Campbell Hausfeld is out with a new line of pneumatics (www.chnailers.com/)that are specifically designed for the casual user. We recently got a chance to test out their new Angled Finish Nailer and check out all the interesting new features.
First off, we have to give CH some serious applause for including an instruction manual that's actually helpful. Like we said, this is a gun for the first time user and occasional DIYer and that's someone who is likely going to need a quick primer on compressors and guns. The instructions are nicely laid out, easily referenced, and very helpful to someone who's trying to understand how their first nail gun works. Thankfully, it has no resemblance to the generic 'manual' that comes with most other tools ('make sure to wear eye protection...etc")
Dremel has come up with yet another new accessory for their rotary tool and to mark the event they'll be giving accessories away all day tomorrow (Wednesday) on both Facebook and Twitter. We're not sure what the new item is yet, but it looks like the sneak peek will be happening tomorrow. The Twitter giveaway will be hourly from 9am to 4pm.
So become a fan of them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter and you may have the chance to win something.
So here's the deal: Chippewa used to make these great basic work boots. They weren't winter-lined and they weren't water-proof. They just protected our feet and gave us great traction on bad surfaces. We loved these boots and went through about three pairs. Then we found out that Chippewa discontinued the boots in favor of other models with all sorts of bells and whistles. We can't stand bells and whistles in our work boots, but we had driven all the way to the store and figured a pair of Chippewas 'new and improved' water proof, lined boots couldn't be that bad. It's now about four months later and the things are falling apart. The grommets tear the laces, the lining boils our feet, making them sweat and then the waterproofing (aka the bag in the boot) seems to prohibit any breathability, so now the boots have a stench that could kill someone at fifty paces. All we want is a pair of basic boots. We now wear our old ones when we can, but that's less and less often because they're really on their last legs. We've asked a lot of them and we keep asking for more.
So what do you guys say? We're probably going to make the switch to Red Wings, but it's kind of a Ford/Chevy thing so we thought we'd solicit your advice first. What boots do you wear and do you like them? Like we said, we're looking for the basic boot. Nothing fancy.
We also spent a year chewing through a pair of $15 Wal-Mart boots every three months. Not worth it, so please don't tell us to do that.
Sound off in the comments section. We'll randomly pick one at the end of the week and send out some tool we have cluttering up the workbench.
If you've ever done anything and thought, "man, that was a bad idea," you'll feel pretty good about this story. It's about a guy in Romania who acts on a completely unprecedented level of the bad idea universe. The short of it is that he was apparently constipated and felt that the best way to deal with his situation was to shove not one, but two hammer heads up his *ahem*.
His home remedy was discovered when he arrived at a hospital complaining of abdominal pains. According to a Hospital spokesperson, "He was a bit drunk and said he had been eating cherries that had left him badly constipated."
We repeat, "A bit drunk...."
There are pictures and the rest of the story over at The Sun.
Milwaukee recently entered the 12-volt fray with a work light and because it's an LED, according to Milwaukee, it's twice as bright as a regular incandescent bulb. The light has a good, solid, ready-for-the-job-site feel to it and it fits the hand just like a lightsaber would (our second Star Wars reference in a week!). It has a small magnet along the handle and the head pivots 90 degrees with seven hard stops along the way, making it very easy to direct the light. It also can stand up on the battery end, aiding the process as well.
And what a light it is. It's absolutely blinding and we're suspicious of the claim that it's twice as bright as a regular light. To us, it seems about ten times brighter. And not only is this thing bright, it's focused too. Even at 50' away the line between what is being lit and what isn't is very clearly defined. In fact, it reminds us of the spotlight from a 1960s prison movie or the cartoon intro to the Pink Panther movies. There's no gray area with this light, when it's on there's the area that looks like daylight and the area that is black.
We had it at work for a while and in that setting it's ideal. The magnet lets it hang nicely from a metal stud or a pipe and the pivoting head does the rest. We had to cut a hole in the ceiling of a little curtain pocket where there was no way to fit us, our Fein, our ladder, and any sort of regular sized work light. So we took the Milwaukee and used the magnet to attach it to a metal junction box and easily completed our task. Without the tool, it would have been a real struggle.
