As OSHA and EPA get tougher on regulations and penalties it is a fairly safe bet there is no such thing as over cautious when it comes to dust containment. All the power tool manufacturers are getting on board with more solutions to work with traditional tools as well as building in more dust collection features on new units. Here are just a few of the highlights we saw from the recent STAFDA trade show.

Makita Dust Collection

There were a few interesting new dust collection items in the Makita booth. The common focus this year was on drilling in concrete. The first item we got a look at was the attachment handle which is compatible with most standard chuck and SDS-Plus drills. Once attached the spring loaded nozzle extends out to the drilling site and stays right at the point of contact as the drill moves in.

Continue reading "Dust Collection a Strong Focus at 2011 STAFDA Show" »

Posted by Jay Amstutz at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Fresh from the 2011 Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association (STAFDA) trade show there are several posts worth of new products and discussions that will be fueling the pages of coptool.com for the next week or so. In the meantime if you want the quick look at the whole show plus after party coverage in a single post we have got to give it up to our buddy Marc from Homfixated who had done an excellent job of recapping it all rather nicely. See Full Post Here. Check back later as we will be diving in deeper on a few posts very very soon.
   

Posted by Jay Amstutz at 05:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is that time of the year again, on Monday & Tuesday next week we will be attending the 35th annual Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association (STAFDA) trade show. The show will be in San Antonio, TX this year so hopefully there will be a little extra time to stop and check out a few of the watering holes along their famous Riverwalk.

Continue reading "2011 STAFDA Tool Dealer Convention in San Antonio TX" »

Posted by Jay Amstutz at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At the 2010 STAFDA show (see pictures here) however we got to see many of these new DeWalt hand tools and have to say we were really impressed with several of them. Obviously when they are talking about “100 new tools” you are going to find some that just got the name, how do you really innovate the crow bar.

Continue reading "DeWalt Tools Launches Its First Ever Line of Hand Tools" »

Posted by Jay Amstutz at 08:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As you know from all of last week’s posts we were at the STAFDA trades show stopping in on each Manufacturer to see what was new. DeWalt had some exciting stuff although you loyal coptool.com readers may already be familiar with some of it. The new DeWalt 12 volt line of tools was their big push which you can read about in this link DeWalt 12V Max. Another big product launch was the compact router Dw611PK which we had also covered previously, but this was our first opportunity to actually see it in person.

Continue reading "DeWalt Tool Booth Visit at STAFDA 2010 Trade Show" »

Posted by Jay Amstutz at 04:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The folks at Milwaukee have been very busy over the past few years; currently it looks like they have as many as 30 different tools in the M12 line that didn’t exist at all 3 years ago. We have already talked about many of these new products after our recent trip to Milwaukee a few months ago. A few to mention again which are either just now out or coming very soon (before the holidays I'm told) would include: M12 ProPex Expansion Tools, M12 Palm Nailer, M12 Hammer Drill, M12 Oscillating Multi-tool & M12 heated Jacket all of which you can order from Ohio Power Tool at Milwaukee M12.  

The newest items we got to see for the first time at the show from Milwaukee were from their full line of rotary hammer drills. A few years ago Milwaukee discontinued many of their older SDS-Plus, SDS-Max and Spline drills. Currently there are really only a few models and no spline drive hammers to speak of, which is pretty funny because they are apparently the second most popular brand of Hammer Drill Bits & Accessories. In 2011 it looks like Milwaukee will correct this by adding a Spline, 1-9/16” (most popular size), SDS-Max 1-9/16”, SDS-Plus D Handle 7/8” (think Bosch Bulldog), SDS-Plus 5/8” as well as an M18 cordless SDS-Plus 7/8” hammer. We haven’t seen any specs yet but we were told to expect these tools to be category leaders with anti-vibration integrated on all of these units.

Continue reading "Milwaukee Tool Booth Visit at STAFDA 2010 Trade Show" »

Posted by Jay Amstutz at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The STAFDA (Specialty Tool and Fastener Distributor Association) is a great show for super tool junkies because more than other shows they really like to show off the products that are still several months away (because it’s aimed at distributors who need to pre-order them). Bosch had some very exciting new stuff in their booth on display which will be coming out later this year and early next.

