Category Archives: Comparison Tests
Dewalt XR Brushless Compact Drill/Driver & Single Speed Impact Driver
Earlier this week we attended the Dewalt media event where the stars of the show were the new Dewalt XR Compact Drill/Driver DCD790 as well as the single speed XR impact driver DCF886. The compact Drill/Driver is Dewalt’s first brushless drilling product and will be accompanied shortly by the XR compact hammer drill DCD795. The single speed impact will be their second brushless impact to launch and will be the more cost effective counterpart to the three speed brushless XR DCF895 ($259) impact we saw launched last year.
Together the compact drill and single speed impact will be available in the combo kit DCK281D2 launching at $279, while the hammer drill combo DCK286D2 will hit shelves at $299. These are the most popular combo kits and price points that customers demand, which is exactly why Dewalt made these units the priority for their XR brushless platform with additional tools to follow. (more…)
At 1:23 PM |
Posted in Comparison Tests, Cordless Tools, DeWalt Tools | Leave a comment
Milwaukee REDLITHIUM 2.0 CP and 4.0 XC Are Truly an Upgrade
Milwaukee has certainly been making a splash lately with their introduction of the new FUEL line of brushless tools and the extended capacity batteries that are being released to accompany them. While everyone is anxiously awaiting the M12 FUEL lineup launch (very soon!) I thought that it could be a good idea to check out the M18 4.0XC and 2.0CP REDLITHIUM batteries and see exactly what their improved capacity and intelligence actually gets them in terms of increased run time. (more…)
At 9:59 PM |
Posted in Comparison Tests, Cordless Tools, Milwaukee | 1 Comment
Empire e90 Magnum Level 48″ E90.48 Gets Shot
If you look for the Empire e90 series level on a few different websites the word unbreakable will be thrown around by whoever is describing it. I don’t take things being called unbreakable lightly. I distinctly remember upon getting my first “unbreakable” plastic comb I bent and twisted it until it was in two pieces. For me, getting an “unbreakable” level was no different. Unfortunately for me, this level is a lot harder to break than an unbreakable comb. Short of shooting it (see video) or cutting it with a saw, this level could take almost anything I could dish out. It did get a little bit of a bend to it, but as far as I could tell it still read consistent to the reading it had fresh out of the box. You can see a video of the CopTool durability review team abusing the level below. (more…)
At 3:46 PM |
Posted in Comparison Tests, Empire Levels | Leave a comment
Milwaukee M12 Flashlight Challenge – Xenon vs LED
Our friend Stuart over at ToolGuyd recently asked us the question which is brighter, the Milwaukee M12 incandescent Xenon light 49-24-0145 ($22, Ohio Power Tool) or the M12 LED Light 49-24-0146 ($49, Ohio Power Tool)? At over double the price you would hope there would be some real advantages here. The lower power consumption on the LED give the flashlight significantly longer run time. Incandescent bulbs get very hot and also burn out leaving you literally in the dark and costing a few bucks to replace, not to mention a trip to the hardware store that might not have them. The light is also brighter and more natural white, but how much so is the question…
At 6:18 PM |
Posted in Comparison Tests, Cordless Tools, Milwaukee | Leave a comment
Sawzall / Reciprocating Saw Blade Tourture Test for Demo
Somehow we missed this when it came out a few months ago in Fine Homebuilding Magazine. It is a very nice detail comparison of 15 major demo blades for wood. Looking at price, TPI, cut speed, cuts, flexibility, etc it really goes deep with each blade. It was pointed out to us while having a discussion about metal cutting blades in Garage Journal forum which is obviously a different kind of blade but though it was a good read anyway. For the full story check it out here at Torture Test – Demolition Blades
You can also purchase a wide variety of demolition and other Sawzall / Reciprocating Blades from the fine people at Ohio Power Tool.
At 4:36 PM |
Posted in Bosch, Comparison Tests, Demolition Tools, DeWalt Tools, Irwin, Lenox Tools, Makita Tools, Milwaukee, Ridgid | Leave a comment
Bosch MX25E vs Fein MultiMaster Oscillating Tool Showdown
For about 2 years now, ever since the patent ran out on Fein for its oscillating multi-tool, we have been hearing about how Bosch was going to come out with corded tool that was going to beat Fein at their own game. Well that day is upon us with the introduction of the new Bosch MX25EC-21 ($149, Ohio Power Tool) and the MX25EK-33 ($194, Ohio Power Tool) kits. How will the Bosch stack up against the Fein specificall as well as the other popular oscillating tools from Rockwell & Dremel? See more pictures in this Photo Album of the Bosch vs Fein.