We also took it along for a few night time walks in the woods and there, if you can believe it, it was too bright. There was a good moon out so for the most part we relied on that but from time to time, we'd need to click the light on to find the path. The Milwaukee light would do such a number on our night vision that we would end up walking into things. It's sort of an odd circumstance, and not really one that many people are going to run into, so it's not a complaint, just an example of how bright this little guy is.
Oh, and we forgot to mention that it's very durable. We dropped it a few times and it never seemed fazed and when we were at Milwaukee HQ a while back a few guys were practically treating it like a soccer ball and it always kept on shining.
At almost 50 bucks (battery and charger not included) we're sure a lot of you are thinking "I can get a quality light for half that price. And you probably can, but it likely won't be as bright and it definitely won't be compatible with your other 12-volt Milwaukee tools.
Bosch is known primarily for their tools, but lately they've really been making a name for themselves in the accessories market. Anyone who has used tools for a while knows that blades and bits are just as important as the tool that they're seated in. Tools are sort of a 'weakest link' scenario; a great drill with a dull bit is only going to be as good as the dull bit. We've been testing out the Bosch DareDevil Spade Bits and can now say that if you put one of these in a great drill, what you have is a relentless wood eradication system.
The primary difference between the DareDevil Spade bits and your standard spades bits is this little threaded nub up at the centering point. Once these threads catch (which they can't not do), the bit is actually pulled into the wood. This happens with so much aggressiveness that we practically felt in danger of dislocating our shoulder while drilling holes. The body of the spade is also contoured so that the shaved wood doesn't clog up the hole and bog down the bit. The pointed spurs are additionally designed to minimize blow-out (which is better than most spade bits, but still considerable). There's a lot going on with these little bits.
The bottom line is that the Bosch DareDevils absolutely devastate lumber and if you're looking for some real fireworks, put one in an impact driver. After a couple of minutes it'll look like there's a pileated woodpecker living in your workshop. We spent about 30 seconds on a pressure-treated 2x6 drilling maybe a half dozen random holes and, as you can see from the image, the results are serious.
The only issue that we could find with these bits is that you can't just pull the drill out of a half-drilled hole, you actually have to put the drill in reverse. Once the centering threads catch and the connection to the wood is made, it's over. This is hardly a drawback, but just something we had to get used to.
If you're an electrician, carpenter, whatever really, we suggest checking out these bits. If you're a deck builder, just stop what you're doing and find some as fast as you can, and make sure to get the extension so putting holes in 4x6s won't be a problem.
This isn't exactly something that you're going to bring to the job site or workshop (although you could), but we thought it was interesting enough to mention. It's a Surge Protector that has an internal timer that you can set so that it kills the outlets completely during certain hours.
In their press release, APC gives a good example of the uses this could have,
For example, users can program a charging station to power on upon arrival home from work to recharge an mp3 player and cell phone and then program to power off the next morning once the user departs for work. The LCD timer's flexibility allows multiple users to set a variety of on/off times for all of their energy needs.
We also think it could work for temp lighting and heat at a job site. Or also to keep the lights on for a few hours at night to scare away the seedier elements of society.
There are two models available; a 4-outlet (all on timers), wall-mounted unit, and a six outlet (five on timers) strip unit with a 3' cord. According to APC, the annual power savings to be $40 and $60 respectively. The protectors cost $17 and $20.
Remember how Luke would put R2-D2 in the X-Wing and the little robot would essentially take over all the heavy lifting? Luke would sort of pretend to fly, but we all knew it was R2 that was making all the important decisions. That's sort of what the SawGear does to you and your miter saw. The tool, which made its big debut at this year's AWFS in Vegas, looks like it wants to take over all the measuring and marking, leaving you with only the brainless task of making the cut.
The tool is essentially three parts, a little computer unit, a rail, and a small carriage with a stop that runs along the rail. The SawGear attaches to your miter saw stand, and then after what looks like a quick and easy calibration, you just punch in the measurement that you want to cut and watch the carriage zip over to that distance and create a stop for your lumber.
The SawGear is smart enough to cut miters (no word on bevels though), and it can work in fraction or decimals. It can also evade a squadron of TIE fighters and lob rockets successfully into the Death Star's thermal exhaust port.
