Bosch claims that due to their unique design, these new blades cut 30% faster and last longer, too. The design consists of two main components: a wave-shaped abrasive application — designed to reduce surface contact and clear material and dust faster, like the flutes on a twist drill bit – and a cooling disc, which draws in cool air to keep the blade’s core cooler, reducing metal fatigue.
Clueless — a name we don’t self-apply down here in Texas — posted this comment on our Hands-On with Bosch’s 10.8V Litheon Impactor:
“I got to play around with the PS40 this weekend at a sidewalk sale. The Bosch rep told me that it was $179.95. Impressive power for its size. I think that it would be great for removing panels. I hope they are going to sell it in a “tool only” option because I already have the PS20. Now if they made a Litheon 10.8V small recip saw that uses jigsaw blades like the old B4050 and 3294EVS inline jigsaw I would buy one in an instant! I’m still looking for an inline jigsaw with no success.”
First of all, this — plus the fact that we came across a PS40 Impactor display at Lowe’s yesterday — indicates that these great tools are finally available in stores. They’re selling for $199 most everywhere else, though, including Amazon. Anyway, if you’ve been waiting to pick up one, now’s the time.
And we totally concur with this reader’s request to Bosch that they continue to expand the 10.8V Litheon line. Any number of tools could benefit from this line’s high power-to-weight ratio, and we’d love to see them. As far as an inline jigsaw goes, the only one we’ve seen is the Black & Decker Handisaw. It’s not variable speed and the battery is permanently mounted, but then again it sells for around $40.
PS40 Street Pricing [Google Product Search]
Via Amazon
As fans of the other two tools in Bosch’s still-relatively-new 10.8V line, we’ve been eagerly anticipating the release of the PS40 10.8V Litheon Impactor. So as you might imagine, we were pretty excited when we received one of the first marketing samples of from Bosch. After playing around with it a bit, though, we found ourselves in a quandary. How could we show you the crazy-mad power this little sucker puts out?
We decided the best way was to stack it up against a totally unfair opponent: Bosch’s classic 14.4V Impactor – the PS40’s ”older brother” that hangs out with the in-crowd and spends too much time at the gym.
Read on past the jump for the results of the showdown plus lots and lots of pictures and video.
While none of this Bosch miter saw’s features are new or revolutionary, one stands out: it’s got every cool feature we’ve seen in the last year. Lasers, full adjustment, extensions – it’s got ‘em all. It also doesn’t hurt that if the Terminator was Googling his family tree, the 4410L might be his great grandmother. Yeah, it’s that cool.
Here’s Stuey again with a winner: “As part of Amazon’s ‘weekend sale,’ they’ve got the Bosch 1587AVSK top-handle jig saw for $85 shipped. Don’t forget that $150 or more of tools from Amazon directly will get you a free B&D screwgun. The weekend sales last until Monday, so you’ve got some time to think it over.”
We’re pretty big fans of Bosch’s hand-held power tools, and we’ve been thinking about picking up one of their jigsaws. This might be the time.
Also, you’ll find a link on the jigsaw’s page to the entire weekend sale — lots of other items.
Jig Saw, Model 1587AVSK [Bosch]
Buy It Now from Amazon
If you’ve been hesitating to jump into the Bosch 36V Litheon line because you’re wondering where they’re taking the line, your wait may be (almost) over. At the IBS recently, Bosch announced a couple of 36V Litheon line additions, including this 6-1/2″ circ saw. Hammerdrills aside, we may finally have a way to really compare all the high-voltage li-ion cordless systems — because nothing benefits from high-voltage battery power like a circ saw.
The new saw spins at 4,000 RPM, claims a 26% longer runtime than its closest competitor, and features a 50-degree bevel capacity. Keeping in mind why you’d want to cut the cord on your circ saw, Bosch thoughtfully added an integrated rafter hook.
The folks at Bosch dropped us a line today to fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge regarding the new “Impactor.” Specifically, they’re claiming 800 in-lbs of torque — a hell of a lot of power for such a small tool.
It’s also going to carry an MSRP of $199, which means it’ll likely sell in the same $150 range as their current 10.8V offerings.
The good news is that we’re indeed confirmed to test one of these for you as soon as they’re available. The bad news: it might be a bit. This was a really early announcement, so we’re probably a few months away from seeing the real deal.
In the meantime, enjoy this “action shot” Bosch sent us. How’s ’bout a photo of it next to a PS20?
Preview: Bosch’s 10.8V “Impactor” [Toolmonger, of course]
Following on the popularity of their gravity-rise table saw stand, Bosch introduced a miter-saw-specific version at this year’s IBS last week. It looks pretty slick — espcially the way it folds down.
Like the table saw stand, the trick here is the way the stand directs the weight of the saw to help you fold the stand up and down. There are no pneumatic struts, but the way it moves makes it — or at least so Bosch claims — feel like there are. Look after the jump for a photo of it in the storage position.
