Traditional Japanese tools are not as esoteric as they once were. In part because for 35 years this venerable importer has been publicizing their virtues. Fine cabinet makers in particular have found Japanese-style saws, chisels, and wood shapers to be superior in many ways. But you don't need to be a cabinet maker to appreciate the tools featured in this catalog. I've bought some very reasonably-priced Japanese kitchen knives that we've maintained with razor edges for many years.
-- KK
Or visit the store in Alameda, California:
Mon. - Sat.: 9am - 5 pm PST, 1-800-537-7820
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I planned my first trip to Japan six months out with every intention of studying basic language skills in advance. I subscribed to a podcast, looked into Rosetta Stone, and added a few foreign films to our Netflix queue. Easier said than done. After five months of procrastination (just being honest), I picked up this book as a last-ditch effort to learn at least a little as we traveled. For a two-week trip, we brought five guides, including the previously-reviewed Japan's Hidden Hot Springs. Survival Japanese is the only one I consulted everyday -- at least one-third of its pages are now dog-eared. Rather than overwhelm with long word lists or complex explanations of how to form unique sentences, the book is broken into scenarios with simple phrases listed in English, Japanese (Romanized), Japanese characters and, most importantly, spelled phonetically in English. You just flip to whatever situation you're prepping for or have found yourself in... in a taxi, greeting people, paying bills, apologizing, asking questions, at the station, in a bar, visiting a home, medical emergencies (thankfully, we had none) and more. Sure an extensive glossary with many more words would be nice; additional phrases for the same and other scenarios would also be useful. That's not the point with this one. If you're a true beginner, the book provides just enough in a package you won't mind stashing in a jacket pocket or tossing in a day bag. I still wish I'd learned more beforehand. Nevertheless, my new (and very polite) Japanese friends gave me an A for effort.
-- Steven Leckart
Survival Japanese
Boye Lafayette De Mente
160 pages, 2003 (revised ed.)
$7
Available from AmazonIf you want to save money and have the time to create a DIY pocketguide (I did not), this wikitravel phrasebook is a great resource; also, please note that below are just a few select phrases from a few sections -- SL
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I have other step stools, but none so handy, sturdy, easy to use, and simple to store away as this small, plastic folding step stool. One lives in the narrow crack between my refrigerator and wall—it breaks down to less than two inches flat, but pops out easily to give me the extra nine inches I need to root around in the back of the top cupboards. Very sturdy: rated for 300 pounds. Reasonably lightweight: less than 2.5 pounds. And it has a nice handle when folded, so it's great for use wherever, whenever. I'm belatedly realizing I should have brought mine to the Red Bull Soap Box Derby the other day; I would've seen something other than the backs of people's heads as the giant donut, belt sander, and Rubik's cube whizzed by. Live and learn.
I've used mine for five years, inside and outdoors, and it's not showing any signs of age; I just hose it off on occasion. Really good to have on hand anywhere space is at a premium -- apartments, boats, RV's, etc. They're also available in 6- and 12-inch heights, plus a two-step model (17 inches high), that folds to 4.5 inches (haven't tried those models myself, though). The stools also come in a variety of colors.
—Barbara Dace
We have a Turtle Stool in our kitchen which we use all the time. It's quick to unfold, easy to store, lightweight, and incredibly strong and stable. A reader noted in the comments that the inventor of the stool also makes wooden versions, in difference sizes. No prices, but lots of choices and inspiration at his Tower Stool website.
-- KK
E-Z Foldz Step Stool, 9-inch (aka "Turtle Stool")
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$11-21
Available from Amazon
Subhead Grip Stickers Werner Combination Step/Extension Ladder E-Z Reacher
The head of these hex wrenches pivots, allowing you to get access into numerous tight places and achieve speedier running in for final tightening (with the same hex or via torque wrench). Unlike a standard hex that only gives you 90-degrees, the flex head can be quickly adjusted. You simply move the handle to the angle that works best in the situation then turn (it's like a tight, square drive U joint adapter; there is no screw to lock it). Often you can simply flip the handle for another turn without disengaging from the socket head. The short end or long end can be used as the driver. I start screws with the long end then simply flip the wrench for snugging down.
I bought mine after I saw a bicycle mechanic using one. I've used mine *hard* for bicycle maintenance for over a year with no appreciable wear (they're chrome-plated vanadium steel). While elegant looking, they have never failed to bust loose stuck bolts, especially stainless ones in aluminum or even steel threads. I gave a set to a Mechanical Engineer whose hobby is designing high-end racing recumbents for setting human powered vehicle records. He was also thrilled with them.
