Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ category

Milwaukee’s New Reaming Pliers

September 8th, 2011


Milwaukee has just announced an interesting new set of pliers, designed mostly for electricians.   At first glance they appear to be fairly standard push-to-adjust pliers.  They have nice V-groove jaws which are sized to perfectly fit on electrical connectors.  The jaws are also meant to be thin enough to easily work in electrical boxes.   All pretty standard stuff.   The party trick of the new pliers however is the tip of the handles and the back of the head.  Electricians will frequently just strip the plastic off the handles of their pliers and use that to ream conduit.  Milwaukee has taken this to heart and designed the pliers to be used like that from the start.  The tip of the handles are bare metal and shaped to ream out up to 1″ conduit.   For larger pipes this can be awkward though, so the back of the head is also specifically designed to deburr 1-1/2″ to 2-3/4″ conduit.  Look for them to show up in stores in October.

Source: Milwaukee

Festool Previews Domino XL DF 700

September 2nd, 2011

Festool’s Domino has been a huge star ever since its release in 2007.  Everyone who has used one has only great things to say about it  Its an incredibly versatile tool, allowing for mortises to be cut in a variety of size ranges for use in everything from face frames to doors.   It speeds up construction and is stronger than many other similar joining methods.  The legendary Festool dust collection also makes it a pleasure to use.  The only complait that we’ve heard about it  (well besides for the price of course) is that it can’t be used on really large projects, as the Domino DF500 maxes out at about a 1″ deep slot and about a half inch thick tenon.  It’s always been possible to use multiple domino’s for a stronger joint, but this can be tedious and still not provide sufficient strength.

Now Festool is addressing that issue with an XL version of the Domino.  Full details aren’t available yet, however the tenons for it look to be huge, and the tool will use a cutter as large as 14mm.  Pricing is obviously yet to be determined, but considering the DF 500 is $800, look for this tool to run well over a grand.  Rumors have it that it will be showing up in the US in 2012, as it is shipping in Germany this month.  Check out the source for some more pictures.

Source: Festool Owners Group

Milwaukee’s Tattoo Contest

September 30th, 2010

Are you a hardcore Milwaukee fan?  I mean really hardcore, like willing to have your body turned into a permanent Milwaukee advertisement hardcore?  Well if so, go get a good tattoo artist to whip up something special (or just do a giant logo like this guy) and you could win $500 worth of a tools a year for 20 years.

Source: Milwaukee Tools

Ideal’s New 21-in-1 Twist-a-Nut™ Screwdriver

September 29th, 2010





Ideal’s hard at work and continuing to improve the lowly screwdriver.  Despite the rather unpleasant sounding name, the 21-in-1 Twist-a-Nut Screwdriver has a slew of tricks up its sleeve (21 of them in fact!).  Its got  the fairly standard multiple hex bits, that are all precision machined, and are stored in the handle for easy access.  On top of that it features a  Ideal’s wire-nut wrench in the handle, that makes it alot easier to twist up wire nuts.  The handle also features a little hole that is perfectly shaped for bending a wire to go on an outlet screw.   Lastly the screwdriver has a ratcheting mechanism, that Ideal claims is good for more torque than a human wrist can exert.  The screwdriver runs about 20 bucks, and is just starting to hit stores now.

Source: Ideal

It’s Offical! Ideal Industries buys SK Tools

August 23rd, 2010


It’s officially official, Ideal Industries has gone through with the purchase of SK Tools.  The sale is expected to finalize on Wednesday, with Doug Spitler tapped to head the new company.  Doug is currently managing IDEAL’s Retail and Industrial Divisions so he should be a good fit to run the new company.  SK has said that they are dedicated to keeping SK Tools made in the US, however they haven’t decided if that will be at a brand new facility, the current SK facility, or a current Ideal facility.  They expect to release a manufacturing plan in about a month.  No word on existing warranty issues, however it sounds like Ideal will probably honor them in some fashion.

Source: Ideal

Dewalt Introduces two new Chipping Hammers

August 17th, 2010

Dewalt recently announced two new chipping hammers, the D25831K and D25851K.  Chipping hammers are the jack hammers little brother, and make short work of small amounts of masonry or even wood.  Dewalt hasn’t released much information on their hammers yet, however they are claiming that with their new active-vibration damping system, they reduce overall vibration by 50%.  If this claim is true, that would be a huge boon, as the vibration from this type of tool causes lots of fatigue and discomfort.  The new hammers should be available later this summer, and hopefully we’ll get some detailed specifications soon.

Update: Got word back from Dewalt, the Specs for the chipping hammers are below:

D25831K – SDS Max Chipping Hammer

  • Weight: 13.6 lbs.
  • BPMs: 1,430-2,840
  • Impact Energy: 9.5 ft-lbs.


D25851K – Round Hex Chipping Hammer

  • Weight: 14.0 lbs.
  • BPMs: 1,430-2,840
  • Impact Energy: 9.5 ft-lbs.

Milwaukee Transitioning from V28 to M28 Batteries

August 4th, 2010

Milwaukee has announced the new M28 Lithium-Ion batteries will soon be standard across their product line.  The M28 batteries will replace the 5 year old V28 battery line, and will be backwards compatible with the old batteries, which means you’ll still be able to use the old ones in your new tools.  Both batteries have the same capacity at 3.0 Amp-hours so you won’t get any inherent run-time, however the new batteries feature more sophisticated charging electronics, so that should allow the batteries to keep their peak capacity for longer.  In addition Milwaukee claims that the new batteries are more durable than the old V28′s, although the rated drop height is still 10 ft.  Prices should stay the same, and the new batteries will be available this summer.

New Ryobi Door Lock Installation Kit

July 26th, 2010

Ryobi has started offering a new door lock installation kit.   The model #A99DLK2 Kit runs just $30 but has some nifty features.  Like most typical door lock jigs, this one properly aligns the handle holes and the lock so that everything fits properly.  What struck me as unique about the Ryobi one however is the ‘Auto-strike-locator’.  This little tab hangs out for the jig, and with the door almost closed rests in the strike plate.  The holes can then be drilled and the lock will align perfectly with the strike plate.  A nice simple way to eliminate any need for measuring.

Ideal Industries to buy bankrupt SK Hand Tools

July 12th, 2010

Ideal Industries has agreed to buy the bankrupt SK Hand Tools for $3.25 million according to the bankruptcy filing that was submitted to the northern Illionis Bankruptcy court.  According to the filing SK Hand Tools will go up for auction as soon as July 26th, and if no other higher offers are received it will be sold to Ideal.  Ideal has recently been buying up a few other smaller tool companies, and seems to leave them generally intact, so that is likely to be the case if their purchase of SK goes through.  SK currently has more than $10 million in debt, with at least $9 million being owed to Webster Business Credit.  They also have more than $10 million in assets.

Source: Bloomberg

Recall Notice: Southern Technologies Drill Press

July 1st, 2010

Southern Technologies has just announced a recall on its Powertec 8” Drill Press.  About 500 drill presses were produced that have faulty wiring in the motor, which may pose an electrical shock hazard.  The only model affected is the DP800, which were sold at Blain’s Farm and Fleet stores in the last few years.  If you have one of these drill presses, either return it to the store, or contact Southern Technologies at (877) 393-7121.

Source: U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission