Meet Southwire 2017 New Products & Media Event

Posted by on June 27th, 2017

For the first time in company history, the folks at Southwire Tool’s & Equipment, invited tool reviewers to visit their corporate headquarters in Carrollton, Georgia. We had the pleasure of meeting the staff, touring the factories, viewing their state-of-the-art training facility, hours of hands on product training and learned they had a high school internship program onsite. It was an eventful week, which proved their innovative thinking and understanding of the consumer in developing cutting edge products. While thinking Southwire was just a manufacturer who pioneer’s ground-breaking technology, we learned they pride themselves more on giving back and investing in the community. Continue reading →

At 9:07 AM | Posted in Southwire | Leave a comment

SawStop Acquired by Festool Parent Tooltechnic

Posted by on June 26th, 2017

Festool Acquires SawStop

You may be asking yourself like we are, if SawStop was up for sales why oh why didn’t Bosch Tools simply buy them out when they were in a loosing legal battle over the REAXX saw which they are now forced to mothball the entire line. We can’t answer that one… Anyway it looks as though SawStop will now join forces with Festool under the parent company Tooltechnic Systems, we will update you soon on what that means for the future of the line but it should be a very smart alliance for SawStop. See the press release below:  Continue reading →

At 1:13 PM | Posted in Festool, SawStop | Leave a comment

Brushless 18V Hammer Drill Fight – Milwaukee, Makita, Dewalt, Bosch, Hilti, Hitachi & Metabo

Posted by on June 20th, 2017

Oz Tool Talk 18V Hammer Drills

We recently had the opportunity to spend a few days from the guys from OZ TOOL TALK and were extremely impressed with their tool geek knowledge. They do great Youtube videos almost every week and some of the best in-depth cordless tool comparisons we’ve seen. Of course they are in Australia so models and brands don’t always line up but in the recently Brushless 18V Hammer Drill Fight – Milwaukee, Makita, Dewalt, Bosch, Hilti, Hitachi & Metabo all models do correlate to our numbers either directly or they give the North American versions. While they talk about all the testing in Kg, mm and Nm (for torque) at 2:47 they also provide the conversion to lbs, inches and in.lbs torque in their full spec sheet. Great video, awesome info, check it out!

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At 4:37 PM | Posted in Comparison Tests, DeWalt Tools, Hitli Tools, Makita Tools, Metabo Tools, Milwaukee | Leave a comment

Metabo Rat Tail Grinders – Best Power to Weight

Posted by on June 16th, 2017

We recently had the opportunity to visit Metabo’s headquarters in Nürtingen, Germany for a full tour of how they whined the copper, assemble armature, electronics, housing, etc. It was very impressive and clearly, they are continuing to advance in corded technology, which it seems other manufacturers have forgotten. Of course in USA Metabo’s bread & butter is their Grinders and Slicer Wheels so we were not surprised they continue to advance their motor technology in grinders. Coming to market as we speak Metabo is launching their compact Rat Tail Grinders which have the highest power/weight ratio ever of any grinder and also offer all their safety features clutch, brake, tethering attachment and more!

Metabo Rat Tail Grinders

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At 2:17 PM | Posted in Metabo Tools, Metalworking Tools | Leave a comment

Milwaukee PACKOUT Modular Storage System

Posted by on June 14th, 2017


One of the most impressive innovations that we saw at the Milwaukee 2017 New Product Symposium (#NPS17) was their new PACKOUT Modular Storage System. This groundbreaking new storage system seems to be generating a lot of buzz, and was somewhat unexpected by the Coptool crew. The new PACKOUT system does very well in addressing current issues with modular storage systems and introduces innovative and forward thinking solutions that will definitely please the Milwaukee Tool user base.

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At 4:19 PM | Posted in Milwaukee, Tool Storage, Tool Trade Shows | 1 Comment

Milwaukee Tool New Product Symposium NPS17

Posted by on June 9th, 2017

Milwaukee tool NPS17

Well 2017 marked the 10th year of Milwaukee Tool New Product Symposiums and the anticipation was very high. With tool competitors launching technologies with higher voltages, new cells and multiple batteries the expectation was that the red team might have something big to announce but alas no big news on the battery tech. When pressed why they have not gone to 20700 cells for their batteries the general consensus was the cells don’t offer enough performance gain over the 18650. Perhaps holding out for the new 2170 cells but that means at least another year before we might see something.

