The Ridgid line of microREELs, microDRAINs and nanoREELS have become very popular inspection camera systems. These systems are more compact and very easy to take onto any job or into someone’s house. These systems are so portable and compact because the monitor, battery and recording system all based off of the CA-300 ($417, Ohio Power Tool) handheld inspection camera.

The SeeSnake Max 200’ camera shares many of the features of these other new systems including the removable drum, next generation push cable and improved reel mechanics. The new SeeSnake Max reel is available in 2 options 42338 ($5737, Ohio Power Tool) base unit and the 42348 ($6155, Ohio Power Tool) which includes the transportation kit. This seems like a pretty pricy upgrade for just the handle and some wheels however check out the complete unit in this photo album and you will see it also includes a top piece with some funky connectors. This will most likely be home to some kind of new monitor system that will run off the 18v battery system, as the CA-300 isn’t going to have the juice to run this. Also the handle locks into position to angle the reel, this gives full access to the controls and creates a very solid footing of the reel even when the camera is fully deployed (again see photo album).

From now until June 23^rd you can take advantage of either $20 or $40 off Bosch Tool purchases Online through select “Gold Level” Bosch Dealers. Ohio Power Tool is one of these top level partners and this is the first online exclusive promotion we have seen from Bosch. While we have seen several in-store deals this online promotion is a great way to get Dad (or yourself) a Bosch Tool up to 20% off anywhere in the country.

The promotion is only good for orders placed online at Ohio Power Tool using one of these coupon codes at checkout. For orders containing Bosch products between $100-$199 use BOSCH20 for $20 off. Any orders containing Bosch products $200 and up use BOSCH40 for $40 off the total order. Visit the Bosch Tools page on Ohio Power Tool for more details.
       

This is pretty cool. We just picked up several generic USB iPhone/iPad cables for like $1 each and made sure there was one for the car, work, on the Power Box with a few extras for around the house. This outlet makes sooo much sense to us and as other electronics providers all get on board our hope is we will see even more of these in hotels and public places. It is also the only UL approved device like this listed. See the full press release below for more info and Handyman Club comments on the product.

We got the most current top 4 contenders in the cordless 18V category and pitted them head to head to see where they stacked up. Two with brushed motors, two brushless, all with their highest 3.0 amp/hour batteries brand new and fully charged. Since we are talking hammer drills our thought was let’s see how the hammer action works and drill lots and lots of ½” holes in concrete… a test we later regretted but good news, feeling is starting to return to our hands. We also wanted to test out the actual torque for each vs what they claim and get an in/lbs number on the Dewalt hammer drill, to see how they stack up. See all 46 pics in this Facebook Album.

LaVergne, TN - Wilton, North America’s leader in industrial vises, wants to hear your story about Wilton vises in its Holding Strong Vise Story Contest. 

There are a lot of stories out there because Wilton has held strong on two main principles: staying true to their Made in USA heritage and manufacturing only the most durable workholding products on the market.  This has been a fundamental philosophy of the brand since 1941, when Wilton invented the first 40S Machinist vise. 

First off we would not consider ourselves serious woodworkers, being friends/colleagues with many whom we would consider at least serious hobbyists we have an appreciation for the depths of capabilities in the world of routers. Our router competencies are somewhat limited to giving projects round edges, material removal and some basic joinery. This does perhaps give us a perspective a little closer to many of the purchaser of this new Makita Compact Router Kit RT0700CX3 ($234, Amazon) which may be their first router purchase.

This kit comes with a lot of really cool router accessories including trim guide, (2) dust nozzles, (2) collects, fix base, plunge base, tilt base and even an offset base. All this fits nicely into the huge Teal Makita bag that looks like it might double as a beach cooler for a case of beer. There are several compartments and a few pockets on the inside of the lid but we do wish there was some kind of case to store all the loose odds and ends that come with this kit.

The New Milwaukee Fuel Brushless system has now been in the market place for a short time and already having tremendous success. These new drills in combination with the RedLithium battery platform are reportedly leading to some of the longest runtimes of any tool, even against higher voltage 28 volt and 36 volt tools. Ohio Power Tool will be providing a FREE M18 Battery instantly with the purchase of any of the new M18 FUEL tools while limited supplies last.