If you aren’t aware, we’re huge fans of Bosch’s PS20 “Pocket Driver” and PS10 “I-Driver.” (And if you haven’t read ‘em yet, check out our hands-on posts on them as well: PS20, PS10.) At this year’s just-wrapped-up International Builders Show (IBS), Bosch announced a third tool in the 10.8V li-ion line: a PS40 “Impactor” — a tiny, yet powerful impact driver.
Much like its other 10.8V siblings, it’s quite light, weighing in at just 2.2 lbs. We know it’s got an all-metal gearset that spins at 1,800 RPM — and hammers at 3,000 BPM — to deliver some serious torque. (We don’t know the claimed number yet, but based on our experiences with the other 10.8V tools, we imagine it’ll deliver.)
Look for more information soon, and a hands-on test as soon as possible.
Like most power tools these days, you can find at least a couple of routers in the product lines of any major manufacturer. But after testing a couple of Bosch’s winners this year — the PS20 and I-Driver in particular — we decided to check out the Bosch Colt when we needed a small but powerful router for the shop.
Besides its reasonable $120 price point, we chose the Colt because it’s quite powerful for its size. With an available 1 HP and variable speed, we had pretty high expectations.
The Colt didn’t disappoint. Read on past the jump to see how it did in our testing.
Jake writes: “My first saw purchase was a jigsaw. I was willing to front some more money to get a quality tool that I could use to cut arcs and holes as well as straight line cuts. The Bosch is a barrel grip, so you can get down lower on the tool. The precision control system is a pair of rolling guides that lock into place with a button push to prevent wander during straight line cuts. Hitting the button for the one touch blade change literally launches the blade out of the tool.
“It allows you to dial in the amount of orbiting action, which is noticable. Registering the 3-year ‘Provantage’ warranty can be done easily online. My only complaint would be how the blower is tied to the main motor so when running at lower speeds chips aren’t cleared as well as they are a the high end.”
If you maybe passed on Bosch’s one-size-fits-all quick-change hole saw mandrel — called the Power Change Hole Saw System — when you first saw it because you already own a bunch of hole saws, Bosch wants to give you a second chance. Last week they announced the release of an adapter set that screws onto your existing hole saws and makes them compatible with the ’system.
This strikes me as a really cool idea: If you’re going to the trouble to design and sell a custom quick-change system for hole saws, why not put out an adapter to let your customers use their existing, other-branded saw cups?
Bosch announced today the release of three new hacksaw blades: Flexible for Metal, Metal, and Carbide Grit for Abrasive Materials.
The “Flexible for Metal” blades are intended for use cutting pipe, solid metals, wood, plastic, and machinable metal, while the high-carbon steel “Metal” blades are intended for mild-steel, copper, brass, and aluminum and come in 18, 24, and 32 TPI variants. The “Carbide Grit for Abrasive Materials” blades are best for cutting ceramics, fiberglass, and glass resins. The first two are color coded blue for metal cutting while the carbide blade is colored black for “specialty” use.
Roscoe writes: “Bosch is finally selling this stand apart from its table saws, and it’s the perfect companion to any job-site table saw you’ve got. I set aside the folding stand on my DeWalt table saw and bolted the saw to this stand. The stand is easy to move in both the open and folded positions. I saw this at a woodworking show a few years ago and have loved it ever since, it makes moving a table saw a breeze.”
Carl says: “I read your review of the PC palm sander. I especially like the snap off cap idea — having conducted a few laborious tear-downs of my PC random orbit sander. I’m wondering if you’ve had occasion to try the Bosch 1297DK with the new and improved sandpaper hold-down mechanism. It’s a really good idea, in my opinion, and deserves more attention. I’d buy one myself if I didn’t already own two palm sanders…”
Note: Carl writes for Rockler’s blog, and Rockler does sell the Bosch 1297DK. That said, Carl put together a great writeup of the new SheetLoc mechanism for Rockler — link below.
New Bosch 1/4 Sheet Sander Solved the Paper Change Problem [Rockler Woodworking Blog]
Today Bosch released four “kits” — a drill/driver and hammer drill/driver with various combinations of batteries — that make use of their new flexible power system (FPS). The FPS lets you select between a “SlimPack” 1.3 Ah battery to lighten the tool for shorter jobs or a 2.0 Ah “FatPack” for the longest possible runtime. Bosch says that thanks to li-ion power, even the SlimPack offers 15% longer runtime over other NiCd 18V tools.
Both drill/drivers bring 600 in-lb of torque to the table.
Today Bosch announced a new series of angle grinders — an upgrade of the existing 1700-series grinders, mostly adding features designed to increase durability and lifespan. Specifically, the new grinders feature a re-designed motor commutator and brush system to minimize heat buildup and relocated air intakes and exhausts for better cooling.
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