Often, power tools are where it’s “at”. When people visit the site, they want to know who makes the best corded and cordless power tools. This includes drills, drivers, hammer drills, saws, lights, sanders, multi-tools, best shop vacs, and more. These powered tools have reduced the time it takes to complete many jobs and tasks tradesmen work on every day. Our power tool reviews take the most recent tools and talk about how they rate and rank in the industry. Our reviews are targeted and written for the tradesman and business owner. Our goal is to allow the Pros a chance to see which recent developments in the industry are increasing productivity and which are just gimmicks. We also want to help you know which power tools are best overall. For this, we have round-up articles to find the best cordless hammer drill, best impact driver, and the best reciprocating saw. If these don’t help you find the best power tools, we don’t know what will.
We got to take a look at the Milwaukee M18 Cordless Work Light (49-24-0171). Initially we liked the basic design of the work light, but had to complain, respectfully, that any stand-alone light in this day and age should include a new super-bright LED bulb. Milwaukee sells both an LED-based Work Light 2735-20 ($55) and a 50,000-hour stand-alone LED upgrade bulb 49-81-0090 ($30).
Having a cordless circular saw is like having the keys to your parents’ sports car and a full tank of gas […]
The Milwaukee M18 Sawzall (2620-22) is just plain fun to use. It’s cordless, which opens up a wide range of opportunities for use, and weighs just shy of 8 lbs with the battery. The weight puts it surprisingly close to its corded brethren. What it gives up in power (and lack of orbital action) it makes up in strokes per minute. In fact, it has more SPM than the corded 11-15 amp models Milwaukee offers. Since it lacked orbital action (which reduces its effectiveness at demolition work) overall cutting progress was considerably slower than a corded or even cordless orbital model.
When we picked up the Milwaukee 2601-20 M18 drill we immediately noticed its serious heft. Weighing in at 4 lbs, this is not a light-duty model that you’ll want to reserve for assembling furniture and pre-drilling holes for shelves. This is a heavy-duty tool that can certainly hold up to commercial use. It also weighs much less than Milwaukee’s V28 line of tools – which makes it a good fit for professionals who want as much power as they can get without having to look like circa-1984 Arnold Schwarzenegger to carry the tool around all day long.
The Craftsman Nextec Hammerhead Auto Hammer was the first battery-powered nail hammering device to come on the market a while back and […]
When building fine wood work, one of the most critical aspects of the project is the sanding and finishing. Without that perfect finish, the whole project loses its polish. To achieve that ideal finish there are several key factors and one of these has to do with the way it was sanded. To help woodworkers of all levels of craftsmanship achieve a better final product, Porter Cable has come out with a new 5-Inch Variable Speed Random Orbit Sander.
Last year Craftsman released their Nextec Hammerhead Auto-Hammer which operates on a similar principal as a pneumatic palm nailer. Of course this new tool intrigued us, but there was nothing to truly compare it to – that is until now. This holiday season, Ryobi has released its version of the Auto Hammer. We decided to put it head-to-head against the Craftsman Hammerhead model… and to make things a little more interesting; we figured we would also compare both battery-operated products to a Senco pneumatic palm nailer and a plain old fashioned framing hammer.
The new Milwaukee M18 1/4″ Hex Compact Impact Driver (2650-22) delivers impressive torque for its size. The new 4-pole frameless motor not only reduces the size of the tool, it also maximizes its efficiency to increase battery life. This is an incredibly nimble tool that will prove itself to be invaluable in the field for professionals; though its higher price tag will make it a bit of a stretch for the average consumer.
Skil has upped the technology of their new 5-inch Random Orbit(al) Sander by adding a microfiltration dust collector and a pressure sensor that tells you when you’re bogging down the motor for too long. It’s a decent machine that seems to borrow a few things from its more expensive cousin, the Bosch ROS10 Palm-Grip Sander while providing most of those features at a much lower cost to the consumer.
The new Milwaukee M18 Cordless 4-Tool Combo Kit (2694-24) offers pro features and power typically associated with larger, bulkier corded tools. While Milwaukee sells multiple combo kits, this one includes two of their XC-series of batteries which are capable of powering the included 1/2″ hammer drill to 550 in-lbs of torque. Toss in a reciprocating Sawzall and a cordless 6.5″ M18 circular saw and you’ve got a set of tools that are made for professionals to use and abuse for years. They even include a handy work light that runs for hours and hours and will keep you going well into the night.