Over at the SawGear website they're saying that the tool can cut job completion times by 25%, which is quite a claim. Can it really eliminate one day of a week long project? If this is true, or even if they're exaggerating and the number is something like 10%, it's still a huge dollar amount that you carpenters out there could be potentially saving.
It's a cool idea and we're interested to see how it does in the marketplace. The $3000 price tag is going to scare away most homeowners, so it's up to the carpenters to make or break this one. Like we said, it'll be interesting. It seems to us that the majority of carpenters are tradition-bound and are likely to be suspicious of something that will take away their ability to mark out incredibly over-sized crows feet. But we did hear that a number of units were already sold at the AWFS, which speaks to how impressive this tool must be in person. At most trade shows, we'll happily lay down a hundred bucks (mostly at the bar), but to be inspired enough to drop a few grand, that must be a pretty impressive tool.
Purchase, videos and a ton more information over at SawGear
One of the classic carpentry tasks is hanging a door. From what we've seen pretty much everyone has their own way of doing it and while there is a lot of variety in approach, one fact remains a constant; the door needs to be lifted into place. And this is where the Ezy Hang Door Lifter comes into play.
The Easy Hang Door Lifter is in reality a very simple item and actually something that anyone with a stick welder, a drill press and a few scraps of metal could probably cobble together (minus the powder-coating). It consists of two connected feet, each with a lever and corresponding lift pad. To use it, just maneuver the door onto the pads, press on the levers with your feet, and watch the pads and the door elevate off the ground. When we hang a door by ourselves, we usually have a flatbar and some shims helping us along at this stage. It's do-able, but pretty clumsy and it takes a bit to get the door at exactly the correct height. This is where the Ezy Hang Door Lifter excels. Because there are two independent lift pads, it is extremely easy to adjust the door in the opening in order to mark out or line up your hinges.
When not in use, the foot pedals of the Ezy Hang fold in and make the item compact enough to stick in the back of a truck or in a gang box or behind the mower in the garage.
The EZY Hang can handle any door up to 220lbs, which means that it can deal with just about any wooden door and most others. Once you get into metal acoustical doors, you're going to start having problems, but those likely come with the frame and hinges all set up already, so the precision lifting is less of an issue.
And that's really all there is to say. While it's a very smart item, it's not a particularly complicated one; no LEDs, no laser sighting, no blade changing. Just a couple levers connected with some bar stock. So our review boils down to, "does it work?" The answer here is, "yup, sure does. Works great."
Being an Australian product, the Ezy Hang isn't in your local hardware store, or even the Home Depot or Lowes. If you're interested in ordering one, check out the website for more information (it looks like you'll have to email the inventor for pricing information and availability).
There's a new tool website in the mix. Tools.com recently launched a beta version and are aiming to become a one-stop online resource for the tool consumer. We sent a few questions over to Jim and Alex, the founders of the site and they were nice enough to take the time to answer them.
First, can you give us a brief description of Tools.com? Tools.com aims to be the largest comparison engine dedicated solely to tools and hardware. We like to think of Tools.com as a great place to research a tool, buy a tool, or just browse and drool over tools.
What caused you to want to start the site? We were approached by our partners to develop a customer-focused handyman's website to manage the enormous inventory of tools that are sold online.
Where do you see the site in five years? We'd like not only to provide users with a powerful price comparison engine for tools but also evolve into a one-stop location for information, instructions, and content. For example, if you're building a deck, we'd like you to get all the tools, the plans, questions answered, and even the cold beer at the end of the day from Tools.com.
How on earth did you manage to score that URL? There are two stories. One is that we won it on a riverboat poker game from Mr. Tools in the late 1890s. The second one is that our partners owned the domain name and approached us with it.
How do you see Tools.com as being different from other sites like ToolCritic and Tool-Rank (or even the comments section at Amazon) that are also in the process of generating review driven tool databases? We see ourselves as larger and broader than Tool Critic and Tool-Rank, but more focused than Amazon. We think you'll see more differentiating factors as we build out the site.
We saw on the site that you guys are DIYers. Can you expand on that? What sort of projects do you guys tackle? Any horror stories? I'm always tinkering around the house and drop what I'm doing to fix something when I think of it. I just put up two walls in my new apartment and completely neglected everything else in my life until the project was finished. As far as horror stories, ask Alex why he's not allowed to use an impact wrench.
