Short And Unmemorable, Opiate Is Tool's Legitimate Crisis Of Faith, But A Lousy Album.

The Good: Deep, murky instrumental sound, Some good lyrics
The Bad: Short, Yelled vocals are unimpressive, Instrumentally derivative, Produced so lyrics cannot easily be heard.
The Basics: Short, instrumentally unimpressive and too frequently vocally garbled, Opiate fails to land its otherwise wonderful messages.


As I listen to what is likely to be my final Tool album, whatwith my library's inability to get me more in and having managed to pretty much exhaust the works of Maynard James Keenan this April, I find myself thinking of how I envy musical artists. It is relatively inexpensive to produce one's own c.d. and find places to perform and once people hear it, it if resonates with them, you can immediately build a fanbase. It's a medium which requires far less patience than writing novels or developing a television show. Tool's e.p. Opiate seems to be proof of that for me.

Opiate is a very limited work, but it was clearly enough for Tool to use to begin building its fanbase and get its recording contract from. The little album found its audience and the audience helped to illustrate a market need that Tool was filling and while I respect the effort and some of the talent involved, it is hard not to objectively look at Opiate and think that it was a recording that got lucky. The album has some initial creativity, but in the larger body of Tool's works and the works of Maynard James Keenan, it is utterly forgettable.

With only six tracks occupying 26:54, Opiate is very much the work of the metal band Tool. All of the songs were written by the band and Maynard James Keenan provides all of the primary vocals. The guitars, bass and drums were performed by bandmembers Adam Jones, Paul D'Amour, and Danny Carey. The band even co-produced the album, which consists of four studio tracks and two live songs ("Cold And Ugly" and "Jerk-Off").

Musically, Opiate sounds very much like what it actually is, a simple collection of guitar, bass and drum tracks. The percussion pounds from the opening of "Sweat" and doesn't let up until the end of the song "Opiate," so Danny Carey is constantly working through this album. But beyond the percussion, the guitar and bass work is so generic as to be unmemorable. The guitars and bass thrash and it's clear the men are playing them and they create an auditory wall of force with the sound, but there is nothing like a melody being produced. The result is angsty rock tracks which are expressive and angry, but not at all hummable and are very hard to describe outside defining them as thrashing guitars. The lack of memorable tunes is ultimately unsatisfying.

Similarly, the vocals on Opiate are largely unimpressive. The album features Keenan singing - or, more frequently, wailing - out his lyrics and while he is expressive, the vocals are often produced to be sublimated so far below the instrumental accompaniment that few of them can actually be understood. Outside "I am frightened, too" ("Cold And Ugly") very few of the lines are actually comprehensible (though, until I looked up the lyrics, I swore the line was "I am Franklin, too!"). Keenan's vocals are the lower registers of his range on Opiate and as a result, the album has a very masculine and aggressive sound.

But the lack of comprehensibility of the lyrics is the true death knell of Opiate. Tool clearly has something to say and it is unfortunate that they do not want it heard clearly. The band sings of angst in relationships and they have some truly inspired poetry. The lines "Underneath her skin and jewelry, / Hidden in her words and eyes / Is a wall that's cold and ugly / And she's scared as hell. / Trembling at the thought of feeling. / Wide awake and keeping distance. / Nothing seems to penetrate her. / She's scared as hell. / I am frightened too" ("Cold And Ugly") are beautiful and real and the rawness of the human emotion is uncommon in popular music today.

As well, Tool presents socially and religiously satirical lines with songs like "Jerk-Off." Taking a literalist view of an angry god, Keenan sings of dispensing justice against those who are wrong and do wrongs. Angrily singing "Someone told me once / That there's a right and wrong, / Punishment would come to those / Who dare to cross the line. / But it must not be true / For jerk-offs just just like you. / Maybe it's just bullshit and I should play GOD, / And shoot you myself. / Because I'm tired of waiting" ("Jerk-Off"), Keenan makes fairly clear his disdain for the way religion is used as, well, a tool. It's a shame so few of the actual lines can actually be clearly understood to truly wrench those hypocrites who might kill in the name of a pacifistic god.

