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.
Yet another interesting item out of Australia. This one appears to be a mini track saw with a miter gauge. If it works as advertised, it has a lot of the functionality of a sliding compound miter saw but with a much longer cut. While it can't do crown molding, the basic kit can slice up to about 3-1/2'.
It looks like it just attaches to your circular saw and you're ready to go. There's no information on saw compatibility (do Australian saws have different footplates than US saws?).
The AusAngle basic kit costs $299 ($240 US) which is a more than fair price considering that a decent miter saw is at least that. Rail extensions are available as well.
There is a little more information and photos over at AusAngle.com.
Here's a video of a guy making a bunch of cuts. Looks handy.
It looks like the bizarre snow shoveling device that we told you about last winter, the Wovel, has been updated. Although shoveling snow is about the last thing we want to think about this time of year, it's tough to deny breaking news in Wovel technology.
Wovel 2.0 is lighter, and smaller and can fold up for easy storage and quick portability. Yes, that's right, now you can Wovel on the go! There's more information and tons of Woveltastic videos over at wovel.com.
Our Austrailian invention connection has just emailed us about another interesting item that should be hitting the marketplace at some point soon. This time it's a device to assist with hanging doors. The EZY Hang Door Lifter is basically a jack that raises your door to the appropriate height in order for you to install the hinges. It looks like a much better version of what we usually end up cobbling together out of plywood scraps and a flatbar. Probably the nicest feature of the EZY Hang Door lifter is that it has one jack on each side, so slight adjustments can be made to the door once it's airborne.
The EZY Hang Door Lifter has a maximum lifting height of 25mm, which to us Americanos translates into just under one inch. There is no word on the maximum weight it can hold, but it sounds like it can handle just about any standard solid core door. We're curious about non-standard doors though. Yesterday, we spent the day hanging a 360 lb door (no joke) and something like the EZY Hang would have been helpful.
Every summer, we burn through a baseball hat. We don't wear it every day, but it's a nice item to have in the truck for keeping the sun off our face, the sweat out of our eyes, and the rain off our noggin. This summer's fashion selection is the blue cap from Dead On tools.
It's good because not only are we spreading the word about a tool company that we really like, we're also walking around with the American Flag/Skull and Crossbones combo on our forehead. Can't beat that.
We would also like to note that we never wear the hat backwards, and we never, never never hip-hop it off to the side like Michael Phelps does.
These hats are currently only $8 which is a great price for a nice hat from a cool company. You only have to pass on coffee break for three or four days and you'll be able to budget for one. It's a good way to support a little independent company without shelling out $40 for their Annihilator Wrecking Bar.
Bosch has been one of the leaders in the 12-volt li-ion market and it seems that now they're branching off into the even smaller 4-volt category. We have no idea if they're going to get into tools other than their Pocket Screwdriver, and for the purpose of this review, we don't really care. We're here to review the SPS10-2 and that's what we're going to do.
The dust has settled over Columbus and the results of their first Power Tool Drag Race are official. To see the winners and losers in both photo and video form, check out the event's website. For a more descriptive view of what went down, go to CopTool for the round-up.
If you're thinking about some landscaping projects this summer, you might want to check out Outside the Not So Big House by Julie Moir Messervy and Sarah Susanka.
A lot of landscape books are simply portfolio pieces, little more than pictures of what other people have done. But the authors here understand the simple fact that every house is different and has different 'needs,' so along with the stunning photography showing you how nice things can look, they also provide a lot of information on how to think about your specific property to better improve it. It's like stepping into the brain of a very good landscape architect.
Their goal here is to bring all of the aspects of your property into a single idea and theme. To show us how this can be done, the authors walk us though a wide variety of successful projects, representing a wide array of house styles as well as landscapes. In doing so they discuss how to gain a new vision of your property and how to design a landscape that flows seamlessly from the interior to the exterior.
It's impossible to cover even a fraction of the ideas presented in this book, and there's no question that, after reading it, you'll have a completely new view of your house in relation to its surroundings. It's far headier than the average landscaping book, but well worth the effort to read and consider.
Erica and her two assistants are at it again. This time she's teaching us how to hang a door. Nevermind that Erica manages to boil down the difficult process into about 3 steps, each of which seemingly takes 30-seconds. The details here are sort of besides the point. We're not so sure that the Hot for Tools videos are really about learning how to fix up your house. Maybe we were tipped off by the fact that one of the tags for the video is "boobs."
For her next episode, we hope that Erica demonstrates how to use the Bosch Brute Jackhammer. That, we would like to see.
If you live in Columbus, Ohio, or even if you live within a thousand miles of Columbus, Ohio, you should go to the Power Tool Drag Races this weekend. They're being held at the Columbus Idea Foundry from 4 to 6. If you want to enter your own dragster, you still have time because registration ends this Friday. If you don't have the time, but want to enter next year, they're holding a workshop on how to make your own tools into drag racers. How cool is that?
