October 28, 2009

DeWalt DW030P Distance Measurer - Review

Laser beams. First they came for our levels and now it's our tape measures. Like some invasion of little red dots, lasers are being incorporated more and more into today's job sites. And with anything that is 'being incorporated more and more into today's job sites," it's not surprising that DeWalt is right there. The big yellow company has just released a new laser measuring tool, the DW030P and they were nice enough to let us test one out.

The DW030P is about the size of a point and click camera and the most basic function of it is to measure distance. To do this, just point the laser at an object and press the distance button and you get a static reading of how far that object is from the back edge of the tool. There is also a 'unit' button so you can choose how you would like the measurement to be displayed (meters, feet and inches, or just inches). If you hold down the distance button for three seconds, the DW030P goes into tracking mode and now displays the laser measurement as it moves. If that alone were the capabilities of the DW030P it would be pretty interesting, but there's actually quite a bit more.

The DW030P also has an area button and a volume button. To use these, just click the appropriate button and start recording distances. After two distances with the area button, you get the total area in whatever unit you have it set on, and likewise with the volume button after three measurements.

On top of all this, the DW030P can add and subtract distances from one another. Just click a distance, then hit the '+' or '-' button and click another distance. You can do this as much as you like and the DW030P keeps a running tally.

So that's what it does, but the question is, "is what it does actually useful?" Well, yes and no, but mostly yes. At first, the DW030P frustrated us because we were trying to use it like a tape measure, which is really impractical. You're not going to use this tool casing out a window or laying out 16"oc studs on a plate. First, it's not really designed for that, and secondly, even though it measures to the accuracy of 1/16th of an inch, any good carpenter keeps a little over/under going in his head with each cut. The DW030P can't indicate if a perfect cut is actually 3'-2 3/8" shy, it'll just tell you, 3'-2 3/8". It does help with inside corners though, giving accurate measurements without trying to read a bent tape measure.

But, the daily grind of carpentry aside, this tool did turn out to be an incredible time saver in a number of other departments. Doing a quick take off on materials, for example. The area button gave us an exact measurement of a number of walls, allowing us to figure exactly how much blueboard was needed to cover them. It was also a dream for doing a quick as-built of some soon-to-be-buried conduit. What is normally a two man job with the 200' tape measure, turned into a five minute click, click, click. And really with any measurement that involved a length more than that of our standard 25' tape measure, we called on the DW030P (it has a range of about 100')

There were a few things about the tool that we didn't like. First, the distance is measured from the back of the tool, right? So we're not sure why the back end of the tool isn't at right angles to the sides, or why there isn't a mark showing the exact point of the center line (where the laser projects from) on the rear edge. For a tool that can measure to the 1/16th of an inch.....We would have liked to have been able to put the tool on its side and be confident that the laser line is parallel to the surface the tool is on.

Also, DeWalt gives a nice instruction manual with the Distance Measurer, but for some reason, they've made it the size of their other manuals, which is about five times the size of the carrying case for the tool. This kind of items deserves a quick reference guide. There's plenty of room in the case and we wished they would have enclosed one.

But these complaints aren't that big of a deal and so they shouldn't get in your way of considering this tool. Like we said, there were a number of job site situations where the DW030P was a real time saver. We also just bought a house and found it to be helpful in that process as well. Would the table fit in this room? click...click...nope. Is the real estate agent lying about the square footage of the finished basement? click...click...yup. Also this tool would be very useful to a niche market like realtors or interior designers. No more slinging a tape measure over someone's furniture in order to get the dimensions of a room.

So all in all, we grew to appreciate the DW030 and what it did for us. We just first had to get over the fact that it isn't trying to replace the tape measure.

$130 at ToolUp and FAO

Read More in: All Reviews | Measuring & Marking

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October 27, 2009

Craftsman Labs

Tool companies are always cranking out micro sites. Here's one for our new 12-volt line...here's one for our new glass cutter...and another one for the glass cutting blades! We tend to like them because they're usually made with a little more pizazz and creativity than the company's corporate site. But as far as we know, until now, no one has ever made a micro site dedicated to the straight-up abuse of their tools.

Craftsman's new Craftsman Lab is just that. The site showcases a number of movies of these three dudes (Kenny, Matt, and Sam) unleashing all sorts of interesting mayhem on a wide variety of Craftsman tools. At the moment there are videos of them beating on a drill, a socket set, a hammer, a vacuum, a radio, and a tool box.

Without question, the best video is the one with the drill. The videos are shot in this really stylized Michael Bay kind of way, but that's all quickly forgotten once you see the guys attach a mannequin to a bike, duct tape a drill to its hand and launch it off a rooftop. It's great entertainment, there's no question about it.

They're pretty cool videos and worth a look. There's also a place where you can suggest a tool for their next test, as well as the testing method.

If you just want a taste, above is a trailer for the series. For more mannequin action, check out Craftsman Labs.

October 26, 2009

Delta Premuim Saw Blades - Review

We're carpenters, not fine woodworkers, so we want our saw blades to simply work. From time to time, we need something special, like a thin kerf or a dado, but for the most part, we're ripping down plywood, trimming a quarter inch off a poplar 1x6 or putting an angle on a 2x4 for an oddly framed corner. Our needs aren't great, but we do want something that's going to give us a good cut and that's going to endure the drubbing that gets administered to the job site table saw. Delta was nice enough to send us a few of their new premium blades to test out for reviewing purposes. Of the three, one of them was immediately put on the abused communal saw and the other two we compared head to head.

Before we get to the actual blades we want to mention that the catalog that Delta sent along with the blades is stuffed full of statistics and information on more available blade variations than you can possibly imagine, with differences between them being, at best, slight. Imagine a massive wine list but instead of Chardonnays and Merlots it's finish blades and cross-cut blades. For example the 35-7653 is identical to the 35-7657 except that the former has a hook angle of 10 degrees and the latter has a hook angle of 20 degrees. We've been working intimately with table saws for almost a decade now and we have no idea what a hook angle is, let alone how it alters our cut. But if you get excited about the difference between 'alternating top bevel' and 'high alternate top bevel' (and don't forget 'alternate top bevel with raker tooth') then the Delta website, with its blade selector, is a place where you want to spend some alone time. It's pure blade nerdery and although it's not really our bag, we can appreciate the nuances.

Along with the blade catalog, Delta provided us with some info describing how the blades are made. There's a lot to it, so instead of us rambling incoherently about something we know little about, we're going to direct you to this video, made by Delta, that explains the process. It's pretty interesting and if even if you're not into this sort of thing, you should watch it anyway and entertain yourself by pretending that they're making a Terminator instead of a saw blade.

The blades we tested out were the 35-1080HN5, the 35-1080T, and the 35-1050R. According to Delta the 35-1050R is best for rips so that's the one we plopped that in the table saw. The other two are better at cross cutting, so they each took turns in the miter saw making specific cuts.

The 35-1050R (in the table saw) preformed great. Nice clean cuts with no problem going right through mahogany. So far it's spent about three weeks in the saw and there's no sign of it slowing down or doing anything other than what it's supposed to do. As for the other two blades, we took a photo to try to show the variation in the blades themselves (the image is mildly successful). The two blades, while they look quite different, each has 80 teeth and similar capabilities, so we sent each through a pine 1x and examined the cut. Situated right next to one another, the cuts were different, but had we seen each cut at random points during the same day, we probably wouldn't have thought too much about the difference. But again, we're just cutting pine 1x's not a laminated surface or some other specialty item. Both cuts were nice and clean, but one (35-1080HN5) was much smoother than the other.

