Paslode T250A 16 Gauge Angled Finish Nailer - Review

Paslode has always been on the edge of air gun advancements, so it's no shocker that they're one of the first companies to release a 16 gauge angled finish nailer. Combining the smaller sized nails with the compact "fit anywhere" principals of the angled magazine, they've produced a gun that is, well, small. Very small. But is it powerful? Who cares how compact a gun is if it can't shoot a nail into mahogany? We've been testing out this gun for a few weeks now, and here's what we thought.

At first we were a bit surprised at how much plastic is on the gun. The entire nail magazine is plastic and a good portion of the handle as well. This serves to make the gun lighter and, as we found with a few test drops, the plastic is quite durable. There is also a metal bar that runs along the front edge of the cartridge for added strength.

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Artillery Pry Bar System - Review

We first met Joe Skach a couple years ago at a JLC Trade Show. Back then, he was displaying his Artillery Pry Bar System with such enthusiasm and glee that it was hard not to like the guy and be curious about the tool. At the time, the Joe was still working out the details for manufacturing and distributing the tool, so he didn't have any for sale. Now, well over a year later, he's finally gotten all the kinks worked out and the tool is available. We got the opportunity to try one out and for the past month we have abused the hell out of the thing. We have to say that not only is it by far the finest demolition tool we've ever used, it very well may be the coolest thing we have ever put our hands on.

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TKTool 18-Volt Drill - Review

A couple weeks ago we reviewed TKTool's new pocket driver, and we found it to be an inexpensive and effective little tool. Well, Tool King was nice enough to also let us test out their new 18-Volt Drill and here's what we found.

The drill has some cool features on it. It has a 23-position clutch, two speeds, a little level, and two bit holders (one on each side of the level).

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C.H. Hanson Chalk Hog - Review

How much can you really say about a chalk line? Before today, we thought the answer was, "not much." But, after using C.H. Hanson's Chalk Hog for a while, we found that, with any finely-crafted tool, we can just keep talking and talking and talking...

The Chalk Hog is part of C.H. Hanson's ongoing Signature Series which kicked off last year with the release of the freakishly cool Pivot Square, and like that tool, the Hog is an innovative take on an old standard.

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TK Tool 4.8-Volt Screwdriver - Review

Tool King is one of our favorite online tool retailers. They're fast, the price is competitive and they're always offering some sweet rebate that we can't resist. For the most part, they deal exclusively in contractor-grade tools. You go to their store looking for Bosch, DeWalt, Festool, Hitachi, and Jet. But, recently, they've stuck their toe into the light-duty arena with the release of their very own line of tools. TKTools was launched last month and they were nice enough to send us some samples to check out. Here, we're reviewing their little 4.8V Screwdriver, and at some point soon, we're going to look at their 18-volt drill.

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Paslode PowerFramer 350 Framing Gun- Review

Paslode has just released a new framing gun called the PowerFramer 350. They were nice enough to let us try one out, and here's what we found.

First of all, this gun is very light (7.5 lbs). In fact, it doesn't really feel like a framer at all. The weight and balance had us thinking of something more along the lines of an old model finish gun. We've used a lot of different framers, and this one was, by far, the lightest and the best, ergonomically speaking. Our research tells us that there are lighter models out there, but believe us when we say that this one is really light.

And it's powerful too. Over the course of a week, we used it to frame up a little deck and it never once misfired or put a nail half in. Every single shot was driven home to the depth we selected. And when we dialed up the maximum depth, the nail heads were absolutely buried in the wood. We have little doubt that this gun would have its way with all forms of engineered lumber.

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Ridgid SeeSnake Micro - Review

We've been hearing about The Ridgid SeeSnake Micro for a while now and in the last month or so, we've seen it start to show up at job sites in a lot of different hands. First it was electricians, then it was plumbers, and now it's everyone else from carpenters to HVAC guys. We wanted to find out what the big deal is all about so we got our hands on one and gave it a whirl.

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Skil 7.2V Lithium Ion Power Driver - Review

Skil has joined Bosch and Milwaukee (and now Hitachi) by getting into the compact driver market. Late last year they released a little 7.2V Pocket Driver, and we were pretty thrilled when they offered to let us try one out.

It's a very little driver that fits easily in the hands. It's got a 1/4" hex chuck for quick bit changing, a forward/reverse indicator, an 11 position clutch, and a little light to tell you when the battery is getting low.

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Bosch JS5 Jigsaw - Review

To us, Bosch Jigsaws are some of the best out there. We've used a lot of different models and have always been impressed with their accuracy and quality. So when we heard that they were releasing a compact model, we were curious how it would turn out. Would they be able to pack all the goodness into a smaller package, or would the quality be somewhat sacrificed?

The JS5 has many of the features that are found on quality jigsaws these days. It's got a great tool-free blade change system, which is a real plus to anyone who used to carry around an 8 inch screwdriver for blade changing. Now, all you have to do is press the blade up into the slot and it clicks into place. To release the blade, just twist the collet, using a thumb tab, and the blade falls right out. It's similar to the system that is on some reciprocating saws.

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Ryobi Procross AIRgrip Self Leveling Laser - Review

With the resources that are out there, homeowners are taking on more and more complex projects and are thus starting to use the tools that the pros use. With this move happening, it's no shock that Ryobi is on the leading edge of providing an affordable laser level to the general public. We recently tried out their AIRgrip Self-Leveling Laser and here's what we found.

First, a bit of general information on the tool. The laser itself projects from a little pendulum that hangs inside of the tool housing. The housing itself can rotate 360 degrees around, meaning that the level can be set in one corner of the room and even if the laser isn't projecting all around the room, one twist of a knob can move it. There is also a knob to move the housing up and down with about an inch of play here, so you can get the level all set up and you can still adjust some to get it to the desired height.

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