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My three year old loves tools. He’s figured out that many of the arriving packages contain tools.

Lately, there has been disappointment because the packages are not for him.

Today I got him a Craftsman 3/8″ drive socket set. I wrapped the set up to look like it was fresh off the brown truck.

“For me!”

“It’s tools!”

We have a new tool at my office, a CNC engraving machine. I took a short video of my first engraving operation. The stock is a two layer plastic laminate. The engraver cuts away the upper black layer, leaving the white lower layer showing through as letters. Most of the noise is from a small vacuum that is collecting the shavings from the cutter head.

I purchased a Craftsman 18 piece full polish combination wrench set at the end of December. It was an online sale with an unbelievably low price of only $55. I chose to pick them up in my local store to avoid shipping costs. The online system said they would be ready for pickup in 30 to 36 days, but I didn’t think it would actually take that long.

I’ve always been a fan of Craftsman tools. Unfortunately, many of the tools in their product line are now made in China. I was worried that this wrench set would arrive with a “made in China” label.

I picked up the set the other day and was happy to find they are still made in the USA. These wrenches are beautiful. They are on sale for $89.99. While not near the deal I got, I feel the set is still a great value at this price.

Craftsman 18 Piece Wrench Set

This was part of a lot of machinists tools I purchased on eBay. I believe it is a homemade bench block, possibly from a school shop class. Commercially made bench blocks are available. There are a variety of uses for this tool. Some feature V grooves for use on round parts.

It can be used as a guide with a hand drill to ensure a hole is drilled perpendicular to a part.

The block works well for starting a tap straight into a hole.

It can hold a roll pin so that it is easier to start into a part.

A simple bench block like this is easily made with a drill press and a scrap block of steel. A wooden one could be made for one-time use.

My wife got me a set of Craftsman roll pin punches for Christmas. They are made in the USA and are very good quality.

A roll pin punch, shown on the right, has a small stud on the end. This keeps the punch centered on the roll pin. A regular pin punch, shown on the left, can damage the end of the roll pin. It can also slip off the pin and damage the part.