the workbench and Kids bookcase