What are some of your personal favorite tools? Every time I use a Dremel, I think, this is all I would need on a desert island, but Josh always keeps a Leatherman in his pocket so you can decide.
If Tools.com was an animal, which one would it be and why? A goat. Because their needs are so simple but they give so much - just like Tools.com. You know?
Check it out for yourself over at Tools.com. At this point they're interested in feedback, so if you have thoughts, they welcome your emails. Or if you want, you can tell us what you think of their site in the comments section of this post and at the end of the week, we'll pick a random comment and if it's yours, we'll send you one of the tools we've got kicking around the shop. So yeah, let us know what you think of tools.com and you might win a little something from Tool Snob.
Way back in late April, we told you about Bosch's new line of pneumatics. Upon announcement of the line, they only released the framing guns, probably because they were worried about flooding the market with too much awesome at once. Well, the first wave has passed and they're now releasing the four finish guns; the angled finish nailer, the straight finish nailer, the brad nailer, and the crown stapler.
We tried all of these out when we visited Bosch HQ and were quite impressed with them. They're all equipped with Full-Force Technology, which boils down to less wasted air, more powerful nail drives and a smaller gun. For more information on FFT and the rest of the line, check out our earlier post on the subject.
FNA250-15: 15-gauge angled finish nailer at Amazon ($390)
FNA250-16: 16-gauge straight finish nailer at Amazon ($335)
BNS200-18: 18-gauge brad nailer at Amazon ($120)
STN150-18: 18-gauge finish stapler at Amazon ($125)
Just a reminder that the 'Name That Blog' contest over at Paslode is ending this Tuesday. That means there's still time to get your entry in and possibly walk away with a CF325 Cordless Nailer (our review here).
If this one doesn't provoke the, "um...what the hell is that?" response, we don't know what will. This freaky measuring and marking tool is called The Modified Square and it looks like a traditional framing square that's been caught between dimensions. Once we got over the bizarre look of it and did a little research, it does seem like it could be a handy item for a carpenter.
The Modified Square website lists a large number of things that the tool can do, including; the "[ability] to square pipe and structural steel in wet dock. Due to the inability to use a level on water, provides pipefitters squaring in two moves." We have no idea what exactly this means, but we can understand, "great for notching out 2x4s and trusses, stair stringers, framing, layout of double corners."
The Modified Square costs about $25. For more information, check out the website.
If you took all of the construction projects ever attempted in the history of man, all of the skyscrapers, all of the pyramids, all of the bridges and all of the dams, and you could crush them into a one inch by one inch cube, that cube would probably smell like WD-40. WD-40 smells like accomplishment and, like duct tape, it evokes a consensus of admiration from anyone who has ever used it (which is essentially everyone).
But, if you went around and asked people, "what's the worst thing about WD-40?" the answer would be unanimous: "the effin' little red straw that I keep losing." The straw is essential, but it's a pain in the ass and once you lose it, like you always to, there's not much you can do to control the spray of the magic elixir. But here comes WD-40 with a new way to dispense the good stuff. The new container is a non-aerosol spray bottle and we brought one to the site and then into the workshop in order to test it out.
Guess what? It's WD-40 in a Windex bottle. Nothing more, nothing less (well, actually the bottle is metal, so it is a little more). But it's the same functionality with the narrow spray and the wide spray. The WD-40 hasn't changed, so it's all about application. The Trigger Pro doesn't replace the old red straw method, but it doesn't try to. It's just a new and different way of laying down the WD. There are times when only the straw will do the trick, like getting into a cramped engine, for example, but there are also times when the spray bottle is faster and more efficient, like cleaning up the gears on a table saw or lubing up a large chain. Overall, we felt there was more control with the spray bottle because it's easier to limit the amount you're applying.
WD-40 Trigger Pro costs around $13 for a 20oz bottle and is likely to be available where WD-40 is sold. We suggest picking up a bottle.
WD-40 also comes in a one gallon can (like paint thinner), so you could also pick up one of those and a spray bottle to get the same effect. A gallon costs about $20.
