Power Tool Review- Dremel

Power Tool Model – 8200  1/28

Pros: Cordless, very good power, great balance, items in tool kit, easy to use, number of applications you can perform with this tool.

Cons: Only one battery comes with the kit (Model 2/28 comes with two batteries)

Specifications of the Dremel

• 12V Max Lithium-Ion Cordless
• 22 oz.
• 5,000 – 30,000 rpm
• Quick Collete Lock
• Battery Gauge
• 2 Year Warranty
• 1 hour charge time

Nuts & Bolts of the Dremel

The Dremel is like WD-40 in the fact that there are so many uses for the item.  It’s the tool that you can just about doing anything with, well that might be a little exaggeration, but you sure can do a heck of a lot.  This rotary tool can sand, engrave, carve, grind, sharpen, clean items, polish, drill and more.

Specifications

The first thing you will notice once you open your new Dremel is the case.  The whole kit comes with a nice hard plastic case.  The great thing about the case is all the room to hold other accessories.  There is a small case they supply you with that has 28 different accessories to get you started.  A user can fit even more accessories in this small case or even a lot more in the large case.  Everything in the case has a place, so nothing slides around and you don’t have any loose items banging into each other.  Inside the case you also have a cutting guide, one hour charger, 1-12V Lithium battery and best of all the rotary tool itself.

The overall specs of this tool are very impressive.  We like the variable speed of 5,000 to 30,000 which lets the user match the speed to the type of application they are performing. Since the Dremel comes with one battery, we had to look at the charger more closely.  The charger is a one hour charger and for all practical purposes, it is a one hour charger.  We drained the battery five times and our average charge time was 47 minutes, so it did charge a little quicker for us.  We do like they incorporated a battery gauge which allows the user to see how much juice is left in the battery.  Note this review is for the 1/28, we would recommend paying the extra money and buying the 2/28 which has two batteries.

The Dremel only weights 22 oz., so it is very easy to maneuver and be extremely accurate without getting any type of fatigue.

The cutting guide is also very nice for three reasons.

1. It’s a cutting guide and lets the user have precise cutting depths
2. The depth lines are very easy and nice to read
3. Once the guide is set, it is very strong and will not break loose until the user wants it loose.

Review

We have to admit we were a little bias going into the review because we have used this tool a lot over the years and has always scored very high on our radar.  Second, Bosch owns Dremel and Bosch is one of the best power tool manufacturers around.  They don’t make junk.  While some power tool companies have tried to hit lower end markets and produce cheaper tools to compete against the no names tools, Bosch has stayed true to providing professional quality power tools to users.

With that said, we still had to go into the review with an open eye thinking maybe this is different.  We thought one thing we would be able to knock the Dremel for was the balance since the battery sits in the back of the tool, but to our amazement the Dremel has great balance.  When holding the tool in your hand, it has a nice wide base to grip and hold the tool.  The weight is evenly distributed across the tool, so its not front or back heavy as we first thought it might be.  Balance is always crucial for any power tool, but especially with this rotary tool.  The Dremel can perform detailed work such as engraving, cutting tile, cleaning grout, so a steady hand is very important.

Changing a bit is very easy.  The lock feature to change a bit is towards the front of the tool.  You don’t have to put a lot of pressure on the lock button in order for the collet to lock, which is nice.  Once you have a bit in the collet, it stays in place and is very sturdy where we never had a problem.  The variable speed is at the handle of the tool.  Again it is very easy to adjust and it always stayed in place where ever we set the speed.  The vibrations, which are small, never moved the speed up or down by itself.  Also we thought where the speed function was placed, we might have a problem when holding onto the tool and accidentally changing the speed, but again that never happened, so we are not worried about that.

The battery lasted a long time especially when we were just polishing or even doing some light sanding.  We do wish the kit came with two batteries as heavy use, as with any battery, caused us to charge it quicker.  But for the price of the kit and the price of the extra battery, it is well worth buying this kit and an extra battery.  For everything you get, it’s a steal.

As we stated the Dremel has easily over a thousand different applications you can do with this tool, so on our video we didn’t want to bore you with a lot of different uses.  Plus all our videos are on youtube and they only give you 10 minutes of video, sorry, but we are too cheap to try and figure out how to host and pay for our own videos.  The main thing we wanted to show you was some of the features and benefits, so the cutting guide and just show you with a drill bit punching through some wood.  As you can see the Dremel went through the 3/4″ Plywood with no problems and as you can see how fast it cut through the wood, without it bogging down too much.  Yes it was only plywood as opposed to a harder wood, but our goal was for you to see it in action.

