Paslode was kind enough to offer up a set of cordless tools for giveaway to one of our loyal readers. Here’s how it works: sometime in July we’ll select a comment from all the valid comments posted here on this Toolmonger entry post since today. The author of that comment receives the tools! So, when you post a comment on this post or any of the following Paslode giveaway posts, you’re not only sharing your experience with other Toolmongers around the world, you’re also adding a chance to win. Win what, you ask? You’d receive:
A CF-325 cordless framing nailer
One Fuel+Nail combo pack
Your choice of a straight or angled cordless 16g finish nailer
A cordless 18g brad nailer
And a cordless 16g standard crown stapler
If you’ve been putting off a cordless nailer/stapler purchase, winning an entire set of Paslode cordless tools would be a great way to get a few summer projects completed without spending that hard-earned cash you’ve been saving. To enter, just tell us in the comments what you’d do with the set if you won, or what you like about cordless nailers over corded pneumatics. Good luck.
In this great action shot, reader Vincent Ma cuts some stone for his latest backyard project and shows off his hard-won work clothes.
Using an angle grinder from Canadian Tire, and a Norton diamond blade, I can score grooves in the brick in order to snap the “wings” off the Celtik wall unit. This way I can make beveled units for curved sections of the wall.
My work pants are nearing their end. Here a giant rip opened up and all I can do is duct-tape it to prevent my underwear from showing. Yes, I do know how to sew, but I don’t wanna bother with it.
Never feel bad about working so hard that your work clothes can’t take the strain. The only idiots who’ll make fun of you for that are the same people who’d hire out the project you just did with your bare hands. The duct tape just means you value one type of work over another this weekend — nothing wrong with that. Also, the stones look great.
If you need a small portable cutting tool for carpet, clamshell, cardboard, fabric, and other lightweight materials, take a look at Skil’s Power Cutter. It sports a 10-sided 1-1/2″ blade, and it comes with a 3.6V lithium-ion rechargeable battery and charger. Amazon is selling the Skil Power Cutter for $48 — or you can pick it up at Ace Hardware for $52 if you need it immediately.
Reader Simple Simon’s sweet photo of this industrial-looking Canadian Buffalo drill press piqued my interest and inspired me to find out more about it. The key word here is industrial, and as it turns out, though the Canadian Buffalo brand is new to me, the company is old –- very old.
I’ve been cleaning up all the tools for the ShopSmith, and it’s an uphill battle — however, the process got a little more interesting when I got to the scroll saw and found out it’s the only attachment that’s not SS-branded. It was obviously made to work with the ShopSmith since it sports the telltale driveshaft that hooks into the headstock, but this is the first time I’ve run across a Dunlop brand power tool.
Woodcraft is having a sale at all their locations this Friday and Saturday — twenty percent off all Jet and Powermatic tools and accessories. It’s not a bad deal, especially if you’re looking at getting a big piece of gear like a full-sized wood planer, table saw, or floor-standing drill press.
So if you had your eye on a Powermatic PM2000 3HP table saw, for instance, you’d normally be out about three grand; this weekend you can shave about $600 off that. Unless you’re buying equipment used or off the back of a truck, you probably won’t find better deals on this big a selection anytime soon.
I’m going down to check it out, but will wind up leaving my wallet in the car just in case I’m tempted –- which has happened in the past.
Next week Craftsman is set to release its newest addition to the existing 12V Nextec line: the Multi-Tool. If the shape seems a little familiar, it should — except for a few slight differences in the casing, it looks very similar to the Bosch PS50-2B multi-saw.
Craftsman designed the Multi-Tool for cutting, sanding, scraping, and grinding, all by means of the 15,000 OPM drive. The unit comes with six attachments, a sampling of cutters and scrapers that Craftsman says will tackle anything from drywall to masonry.
Like the rest of the Nextec line, the Multi-Tool features an LED work light and a 30-minute quick-charger. The Multi-Tool will also run about $100 with the charger and bag included, which is less than half the price of the PS50-2B.
This is a prime example of why you need to pay attention when cutting anything that might be holding something up. Use your head in the manner not seen in this video –- think.