Factoid Alert: WD-40 stands for "Water Displacement, 40th formula." It was the 40th, and most successful of the recipes tried for a liquid that would displace water and prevent corrosion. Interesting, eh?
Imagine coming home from work and your house is completely gone. Maybe just a heap of bricks and a hole where the basement was. This is pretty much what happened to Al Byrd when a demolition contractor used GPS coordinates to get to the job site and accidentally destroyed the wrong house. This really happened. According to the story the contractor has apologized for the mistake, so Al has that going for him. In our eyes, nothing says 'I'm sorry' like a couple million in damages, but there's no word yet if Byrd is going to litigate these morons back into the stone ages. We hope he does.
To the working carpenter, Chisels are as essential as Dunkin' Donuts coffee. Maybe even more so. Obviously they're great tools with about a hundred uses (a thousand if you don't mind destroying the edge), but with all of the different tasks they can perform, their length as well as the sharp edge make them difficult in a tool belt.
FastCap has a potential solution to the problem called the Pocket Chisel. Like the name implies, it's a folding chisel that can fit in a pocket. It operates like the pliers function on a Leatherman with the handles folding back over the blade in order to protect it when not in use.
A carpenter friend of ours has one and won't stop talking about it. According to him, it's really lightweight and when the handles are folded back, it can take a hammer hit, just like any chisel. And it can be easily tucked into a tool belt when not in use.
The Pocket Chisel is available in the standard variety of sizes for prices ranging from $15-$20. It's a little more expensive than a standard Marple chisel, but if we were buying a Pocket Chisel, we'd probably only get one, as opposed to the whole set. In our eyes, these aren't going to replace our chisels, but one of them is going to be nice to have on hand.
The guys over at CopTool have just put together their first Tool Talkie awards, where they give props to a number of us other Tool Bloggers out there. Tool Snob is honored that we walked away with the 'Most Trusted Reviews' Award. We spend a lot of time trying to present relevant reviews that are helpful to you, the tool consumers, and the acknowledgment from CopTool makes us feel like the weed-smokin', endorsement-losin' guy in the photo.
The winners of the Tool Talkies are all on a megafeed available over at the article.
Skil wants to know how you use your worm drive SkilSaw and if you tell them, you might end up with a custom motorcycle made by Big Dog Motorcycle.
The details from Skil...
Whether spending your day framing houses in a new development or weekends in the backyard building that long-awaited deck, obstacles always emerge along the road to completing a successful project. That's why SKIL Power Tools wants to know how you've used your worm drive SKILSAW® to overcome a challenge either on the jobsite or at home. And for taking the time to send us your story, you could win a new SKILSAW-themed bike, customized by Big Dog Motorcycles. But don't worry, even if you don't win the SKILSAW bike, there are lots of other great prizes.
To enter this contest, participants can submit an entry form along with their story and photos online at www.SKILWormDriveChallenge.com or mail an entry form, essay and photos via the U.S. Postal Service by filling out a hard copy form available for download at www.SKILWormDriveChallenge.com. Entries will be judged based on the project's difficulty, solution creativity and overall success. One grand-prize winner will receive a custom Worm Drive SKILSAW-themed Big Dog Motorcycle plus an all-expenses paid trip for two to Charlotte, N.C. to attend the Bank of America 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway on October 17. Additionally, 10 first place entries will win a SHD77M Worm Drive SKILSAW and 25 second place winners will receive a $50 Visa gift card.
The contest runs through August 1. For official SKIL Worm Drive Challenge rules and more information on how to enter, visit www.SKILWormDriveChallenge.com.
Imagine if you were allowed to fix things using only duct tape and bailing twine. While the end results would likely be functional, in another way it would be a total disaster. It would display your cleverness, but also your complete ignorance of acceptable standards and fine craftsmanship. There I Fixed it is a website devoted to people who happily walk this path of creative solutions.
In order to exist on our jobsite in any functional manner, we need to have on us, at all times, eight different driver bits. It's a total nightmare, but that's just the way it is. We have all sorts of screws for all sorts of different applications and during the course of a day, we're involved with just about every aspect of the site. We need a P2, P3, 5/16" nut drive, 3/8" nut drive, 1/4" nut drive, R1, R2, and the Timberlok Spider Bit. We used to carry them around in an Altoid tin, but now we just have them in a pocket. It's a complete pain in the ass to have to constantly switch out bits.