Oscillating Multi-Tool MX25EVS

Continue reading "Bosch Tools Booth Visit at STAFDA – What’s New Blue Team" »

Posted by Jay Amstutz at 07:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

We love going to any kind of tool related trade show because there are always so many new products to see. One of our favorite things is to see smaller companies with cool new product ideas trying to make big things happen. If you are one of those companies or know of a good product we would love to hear about it so we can feature it on www.coptool.com. We wish we had more time at this year’s STAFDA show to really talk to everyone but unfortunately that was a bit of a challenge. Here are just a few new products (new to us at least) we saw at the STAFDA 2010 tradeshow. Also check out our fellow tool blogger’s website www.homefixated.com as he was also there and spend most of his time scouting out the newest, most unique and all things bizarre.

Continue reading "A Few Products from Smaller Manufacturers at STAFDA 2010" »

Posted by Jay Amstutz at 09:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last year at the 2009 STAFDA (Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association) tradeshow we were pretty amazed to hear the news that Sarah Palin would be the 2010 keynote speaker. Speakers in the past have been notable but not nationally recognized $100k per appearance type of speakers but we didn’t give it too much though at the time. Several months later it was announced that registration for the 2010 show was up dramatically, so clearly Mama Grizzly was doing a good job of helping bring some more distributors out.

Continue reading "STAFDA 2010 Trade Show and the Sarah Palin Connection" »

Posted by Jay Amstutz at 08:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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" »

Posted by Jay Amstutz at 03:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We had a few more videos ready from the recent STAFDA show we thought that were pretty interesting.

The Bernzomatic Quickfire is a brand new compact soldering hand torch. It features 30% faster soldering time, on/off trigger, lockable, easy to change fuel tank and is perfect for getting into those hard to reach places.

Bosch NailKiller Ship/Spur Auger is another revolutionary development from the Bosch Accessories team. These guys love to take standard accessories we have all been using for years and find new innovative ways to improve performance and tool life.

Posted by Jay Amstutz at 10:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The STAFDA trade show is traditionally where manufacturers come together and solicit current distributors to carry their products thus increasing their overall reach. This show does not have as many product launches as the larger and more end user focused show like the www.BuildersShow.com or www.WorldofConcrete.com but there were some cool new products that were launched or at least that were available to touch and feel for the first time. Many of the larger vendors also had private meetings to unveil future plans and products however those products weren’t ready to launch.

Some of the highlights (more to come):

The Senco Fusion was one of the bigger product launches of the show. They didn’t have any marketing material ready and currently nothing on their website but they did have several working models of the 15 gauge and 18 gauge finishing nailers which I got to try out. These should be available sometime in the first quarter 2010 with other finishers on the way shortly afterwards. The framing nailer they said was in the works but we would not see it anytime soon.        

The Milwaukee 2790-20 JobSite Radio for M12, M18, V18, V28 & NiCds was also at the show along with all the new Milwaukee Test & Measure tools. I have probably already had too many posts on these items already but it was nice to get chance to see them in action and answer a few questions like how can the radio take every kind of battery? Answer 3 different battery slots so probably not going to see any other universal tools coming.

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

Just wanted to throw it out there for reps, vendors, manufacturers, PR ninjas and others we will be attending the STAFDA show, which is just a few weeks away at this point. If you are have a new tool product or represent any specific brand and would to be featured on Coptool.com please contact us and we will be happy to stop by your booth or meet with you anytime. If you would like to meet up to buy me a beer and tell me how awesome the website is I’m open to that as well.

It also looks like we will be headed to the 2010 Builders Show as well so if you are not going to be at STAFDA perhaps we can give you some coverage then.

Posted by Jay Amstutz at 04:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Recently I had the opportunity to work with Construction Distribution Magazine and report on some of the new products that were featured at the STAFDA trade show. In total there were 6 of us “Roving Reporters” and it was interesting to see the different products that were mentioned in the article. I personally could have gone on forever with so many new products, if only I had the time and patience, there were easily 100 products which should have been mentioned.

Some of the products highlighted in the article are: Milwaukee M12 Cordless Tools, Spyder Scraper, Recipro Tools, Ridgid MicroExplorer, Malco TurboShear FC, Bosch Laser Levels, Dremel Multi-Max, CP Hydraulic Power Pack, Wright University Online Courses, Bosch Laser Range Finder, Concrete Destroyer from DiTeq Diamond, Joy Jaw saw guards, Grill-N-Chill tailgate BBQ, Gear Keeper Tethered products, Bosch PS50 Multi-X and portable CO2 tank from JacPac.  

Read the full article with pictures now on the Construction Distribution website, also the article will be in the December/January issue of the magazine which should be available this week or next.

Posted by Jay Amstutz at 10:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)