M18 Fuel Drill/Driver 2603-22 ($279, Ohio Power Tool) and Hammer Drill/Driver 2604-22 ($299, Ohio Power Tool) will each come with a FREE M18 XC battery ($119 value). These tools are also offered from Milwaukee as 2603-22CT and 2604-22CT kits which includes the same tool but (2) compact batteries. We would strongly advise using the XC batteries with these tools! When used with the compact M18 batteries these tools drop from 725 in-lbs torque to 650 in-lbs torque because the smaller battery does not have the juice to power the brushless motor properly. These kits were clearly a result of bowing down to the large box stores that demand a price point and are far less concerned with tool performance. We’d compare this to buying a Porsche and then putting 87 octane gas in it and wonder why it doesn’t perform like you’d hoped. As a tool lover it's just painful to watch.

A first for Bosch in North America, this new 10” wet saw is very well equipped for stone, masonry and tile cutting. The motor is a 15 amp 1.4HP with a no load RPM of 4,200 which is about the most you can get out of a standard 120v saw. Capacity is fairly sizeable with 24” rip cuts and 3-3/4” high cut depth. We did have a chance to see the unit in person and we have to say our first impression was of very solid engineering & construction. The Bosch TC10-07 ($1099, Ohio Power Tool) comes complete with the folding stand GTA10 and is in stock now, with the TC10 base saw unit and GTA10W roller stand to be available soon.

We recently had the opportunity to try out the new 12V Hammer Drill/Driver PS120-2A ($159, Ohio Power Tool) from Bosch but took the easy way out and let the wife try her hand at hammer drilling.

Rather than just going ahead and taking care of a simple picture hanging honey-do I threw the PS130 in her hands to see how she would do.  This one was especially applicable because she would need to utilize the hammer drill function to drill into the basement block wall. As I expected her to be intimidated and shy with the drill I was surprised to see her dive in.  Equipped with a ¼” carbide bit and a Powers Tapper the job was done in a seconds. Now that she’s realized hanging pictures in concrete is not much different than drywall, with the right tool, I am a little scared to see what else she’s got planned.

We have posted on the new Milwaukee Grinders a couple of times; see here and video comparison here, with pretty positive results. We continue to see excellent professional performance and probably the best value in the grinder category as they are very well priced vs other pro grinders. For the high volume grinder users this promotion is pretty attractive and works for almost any of the 4.5”-6” Milwaukee Grinders you will find at Ohio Power Tool 800-242-4424.

See the full Mail-In Rebate for complete details. Offer good until June 30, 2012.
     

If you have not already heard Amazon has built a new site called Amazon Supply which sells a very wide range of products from janitorial supply, bulk metal, fasteners, tools, automotive, office supplies and much more. This service is built to directly attack the large national supply houses such as Grainger, MSC, Fastenal, etc who have traditionally priced items less competitively but been able to secure business based on the fact that they can supply such a wide range of items.

One of the biggest complaints we have heard with cordless oscillating tools is the lack of battery life. On a 12v battery typically you are going to see less than 10 minutes of runtime with operations like sanding, grout removal and continuous cutting. The small compact size is very handy however we are also finding these units to be far less powerful than the 3.0Amp corded tools common in stores now. This new Makita is one of the only major brands to go with a 18V platform for longer battery life and claims to be as powerful as their new corded 3.0Amp tool (also launching in May) so for serious users this might be a better option.

The ¼” hex bit holder is very handy and becoming essential as the torque rating on some of these tools continues to climb. At first glance we thought this was another one of DeWalt’s Impact Ready accessories built to handle high torque applications. Well it does that but the story of this accessory is cleaning… That’s right you can push the slide up and clean out the metal shavings and other debris.

At first glance we thought what could we do with a Band Saw that only has a 1-5/8” capacity? Our thought with any tool in our arsenal is never how many things can this tool do a medium job at. We look for 1 thing the tool can do a great job at, then any additional tasks it might do is a bonus. We had to build several concrete pads with rebar inside for training event so it was the perfect opportunity to test out the M12 Band Saw 2429-21XC ($199, Ohio Power Tool). We also happened to have access to a $1700 Multiquip Rebar Cutter which we did some comparison bench marking.