When I reviewed the Feb. 2007 Lee Valley catalog, reader Dennis suggested we get the Garrett Wade Tools catalog. Excellent suggestion! We love drooling over tools, and the Garrett Wade catalog is a great place to do that. They carry a wide variety of “Tools for Enthusiasts,” primarily precision woodworking tools. They also carry high-end knick-knacks and home and garden items.

One of the interesting tools they carry is a pin vise, charmingly labeled “Invaluable Clamp-up Tool.” It allows you to clamp unusually shaped objects. I particularly like this picture since in the clamp is a riveted button like one that came off of a pair of overalls I had many years ago. I never did get it fixed, almost certainly because I didn’t have an Invaluable Clamp-up Tool!
In addition to tools, they offer creative containers, too. I love the idea of using a set of stacking lunch boxes for carrying the components you use the most. They also have clear topped metal spice boxes, magnet bars and incredibly beautiful Gerstner tool boxes to help get you organized.

Even though I don’t do much woodworking, I can appreciate the number and variety of planes, drills, scrapers, and clamps they carry. They even have tweezers, though it looks like they don’t have the creative labeling that ours have. Overall, Garrett Wade looks like a great place to shop from, and until I can come up with a reason to get something from them, I’m going to enjoy the eye candy in the catalog.