Mr. Fix-it

- Robert received his "Li'l Helper" tool kit including PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) from Grammy and Grandpa for Christmas. He immediately decided that something needed fixing so he went to work on the faucet in the shower. He looks just like Handy Manny. Canon PowerShot SD870 IS, 1/60 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 250 with flash.

Son of a Carpenter

- This was my one of my father's many folding rulers. He could unfold and measure with one hand while holding something with the other. I still use this ruler all of the time and each time I think of my dad. He was a proud son of a carpenter and so am I. Canon 7D, 1/50 sec @ f/8.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.

Charge!!

- The 18 volt power tool batteries are ready to charge into action. Canon 40D, 1/160 sec @ f/4.0, ISO 800, 100mm macro lens.

Phillips

- Henry F. Phillips commercialized the crosshead self-centering screw design that today bears his name. The Philips screw was first introduced by GM on its 1936 Cadillac assembly line and rapidly sweep through the U.S. auto industry. Today it is still the most popular screw design in use. This is a 4X macro photo of a very small precision Pozi Drive #0 Phillips bit. Notice the wear and grain in the stainless steel. Canon 40D, 1.3 sec @ f/16, ISO 800, 65mm MP-E macro lens.

Skeletool

From 2010 Blog

The pliers are neatly tucked away in my folded Leatherman Skeletool. Between yesterday's photo experiment with the green laser and today's shot of one of my favorite tools, you can tell that once a geek - always a geek. Canon 7D, 1/60 sec @ f/2.8, ISO 400, 50mm compact macro, Litepanel Micro LED.

Level With Me

From 2010 Blog

I was hanging a mirror in the living room over the fireplace. I had set my level down when I noticed a back light illuminating the bubble window. These types of levels are known as spirit or bubble levels. The term spirit comes from the fact that the most common liquid used is a yellow colored Ethanol. Spirit levels are employed to indicate how horizontal (level) or how vertical (plumb) a surface is. Canon 7D, 1/60 sec @ f/4.6, ISO 800, 50mm macro lens.

341 - QWERTY

From 365 Project

The QWERTY is the standard layout for English keyboards. The layout comes from the 1870's and was devised using a study of letter-pair frequency to position the letters to avoid type bar jams that plagued early typewriters. Originally the letter "R" and the period "." were reversed on the keyboard. They were switched into the current positions so a typewriter salesman could impress customers by quickly typing out "TYPEWRITER" using only the top row of letters. The photo is my Logitech illuminated keyboard, a fine device for working late at night. Canon Rebel XTi, 1/20s @ f/3.2, ISO 800, 50mm macro.

203 - A Big Double Hex

From 365 Project

This is a big (3-1/8") double-hexagonal socket. It weighs about 5 pounds. Certainly it's made to tackle a big nut. Thanks to Rickey at the HRT gas shop for letting me take some photos of his tools. Professional mechanics provide their own tools. They have large mobile tool boxes with thousands of dollars of their own money invested to get their work done - kind of like photographers. Canon 40D, 1/60 sec @ f/3.5, ISO 800, 50mm lens.