-- Fred Larimer
Pivot Head Hex Wrenches
$15
Available from AmazonOr $34 (metric or inches) from Garrett Wade
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A standard food service industry item, these heavy-duty plastic bus pans do not bend or fold when loaded up with dirty dishes, camping equipment, or gallons of soapy water. I've found the 7.6-gallon variety are the perfect size to use as wash basins for handling all your dishes while camping. Water doesn't slosh over the high sidewalls, yet they are still portable enough to carry to a dump station without too much effort. They also do double duty as carrying containers, and can nest (one inside the other) to save space. I have used several other containers at camp to wash dishes, most recently a plastic tote, which would bend as I carried it when full of water. I have also used collapsible sinks which are next to useless in my experience. I have not used other bus pans, but the ones I have from Rubbermaid are sturdy, well-made and seem to pretty much withstand almost anything I throw at them. Even though the Sam's Club web site says an individual pan costs $12, when I purchased mine at my local store, I paid the same price for a pair. I'll likely get a couple more to keep tools together in the back of my truck.
-- Brad Reese
Bus Boxes
$9
Available from Ace MartManufactured by Rubbermaid
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You want binoculars? Eagle Optics has hundreds of kinds from two dozen manufacturers. Any model binocular made. You want spotting scopes, or night vision scopes? This is the place. Monoculars, tripods, rangefinders? Eagle Optics has practically every version of them too. Good service. Popular with birders and nature photographers. They have a paper catalog, also.
-- KK
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I rarely purchase new batteries for old cordless tools. Instead, I have the packs rebuilt by Primecell, a service that replaces and upgrades the cells in NiCd and NiMh batteries found in a variety of equipment including camcorders, RF Scanners, and power tools. New replacement batteries for, say, my Ryobi 12V drill would have been about $90, roughly the cost of purchasing a new drill with *two* new batteries and charger. Having the battery packs renewed by PrimeCell ran me about $60, two-way shipping included. I first used this service about five years ago and have since shipped them a total of three battery packs. The turnaround is quick (about a week, though you can pay up for 24-hr service). Not only is it less expensive than buying new ones, from my experience, the rebuilt batteries are much more powerful than OEM and they’ve also lasted 30-50 percent longer than the newer packs my Dad purchased for his drill.
-- Ladd Morse
Primecell
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$15+
(depending on type, voltage)
Craftsman Auto Switch Battery Backup Xtreme Charge
To cut your own boards from a felled tree, you need either an expensive bandsaw mill, circular saw or a bad-ass chainsaw and a bracket to hold the chainsaw parallel to some reference surface. The Alaskan mill attaches to the saw's chain bar and keeps the chainsaw in line with a flat surface, allowing you to cut slabs as thin as 1/2 inch thick. The Alaskan is easy to set up. There is really only one way the saw can fit into the mill. Then, you adjust the two posts on either end to the desired clearance (make sure both posts read the same distance). To make sure your first cut is straight, you use a slabbing bracket; I used the aluminum slabbing rails made by Granberg. Then, you just adjust the clearance to the width of your slab and use the surface of the previous cut to guide the next cut, and the next, and so forth.
After moving into a new house in a wooded area, I realized a dead, 100-foot Red Oak was just 50 feet from the house. Following a few spells of high winds, I knew it was just a matter of time before it might give out, so I hired a local arborist who methodically cut off the upper part of the tree (a 20-ft. section), then worked his way down, cutting more of the tree into 8-ft sections. We had a nice surprise when we finished: the wood looked to be in great shape and seemed like it might make nice flooring. But I soon discovered the professional sawmills near us won't touch a log less than 9 feet long. Instead of hiring someone with a sawmill to come to my property, I decided to get my own rig.
There are three different kinds of sawmills: circular saw, bandsaw, and chainsaw. I looked at the Lucas Swing blade, several different bandsaw mills and other chainsaw mills. If you have plenty of space and lots of money, Timberking makes some good mills. Most bandsaw mills and circular saws are portable in the sense you can hook them up to your pickup truck and tow them to the site, but they are not portable in the sense you can pick them up and haul them down the hill and through the woods. My number one consideration for the mill was that I should be able to take the saw to the log since I didn't think I could take the log to the saw. One thing to consider about a chainsaw mill is that it wastes a lot of wood. If you're going to build a fixed installation, a bandsaw or circular saw is the way to go. As I've learned, though, Red Oak is *heavy*, especially when it is wet. Getting the log to the rig wasn't an option, so I went with a chainsaw mill. I chose the Husqvarna 385XP saw with a 28-inch bar, along with a 30-inch Alaskan mill. That means the mill can be adjusted to fit any bar up to its maximum size, in this case 30 inches. You can install basically any size bar into a chainsaw. I chose 28 inches since it would be big enough to work with any of my logs (my largest log was about 20 inches in diameter).