It strikes us that the bottom line here is that they're high quality blades and it's up to you how far you want to jump in the blade minutiae rabbit hole. Most people and even most carpenters will have no problem putting a general purpose blade in and abusing it until it dies or until some bozo comes to the job site and decides he's going to rip down a 1/4" piece of steel angle (we've seen it happen). But if you're a serious woodworker, or if your job puts you in constant contact with a specific material (a counter top installer, for example), then you have the option of getting the blade that is specific to your needs and it will make a difference too.

It looks like there is a wide variety of pricing for the wide variety of blades. The general purpose blades are at the lower end of the scale ($25-$40). Most of the other blades are somewhere in the $50-$80 range and the fine crosscuts are going to tiptoe up into the $100+ arena. There's also a great looking stacked dado set for about $150.

A good selection (but not all) of the blades is at Amazon. It looks like you should be able to find them at your local Lowe's as well.

Read More in: All Reviews | Bits and Blades

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October 23, 2009

Milwaukee 12-Volt Radio Endurance Test

Yesterday, we mentioned the itsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny 12-volt radio that Milwaukee released this year. It's not surprising, but it, like all other Milwaukee tools, is built to take a few hits. To demonstrate this, the guys at Milwaukee have put together a video of them doing everything they can to disable, destroy, and in all ways defeat the small radio. The video is called a 'drop test,' but it's more like a 'drop, throw, toss out of a car, and kick test.'

We're immediately attracted to any video that starts with a disclaimer saying that what you are about to see will void the warranty of the tool. The third test is our favorite. There's something hilarious about the way the guy throws the radio and how it arcs through the air.

The cynical side of us keeps chiming in with the thought that somewhere at Milwaukee HQ there's a dumpster full of all of the 12-volt radios that were destroyed in the making of this video, but we've seen some incredible endurance out of other Milwaukee tools, so this is unlikely.

We first saw the video over at Toologics.

Milwaukee M12 Radio at Amazon ($100)

October 22, 2009

DeWalt DC012 Worksite Charger / Radio

Dewalt's charger/radios are pretty ubiquitous on construction sites. They were the first ones to deliver on the idea and that initial foothold has done them well. Other companies have released nice products, from the Bosch cube to the new Makita box to the adorable little Milwaukee 12-volt radio, but it's the DeWalt that we see the most often. Knowing that the competition is fierce, DeWalt has recently updated their radio/charger.

The new model, the DC012 features 3 AC outlets, an iPod nest, an auxiliary port, a roll cage, presets, and best of all, a bass boost so you can shake the glass at coffee break with a little Milli Vanilli.

The most interesting feature on the radio is its ability to charge any DeWalt battery from 7.2 volts to 18 volts. And this is true across platforms, both NiCad and li-ion batteries are compatible here.

More details are in the press release, which is after the jump.

At Home Depot

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October 21, 2009

Campbell Hausfeld WL6701 26-Gallon Compressor - Review

Campbell Hausfeld is in the process of releasing a full line of pneumatics for the DIYer. Among the items are a finish gun (our review here), a framing gun, and a brad gun. Since you need a compressor to operate all of these tools, it makes sense that they're going to be releasing some of those as well. Turns out that in their new line, they've got two 8-gallon models and a mondo 26-gallon model which comes complete with some extra goodies for the DIYer. It's this last one that we were lucky enough to test out, courtesy of the fine folks at CH.

First off, the usability is great. the knobs are all easy to use and are very well marked. The on switch is a bright red foot pedal, so even if you've been drinking heavily you won't be missing it. The compressor also comes with a handle and a cool three wheeled bottom which makes it very easy to move even over the uneven and cracked cement floor of our shop. The whole package sort of reminded us of the robot from Lost in Space.

Usually, compressor space is dead space for anything else, but CH has thought this through and flattened the top of the unit. It's specifically designed to hold other CH air tools, but obviously you can really put anything there.