Conculsion

There are a lot of other companies that have tried to compete with the Dremel, but they are just too hard to touch.  The 8200 is by far the best rotary tool available on the market.  Yes we even like it better then the corded Dremel versions because this has a lot of power and we love the versatility of taking it anywhere around the house and not being tied down to bring extension cords or having power near by.  The variable speed gives the user complete control of the tool.  The balance allows the user to easily use this on any project and not get fatigued.  We would recommend buying the model 2/28 as that comes with two batteries.

Links

Read more about the Dremel 8200

See the specs and buy the Dremel 8200 1/28 (One Battery)

 See the specs and buy the Dremel 8200 2/28 (Two Batteries)

About Dremel

 There are more than 17 million rotary tools currently in use, with that number growing daily. Dremel is the leader in rotary tools. With numerous attachments and more than 150 available accessories, it truly is one of the most versatile tools any homeowner can own.

Power Tool Review – Ingersoll Rand Ratchet

Power Tool Model – 1207Max-D3

Pros: Good Balance, Powerful, Forward/Reverse location, Trigger 

Cons: None that we could see 

Specifications

Air Inlet NPTF: 1/4 Inch
Av. Air Consumption: 113 l/min (4 cfm)
Sound: 95/106 dBA (Pressure/Power)
Performance Rating: MAX
Maximum Torque: 65 foot-pounds
Square Drive: 3/8 Inch
Free Speed: 200 rpm
Min. Hose Size: 3/8 Inch
@ Load: 453 l/min
Length: 10.75 Inches
Weight: 2.75 Pounds

Nuts & Bolts of the 1207Max-D3

Specifications

This was a tool we picked up and enjoyed using right from the start.  Before we get into the review and what we did, let’s take a closer look at the overview of this tool.  As you know,  it’s a 3/8” ratchet, but a couple items to note is the power this harnesses.  The torque on this is 65 Ft-lbs. and an rpm of 200.  Now the 1207MAX is a little longer coming in at 10.8” so it gives the user a nice grip and large area to hold on to this tool.  The weight is great weighing only 3.2lbs.  One item to note is the forward and reverse is controlled by a collar which comes in very handy.

Review

When we do a review one of the main items we look at is the overall balance of a tool.  If the balance is bad in a power tool, we immediately give it a bad rating because balance is everything.  Balance allows a user to control what they are doing and also plays a big part in user fatigue.  The first thing we noticed picking up the IR 1207Max was how great the balance is.  While most air powered tools are, surprising there are still a lot that do not have great balance.  With the MAX tool, we felt this was a tool made for the users hands.  With the ¼” ratchet we messed around in a mechanics garage.  With  the 3/8” we took this one to a job site and messed around to let some of the guys play with it to see what type of feedback we received.  We used it primarily on a local contractors backhoe which was a Cat 428.  The first item we messed with is the lug nuts on the front tires to loosen them and tighten them.  What we found out was working with the IR Max was a real treat.  Very easy to control the speed, especially with the variable speed power regulator. 

Now when we were using the tool, it was about 72 outside, so we didn’t get a chance to test how the air tool is made from a composite handle to insulate from the cold.  Another note is the housing.  IR uses a Nickel plated housing to help protect against corrosion.  We ending up getting under the backhoe and trying to find anything we could loosen or tighten in open or confined spaces.  Again and again the tool outperformed our expectations.  We were very happy with the end results of this.  Actually everyone was impressed except for Timmy and that was just because it was his Backhoe we were messing with.  He actually had to take the MAX around and make sure everything was tight.

Conculsion

If your looking for a great air ratchet, take a look at the Ingersoll Rand 1207MAX-D3.  The balance is great and feels like a solid tool.  The ratchet has a lot of power and great features such as the easy to control trigger and the collar forward and reverse.  For the money, this is a great air wrench.

