While the thought of a "portable" miter saw is appealing, carrying one around by hand is not my favorite past-time. I'd rather use a dedicated miter saw stand. We've used a bunch of these over the years, and when DeWalt announced it had put out a new gas-assisted model, the DWX726, we thought we'd give it a try to see how they might have improved upon what was already on the market. First and foremost, the job of a good miter saw stand is to support the saw, while also providing a consistent feed and support for the work material. There are two basic types of miter saw stands, the compact fixed stand (with or without roller feeds) and the heavier-duty rolling stand that is made to be a more permanent yet portable solution. DeWalt has both, but the new DWX726 promises to be both robust and highly portable.
We applaud inventive ideas and progress and it is fun when we see new things. It is just that good ideas don't always make for a great product. Take the case of the Spyder Products 2-in-1 Bore-Blade: it might have been better left as an idea, since we did not have good success with them on our simple project. For most professionals, when cutting wood, we use a wood blade. When cutting metal ,we use a metal blade. And if we are doing plunge cuts, there are specific blades available that do an excellent job at that as well. When you start combining too many different features into one product, this is where things can get tricky because something is going to suffer. We were excited to give the new Spyder Bore-Blade a try to see if it could do all that the company claimed.
Charging batteries can be a pain. It can be especially meddlesome when you have multiple voltages and multiple battery types. Take Milwaukee, for example, we love both their M12 and M18 line of tools, but why do we need to have duplicate charging bays? Apparent;y, we don't - not anymore. Milwaukee debuted its M18 & M12 Multi-Voltage Charger (48-59-1812) at their New Tools press event earlier this year. With the lifting of the embargo, we can now talk about it openly. This is very very cool for anyone using both platforms. The new Energy Star rated unit will charge all M18 and M12 Lithium-ion batteries sequentially, allowing the user to put both packs on the charger and walk away confident that they will be ready for their next job.
We're used to high quality wood bits, but the new Bi-Metal 5-piece kit from Lenox is something that tore into wood faster, with more certainty , and with greater precision than any spade bit or traditional drill bit we'd experienced. We broke out these bits on a rewiring job for an old 1925 Colonial 2-story home. As you can imagine, there were ample opportunities to try out several sizes of bi-metal bits, and we were looking for something that could handle the near-petrified wood that this house was constructed with. After several days of use, we were sold.
Concrete cutting is pretty straightforward, but concrete cutting with a tool that is lightweight and compact is tougher. Now, concrete cutting with a compact tool that accounts for excellent dust collection is a completely different matter. Makita worked on that this week when it released two new dust extraction solutions for concrete and masonry contractors. The new Dust Collecting Cutting Guard (model 192618-2) works with Makita's 4-1/2" and 5-inch Grinders. The Cutting Guard is ideal for a host of concrete and masonry applications, including cutting tile, concrete cutting, and brick - as well as specialized uses like tuck pointing and cutting expansion joints. The new Cutting Guard is made to be used alongside Makita's (or other manufacturers') vacuum systems and really provides significant dust extraction on the jobsite. Particularly in light of new Lead Safe rules, this is becoming more and more of an issue with older commercial buildings as well as residential homes.
Concrete cutting is easy. Concrete cutting with a tool that is lightweight and compact is tougher. Concrete cutting with such a tool and adequate dust collection to avoid nasty environmental rules fines - well, that's another story altogether. Makita worked on that this week when it released two new dust extraction solutions for concrete and masonry contractors. The new Dust Collecting Cutting Guard with Shoe (model 192972-4) works with Makita's 4-1/2" and 5-inch Grinders. The Cutting Guard is ideal for a host of concrete and masonry applications, including cutting tile, concrete cutting, and brick - as well as specialized uses like tuck pointing and cutting expansion joints. The new Cutting Guard is made to be used alongside Makita's (or other manufacturers') vacuum systems and really provides significant dust extraction on the jobsite. Particularly in light of new Lead Safe rules, this is becoming more and more of an issue with older commercial buildings as well as residential homes.
We're not easily impressed with hidden decking systems. While they offer a really excellent finished product, many of the systems require clips and extra work that causes the job to take longer, involve more training and generally increase your costs to deliver the finished product. With the CAMO Hidden Deck Fastening System, however, our concept of what was possible with hidden deck fastening systems was redefined. The CAMO system, which uses a Marksman or Marksman Pro installation tool, eliminates the need for clips and routing or cutting the edges of the board, and simplifies the method of deck board installation. In a nutshell, they devised a method to fasten the boards by driving screws at an angle along the board's edge - directly into the joist. In this way, the boards are secured and the entire process is simplified. In short - it's fast, and it's impressive.
Some jobs involve a lot of concrete drilling, particular for Tapcon or other anchor installation. If you've got to drill a ton of holes, why not make the job easier and have a bit that sets the depth for you - so it's correct every time and there's no guesswork or jerry-rigged solutions to modify your existing bits. In fact, the bits make the standard depth gauges found in products like Bosch's RHH180 that we reviewed just a little while ago obsolete. In critical masonry applications like hanging of struts for A/C (mechanical), running electrical conduit, and installing overhead sprinkler systems, Bosch's new Stop Bits are starting to look pretty good. The new bits are designed to bring rapid precision to jobs that involve lots of depth-specific drilling. A natural consequence of such precision is increased speed. In this market - that means more money. Do you really want to stay with duct tape around your drill bit when you can literally pound away with a Stop Bit and keep moving at the speed of... uh, your rotary drill? I didn't think so.
We ran into Kirk Conville of Prest-on while walking around the International Builders Show. As soon as I saw their booth, where they were demoing (live) their Insta-back Drywall Fastener products, I was captured. Little did Kirk know that I had a project that perfectly matched his solution. You see, I had just installed a television mount overtop a fireplace - and I had done it incorrectly. As a result, I needed to make a drywall patch - and one that I had been dreading for some time. Looking at the Prest-on project, I was feeling a lot more confident, and downright excited to get started.
Ever since we checked out Bosch's 2010 Tool Line-up, we were fascinated by their OIS (Oscillating Interface System) Universal Multi-Tool Adapter for oscillating tools. That's a mouthful, but Bosch had basically ensured that most major manufacturer's tools fit their interface (Bosch, Skil, Milwaukee and others), then supplied the OIS Adapter to cover nearly all the rest. We're talking Bosch's Multi-X, Milwaukee's new Oscillating tool, Skil's model, Dremel's Multi-Max, Rockwell Sonicrafter and even Fein's MultiMaster Top 250Q.
Earlier this year, at Bosch's 2010 New Tools Event, we got to try out a whole contingent of concrete tools. One of the most impressive bits, next to the rebar cutter bit, was the SpeedX hammer drill bit for punching through concrete quickly and efficiently. Today, Bosch Power Tools & Accessories officially announced their innovative new hammer carbide drilling bit. Bosch's new SpeedX series of hammer carbide bits for concrete claim to be up to 20 percent faster and 18 percent more durable than any other concrete bit available.
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