The compressor also has two different ports for hoses. One, lower down by the foot-operated on-switch, comes hardwired to a coil hose. At the business end of the coil hose is an air gun, and to make things easy, CH has supplied a number of different inflator tools to attach to the gun. So whether it's a car tire, a soccer ball or a bike tire, you've already got what you need. The coil hose is great too. It stretched from the garage all the way around the truck with no problem. After the first stretch, we lost some of the coil tightness, but that's no biggie. The second air port is up by the controls and is the standard female coupling you'd see on a regular compressor.

The most interesting aspect of the compressor is something called No Wait Inflation. What this means is that the coil hose fills with air first, so if you're just going to just top off the tires, you don't have to wait for the entire tank to fill (which takes a while). Because we're so busy lately, we've become pretty impatient, so this feature is a great addition in our eyes.

We were floating around Amazon the other day and saw that someone had written a review of the compressor giving it only one star. They said it was loud and that it took forever to fill. Sounds to us like they just described every compressor we've ever used. It's no question though, the CH compressor doesn't fill up in record time, but it's 26-gallons of compressed air. What do you expect? And if you can't wait, there's the recoil hose. That's sort of why it's there in the first place. If you're going to use the tank for a pneumatic gun, just get the compressor started first and by the time you're set up, you're good to go. Or be like everyone else and never drain the thing.

The bottom line is that this would be a nice compressor for anyone who is looking to bring their home workshop to the next level. It costs about $350 so it's a bit of an investment, but it's less expensive than other compressors of similar size and it comes with a number of useful attachments so you can get right to using it. Also the No Wait Inflation is great in a pinch.

More information at CHCompressors.com

At Lowes ($339) and Amazon ($459)

October 19, 2009

String Trimmers Reviewed at Popular Mechanics

We recently reviewed three new string trimmers over at Popular Mechanics; the Worx cordless, the Craftsman Propane Trimmer (powered by Lehr), and a brand new Troy-Bilt 2-stroke. We compared the tools in a number of categories including noise level, ergonomics, and power.

Read the review here. We also took a closer look at the Craftsman Trimmer here.

We also helped out Timothy Dahl (of Charles and Hudson) with an article for Shelter Pop. That article is about buying tools and can be found here. We definitely recommend putting Charles and Hudson on your blog rotation and Shelter Pop looks like it has some cool stuff too.

October 16, 2009

MyFixItUpLife Debuts Tomorrow

The new DIY radio show, MyFixItUpLife kicks off Saturday at noon, eastern time (4pm for all you Icelandic listeners!). We mentioned the show earlier here.

The first show is going to have an interview with Tony Eschmeyer, senior product manager at Simonton Windows. Looks like he'll be talking about the energy tax credit. This is of particular importance to us seeing as we just bought a house that is so drafty you could fly a kite in the living room.

More information on the show and how to listen, check out the MyFixItUpLife site. If you miss the broadcast, the shows will be available for download.

October 15, 2009

Craftsman 12-Volt Nextec Multi-Tool - Review

And why shouldn't Craftsman make an oscillating tool? Everyone else is doing it; Dremel, Bosch, Chicago Electric, Proxxon, even the creepy guy down the street has one half made in his garage. But is there really anything that Craftsman can do to improve on the tool in this quickly saturated market? Well, they were nice enough to send on one of their new 12-volt Nextec Oscillating Tools so that we could take a look and find out for ourselves.

Continue reading: "Craftsman 12-Volt Nextec Multi-Tool - Review"

Read More in: All Reviews | Cordless | Lithium-Ion | Oscillating Tools

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October 14, 2009

What is it?

Reader John sent in some photos of a mystery tool that he came across. His description is as follows:

It's 4 1/4" long; the "wheel" is 3 1/4" in diameter; each measuring section is 3/4" wide; it comes apart at the acorn nut so you could turn the wheel the other way around; neither the number of "teeth" nor the number of openings between the teeth correspond to the numbers on the wheel.

We've never seen anything like it before. If you can tell us what it's called and what it's used for (with some sort of evidence to back you up), we'll send a random tool your way. Drop a line in the comments section.