At 4:12 PM |
Posted in Bosch, Comparison Tests, Fein Tools | Leave a comment
Bosch 12” Axial-Glide Miter Saw GCM12SD
After a 2 day adventure to Bosch Tools North American home office in Mount Prospect, Il it is hard not to still be excited about all the cool new stuff coming. So many new products to such a wide range of fields from woodworking to concrete to metal working to cordless and so on. Maybe they put something in the water but it was very impressive to see so much innovation from just 1 year ago. We will work hard to get several posts up over the next few weeks, in the mean time we will do our best to focus on thing at a time.
Starting at the top, the Crown Jewel of the event would have to be the new Axial-Glide 12” Miter Saw GCM12SD. Available shortly at Ohio Power Tool with a current target price of $799; although no official dates on when these will hit the shelves… we are hoping soon! (Update: 10/1/2010 first shipment ready to go out, as of today units currently available) Of course the new Bosch GCM12SD will share/improve upon some of the great features on the current Bosch 12” Miter 5312 ($599, Ohio Power Tool) including upfront controls and built-in material support extensions.
As you can see in the pictures (more in this 32 Pic Album) the slide arm is the biggest innovation here but if you look close it is actually 2 arms working together, one on X and other on the Y axis. This mechanism is an extremely sturdy feat of engineering, and my last reservations were cleared away when the Bosch product manager started swinging a 2×4” at it like Mark McGwire in ‘98. The bearings are also sealed so no matter how much saw dust or debris gets on the arm, the travel will not become jerky unlike other slide saws where the rails are exposed.
Another great benefit an event like this offers is to have all the competitors’ latest & greatest models in one place to inspect and test alongside the Bosch. It takes great confidence in your products to set up a demo like that and while there were no price tags on the units it was pretty obvious the Bosch offered a clear advantage over the competition in terms of depth of work area used. For more details on the new Axial-Glide Miter Saw GCM12SD read the full Bosch Press Release below.
At 1:34 PM |
Posted in Bosch, Comparison Tests, Construction Tools, Wood Working Tools | 2 Comments
M18 Hackzall 2625-21 vs M12 Hackzall Vs Bosch 18V Recip
So when the M18 Hackzall 2625-21 ($199, Ohio Power Tool) was first mentioned the stats looked fairly similar to the M12 Hackzall with a slightly larger stroke ½” vs ¾” with M18. Even when comparing them side by side (see pictures here) they looked similar in size, not counting the larger M18 battery. When it came time to test them out however the Milwaukee M18 Hackzall was clearly a different animal than its M12 little brother.
Out of The Box
The Hackzall has a very low price point; with the “Tool Only” version 2625-20 at only $109 it is far less expensive than the M18 Sawzall $199 price. The tool is very light and well balanced in the hand as well as claims the lowest vibration levels “in its class”. The 2625-21 kit also has a pretty low price but only includes (1) M18 XC battery and a work bag instead of a plastic case, some people prefer. These units will also work with the compact M18 batteries for ultra light weight although personally I would recommend using the larger XC batteries as any saw is going limit your battery life.
At 2:59 PM |
Posted in Bosch, Comparison Tests, Construction Tools, Cordless Tools, Electrician Tools, HVAC Tools, Milwaukee, Plumbing Tools | Leave a comment
JawHorse Vs. WorkMate – Popular Mechanics
Checkout the nice article in the recent Popular Mechanics on the new(er) Rockwell Jawhorse vs the older Black & Decker Workmate. Doug who also writes for ToolSnob, wrote the article and has a lot of field experience as his "real job" he does construction.
At 4:27 PM |
Posted in Comparison Tests, Construction Tools, Rockwell | 1 Comment
ToolSnob – Oscillating Tool Accessories: What Fits What?
The Oscillating tools have become the biggest new categories of tools to hit the market in years. I though last year was going to be the biggest Christmas push but this year has possible been even better for these vibrating tools. I even heard the Dremel Multi-Max was the most popular tool sold in the entire world this year (although it did come from the mouth of a Dremel rep)! It seems like everybody will have one here shortly but with all the different models and different accessories there has been A LOT of confusion about which accessories work with which tools.
The great guys over at ToolSnob.com helped us all out by making a handy little chart for the most popular models of oscillating tools and what accessories will work with which tools. The post looks at the adaptors and which tools lock in place vs simply “fit”. It also links to all their reviews on each of the tools which are all pretty comprehensive reviews. I would encourage everyone to take a minute and check it out.
At 8:32 AM |
Posted in Bosch, Comparison Tests, Cordless Tools, Craftsman, Dremel, Fein Tools, Rockwell, Wood Working Tools | 2 Comments
