[Jazzbass]

I have a lot of hobbies. Cars (obviously). Woodworking. Metalworking/machining/fabrication. Home improvement. Electronics. Ultimately what they all have in common is tools. In fact, my wife asserts that I really have only one hobby - tool acquisition - and everything else is just justification for that. She's probably right. Taking a wild guess, I'd bet I'm not alone in this. So I thought I'd start a "check out this new tool" thread here so that the Dorki community can encourage each other to buy more tools. It's like having an AA meeting in a bar.

So I'll start - I mentioned this in the Welding Class thread, but this is my latest - the ART40 Pro-Tec surge suppressor. Small, easy to use and can serve double duty as nipple clamps for those with more BDSM inclinations. <cough> I mean, or so I've been told. $46 on Amazon, WaalMart or where ever, it allows you to weld on a car without disconnecting the battery or removing all of the electronics. So simple to use the instructions are printed on a business card. Clamp to battery, red = positibe, black = negative. No need to remove the battery and ECUs from the car when welding.

This is great for me because while with the 911 it's trivial to pull the DME for welding, my E46 needs some reinforcement plates in the rear and I do NOT feel like trying to unplug all the electronics from that car. And god forbid I ever have to weld on the E90. I have not used it yet, but the guys at Chaos Fab Shop swear by it, and they weld on modern cars with multiple ECUs on a daily basis.