What’s impressed me about the Alaskan mill is its simplicity, sturdiness and the geometry of the bracket. The bracket on the mill allows the user to keep the mill flat against the log. With other mills, like the more expensive Logosol system for instance, you attach a bracket to either end of the log and use it to index down through the log. This is probably a better system for indexing, but seems like a lot more work; plus the Logosol also supports the chainsaw only from one end. The Alaskan bracket provides support at both ends of the bar, and it comes in a size as short as 24 inches and as big as 56 inches. Granberg also makes a kit with a bar to allow you to attach *two* 385 power heads to the saw. They also offer an oiler kit to increase the amount of oil on the chain, and they manufacture special ripping chains that make cleaner cuts (I used one). I read one guy's review where he said you needed three sharp chains before starting a days worth of cutting. Maybe that's about right; I could never last more that one sharp chain worth of work before petering out. Some reviewers have mentioned the effort that goes into sharpening the chains makes a chainsaw mill unacceptable. I didn't really find it to be onerous. Since the Alaskan mill is basically the same size as the saw, storage isn't an issue. I just leave the saw mounted in the mill. (NOTE: I learned the hard way, that it is important to store the saw upright. When I stored the saw on its side one time, the next time I used the saw, it took me about 5 hours to get the saw started.)
A few things to remember about chainsaw mills: This is hard work and the going is slow. On my best day, I only managed to finish two logs. Had I been cutting 1- inch boards (instead of 2-inch ones), this would have been much slower. Admittedly, though, my wood was Oak; maybe, just maybe, pine is easier. Also, the saw vibrates a lot. I exchanged my saw's plastic handle for a foam grip, which helped some. Lastly, while the Alaskan rig makes the saw safer, you can never forget there is a lethal weapon in your hands. Although I've given up on the flooring idea, I still have all this good lumber which I'll certainly use for a woodworking project.
-- Jack Tomlinson
$200
(24-inch)
Available from AmazonSizes 30-48-inch also available from Lee Valley
Manufactured by Granberg
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Unlike traditional bowl-shaped measuring spoons resembling those intended for stirring and eating, these stainless steel Spice Jar Measuring Spoons have a common-sense rectangular shape and narrower profile. They fit easily through the typical small opening of a spice container. And if the container opening has a straight edge, you can level it as you withdraw the spoon -- a big plus. The set also contains two extra sizes that aren't normally included with the average measuring spoon set: 1/8 and 3/4 teaspoon. I find the 3/4 spoon particularly handy in that two 3/4 teaspoons equals 1/2 tablespoon, a measurement I frequently encounter after scaling down a recipe. I have been using these sturdy spoons daily for over 3 years, and have found no down-side to using them for all my measuring needs -- liquid or dry. Given their advantage with small containers, I can see little reason to use traditional measuring spoons other than the slightly lower cost.
-- David King
Spice Jar Measuring Spoons
$10
Available from Lee ValleyOr $11 from Amazon
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While I do eat fruit and vegetables, from everything I've read, I feel the health benefits of juicing are too great to pass up. Unless you are an impatient person, the Omega 8003 is great for a beginning juicer who wants a machine that not only handles apples, oranges and carrots, but won't get bogged down with wheatgrass, spinach and other leafy greens (wheatgrass is one of the harder plants to juice). Unlike a centrifugal juicer, which violently shreds what you put in it, the Omega 8003 uses what is known as a dual-screen, single auger to process produce into juice. That means it doesn't cut or chew as much as it mashes pulp forward into the end of a cone using the pressure of a spinning auger. The juice yield definitely trumps my old Braun centrifugal juicer, which can't handle wheatgrass. The pulp I get from the Omega is drier and if need be, I can easily put it back through for a tiny bit more juice. I put the pulp from the Braun into the Omega and actually got several extra tablespoons of juice!
