Several years ago we all lived in ignorance with NiCD batteries on our power tools. Then came Lithium Ion a new technology that promised better runtime and a more consistent power curve and the people rejoiced. But all was not well, on that first cold winter morning when you went to the truck and the new Lithium tools wouldn’t work because they were too cold.

In the northern part of the country this is obviously a bigger issue but we have contractors going back to NiCD tools in the winter time because NiCD currently performs better in the cold. We certainly aren’t the only ones who think this is completely ridiculous.

Continue reading "Milwaukee REDLITHIUM Batteries: What’s the Big Deal?" »

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Continue reading "International Woodworkers Fair (IWF) 2010 Review & Videos" »

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Potato patato what’s the different right? Well depending on the tool and what job you want to do there is going to be a lot of difference among these tools. We’ll go over some of the basics of how the different tools operate and some of the most common jobs for each. Hopefully we can clear up any confusion that might still be out there.

Traditional Drill/Driver

They’ve been around since the invention of power tools and my guess is if you are reading this blog you have several of these traditional drill/drivers in your possession already. Typically there tools will come with a 3/8” or ½” chuck and can vary greatly in speed, power and size. The traditional drill/driver is a very versatile tool because it can do two very common tasks drilling holes and driving fasteners. When you get to larger units like the very popular Milwaukee Hole Hawg ($279, Ohio Power Tool) and the torque rating starts to get pretty high the unit can become more difficult to control. Sometimes spinning the tool instead of the bit and people can get injured, because of this fact there is an upper limit on how much torque these tools can effectively have.  

Continue reading "Drill vs Impact Driver vs Hammer Drill vs Rotary Hammer Drill" »

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Announced yesterday from the Yellow team is a new 1.25HP Compact Router available as a fixed base unit DWP611 ($139) or a combo kit which can be used with fixed or plunge base DW611PK ($199). The router is a variable speed unit and designed to do the work of both a palm router and many jobs of a full sized router. We have not seen one of these units in person so we are not sure how it would compare in size to the 1HP Bosch Colt Palm Sander PR20EVSK ($121, Ohio Power Tool) but our guess it would be very similar. It looks as though the new DeWalt is going to compete directly with the Bosch Colt which has been one of the most popular palm routers for years.

The DeWalt Compact Router also has some nice improvements such as clear base and LED lights which will make it much easier to see your work. We first saw these features on another Bosch router, the MRF23EVS but delays have kept the much anticipated 2.3HP Bosch router from being launched. Looks like this DeWalt router could beat it to market when it launches in October 2010. Checkout the full DeWalt Press Release below for more info. 

Continue reading "DeWalt Launches New Compact Router – Fixed & Plunge Base" »

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Each Month the Bosch Accessories website for “Joe the Pro” does a prize drawing. It’s a simple way for them to gather your contact information and receive emails, only if you so choose the checkbox. This time around however you will get a FREE DareDevil Spade Bit as well as getting registered for the prize giveaway. Hurry up though it’s only good for the first 100 registrants.

If you are interested in simply picking up additional DareDevil Spade Bits visit OhioPowerTool.com for a wide selection on complete bit sets and individual sizes in 4”, 6” & 16” spade bit lengths.

Register at BoschJoeThePro.com  

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It seems to be the trend in power tools these days that any tool can be improved with an LED light. Unlike the trend of putting lasers beams on every power or hand tool out there we are actually a big fan of LED lights on many tools. On the jobsite, shop, backyard or garage you are not always going to have the greatest lighting and seeing that dull pencil line through the blade guard isn’t always the easiest task.

The Bosch Reciprocating Saw RS7 ($99, Ohio Power Tool) replaces the RS5 and increases power to 11amps. This is the light weight, medium duty model but it still has some serious power so for most plumbers, electricians and homeowners it will perform very well. Unless you are doing a lot of demolition work in most cases the larger 15amp reciprocating saws or Sawzalls are just going to be added weight. Also check out the new Saw Blades including Milwaukee Sawzall diamond grit and Bosch Edge for Metal Cutting.      
     

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The weather was not on our side Saturday for the event but that didn’t stop those that showed up from having a good time. We had a last minute sponsor jump on board, Pabst Blue Ribbon, which helped brighten the mood and a it turned out to be great crowd that wasn’t going to let a few rain drops spoil their fun!