Regardless, the songs on Opiate might do better as a poetry book for all their musical originality and flavor. Sure, the EP is angsty and clearly emotional, but the album replays poorly because it is so short and is instrumentally nothing special or even interesting.

The best track is "Cold And Ugly," the low point is the unmemorable "Part Of Me."

For other works by Maynard James Keenan, please check out my reviews of:
Undertow - Tool
Aenima - Tool
10,000 Days – Tool
Mer De Noms - A Perfect Circle
Thirteenth Step – A Perfect Circle
eMOTIVE - A Perfect Circle
V Is For Vagina - Puscifer

4.5/10

For other music reviews, please be sure to visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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Outside The Gimmicks, I Actually Liked Undertow By Tool!

The Good: Instrumentally intriguing, Good vocals, Good lyrics
The Bad: Annoying track gimmick, Somewhat repetitive
The Basics: An inspired, dark metal album, Undertow by Tool, quite simply, rocks.


As April rushed by with the bands of Maynard James Keenan as my Artist Of The Month, I found myself finally finding an album to crow about. The album was Undertow and it is the closest work by Tool I've yet heard that could have been considered for a perfect album. Yes, I enjoyed it almost that much and those looking for a moody, dark album in the metal rock genre are likely to be impressed by it and enjoy it as well. The album has an experimental rock sound and feel to it that is impressive.

But more than that, unlike the other Tool albums I have heard, Undertow has both decent (if occasionally creepy) lyrics and is produced so those lyrics may actually be understood by the listener. The debut album of Tool actually starts the band out high and it is a shame to hear the direction the group went in after this. They went from an auditorily intriguing band to one where they make interesting enough music, but cloud their purpose with poetic lyrics which cannot be understood.

That said, the most prominent problem with Undertow is the way the c.d. is produced. There are sixty-nine tracks on the c.d. but only ten songs. The final track, "Disgustipated," comes after a minute of clicks as the player goes through sixty empty tracks before playing light percussion and animal sounds. The wait between "Flood" and "Disgustipated" is annoying and gimmicky and after several listens to the album, this and the repetitiveness of several of the tracks was enough to rob it of consideration for perfect album status.

Even so, with ten songs occupying 69:12 (68:12 is music), Undertow is very much the musical vision of the band Tool. At this point in their history, Tool was a quartet consisting of Maynard James Keenan (lead vocals), Adam Jones (guitar and sitar), Paul D'Amour (bass) and Danny Carey (drums). The band wrote all of their own songs, save "Bottom," which was co-written with guest vocalist Henry Rollins. Outside "Bottom," all of the vocals were performed by Keenan. Undertow was produced by the band with Sylvia Massy, so it does seem to be Tool's musical vision which is being represented.

And that musical vision is one with pounding metal guitars, a bass which frequently works as percussion and a lot of banging on drums and cymbals. Carey is a very active percussionist and Jones and D'Amour bang on their guitars equally hard. The music has a very rich, deep, bass-filled sound. Listening to Undertow is to allow oneself to be washed over with a wall of sound. The music is pounding and dreary, with a strong sense of repetition which only leads to the oppressive feeling of the album. This is the clear intent of Undertow and Tool does it remarkably well.

Vocally, Undertow has Tool led by Maynard James Keenan and his vocals become hypnotic on "Intolerance" and crystal clear on "Sober." Keenan does not illustrate much range, though he yells through some of his singing on "Bottom" and he has a great emotive presence on songs like "Crawl Away." He is also able to give surprisingly wrenching vocals on "Undertow" (the song) and he tends to stay near the deeper range of the registers he can sing in.

But what makes Undertow so distinctive as a Tool album is that most of the lyrics can actually be understood. Undertow is a dark album with a lot of angst, centering on relationships gone wrong and hypocrisy. Take, for example, "Crawl Away," where Keenan sings "You crawled away from me. / Slipped away from me. / I tried to keep ahold, / But there was nothing I could say. / You slid away from me / You crept away from me / I tried to keep you down / but there was nothing I could say. / What you're trying to say / is you don't wanna play." Despite the simplicity of the lines, Keenan makes his point very clear and anyone who has ever been abandoned can relate to the song. The slow death of relationships and the problematic games that are played as part of those harsh endings is well-portrayed by Tool.

Similarly, "Sober" has a power to it that is not frequent in pop-rock. Keenan does a decent job of expanding what may actually be sung about in rock and roll music when he laments "I am just a worthless liar. / I am just an imbecile. / I will only complicate you. / Trust in me and fall as well. / I will find a center in you. / I will chew it up and leave, / I will work to elevate you / Just enough to bring you down . . . Why can't we not be sober? / I just want to start this over" ("Sober"). And the best part of it is that because the poetry can be heard clearly, Keenan makes his point and the song comes together wonderfully in an haunting way.

As well, Tool succeeds in being creative using samples, as they do on "Disgustipated." The ironic use of a preacher-style clip contrasts beautifully lines like "This is necessary. / This is necessary. / Life feeds on life feeds on life feeds on life" ("Disgustipated"). And this level of creativity ought to be rewarded, especially when it is executed so well.

But Undertow is not for everyone. It is a darker album and the repetitive lines on songs like "Intolerance" and "Flood" make it hard to listen obsessively to. But for those looking for an escape from the ordinary and obvious, Undertow makes for a great selection.

The best track is "Undertow," the weak point is the less-memorable "Swamp Song." But truly, there is no bad track on the album.

For other works by Maynard James Keenan, please check out my reviews of:
Aenima - Tool
10,000 Days – Tool
Thirteenth Step – A Perfect Circle
V Is For Vagina - Puscifer

8.5/10

For other music reviews, please check out my index page by clicking here for an organized list!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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Back In April, My Artist Of The Month Was Maynard James Keenan And I Started With Tool's Aenima.

The Good: Aurally interesting, Decent music, Duration
The Bad: Produced so lyrics are almost entirely inaudible in places, Strangely low replayability
The Basics: I would probably like Aenima a lot better if Tool didn’t make their music so much louder than their lyrics.


[Despite the time thing, I liked the opening, so I kept it! ? ]

I’ve been sitting here working on other projects for the last hour and a half because I have been dreading writing this review. The reason is simple: in trying to please my wife by choosing Maynard James Keenan – the common creative link between Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Pucifer – as my April Artist Of The Month, I have begun listening to albums which seem to have a common problem and that means a month of presenting opinions contrary to the norm. I’m not generally afraid of that and when I started listening to the Tool album Aenima, I felt I was listening to something familiar, as I had already listened to Tool’s album 10,000 Days and the Puscifer album V Is For Vagina. All three suffer from a common fate; the instrumental accompaniment is so robust that it frequently overwhelms the vocal performances which accompany them and the result is the listener has to strain to hear the lines.

This leaves me at a point where I might as well make my sweeping statement about this type of “Metal” music (so characterized because of the electric guitar work and the almost industrial emphasis on percussion in many of the songs): if you have something to say, great, make it heard. If you want to be about the way music can move a listener, fine: don’t add lyrics! Already in my music-listening experiences, I am tired of songs and albums where the lyrics are produced so far behind the instrumental accompaniment that it is the vocals that are accompanying the instruments and trying to understand what is being sung is virtually impossible without the lyrics. Sadly, that is where Aenima is and after listening to the loud guitars and angry-sounding vocals without getting much out of the lyrics after eight spinnings of the disc, I am ready to give up and move on to something better.

With fifteen tracks occupying 77:23 on c.d., Aenima is very much the creative work of Tool. All of the songs were written by some combination of the quartet, with the band’s original bassist contributing on some of the tracks. In fact, the only writing not from members of Tool comes from a sample on “Third Eye” which is the work of comedian Bill Hicks. Maynard James Keenan provides all of the lead vocals and the other three – Justin Chancellor, Danny Carey, and Adam Jones – provide the bulk of the instrumental accompaniment, which is guitar, bass and drums, primarily. In fact, the only thing the band is not credited with is production, which comes from the keyboardist David Bottrill.

Aenima may have been groundbreaking when it was originally released and it still sounds quite different from most other rock music. I write that with the caveat that listening to the heavy guitar, bass and drums of Tool on Aenima instantly evokes mental images of giant stadiums, flashing club lights and lots of people in leather looking angry or disenfranchised. That’s how the music sounds; the album sounds angry from the pounding of the drums to the thrashing on the guitars and to the echoes of the vocals. And, it is clearly intended to sound that way as the song “Die Eier von Satan” is merely a cookie recipe chanted harshly in German. No one translates into German when they want the sound to be romantic or even melodic.

This, however, is a fundamental problem for me with Aenima. After eight listens to the album, it blends together such that there is not a single tune from the album that stands out. The album itself forms a very bleak emotional resonance that makes the listener feel oppressed and angsty, despite the initially energetic guitarwork on “Stinkfist.” The album has long strings of guitar strumming that is electric and has a force to it, but it doesn’t create a tune. In other words, it is unlikely one will find themselves walking down the street humming something they heard on the album.

Vocally, Keenan has a fine voice. His vocals have a limited range, but he makes up for his lack of register range with an emotive spectrum that would be great, if only his vocals could be easily understood. Still, he expresses emotions well, from smooth and melodic on “Stinkfist” to angry and throwing vocal fire on “Forty Six & 2” and “Hooker With A Penis.” His actual voice is obscured through production elements on songs like “Eulogy” where portions of the song actually have Keenan sounding like he is on an old time radio before bursting forth with his actual voice.

It’s almost pointless to write about the lyrics to the songs Tool presents on Aenima because most of them are incomprehensible when actually listening to the c.d. On the page, however, it is clear Tool has something to say and it is unfortunate they make their music so overbearing that they cannot be understood. Indeed, outside the repetitive refrains on “Pushit,” there are some darkly poetic lines like “I Saw the gap again today / While you were begging me to stay / Take care not to make me enter / If I do we both may disappear / Know that I will choke until I swallow / Choke this infant here before me. / What is this but my reflection? / Who am I to judge or strike you down?” While the lyrics may be disturbing or explicit, there is a poetry on the album which is uncommon.

In fact, on the page, Tool actually has a decent sense of imagery which is not common in metal music I’ve heard before. When they wrote “Shroud-ing all the ground around me / Is this holy crow above me. / Black as holes within a memory / And blue as our new second sun. / I stick my hand into his shadow / To pull the pieces from the sand. / Which I attempt to reassemble / To see just who I might have been. / I do not recognize the vessel, / But the eyes seem so familiar” (“Third Eye”) they exhibit an uncommon talent.

But, in the end, I find myself wishing Aenima were just a book of poetry because the music is not as memorable and the statements are so obscured. I’m hoping some of Keenan’s other projects move away from these unfortunate faults.

The best song is “Pushit,” the low point is “Intermission.”

For other works by Maynard James Keenan, please check out my reviews of:
10,000 Days – Tool
Thirteenth Step – A Perfect Circle
V Is For Vagina - Puscifer

5/10

For other music reviews, please be sure to check out my index page, updated daily, by clicking here!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.



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Aurally Interesting, Though Vocally Incomprehensible For Decent Lyrics, Tool's 10,000 Days Ultimately Disappoints.

The Good: Moments of intriguing instrumentals, Most of the lyrics.
The Bad: Vocals are noisy and often terrible, Some of the instrumentals are monotonous and obvious
The Basics: With moody, overbearing guitars and banging drums, Tool drowns out its own lyrics on 10,000 Days, making it a somewhat pointless and unpleasant listening experience.


You know you're out of touch with the next generation when you are recommended music by members of that youthful group and your first instinct is to call it "noise." A few years back, I befriended a middle aged woman and her daughter. Unlike the Christian Fundamentalist mother, the daughter is a rebellious artist who is striking out on her own and I've been sharing music with her lately. It was she who introduced me to Imogen Heap's Speak For Yourself.

So, when she enthusiastically recommended 10,000 Days, an album by Tool, she had some credibility with me. Now she has somewhat less . . . Now she has quite a bit less credibility for decent music in my mind. I've been opening myself up to new and different experiences lately, but some of that process has just reinforced that what I had before was . . . well, taste.

With eleven tracks clocking in at 75:50, the fourth studio album from Tool is a heavy metal/progressive metal rock album. Tool, an all-guy quartet, relies on loud, heavy guitar and bass accompanied by pounding drums to create its sound. Virtually every song sublimates the vocals to the instrumentals and at the same time presents the guitars in the same way; it is as if the guitarists simply learned one thrashing motion with their hands to define how they play guitar. 10,000 Days, then is aurally all about guitar riffs and scratchy vocals buried beneath layers of production elements.

All of the tracks appear to be written by the band and given the infrequency of their releases, it seems like this is very probably their distinct musical vision. It's a dark vision and one that is chock full of decent imagery and diction. Take, for example, the album opener, "Vicarious." On this track, Maynard James Keenan sings about the voyeurism of witnessing destruction and decay with lines like, ""We won't give pause until the blood is flowing / Neither the brave nor bold / The writers of stories sold / We won't give pause until the blood is flowing / I need to watch things die / From a good safe distance / Vicariously I, live while the whole world dies / You all feel the same so / Why can't we just admit it" ("Vicarious") and outside the Avrill-esque quality of rhyming a word with itself ("flowing"/"flowing", "die"/"dies") the group has a pretty decent sense of poetics. The imagery is dark and thought-provoking, moody and heavy.

For sure, Tool has lyrics that are written with a somewhat higher level of diction. The group has a strong ability to make allusions to pop culture, as they do on tracks like Rosetta Stoned. There, Keenan sings, ". . .Then the X-Files being, looking like some kind of blue-green / Jackie Chan with Isabella Rossellini lips and breath that reeked of vanilla Chig Champa, / did a slow-mo Matrix descent out of the butt end of the banana vessel and hovered above my bug-eyes, / my gaping jaw, and my sweaty L. Ron Hubbard upper lip and all I could think was: / "I hope Uncle Martin here doesn't notice that I pissed my fuckin' pants" ("Rosetta Stoned"). Catching all of the references makes the song that much richer, that much more complete and the men of Tool seem fearlessly willing to make that level of constant commentary to sell their visions.

And what are their visions? Largely 10,000 Days seems to capture the alienation and chaotic elements of life and the world. Keenan seems to demand acceptance to the idea that we make our own fate with lines like, "Angels on the sideline, / Puzzled and amused. / Why did Father give these humans free will? / Now they're all confused. / Don't these talking monkeys know that / Eden has enough to go around? / Plenty in this holy garden, silly monkeys, / Where there's one you're bound to divide it. / Right in two" ("Right In Two"). And the songs are well-written to actually SAY something, though the notable exception to that might well be "Lost Keys (Blame Hofmann)," a track that has a dialogue within it instead of sung lines, creating a mystery in an investigator's or coroner's office.

The problem with the album is for all of the lyrics I could cite to sell Tool as a band with something to say, the way it says it completely and unflinchingly overrides what it is trying to say. All of the finely crafted lyrics by the Tool men had to be looked up because the vocals are a blurry gravy overwhelmed by the potatoes and meat of the music. The vocals are given no priority and as a result, Keenan's singing at best sounds like it is coming from a distance away, sublimated down a tunnel of sound by the thrashing guitars and banging drums.

Moreover, Keenan's vocals are so lost and/or overproduced that it is virtually impossible to evaluate his singing voice. Does he sing like an angel? Could he knock Pavoratti out with his range and depth? Who knows, one can barely hear him on any single track on this album! One suspects, then, that he is either not proud or not comfortable with his vocal range, but whatever the motivation for burying the lyrics and singing voice underneath the blase electric instrumentals, it seems intellectually cheap. Everyone in the genre seems to do it. Electronically-altered vocals, chaotic, noisy music, you name it it is an excuse to minimize the importance of what the artists are trying to say. It's like all heavy metal wants to fit in and the way to do that is create a monotonous wall of sound which avid listeners have to peek over to hear anything truly brilliant as far as content.

Everyone deserves better than that. What's the point of biting, insightful lyrics if they are drown out by boring and obvious guitar riffs. The closest song to have lyrics one can actually hear and discern is "10,000 Days (Wings Pt. 2)." Unfortunately, after having a few lines where Keenan's voice is clear, it degenerates into a Bush-like guitar sound that puts several minutes of the same few chords echoing throughout the remainder of the long track. It is an odd combination of angry and original and utterly pedestrian, like it came from the recommended progressions straight from the heavy metal handbook.