This video might’ve been a staged thing, but I’ve seen it happen where it wasn’t, and more than a little wood and debris fell on the unhappy worker underneath. Most remodelers don’t wear hard hats, but when doing demo, even if you know what’s going on, you might want to consider it. This guy is just lucky there were no nails sticking out of that board that hit him.
The CPSC posted this recall of Wagner-brand paint sprayers due to a possible electrical shock hazard if you pry off the on/off switch. I’d say that was pretty obvious, but I know how serious things like UL ratings for products can be. The fact that it can happen means they’ll have to fix it.
Wagner says about 35,000 units have the switch in question, which can be “dislodged from the casing, resulting in exposure of electrical connections. This can pose an electrical shock hazard to the consumer.” As yet, no one’s reported any injuries, but Wagner says if you own one of the affected units you should contact them for a free repair.
Check out the CPSC site for more information about this recall.
With all the noise from competing brands in the 18V space, we’re guessing Hitachi didn’t want to be left out. They recently announced their 18V Lithium Ion Compact Pro series (compact pro = slim-pack battery) which includes an Impact Driver and a three-piece combo kit.
Mounting your router inside your router table can help you get the most out of it, but then it can be difficult to get to the router to change out the bits or adjust the height.Bench Dog’s ProLift allows you to get your router up fast so you can make those adjustments quickly and easily.
Reader Mike is in the market for a Shopsmith band saw, and he asked us how we like it. It’s a great question, and some folks have already rung in on this one in the positive.
I might be a little biased, but I’d say if your Shopsmith was made in the last 30 years and you want a band saw, it’s a no-brainer. The saw features a 6″ depth of cut; the table tilts 5 degrees left and 45 degrees right; and the blade spins from 700 to 1,050 RPM.
As others have said, you’ll have to tune it and spend a minute or two setting it up, but it’s a small price to pay as far as I’m concerned. Retail price is in the neighborhood of $500 — but the one I just started running in the shop is on its third decade, and it doesn’t have a single issue.
To follow up on the aforementioned sad state of affairs: I have the home shop up and running again. It’s not perfect yet and there’s still a ways to go, but I did manage to make room for two big pieces of gear — Chuck’s big Delta planer and my father’s ShopSmith have both come to live with me.
It’s a super-sweet turn of events, but I quickly found out I know precisely zip about setting up the eight tools the ShopSmith’s got going for it — so I’ve been poring over manuals to learn how to calibrate this hunk of wood-mangling hotness. Also, I need to drop a 240 plug in the shop for the planer.
Speaking of the planer, here’s a handy tip for you folks setting up your own home shop: Suggesting to your other half that you’ll just run an extension into the laundry room and unplug the dryer when you need it — not a good plan. Who knew?
What do you do if you need to sand a curved project that’s too big to get to your oscillating spindle sander — an assembled piece of furniture, for instance? Most of us aren’t big fans of hand sanding, so this Grizzly Handheld Pneumatic Sander looks pretty appealing.
Most belt-powered shop tools ship out with the cheapest belt that’ll keep the tool running — and thanks to lower manufacturing standards, these belts can cause excess vibration and noise. Fenner offers a replacement V-belt option that’ll work not only with your shop tools but with any belt-driven device, to keep ‘em running smooth and quiet.
One product at the Bosch event which received close to no attention was the little SPS10 screwdriver. It lacks the show-stopping bang of the new Full Force pneumatic line — however it’s a quiet acknowledgment that the millions of ixo’s and SmartDrivers that sold in the last couple years aren’t a fluke. Palm drivers have emerged as a well-defined class of their own, and Bosch has entered this market with the SPS10.
The box says it’s aiming at the professional cordless screwdriver market. Having experience with three other units in the palm driver category — the Dremel Driver, the Skil ixo2, and the B&D SmartDriver — we decided to see how the SPS10 stacked up against one of its slightly older brethren.
For the head-to-head we pitted it against the only other competitor we had on hand that’s not owned in some way by Bosch –- the Black & Decker LI3000 SmartDriver. The LI3000 also runs in the middle of the pack of palm drivers, so it’s a good horse to pace from.
A chainsaw has always been on the top of my wish list. You know the list — your friends and loved ones made it for you, and they’ve all agreed that no tool on it is ever going to wind up in your hands. That doesn’t stop me from lusting after a Husqvarna 359 chainsaw with a twenty-inch bar.