Continue reading "Recap – Second Annual Ohio Tool Racing Championships" »

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Yes just one day away is the 2nd annual Ohio Tool Racing Championship (www.toolraces.com) and things are getting pretty exciting around the Columbus Idea Foundry this week. Lots of people are piling in this week to get their projects finish. It will probably be a very late night at the shop tonight for some but we’d expect nothing less.

Our Coptool racer is 95% complete and a fairly menacing looking creation; after all there are some pretty big expectations on us. "The Reaver" is welded out of 1” steel tubes, powered by a 9” Bosch grinder pushing a 10” Milwaukee saw blade. See more pics in this Facebook Album. We are pretty confident she will smoke down the track and take any hits that come her way (although pretty inexperienced welder so watch out).

Continue reading "Power Tool Drag Racing Tomorrow in Columbus, Ohio" »

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It’s no surprise to us that Porter Cable is coming to market with 12 volt tools. This category is the fastest growing segment of new tools and where you will find a lot of new innovation. As battery power gets stronger, tools get smaller and the price comes down many people are looking to add these smaller tools to the arsenal.

The first two Porter Cable 12V tools we saw images of were the 3/8” drill driver and the impact driver. These tools feature the battery in the handle like most of the competition and solid performance numbers but no real innovation. Where they will win is on price, $139 for the kit with both of these tools and 2 batteries is a very solid price. The only feature we really thought was a nice addition was the belt clips which can be added to either tool.

Continue reading "Porter Cable 12V Max Launches with 3 New Tools" »

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In this month’s Construction Distribution Magazine there is a really nice article titles “Help Your Customer Choose a HEPA Vacuum”. The article is aimed at those selling vacuums but I think it is probably much more helpful for those buying them. It covers the basics of the HEPA vac, how it will treated by the EPA Restoration, Repair and Painting (RRP) rules as well as some of the attachments you will need for specific jobs.

One other bit of good new you will find in the article is that the official start date for enforcement has been moved back to October 1, 2010 for the individual training and company certification. Also if an individual has applied to enroll in one of the courses by September 30, 2010 they will have until December 31, 2010 to complete the training.

If you are interested in more specific information covered in the compliance course our friend Everett over at ProToolReviews will be able to shed some light on that. He attended the 2 day course and did a nice article that gives his experience as well as voicing some concerns and frustrations with the process.

Continue reading "HEPA Vacs and EPA Lead-Based Paint Renovation Rules" »

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Cross-Linked Polyethylene Tubing or PEX plumbing systems have become the norm in new building today with companies continue to find new and innovative uses for the resource. In addition to replacing copper tubing for many traditional plumbing needs it is also an idea choice for radiant floor heating and now quickly becoming a popular option for fire sprinkler installations. Unfortunately all PEX systems are not uniformly configured and there are several systems to consider, hopefully this will give a little background on the different options out there.   

As history will tell us it is common for there to be many players in new technologies but eventually 1 or 2 main players with emerge and they become the standard. Early adopters of Betamax, MiniDiscs & HDDVD will tell you after shelling out small fortunes for the newest gear it can be painful to see you technology never take off. Even though Betamax was a high quality than VHS, it matters little when the technology is gone, majority rules.

Continue reading "PEX System Rundown: Uponor (ProPEX) vs Viega (PureFlow)" »

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This year on August 21st Irwin Tools is sponsoring possibly the greatest event in the 2010 racing season  Ohio Tool Racing Championship … on that same day they are also sponsoring another great event in racing the Bristol Night Race. One event will probably have 160,000 people more than the other but very impressive to see Irwin Tools involved in two world class events on the same day.

As if that wasn’t enough, Irwin will be holding their annual Ultimate Tradesman Competition the day before, August 20th, at the Bristol Speedway. This year the event will be televised so if you are not going to be there you can still watch Live on Speed Channel’s NASCAR trackside starting at 7:00pm EST.

You can also vote right now for your favorite Tradesman and automatically enter to win a $250 irwin prize pack. It looks like we got 2 of the top 4 times from the Buckeye State: Jonathan Smith (Delaware, Ohio) & Mark Martin (Ostrander, Ohio) so our state is well represented. Maybe Ohio just makes a better tradesman?