And largely the album does not sound exciting. The guitars are presented with consistency and there is not single melody that can be picked out of this album after one has listened to it (as I write this, I am on the eighth listen and I know that within a week someone could play me a song from this very album and I would never recognize it. After an original opening with vocals presented front and center on "The Pot," for example, the song becomes a guitar riff I know I've heard elsewhere before and unimaginative drumming that does nothing more than keep time.

Who might like Tool's 10,000 Days? Those who want to feel monotonous darkness and the impression of angry or disaffected will dig this album. But those wanting to actually hear an album about being disaffected and angry will have to listen elsewhere: the lines on this album are not comprehensible enough to get all that out of it.

The best track might well be "Right In Two," the low point is the utterly unmemorable "Jambi."

For other new music, please check out my reviews of:
Bomb In A Birdcage - A Fine Frenzy
Dusk And Summer - Dashboard Confessional
Many Great Companions - Dar Williams

5/10

For other music reviews, please check out my index page by clicking here! That will take you to an organized list with plenty of great review links!

© 2010, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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A Substandard Stud Finder: The Craftsman Basic Model Is The Bottom Of The Barrel.

The Good: Comes with battery, Sometimes finds the stud, Generally inexpensive
The Bad: More often than not does not find the studs.
The Basics: A conceptually-good stud finder, the Craftsman Electronic Stud Finder falls down in real-world testing over years as it fails to accurately find (or not find) studs 75% of the time.


Every now and then, I try my hand at a hardware review because I find a product that is either extraordinary or very much worth avoiding. In the case of the Craftsman Electronic Stud Finder, this falls much closer to the latter than the former. Rummaging through my toolbox, this is easily one of the first things I will replace when I have the funds.

The Craftsman Electronic Stud Finder is the entry-level stud finder and unfortunately, it is woefully inconsistent, which does not seem to be a problem with the product as far as the use or warranty as I am now on my third identical stud finder. All three that I have used have suffered from the same problem which is that they give varying information with no real sense of consistency. In short, this is an imprecise stud finder and one that is not likely to give the user accurate results, certainly not with any sense of regularity.

What is a stud finder? Behind all of our walls, there are wooden (usually) supports that run perpendicular to the floor and ceiling which support the drywall or other wall-forming materials. Those supports are called studs. Because most of us do not have completely accurate blueprints, when we need to find where those studs are, one uses a device that has limited wall-penetrating capability and it is called a stud finder. The stud finder responds to changes in wall density and if it is properly calibrated, it beeps or lights up when it encounters a stud. This allows those putting holes in their walls - like for hanging pictures - to find the most supportive place on the wall to mount their devices and decorations.

This is the essential theory behind all stud finders and the Craftsman Electronic Stud Finder is no exception. The five and one-half inch long red plastic tool is remarkably erratic, though. This stud finder is mostly a grip - at the base - with a flat bottom for dragging along the flat surface one is searching for a stud behind. The nice thing about the Craftsman Electronic Stud Finder is that it comes with the nine-volt battery needed to run the device. The head of the stud finder has four LEDs, a tiny speaker and a separate LED for calibration checking.

Use of the Craftsman Electronic Stud Finder is ridiculously easy. First, place the stud finder on the wall or flat surface one is looking for a stud behind. Squeeze the handle and depress the thumb-sized button on the left side. This causes the Trucal LED light to light up and when it does, one knows their stud finder is active and calibrated. Then, slowly drag the stud finder left or right (not up or down). When the stud finder begins to sense a stud, the bottom of the four LEDs - a red one - will light up. Continuing to drag the stud finder over the lights LEDs will light up toward the tip of the stud finder and the green LED. When the green LED is reached, the unit beeps and one knows they have found a stud! The Craftsman Electronic Stud Finder has a notch to allow one to mark precisely where the edges of a stud are (one usually mounts objects at the center of the stud). After one has marked one side of the stud, they may continue to drag the stud finder to the other side of the stud and the LEDs will stop lighting, with the green reverting to red and then no LEDs lit. The stud finder also stops beeping.

