7 Cool Tools from SEMA 2024
Whether you buy your mechanics tools from a big box store, a local hardware store, or online, there’s no way your favorite retailer carries every brand of tools or a tool for every project. Because of that, there are probably solutions to even your most common tasks that you haven’t considered. We poked around the 2024 SEMA Show and learned about several problem-solving tools that we just discovered and thought were worth sharing. Many of these tools could have saved us some trouble, so here’s hoping you find something that also helps you.
Pinch Pliers
Lang Tools has been building mechanics tools in Racine, Wisconsin, for more than 90 years. Their booth was filled with a wide variety of interesting products, but their hose pinch pliers grabbed our attention. They use a simple cam mechanism that tightens with a squeeze and locks closed to seal fuel, vacuum, or coolant lines without fussing with any adjustment. The pliers stay closed until they’re spread open again. The three different-sized pliers are available separately, or in a set that retails for under $80.
Pin Punches
Spring Tools has a wide variety of punches that use springs to deliver repeatable impact. They offer a set to punch letters or numbers, one to give saw blades and drills a place to start cutting, and this set with two drivers and eight interchangeable pin punches. This set could save the day if you’re working in tight confines and don’t have the space to swing a hammer. It has an MSRP of $89.95.
Belt grinder conversion
There have to be plenty of DIYers with a bench grinder that doesn’t get a lot of use. There’s only so much that can be done with a grinding wheel — we tended to use the wire wheel more often anyway. To get more use out of the tools we already have, Multitool makes several belt grinder conversions that add a 2×36-inch or 2×48-inch belt grinder along with a 7-inch disc sander. The conversion has an MSRP of $239 and attaches to most 1/2 hp or larger bench grinders with a 1/2-inch or 5/8-inch shaft.
Fixture table
We mentioned Fireball Tools in our coverage of last year’s SEMA Show, and this year they have new fabrication tools aimed at an even wider audience. Their impressive fixture tables are sturdy and massive, but they might be a bit big for most home shops. Now Fireball Tool offers a DIY kit for a fixture table that measures 54×30 inches for less than $1000. The table uses a flat ground 1/2-inch steel plate with 3/4-inch holes drilled on a two-inch grid for accurate and repeatable fixtures, and it’s designed to be clamped to a base to prevent any distortion from welding.
Improved ratchets
Harbor Freight’s Icon lineup of mechanics tools has won over professionals and DIYers alike. The brand continues to improve its offerings with a revamp of its ratchet lineup that will debut in stores in 2025. The G2 line of Icon 3/8- and 1/2-inch ratchets will feature 80 teeth on the nickel chrome moly gear and pawls that engage seven of them at a time for improved strength. We played with one for just a minute and were impressed with the feel of the mechanism, which seems to offer very little back drag. Prices aren’t available yet but expect the improved ratchets to cost about the same as the pieces they’ll be replacing.
Innovative sockets
Milwaukee has some interesting power tools in its lineup, but we were most interested in its mechanics tools, particularly the socket sets. The Four Flat sockets have been available for a few years now and have four-sided ends to accept an adjustable wrench, which could get you out of a tight situation where a ratchet wouldn’t fit. They also help the sockets from rolling, which we can appreciate after watching sockets roll out of reach while lying in an awkward position under a vehicle. They are available in various sets, including Pack Out trays.
Ready-to-go toolbox
Wiha’s six-drawer toolbox comes loaded with screwdrivers, pliers, and ratcheting wrenches and sockets in SAE and metric sizes. Plus, they’re already fitted into custom-cut foam to help you find each tool quickly and spot where it goes. It’s also available without tools so you can customize it for your most common jobs, like the insulated tool set shown in the photo at the top of the page. As shown here, the toolbox and complete set has an MSRP of about $1900, but you can find it for less with a quick search.
The Belt grinder conversion is kind of cool.
Agree. I’m giving that some serious thought.
On second thought, Rikon makes a belt sander with all of the same features for $180. https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/rikon-4in-36in-belt-6in-disc-sander.aspx
The “conversion” is a nice idea but definitely overpriced when you can buy the complete stand-alone for significantly less from several sources
Tough part is finding space for another tool though. The conversion fits better into many shops since the footprint doesn’t change but the functionality does.
The multitool belt grinder is for metal. It spins much faster than a wood working belt grinder. I have one and it is very useful.
For $239, you could get a REAL belt sander, and not “bastardize” your reliable bench grinder.
Just sayin’. Don’t get mad. 😠
Agreed. Harbor Freight has a 4 x 36 belt / disc unit for $119.
https://www.harborfreight.com/4-in-x-36-in-belt-and-6-in-disc-sander-58339.html
If you really like it I recommend jumping on it now because that thing looks like it wants a finger, and once it eats a few fingers and maybe a hand or two it is going to be off the market, or redesigned to a much higher price point.
I find the Garagemax by Roadtek 20 volt battery operated 3 ton floor jack interesting at $450
There is another channel for buying tools. That is the traditional tool truck. Snap-on and to perhaps a lesser degree offer their own core line of made-in-USA wrenches, ratchets, sockets, pliers, screwdrivers and specialty tools plus lots of additional tools from AST Tool, Lisle and many others. Then on top of that is their “Blue-Line” brand that is very good even though many items aren’t made in USA. One of my favourites is the Bahco brand line of pliers and other hand tools from Europe.
If you need something specialized, then I would say yes for the tool truck. Too expensive otherwise for ‘normal’ tools. If you used something heavy duty daily, then maybe.
I have nearly every tool in this article except that fixture table. I want it, but have no place to put it. Dang!
The belt sander attachment is stupid. Nothing like sanding your right elbow to the bone while trying to sharpen your chisel. Totally keeps you from standing directly in front of your work at the grinder. Buy a dedicated unit.
Correct
For hose pinch pliers, I use the needle nose vice grips with plastic fuel line pieces on the jaws, the small ones work great on fuel and vacuum lines. Should be a set of pliers you need in your box anyways, with 50 cents worth of clear plastic or even 3/8″ fuel line on the jaws, works just as well.
except they don’t lock – you need to hold them. The dedicated clamp-off tools are well worth the price if you have a regular use for them
are you saying needle nose VICE grips don’t lock?
as an aside, the pliers in the article have pivoting jaws. this allows them to clamp in parallel where needle nose vice grips don’t. having said this, i also use the latter and they work acceptably, at least for me.
I said “needle nose” Vice Grip pliers, of course they lock! for the amount of times a year that I need to pinch off fuel, vacuum, brake, or heater hose lines ( it would be pretty rare that you would pinch off an upper or lower rad hose, you wouldn’t want to pinch a lower rad hose anyways, most have a spring in them to protect from collapsing when the thermosat opens) they work just fine with small pieces of plastic fuel line slipped over the jaws to protect the lines you need to pinch closed. I have 8 vehicles including 4 Muscle Cars, I do 90% of the work on my Muscle Cars myself ( I have 3 hoists) I think I might have pinched off lines 3 times in the last year, but I will use those Vice Grips multiple times in a year for other tasks, what other tasks can you do with dedicated hose pinch pliers? Two different sized Needle Nose Vice Grip Pliers cost less than $ 40 dollars for both + 50 cents worth of fuel line, and you can use them for other jobs. Just FYI, I’m going on 70, been buying, selling, restoring, and wrenching on rust free rare Muscle Cars since I was 17, I can certainly afford the $ 80 bucks for those dedicated hose pinch pliers, but why do I need them?
Bravo! Exactly!
I recently bought a set of three plastic, probably Nylon, pinch pliers from TEMU, for less than a US $1.
Considering that these are seldom used tools, what a bargain.
1,000 thanks for the good idea on how to repurpose my needle nose Vise Grip pliers into a hose pinching tool! Creative use of that one tool has saved my bacon many times over and I just learned now there’s…one…more…use. THANK YOU!
Tekton.com
Nice tools, a lot of their tools are made in the good ‘ole U.S.A. !
I’ve owned and used a set of hose pinch pliers for over 50 years. They are readily available from lots of sources for far less than $80.
Could of used a set of pinch pliers when I was bleeding my brakes using a pressurized power bleeder. Pumped it up to 25psi and then the hose between the bleeder and the master cylinder split and started spraying brake fluid all over the place.
I was going to make the same comment. I’ve had locking pinch pliers in my toolbox for over 40 years now.
Those Exterior square sockets look mighty tempting for tight spots. As big as my 59 Tbird is, have more tight spots than I like.
Wiha’s coolest tools remain the fully insulated tools for electrical work. I saw a complete set with sockets and ratchets in addition to the usual pliers and screwdrivers a few years ago but it was way more than I could afford at the time.
The hose pinching pliers are widely available and the belt sander is an answer looking for a question, you can get a complete machine for less, and my grinder is a Ryobi I got for $25 at a garage sale
The flat sided sockets from milwaukee are great. Glad to see them expand the lineup.
Maybe the have solved the disappearing 10mm socket issue….
nope, there’s disappears even more. it falls under murph’s law: the more it costs, greater is the chance of losing it. i’ve admitted defeat and conceded to the problem by having a LOT of cheap 10mm sockets (1/4 drive, that is)
Milwaukee is great for those who like to support China.
Milwaukee has manufacturing facilities in multiple countries around the world, including the US.
Exactly. What concerns me most is that people are endorsing TEMU and HARBOR FREIGHT.
I understand the do-it-your-selfer not able to pop for Snap-On or MAC,
but the aforementioned alternative is junk.
Clare Snyder. I said needle nose vice grip pliers. Vice grip. Of course they lock.
Strange not to see more recognizable USA Tools in the line-up. I think of the Snap-On and Craftsman Tools which I have had since college days–I now am 86 years old and these tools continue to do what they were manufactured to do!
Yes. See my comments above. I cherish my MAC, Snap-on, and Craftsman. I’m 82 and
I look for mechanics that have retired and offer their tools proudly for sale on E- Bay or other sites
Problem is that the Craftsman tools you have aren’t the Craftsman tools being sold today. I’m 57 and have a set from high school. Way better quality than the stuff they sell at Lowe’s these days. I don’t think they are made in the USA anymore either
I’ve used hemostats for years to pinch fuel lines on my old motorcycles. They work fine on those softer materials, and they are really helpful grabbing on to small things while you work with them. And they’re cheap. To compress a more rigid line in a fuel injection system a needle nose vice grip works fine. If it’s a very old line and feels brittle, I warm it up with a short visit from my heat gun.
I’m liking the sockets. Nice change to the typical round tube.
Don’t get the square end. A hex would allow you to use a ratcheting wrench.
I have a spring-loaded punch set – different brand. They work great for specialized applications. They are used without a hammer, so you are not going to miss and so you can use them without causing collateral damage.