Posted by Jay A. at 05:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New from Ridgid is the SeeSnake 12.1” LCD Monitor with built-in digital recording onto an internal hard drive or 2 thumb drive slots. The CS1000 model 32603 ($5276, Ohio Power Tool) is designed for rugged jobsite use and transportation with features like protective screen cover, daylight LCD and fold-up waterproof keyboard. The CS1000 model 32608 ($5609, Ohio Power Tool) is the same unit but also includes 2 of the Ridgid Plumbing 18V batteries and charger which can be used simultaneously on this monitor providing a full days worth of power for the monitor and reel.

The CS1000 allows for fully functional video recording as well as still image capturing but the real advantage for this unit is it has the SeeSnake HQ reporting software built-in (same software you get with Laptop LT1000) which is ideal for tracking jobs, making notes, billing and sharing with the office. It also makes for very easy integration with RIDGIDConnect for online storage of all the jobs and information.

Posted by Jay A. at 04:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The winners from the LumberJocks 2010 Summer woodworking contest are in! See all ten winning projects. The winners were selected from the 77 total submissions in an online voting held from August 1 to August 7. 172 votes were cast during this period. Remember the topic was Fluidity…

You may be thinking, oh no I’m going to need either new tools, battery or chargers for my V28 Tools to work with the new ones… Nope that is not the case. The M28 platform will be “100% compatible” with the current Milwaukee V28 tools. In fact many of the M tools will basically stay the same, with same part numbers but will be getting the upgraded “M” batteries in the kits. The new batteries will feature Digital Power Management (DPM) and newer construction features that will extend the life of the batteries. Additionally the batteries will provide better overall performance and runtime for all your existing tools.

In addition to the upgraded battery technology we will also see the first of hopefully many new M28 tools with the M28 Hammer Drill 0726-22 ($419, Ohio Power Tool) & M28 LED Flashlight 49-24-0187 ($59, Ohio Power Tool) which should be on shelves very soon. The new ½” Hammer Drill features 750 in.lbs torque more than any other cordless drill on the market today in 18v, 24v, 28v or 36v categories. Check the Ohio Power Tool Milwaukee M28 website often for when exact each model will be in stock with the new M batteries. Items will switch as each tool transitions from V28 to M28. For more information read the official Milwaukee Tool Press Release Below. 

Continue reading "Milwaukee V28 Transitions to Milwaukee M28 Tools" »

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Harrison, OH – Now car and bike tire inflation is easier than ever. The leading manufacturer and marketer of air powered tools and compressors, Campbell Hausfeld, is introducing four new compressor kits that will supply all the tools needed for a wide range of inflation projects. These compressors also can be used for fastening projects, such as installing trim and crown molding.

Appreciate the convenience, ease of use, compact design, versatility, style and easy storage that these products offer for the proper inflation of a large variety of items. Inflating tires for mountain bikes, SUVs, trailers, golf carts and ATVs can all be perfected using an air inflation kit.

Continue reading "Campbell Hausfeld Introduces Versatile Air Inflation Kits" »

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This year the annual STAFDA (Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association) trade show will be November 7-9 in Phoenix, Arizona. In a recent Contractor Supply article it said registration was up 51% from last year at this time. There may be several reasons this news is not surprising first off because last year we saw a 38% decrease in sales for the construction supply industry. It is pretty easy to cut a trip to the less than desirable vacation spot of Atlanta when your business is taking hits like that. Also the keynote speaker in 2009 was Herman Cain, a very respected businessman in Atlanta but not a nationally recognized name who will draw a crowd.

Continue reading "STAFDA 2010 Convention Registration up 51% with Sarah Palin" »

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It is a little confusing that a tool company with “Pneumatic” in their name would be in the Hydraulic Tool business. However, since the company is a part of Atlas Copco, one of the top names in Hydraulics worldwide and because these CP Hydraulic Tools are basically the red version of those Atlas tools we are very confident these tools will live up to the Chicago Pneumatic Construction name.

Continue reading "Chicago Pneumatic Portable Handheld Hydraulic Tools" »

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