Tools we didn’t see: M18 track saws, M18 chainsaws, M18 table saws, M18 battery bank power stations or M18 (6”, 7”) grinders. Perhaps these are waiting on the new battery tech to catch up or maybe duel batteriers but certainly something has got to be in the works on these fronts. That being said we did see a ton of very exciting tools and accessories targeting many different trades and users. Continue reading →

At 10:44 AM | Posted in Cordless Tools, Milwaukee | 3 Comments

Weather Guard Defender Series Truck Box

Posted by on June 6th, 2017

Weather Guard is a well-known name when it comes to tool storage. A quick glance in the back of trucks on the road and on jobsites will show that Weather Guard has a fair share of the field. Their reputation for high quality boxes and storage shows too, anyone that I have talked to about Weather Guard seems to be very impressed with their quality and strength. we recently obtained one of their Defender Series Saddle Truck Boxes ($729), and can say that the quality and look is a solid value.

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At 6:05 AM | Posted in Construction Tools, Tool Storage, Weather Guard | 1 Comment

Easy Build Projects – Pallet Barn Doors

Posted by on June 5th, 2017

Pallet projects have been trending over the last several years, especially with DIY’ers. Plans are easily accessible through YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, Google and more! With pallets typically free, there are thousands cool designs available; from furniture to wine racks to pallet doors, there’s no surprise these types of projects have been so appealing to our society.

We recently did a test of 5 Brushless Recip Saws Head to Head and instead of mindlessly killing a ton of 2x4s we decided to build a simple project that would require a fair amount of prep work. With tons of pallets available at our shop, we got the idea to spruce up our workshop doors and to fill it in with pallet wood. We quickly learned that not only was it much more enjoyable, the difficultly level was fairly low. Originally we were going after a herringbone design but after a little testing decided to move forward with a chevron configuration which looks nearly as great but even easier to line up. Good news is we have plenty of broken down pallet wood for future projects as well! Continue reading →

At 10:58 AM | Posted in Bosch, Easy Build Projects, Milwaukee | Leave a comment

Makita Tools 2017 New Product Launch Event

Posted by on May 22nd, 2017

Makita HQ

Makita Media Event 2017

We were honored to be invited to the first ever Makita Tool new product launch event were we were among the first to see many of the new tools and accessories that’ll be releasing later this year! Not only does this give us some great insights into tools we will be getting our hands on in the coming months but also gives us all a glimps into where the Teal Team is headed with their product focus.

What we didn’t see, while we saw some really cool stuff there were some things we thought might be coming but we’re not at this event. Makita does hold product launches a little closer to the vest than some other brands so most of what we got to play with is coming within a few months, not 6-12 months out. We did not see a 9.0ah or a 20700 cell battery or a Bluetooth battery (although there was other Bluetooth tech). We did not see a 110v power station or a 7” grinder. We also did not see a X2 brushless SDS-MAX rotary hammer which if any of these are in the pipeline coming soon it would have to be this one to compete with Flexvolt and Milwaukee M18. Again we will certainly see more from Makita in November at STAFDA and at World of Concrete early next years but no news to report today on these items.

What we did see was some very exciting stuff in a handful of different categories which it seems like Makita has been very strategic in there expansion. Continue reading →

At 1:01 PM | Posted in Construction Tools, Cordless Tools, Makita Tools, Wood Working Tools | 2 Comments

Husky Pro 22″ Rolling Tote Tool Storage

Posted by on May 17th, 2017

To say the Husky 22” Rolling Tote ($129, Home Depot) is big is an understatement, this bag is massive. The 22” bag is part of the Husky Pro Grade line of tool bags, which are constructed from heavy duty, double walled nylon and feature higher quality stitching and zippers as well over their red-colored counter-parts. The Husky Pro Grade line is distinguishable by mostly black colored bags with red trim, while the home owner grade Husky bags are mostly red.

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At 5:38 PM | Posted in Husky, Tool Storage | Leave a comment