Another nice feature is that the Craftsman Electronic Stud Finder lets users know when it is uncalibrated. If the unit is no longer functioning correctly, the top green and lowest red diodes begin to flash and the speaker beeps. When that happens, simply stop pressing the activation button, move the stud finder to an area of wall where one knows there are no studs and depress again to recalibrate.

If I have so many good things to write about the basic design of this stud finder, why am I panning it? Quite simply, this is a conceptually well-designed product with clear indications of when it is working and when the stud finder has found a stud. However, in practical applications - using it for the last few years - I have found mine to be wrong more often than not. 75% of the time, the Craftsman Electronic Stud Finder either did not find a stud that was present or indicated a stud was present repeatedly when there was none (nor anything else!) behind a wall. This has led to many damaged walls in my house and a few broken picture frames. Those, alas, are not covered by the usual generous Craftsman lifetime warranty.

Unfortunately, as well, these defects are not the fault of bad units, low batteries or user error. I have gone through three Craftsman Electronic Stud Finders over the years trying to get one to work properly. I have replaced batteries and I have had others - including two professional contractors - use the stud finders with similar results.

That makes for a bad stud finder, one that cannot reliably find the studs or illustrate when no stud is present. It makes it easy to not recommend this product to anyone. Well, anyone but those who only want to find their studs 25% of the time!

For other tools, please check out my reviews of:
Adjustable Clamp Co. 1" C-Clamp
Soundbest International 8" Round File
Stanley 66-183 Screwdriver

3/10

For other hardware and household appliance reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2010, 2009 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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Small Enough For Many Basic Tasks, The 1" C-Clamp Holds Most Things Well.

The Good: No slippage on threads, Durable, Easy-to-clean
The Bad: Foot may slip on some applications.
The Basics: A wonderful basic tool, the Adjustable Clamp Company 1 x 1 C-Clamp does what it promises for meeting basic clamping needs.


Some basic tools are easy to write about, easy to use and the only question one truly needs answered about them in the final analysis is “does the tool work?” In the case of the Adjustable Clamp Company's 1” C-clamp, the answer is “yes!” The 1” C-clamp is a very easy to use tool which has a single real purpose and it lives up to all demands I've put on it for that purpose.

I have had a set of 1” c-clamps from the Adjustable Clamp Company for about a decade now. The 1” c-clamp gets its name from the depth of the opening of the “C” as well as the depth of the legs that form the “C.” The Adjustable Clamp Company's 1 x 1 C-clamp has all of the same basic parts; a C clamp about as deep as it is wide open, made of solid steel. Having used these clamps in many applications underneath my last house, I can credibly attest to the fact that they do not rust, even when exposed almost constantly to water.

The C clamp is remarkably easy to use. First, find the item you need clamped or the two items you need clamped together. I have used these small c-clamps for everything from pressing boards together over books to re-flatted warped paperbacks to holding 1/2" pipes up on a beam that was only a little thicker. Pass the items you want clamped through the opening on the C-clamp, then twist the end of the threaded clamp to push the foot toward the head. Tightening the clamp too much may result in pushing the metal head into the surface one is trying to clamp to, but tightening not enough may result in slippage. It is always recommended that one test clamp the clamp on a similar (but expendable) surface before one uses it in their main project.

In fact, this leads to the only detraction I could find for this small steel c-clamp; the foot (the end on the threaded part that moves) is steel as well and on some surfaces, like linoleum, it is going to slip pretty much regardless. Some c-clamps have rubber on the foot and head, but this Adjustable Clamp Company one does not and while there are limited times in one's life one might need a c-clamp on linoleum or other smoother surfaces, I actually ran into one of them and this clamp did not fit my needs.

That said, for basic small clamping uses, this 1 X 1 clamp has never let me down. After a decade of use none of the ones I have used have shown any thread wear, which means they all still grip with the same strength they originally did. That makes them an incredible value with their durability and ideal for both housework and frequent craft projects where a clamp might be helpful (and in projects involving gluing in multiple planes, that's pretty much ideal).

For other tools and the like kicking around my workshop, please check out my reviews of:
Keter 16" toolbox
Stanley 8" Adjustable Wrench
Soundbest International 8" Round File

8/10

For other tool reviews, please check out my index page!

© 2010 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.


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