This is the first annual Columbus race and we hope that all of you who are able to go make it out for the event. It looks like a lot of fun, and the more people who show, the better the chance of it becoming an institution. Just think, someday you can tell your grandkids, "I was at the very first Columbus Power Tool Drag Race..."
In the spirit of the races, we'll send a tool to the first person who correctly identifies the movie that the above image came from. Just leave it in the comments.
If you haven't heard of Big Ass Fans, they're a company that makes the very small fans used to cool down computer micro-processors. We're kidding. They actually make the largest freaking fans you've ever seen. They're so big they look like they fell off the top of a Blackhawk helicopter.
Anyway, not only are they very cool and very massive, they're also very durable. The above picture was taken at a shoe factory in Missouri after a tornado ripped through and took the ceiling off (click the pic to enlarge and get all the details). It's impressive, you'd think the fans would be the first things to go.
Big Ass Fans aren't just for industrial use though. It seems that they're catching on in the residential market as well. They're really a low energy way to move air around the house. It looks like they also help with LEED accreditation. Not to mention that Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips has one in his living room.
To learn more, check out the Big Ass Fans website here.
The Wagner TurboRoll isn't the first self-feed paint roller, but it's the first (we've seen, at least) that uses the same vacuum system found in a syringe to both store and release paint. It's an interesting idea and one we looked forward to testing out. Is it effective? It is more trouble than it's worth? Is it a gimmick? We gave it a good run it out in order to answer these questions.
The TurboRoll consists of a roller, a little fill port, a long tube which is the stem of the tool, the handle, and the plunger. The handle has a forward and reverse on it which feeds the plunger through the tube forcing paint to the roller. The TurboRoll also has a manual override, so if the automation is for any reason not practical, you can toggle back to 'old school.'
Duo-Fast has recently released a new framing nailer to the market. The body of which bears a striking resemblance to the latest Paslode framer (our review here). Paslode and Duo-Fast are both owned by the global company ITW so there is some serious cross-pollination going on. But still, with the similarities, there are some differences between the tools.
Last week we were lucky enough to go out to the Milwaukee Tools HQ to get a glimpse at some of the new releases they've got all geared up for this year. As one of our favorite tool companies, they didn't disappoint with the sheer variety and usefulness of their new tools and accessories.
A few of the highlights of what we saw were...
18-Volt Cordless Bandsaw - They're still putting the finishing touches on this one, but were nice enough to let us try it out and, honestly, it's the kind of tool that makes us wish we had taken up plumbing instead of carpentry. It's got a whole lot of power but it's light enough to easily work with both above your head and in tight spaces. Having an awareness of how people will be using it, Milwaukee has made the shoe retractable, so the tool is able to cut a pipe that's already attached to a wall. It's one of those tools that makes your chest swell a bit when you hold it. There will also be a corded version available and both will be hitting the market probably in October.
Shockwave Driver Bits - This is one of those ideas that, once you hear it, you wonder why it took so long for someone to think it up. Driver bits built specifically for impact drivers. Anyone who spends time on a job site these days (like we do), knows that impact drivers are taking over. That said, they really do a number on driver bits so Milwaukee has tailored this new line to withstand the abuse. In addition to other features, the new bits have a slight degree of flexibility in order to handle the added intensity of the impact driver.
Cordless Tubing Cutter - Much like their copper pipe cutter from last year, this one is a real niche tool. We tried it out and it had no problem slicing up pex and pvc. It has a great feel and possibly the power to do a little topiary sculpting as well.
Testing and Measurement Tools - This is a new area for Milwaukee, but judging from what we saw, they're going to quickly establish themselves in the market. Of the tools, the most interesting is the Sub-Scanner which is sort of like an amped up, battle-crazed stud finder. It can be used to find studs and pipes in walls and ceilings, as well as rebar in concrete. The cool thing about it is that it lets you know the exact depth of what it is you're finding, so if you only have one option for placing that pipe hanger, you'll know that only a 2" screw will work because of the rebar that's hidden in the wall.
Those are just some of the highlights and by no means a complete overview of what we saw. Milwaukee is also rolling out some nice 12-volt LED flashlights, a 12-volt power port, a very cool looking mini-radio, oh and about a thousand new grinders.
We did the old random draw and came up with "Bill" as the winner of the Home Depot Gift Card and "John" as the winner of the Skil 4-Piece Combo Kit. They've both been contacted and the prizes will be shipping out this week.
We want to thank both Home Depot and Skil for assisting with the contests. Both companies were great to work with and very generous with their prizes.
We also want to high-five all of our readers who entered. It's you people who are the reason why we're here in the first place, so we're happy to give a little something back now and then. This year, we've already had a few contests, and we're hoping to have more in the near future. So thanks again.
June 2009 Monthly Roundup for Tool Snob
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Bosch SPS10-2 4-Volt Pocket Screwdriver - Review
