Serious tool time.

• Position: What's New? - Tool belt and carrier

* Television viewers snickered at the ineptitude of Tim Allen in the long-running sit-com "Home Improvement" About the only thing he seemed to get right was the prostyle tool belt he wore around his waist during the show within the show, "Tool Time" Amateur handymen have long envied--albeit, perhaps, subconsciously--the macho look it gives electricians, construction workers, etc., and many duplicate it when doing their own home improvements. Yet, the pros often find such a belt insufficient for all they have to carry on the job, and have to add a tool box or other container to hold everything.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Cognizant of this, the Duluth Trading Company, Belleville, Wis., has merged the belt and the tool bucket that it started its business with almost two decades ago and created the Bucket Boss 56 ($29.99), a wonder of utility and efficiency. Basically, it's a five-gallon sturdy plastic bucket with three tiers of leather pockets wrapped around it and two tiers inside. The interior ones are deep enough to hold up to 18 large hand tools and/or spray cans, while the exterior ones are designed for smaller tools, marking pencils, or whatever else is needed. A built-in holster holds a cordless drill, with individual pockets for bits, and there are a custom compartment for a tape measure and a security one with a flap closure for a...