Links

Read more about the 1207Max D-3

Buy the Ingersoll-Rand 1207Max D-3

About Ingersoll Rand

Ingersoll Rand is committed to enhancing our customers’ efficiency, productivity and operations through our diverse and innovative Ingersoll Rand branded product offerings. We are part of Ingersoll Rand Corporation, a $13 billion company global diversified industrial company with a 100-year-old tradition of technological innovation. We have the depth of knowledge, expertise and experience to be the best solution to meet your requirements – from our complete compressed air systems, to our tools, pumps, material and fluid handling systems, and our environmentally friendly microturbines.

Tool Review: Ingersoll Rand Max 

Model Number: 1105Max-D2 

Air wrenches are fun tools to use because of the power and let’s face it, they sound cool almost like your in the NASCAR pits.  We use power tools everyday, but air ratchet wrenches are a little different, so we wanted to get some expert advice so we took it down to Bob’s Auto repair shop.  We use Bob to do all of our maintenance on our trucks, so we have a great relationship with him.  We told Bob what we were doing with the website and after he gave us that blank stare as if we were talking in a foreign langue regarding the internet, he agreed to put this to the test.  Now Bob may not know what the internet is, but he does know his cars and he certainly knows his air tools. 

When we gave him the ratchet, he wasn’t surprised to see it was made by Ingersoll Rand.  In fact the first thing he informed us was that he always had pretty good luck with IR.  He also noted that these were IR’s new line of air tools and was pretty excited about testing them.  Looking around his shop we did see some other IR tools along with a variety of other manufactures he has collected over the years.  As we noticed with the ratchet, Bob also noticed that the balance of this tool was great.  The bulk of the weight was evenly distributed over the tool without much on the front or back of the tool.  The second item was the low profile forward/reverse.  He was pretty excited about this since sometimes when he gets in tight spots, he ends up hitting the forward/reverse only to have to pull the tool back out and reset the direction.  He showed us how the low profile option on the 1105MAX was a great design to stop his frustration, and he does get ticked pretty easily.  

One option he really liked was the variable speed power regulator, which after he showed us made a lot of sense.  The one car he had on the lift, he grabbed two sockets and told us “watch and learn boys.”  He was replacing a bad wire harness located somewhere by the firewall on the outside of the car.  He put the first socket on and set the power regulator on high and started taking off a couple of bolts.  He then changed the socket, set the regulator to low and started taking off some plastic fasteners that held on part of the firewall.  He told us to try and do that with some of the other makes and manufacturers on the market today.  He did all this with one ratchet.  He didn’t have to stop and use an air ratchet for the steel bolts, then set the tool down, grab an open ended wrench from his back pocket so he could be careful and loosen the plastic nuts.  He did this all with one tool.  Now we didn’t think of this before Bob showed us, but after seeing it in action and how it was strong enough and precise enough for the steel bolts, but gentle enough for the plastic nuts, we thought this was pretty cool.  Yes, it sounds like the Secret slogan for that deodorant.  But in all seriousness, this was a great way to show that the tool has multiple functions and lets the user have complete control of the tool and not the tool controlling the user. 

After leaving Bob’s place, we took it on our site the next day to play around.  We used it on some rusted old bolt, not because we needed to remove them, but to just play around and see what damage we could do or not do.  Overall, this took off anything we wanted.  We used a 5 gallon compressor and had a lot of fun with the wrench. 

 

Conclusion

As stated there are a lot of ratchets to pick from, but the IR is one of our favorites we have tested in a long time.  Having Bob show us the real ins and outs to this tool was great and having Bob stating he wanted this wrench says a lot.  The use we got out of this tool from Bob and us just playing around with some rusted old bolts on the site, made us a believer.  For the money, this is a great new series from Ingersoll Rand line of Air power tools.

    

Links

Learn more about the Max1105 D-2

Buy an Ingersoll Rand 1105MAX-D2 1/4-Inch Composite Air Ratchet

About Ingersoll Rand

Ingersoll Rand is committed to enhancing our customers’ efficiency, productivity and operations through our diverse and innovative Ingersoll Rand branded product offerings. We are part of Ingersoll Rand Corporation, a $13 billion company global diversified industrial company with a 100-year-old tradition of technological innovation. We have the depth of knowledge, expertise and experience to be the best solution to meet your requirements – from our complete compressed air systems, to our tools, pumps, material and fluid handling systems, and our environmentally friendly microturbines.