So anything that takes even one of these bits out of the equation is something we're going to love. Enter, the Bosch R2-P2 Driver bit. Very simply, it's a bit that can drive both P2 screws and R2 screws. If you're unfamiliar with the terminology, Ps are Philips bits and Rs are Robertson bits (aka: square drive).
We got our hands on one of these dual bits and used it quite a bit. We ended up losing it somewhere along the way, but in the time we had it, it held up great and it took some of the bit-searching agony out of our day. We lost it before we got a chance to work it to death with the impact driver, so we can't comment too much on the strength of the bit, but because Bosch makes it with something called S2M steel, it likely would have lasted longer than normal.
There's not a whole lot more to say about the driver bit other than that it worked and that for a brief shining moment, we had one bit where we now once again need two.
We can't find these for purchase online, but they'll likely show up at Amazon and Ohio Power Tool.
Woodworker's Journal: How to Build a Bamboo Fly Rod
To us, a lot of woodworking magazines kind of blur together. In a way, they're sort of like cooking magazines; you get one or two for a year or so and you've got enough to carry you through for quite a while.
This is why we applaud Woodworker's Journal for the cover story in their latest issue (which just showed up on the doorstop). How to Build a Fly Rod...now that's an interesting project. It's refreshing to see a woodworking magazine take on something that's not, well, a cabinet or a workbench. Sure, we're generalizing here, but come on, a fly rod!
It's a cool project, and by the way, far too complicated for us, but if you've got the time and the interest, it looks like a hell of a way to spend about 4,000 hours of your time.
Woodworker's Journal also features articles by Chris Marshall, who we've met a number of times and can vouch for the fact that he's a really great guy. We can also say that he's a madman behind the wheel of a super-charged go-cart (as is Jude from Toologics), but that's another story...
Gator, a company intent on advancing every single aspect of the sanding world, has released yet another grit-tastic innovation (our reviews of the Zip Sander, Micro Zip Sander, and Sanding Sponge Holder). Their new Sand-Block seems to take the best characteristics of sandpaper and sanding sponges and combine them into one single mighty sanding warhorse. Sounds good to us, but from the picture it looks like the edges don't have any grit on them, which is too bad seeing as we use sponge edges to sand little molding profiles and things like that. But still the longevity of sandpaper compared to sanding sponges makes us likely to go out and pick up a few of these.
At first glance, we thought the LogJaws were about the silliest thing we'd ever seen. We're huge fans of the JawHorse, and use it all the time, but who would really need to clamp a log at waist height? Definitely not us, and we heat with wood.
To use the LogJaws, you first have to invest in the Rockwell JawHorse, which we think is a good idea no matter who you are. So if you don't have one and you're interested, our review of that tool is here. But simply put, the JawHorse is a workstation centered around a large clamping jaw and Rockwell makes a number of add-ons for the unit, including these, the LogJaws.
What the LogJaws do is give the JawHorse the ability to clamp a log or really any other oddly shaped item that's going to have problems in the parallel clamps that come standard with the JawHorse. The LogJaws sit higher than the regular clamps and have these mean looking teeth that are perfect for sinking into a nice chunk of rotted oak. The LogJaws attach very easily to the JawHorse, just a few screws and it's done. Maybe two minutes max.
We discovered quickly that the LogJaws really are great for clamping cut logs, branches and other bits of tree debris. But where exactly do you go from there? What sorts of things can you use it for? The JawHorse sits too high to use it for your utility, "need to fill the woodshed before the first snow" log cutting. We just don't think it's worth it to haul one end of a 100 lb log into the jaws just so you can cut 18" off of it and then have to reposition the whole thing. But if you're only going to be cutting smaller branches and kindling, then it'll work great. We actually see the LogJaws as more for the wood carving/woodworking crowd. And in fact, we used it to make some nice tree limb coasters (directions here).
The LogJaws also have these little brackets that flip out and allow you to clamp your chainsaw bar so you can easily sharpen your chainsaw, saving valuable knuckle skin.