Of all the machines I’ve researched, tested and used, the Omega 8003 just crushes every piece of machinery, especially at this price. After eight months, I still use the juicer almost every other day and nothing has broken or malfunctioned. Juice extractors in general can be jet-engine loud. While the Omega’s motor is strong and hums with authority, I feel it’s killer quiet. I can easily juice in the early morning or night without waking the neighbors or my wife. It’s also not too large in size and the folding handle on top makes moving the machine around much easier than other machines. The construction is solid and Omega backs it up with 10-year warranty. Juicing itself is relatively subjective. Some people want to process lots of fruit and fast. While the Omega isn't as fast as some centrifugal juicers and while it can’t handle soft fruit (like bananas, strawberries, blueberries, tomatoes, etc) as well as other juicers, it does get the job done over and over. Plus, I really feel the juice quality is better. The only other juicer I think is in the same realm is the Green Star, which is harder to clean, bigger and almost twice the price!
If you want the benefits of juicing, there is no way around having to spend some time cleaning the parts. Since the 8003 has only a few parts, it is by far the easiest and fastest juicer I’ve seen and tried to clean. Once you understand how the parts fit together, too, it's really a breeze to work with. You can also use the Omega as a food processor and grind coffee beans, flour, garlic, etc. There are also several attachments that come with the machine if you wish to make nut butters, baby food, frozen desserts, pasta and other things. I personally didn't buy it for any of that but maybe I'll end up using it for that later.
For those who are concerned about heat destruction of enzymes, the Omega’s auger turns slowly and doesn't appear to generate much noticeable heat. Granted the process of crushing and squeezing the vegetable matter through a small screen will cause friction, but I just don't feel it's as big a deal for the average user. That goes for oxidation as well. All juicers introduce some oxygen into the juice simply because of the mechanical process of extraction. With some fruits and vegetables, however, this machine does a noticeable job of reducing the amount of foam. Using carrots from the same bag, I juiced one in a centrifugal juicer and one in the Omega. There was a lot less foam with the Omega and the color of the juice was also darker and richer.
One caveat: the feeder chute is small in diameter, so it is best to cut up anything large to make it fit or be more manageable. Carrots are dense and I feel the machine fights with whole ones, but if you cut them up, it will do just fine, juice faster and put less stress on the machine.
Overall I'm thrilled with my purchase of the Omega 8003 juicer. I paid about $229 for mine, plus shipping. I felt that was a very reasonable price to start changing my life and health. The Omega 8005 juicer is the exact same machine as the 8003, but comes in a chrome finish.
-- Jim Rubel
Omega Juicer - 8003
$230
Available from AmazonManufactured by Omega
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A wonderfully illustrated guide to making snow shelters. How to build with snow, how to work with snow rather than against it, and what not to do. Amazingly informative, succinct and fun. This book is the kind of expert you dream of.
-- KK
How to Build an Igloo: And Other Snow Shelters
Norbert E. Yankielun
2007, 208 pages
$11
Available from AmazonHere is an unrelated but excellent 10-minute film from the Canadian Film Board on How to Build an Igloo (via Kottke).
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As an alternative to the previously-reviewed shelving system, I recommend Unistrut, a system of slotted metal channel, framing and tubing that can be connected and interconnected with various nut and bolt fittings to create storage racks, shelving, work tables, support for overhead lighting and a lot more. The parts are industrial quality (steel and/or pre-galvanized steel), but priced to be used everywhere. If you want to see it in use, go into any garage, gym or building where the structure is exposed. You will usually see Unistrut brackets used to hold up the water pipes for the fire sprinklers. The real wonder of the stuff is that you are not limited to using it on the wall; they have a large variety of fittings available specifically for hanging. It's often used to anchor mezzanines and catwalks in warehouses.
The variety of fittings makes Unistrut very versatile. My dad uses it to make ski and ladder racks in the garage in the 8 inches of space above the garage door and the ceiling. He also used the tracking system to make a sliding door. I once welded a bunch of shelf brackets for him out of 2 x 2 x 1/4 inch angle iron. You can create shelving with the light gauge, 1 1/4-inch width channel or with the heavier gauge, 1 5/8-inch width with 24 inch brackets, which is good for 1200 pounds. The fail weight is two or three times the rated weight. We have a pile of the stuff in the back of our shop next to the scrap wood. If the shelf needs more capacity, we usually just double them up. What's also wonderful is that if you don't want to purchase pierced channel and/or additional brackets, you can take any standard bracket, drill a bolt hole, and create adjustable shelving. You can buy Unistrut fittings online. Channel, the part which is expensive to ship, can be found next to electrical conduit at Home Depot.