 

Tool Review: Dewalt Toughcase

Just about every manufacturer offers some sort of case with some kind of power tool accessory.  Sometimes the cases are pretty good, but most of the times, they tend to be cheap.  Now we are not knocking some of the cheap cases because they do make great storage containers for accessories, but it is always nice to have at least one case you can throw your good bits in or have something durable enough to take some sort of beating.  Well we are not the only ones who think a case can be just as important as the accessory, Dewalt listened to a lot of different contractors out there and developed their Toughcase. 

The first item we noticed was the thickness of the case.  This is not some cheap plastic that will crack under heavy conditions.  As we noted it is the same material used in the XRP cordless drill.  The next two biggest items that are important in case, which some manufacturers miss is the latch and the hinges.  Dewalt uses a metal latch system that is installed on the bottom half of the case and latches the top half down.  Once you latch the case in place, the latch itself is nice and solid and locks the two halves completely without any movements separating the top half from the bottom half.  The next item is the hinge.  Again some manufacturers just use a plastic hinge that after a while, just ends up breaking.  Dewalt again thought about long term uses and heavy conditions.  They have a metal rod that joins the hinges together for added durability.  This type of hinge system lets the user open and close the case without compromising the durability, even in colder weather environments.

After taking a closer look at the case we can see the case was actually built with the thought of job site use, so we wanted to test the magnets and the hinges.  As you can see by the video below, the magnets are pretty good and held 1.25 lbs to the aluimium stud with no problems.  We did have a problem with the magnets holding 2.5 lbs, but again for this size case, we don’t even think you could get 2.5lbs. of accessories in it.

The hooks on the back are plenty deep to make any type of hook system to hold this case in place.  We just attached it to the same stud using the back hooks.  As you can see we had 5 lbs. resting on the case and the hinges didn’t have a problem supporting this type of weight.

Personally I like this case because I keep my most common bits, a pencil and a couple of other items in it and in the center console of my truck for easy access.  This case was very nice to have and I could just grab it for certain jobs and go.

If you need a good case, we recommend the Dewalt Toughcase.  Very sturdy and well built.  We like the two options of accessories they offer with this case, so it gives the user some variety to choose from.

Don’t forget to enter to win 1 of 5 Dewalt Toughcases – Read more here

Tool Review: Bosch Reciprocating Saw

Model Number: CRS180

 

 Specifications

Bosch makes some of the best power tools around.  All their tools are designed for the professional and made to be used and abused day in and day out.  Well, the Bosch reciprocating saw is no different.  Now just looking at some of the specs, you might not have noticed a whole lot of difference such as a variable speed trigger, 1-1/8″ stroke and a two speed setting that produces an rpm of 2,400 and 2,700.  But that is where the difference stops.  The first major difference that you can not see, but feel is the balance.  While this is pretty similar to other reciprocating saws on the market coming in at 7.6 lbs., the way Bosch distributes this weight is something you can feel.  Now we are not knocking the other major manufacturers as they have great balance also, but once you pick up the Bosch, you can feel how well the saw as a whole is built.  The weight is even across the whole body of the saw.  The D-handle is nice and big for those who prefer larger gloves in demo mode.  The front hand rest is nice and big and gives the user plenty of room to hold on to even under the toughest conditions. 

Now you may have read our reciprocating review on the Sawzall and Makita and how much we like the blade locking system, but the Bosch Lock-Jaw is truly the best we have seen.  As with the Makita, a user can change the blade with one hand, which does come in handy at times.  The big difference which you can feel and see, is the locking mechanism.  The Bosch is nice and solid.  The blade gets locked into place and there is very little room for debris to enter into the chuck and jam the blade in the lock, which is a little different from the Makita. 

Over all this is a great reciprocating saw.  You will pay a little more with some Bosch products, but by far for this saw we would recommend paying a little more.  With the little extra cost, you get a lot more tool.  As with the other Bosch tools, they are truly professional grade power tools.  The balance is great and the Lock-Jaw system is the best in the business by far.

Tool Review: Bosch Laser Level Review 

Model Number: GPL3

If you have seen our other reviews, you know we lean heavy towards Bosch power tools.  These tools are designed for the professional.  They are built to last and why some of their prices are a little higher than some of the brand names, what you get is well worth the small extra cost. 

