WD-40 Blue Works - Review

For most of us, a can of WD-40 is all we need. It acts as a lubricant, a penetrant, a cleaner, and, for some, a deodorant. It's sort of a 'one can fits all' product. But for those who are really into their lubes, sprays, and foams, or for those rare occasions when the WD just won't cut it, WD-40 (the company, not the product) has just released a line of eight specialized items geared toward the heavy-duty and the hardcore, and, thankfully for us, they sent us a few cans to check out.

The new products are:

• Industrial Grade Silicone


• Industrial Grade High-Performance PTFE Lubricant


• Industrial Grade Dry Lube PTFE Formula


• Industrial Grade Multi-Purpose Lubricant


• Industrial Grade White Lithium Grease


• Industrial Grade Contact Cleaner


• Industrial Grade Penetrant


• Industrial Grade Degreaser

Reviewing things like this isn't easy. It takes too long and is too tedious to rust a couple bolt/nut combos together just to test out the Blue Works Penetrant against the leading brand. So we just put the cans on the shelf and used them as needed. Of the products, we tested out the Penetrant, the De-Greaser, the White Lithium Grease, and the Silicone.

The one we ended up using the most was the silicone, which had no issues assisting us with a gummed up slider and a couple sticky windows, as well as a few stuck wrenches. The White Lithium Grease, we put right in the truck (our old boss once said, "every old truck needs a can of white lithium grease under the driver's seat), and the penetrant did actually help loosen a rusty nut.

We liked the products and the cans have a cool look about them. The Blue Works website has a boatload of information on each one, including the MSDS sheets and scientific-sounding test results that firmly establish their dominance against other brands. We take a lot of those types of manufacturer's tests with a grain of salt, but WD-40 has a great reputation, so even if their products aren't 50 times better than the competition, they're at least 5 times better.

So now when WD-40 isn't doing the job or you're looking for something a little more specialized, you now have a place to go.

There's a boatload more information (including the MSDS sheets) over at blueworksbrand.com

Tool Parts at Ohio Power Tool

Our Bosch miter saw took a spill off the back of the truck the other week and the impact busted the handle up pretty nicely. Usually for this sort of thing we go to toolpartsdirect, but we had just read at CopTool (the blog arm of the tool retailer Ohio Power Tool), that OPT also sells tool parts. We thought we'd give them a shot and contacted them with the part numbers, made the order, and in no time, they were on their way to our place. The service was extremely fast and within hours of our original inquiry, we were contacted with pricing and shipping info. As it turns out, toolpartsdirect doesn't even carry the parts we needed.

Once the parts arrived, the repair took about a half an hour. We got lucky that the only damaged parts were the plastic casing and that nothing too complicated needed replacing. Our advice if you do anything like this is to take pictures and draw diagrams as you disassemble the broken parts. No matter how good you think your memory is, you're going to forget where some screw goes or which direction a spring sits or some little detail that's essential.

It looks like Ohio Power Tool only has parts for the brands that they sell, so you DeWalt owners might have to go somewhere else, but if you're in the Bosch, Milwaukee, or Makita camp, we suggest bookmarking this page.

For a complete list of brands that OPT sells parts for, and ordering information, go here.

John Deere Mobile Maintenance Service

With Spring starting to show it's muddy face, you're probably beginning to dread your first encounter with your mower. Will it run alright? Will it stall out? Will it even start? We just found out about this great service offered by John Deere that might make things a little easier for you. It's a mobile maintenance service called Ready To Mow that covers not only John Deere products, but other brands as well.

From the press release:

"The Ready To Mow mobile service provides standard maintenance and diagnosis of problems in a "service center on wheels' for any type of lawn, commercial, or hand-held power equipment whether it's a John Deere brand or not. A factory-trained service technician arrives at the owner's home or business with one of the 800 Ready To Mow vehicles currently on the road to perform a 14-point maintenance and inspection service, in one hour or less."

Too bad Keith Walendowski hadn't heard of the service.

To learn more or to schedule a visit, go to www.ReadyToMow.com

Bosch Rapid Repair (and a chance to win a Bosch PS10)

Bosch is offering a new repair service that they call Rapid Repair. The 'Rapid' part is a guarantee that your tool is back in your hands within five business days or the repair is free. It's a cool setup that they've got. First, go to their website and find the location of the nearest Bosch Rapid Repair partner near you. Many of the stores that sell Bosch tools are partners, so it's likely that where you bought the tool is where you'll be heading to. Then, you go in and drop off the tool, getting an on-site estimate (which they guarantee you'll never pay any more than). And that's it. Five days later, you should be able to go and pick the tool up and if it takes any longer, then the repair is free.

The service is all factory authorized and comes with a 180 day warranty.

Keep reading to watch Bosch's Rapid Repair video and to get a chance to win a Bosch PS10.

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