-- Michael McMillan
Unistrut
Prices vary depending on the channels, brackets and fittings
Available from UnistrutThe General Engineering Catalog and Application Showcase (pdf) provide a good primer. -- SL
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Bessey VarioClippix Spring Clamp.
While I have a wide variety of woodworking clamps in my workshop, over the past year, this adjustable plastic clamp is the one I’ve found myself reaching for first. It has an adjustable arm that slides easily on a notched shaft and locks into position when pressure is applied, allowing me to quickly resize a 4” clamp for 1", 2", and 3" jobs. It is feather light with comfortable handles and a decent throat depth. The spring pressure is just right and the pivoting faces provide a firm but soft grip (other spring clamps have narrow pads that contact the surface, causing possible indents on softer wood, for instance). If you’re a woodworker you already have plenty of clamps. I've been doing woodworking for almost 50 years and currently have four pipe clamps and about ten old traditional all-steel medium to large screw-type C-clamps. Most have either deep throats or an extra-wide opening. I also have a number of simple metal spring clamps in a variety of sizes. I seldom use them anymore. Since the VarioClippix clamps are adjustable, a single clamp replaces all the various-sized ones, which also reduces the clutter in my workspace. Ever since I spotted them in the Lee Valley catalog, these clamps have single-handedly handled about 70 percent of my clamping requirements.
-- Dave King
Bessey VarioClippix Spring Clamp
$6
(4-inch)
Available from AmazonManufactured by Bessey Tools
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Builders of the Pacific Coast.
I've lived on the California coast all my life, so I'm no stranger to homegrown architecture. I've driven by geodesic domes tucked into canyons and hiked past shack-like mini-mansions perched on empty hilltops. My encounters have always been brief, though, and, most importantly, from afar. As he did with 2004's Home Work, Lloyd Kahn takes us inside the structures many of us wouldn't and couldn't even stumble upon, let alone venture inside. In this case, we tour the coastal creations of more than a dozen builders dotting the edge of North America all the way up from Northern CA to British Columbia. Driftwood saunas and stairwells, wave-like green roofs, bright wide-eyed yurts, hand-carved pillars and more. A wonderful collection of imagination and possibility.
-- Steven Leckart
Builders of the Pacific Coast
Lloyd Kahn
2008, 256 pages
$18
Available from AmazonShelter Publications, Pacific Builders of the Pacific Coast homepage
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I started to find it really hard to get to sleep. Instead of staying up for hours, thinking, this sound machine gives me a rhythm for breathing and falling asleep and it's louder than the voice in my head. Unlike a white noise machine, which can *only* create static, this unit offers a range of built-in natural sounds, plus expansion sound cards with more sounds for $15 and up. My wife is partial to the summer night sounds whereas I prefer the ocean surf, so we bought two cards and alternate: Rhythms of the Sea and Wilderness Journey. The sound can be played for a set time (30-, 60-, or 90-minutes), fades out gradually and it automatically shuts off. Unlike many machines that have a combination volume and on/off switch, this one has a great big button that only turns it on and off -- very easy to hit with my eyes closed or while wearing a sleep mask.
I looked at a lot of different sound machines. I first tried one intended for babies. It was cheap and well-regarded, but had a very limited number of sounds which ranged from inauthentic to annoying, poor volume control and it clicked loudly when it shut off. I found there are a lot of poorly-made sound machines and a lot of good ones, but those cost a lot more. I wasn't willing to go up to the next price point ($100), so for the money, I really think this is the best one for regular, at-home use. I've used ours for about six months now and use it every night to get to sleep. I even travel with it and play it on planes with earphones (it runs on AA batteries as well as AC).
Sure they make CDs and mp3s with similar soundtracks, but you can't program fades or set automatic shut offs unless you have a fancy stereo/player, which our bedroom does not. Also, those albums aren't necessarily designed for sleeping. I remember being in a Thai restaurant where there was a flat screen playing a scene of a running brook with birds, complete with sound. It did not take very long before I knew the sequence and what was coming next and how long the loop was. That kind of repetition only keeps me awake. The sounds on our expansion cards do not repeat all that quickly, or if they do, it is not at all obvious when they start over.
-- Hugh Brown
Sound Oasis - S-550-03
$49
Available from AmazonSound Expansion Cards
$15
Available from Sleep Well BabyManufactured by Sound Oasis
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Refresh.