In a way, the LogJaws sum up the glory of the JawHorse; you can get the basic unit, which is extremely useful, and then you have the ability to customize it, in order to suit your niche needs. The LogJaws aren't for everybody, but if you're one of the people who it is for, you'll love it.
The LogJaws cost about $40 which puts them on the lower side of things when compared to most of the other JawHorse accessories.
As an aside, if you are a wood carver, we suggest checking out our reviews of the Arbortech wood carving tools, the Mini-Grinder and the Power Chisel.
We used to own a Jeep Cherokee which had its ups and downs, but would always charge our cell phone even with the engine off and the keys out of the ignition. Now we drive around in a Tacoma which is great but the truck kills the outlets as soon as the engine is off. We're pretty good at keeping our phone charged either at home or during the commute, but sometimes (like the other day) we forget and arrive at the site with the battery not fully charged. The point of this story is to relay how we became fully dependent on the M12 Power Port the other day. If we didn't happen to have it on us, we would have been completely screwed.
The M12 Power Port is a simple affair, about the size of a bulky remote control. It has an indicator light to let you know if the battery still has some juice and a little flip down door to protect both the USB port and the DC port from dust and dirt when it's not in use. To use the item, just plug in your cell phone, iPod, whatever and the 12-volt battery starts transferring the charge.
But back to our story. It was one of those end of day "how come the condenser stopped working?" things where we had to call the HVAC guys and the electricians multiple times and do all sorts of coordination and troubleshooting. During the first call the phone went dead. After a quick hustle to the truck to get the Power Port, we were back in action and resolved the situation. If we hadn't had the Power Port on hand things would have gotten ugly.
So what does this all mean? Well, the M12 Power Port is not going to be your full time charger. Why would it? You would constantly need to charge a battery in order to charge a battery. But what it is is a nice insurance policy, a safety net. The price is right too. If you already have a Milwaukee M12 tool with batteries and charger, the Power Port is only going to set you back about $25, which isn't a whole lot for something that you'll use in an emergency. It would probably be nice on a camping trip too, but we're going to keep ours in the glove box.
Correction 2:This is the first Innovation Showcase. Previously, Craftsman had invited inventors to submit ideas, but this is the first time that they're offerring the opportunity to come out to the Sears HQ and actually present them in person (which is much cooler). Sorry for representin' and then misrepresentin'.
Correction:This ain't the first Innovation Showcase. Thanks to ToolDork for the smackdown.
This year Craftsman is going to hold their first Innovation Showcase in which you, the average wood butcher will be able to present your tool ideas to them for possible marketing and inclusion into the Craftsman line. It's a great opportunity for all you inventors out there. The press release is as follows....
For more than 80 years, Craftsman has supplied customers with the most innovative tools on the market. For the first time, Craftsman is hosting a showcase where innovators can present their most unique product ideas for possible Craftsman merchandising.
Craftsman is looking for tool innovations in the hand tool, power tool, lawn & garden and tool storage categories. If you have an idea that you think will make the cut, send a brief description (100 words or less per product) that indicates which category your idea(s) falls into and the market need it fulfills, to the below email by July 13, 2009. Products do not need to be in finished form and you can submit as many as you like. All correspondence will be completely confidential.
If determined a good fit for Craftsman, you could be invited to register for the Showcase, where you will have 30 minutes to an hour to privately present the product(s) at Sears' headquarters in Hoffman Estates, IL to a panel of judges from the brand management, product development, and product management teams. Your product could be chosen to be put in development by Craftsman.
All participants are responsible for their own travel accommodations, shipping and/or transportation costs.
Submit product description to Louise Chang, Craftsman Innovation Showcase Coordinator, at lchang1@searshc.com
More information on Craftsman Tools at Craftsman.com.
June was good to us here. We got to go out to the Milwaukee HQ and check out all of their new items due out this year. Our impressions of the event are here. We also ran a couple contests (more of that on the way) and we were able to review a few new items. On that topic, the best of the bunch and the tool of the month is the Wagner TurboRoll. It was something that we initially chuckled at, but once we got to using it, we were quite impressed. If you've got some big summer painting projects, we think you should look into it.
We already have a handful of review half-written for July and a few new items just showed up today, so keep checking back for those.
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