Now you can see the specifications above, but lets take a look at some of the features on the laser and learn a little more about this before we jump into the laser review.  In today’s market there are a lot of different types of laser available to fit your need.  The Bosch GPL3 is a 3 point Alignment Self leveling laser.  This laser is a Plumb and Level point projection, which is great for a lot of applications such as doors, lighting and more.  This level uses a single diode, which Bosch has a patented Diamond cut beam splitter for greater accuracy compared to other laser brands.  As noted above this is a self level system up to 5 degrees and will indicate if the laser is out of level.

Besides having quality parts in this laser to make it very accurate, Bosch included a couple items that you can notice by looking at the laser.  First is the Molded Housing to help protect this tool when dropped.  Now we don’t suggest dropping this tool, but we ended up knocking it off the back of Eric’s truck bed right on the concrete flooring.  We actually thought this might have ruined the laser since the laser was on and not locked.  To our surprise, it still worked without any problems.  However, we did have to recalibrate the laser which was a snap.  The other item you can notice is the case or the pouch.  The pouch is designed to wear on your belt.  There is a large piece of Velcro which holds the flap down and the laser in the case.  There is more than enough room to get the laser in and out without it being too tight of a fit and causing frustration.

 The Review

For our review we took a look at a couple of things.  One was just mentioned above where a person who uses this on a daily basis needs to be able to access the laser numerous times throughout the day and not have to use two hands in order to get the laser in and out of their side case.  We won’t go back into this, but we wanted to mention it again as the design of the case is very nice and allows the user to access this tool very easily.

The next item was its usability.  As with most lasers of this type, they are very easy to use.  We did want to see how bright the laser was since you can be assured of an accurate site up to 100′.  Now one thing you have to remember with all lasers is they are sometimes sensitive and will not always get a good reading depending upon the temperature and temperature differences, so always be aware of your surroundings.  We set the laser on a tripod and took it outside.  We lined up about 75′ away to make a point on the outside wall.  Now that was hard to pick up as the beam was not very bright.  However we were outside in the sun, inside was very easy to see.  We actually just chalked this up to being old as we are all over 35yrs old.  So maybe it was just our blindness.  When we walked over the the wall we could see the point.  So one thing to consider if you are working by yourself, some set ups might require a little more time and a little more patience. 

The third item was accuracy.  We took the Bosch laser and did some measurements and compared them to another laser that cost about $1300.  We will not go into the other name as the other laser is completely different and shouldn’t be compared to each other, but if the Bosch laser could be just as accurate to a laser that is 7 times the price, then we know it is a greate laser for the money.  We also ran it against a simple plumb line.  We had an old concrete wall that was bowed out.  We set up the Bosch laser and took a measurement below the bow and above the bow.  We set up the other laser and took the same measurements at the exact same spots and both lasers were dead on in regards to the distance from the wall.  The total run of the beam was 63′ with the first measurement taken at 23′ and the second measurement taken at 46′.  For the plumb line we didn’t have a line long enough, so we took the center of the bow, where the laser beam hit on the first two measurements and let the line down.  Again we had a dead on hit with the plumb line right on top of the laser head.

Bosch makes some of the best power tools around.  There tools are designed for the professional and this laser is no different.  The 3-point system is great and the accuracy is dead on.  For the price of this laser and what you get compared to lasers that are a lot more expensive, this hangs in there with the top dogs and more expensive lasers.  This is a great buy for the price whether or not you use a laser in your everyday job or once in a while.  We know you will not be disappointed with this buy. 

• Bosch 18V Combo Kit
• Bosch 18V Combo Kit Review

Model Number: Bat618 Fat Pack

• Bosch 18V Combo Kit
• Bosch 18V Combo Kit Review

Model Number: CFL180

  

Pros:	Wide Base, Easy to place and shine light anywhere
Cons:	Incandescent light

Specifications of the Bosch Flash Light
360 Degree Handle Rotation 7 Detents Incandescent light	1 Extra bulb On/Off Switch, No Rotation Tool-Less Bulb Change

About The Specification of The Bosch Flash Light

We know most people prefer the LED work lights and that is the way the industry is starting to go, so you might be disappointed to find out this has an incandescent light.  For an incandescent light, this shines pretty good.  Now this light doesn’t have a focal point where you can adjust the beam width, but most don’t.  The light has 7 Detents which makes is user friendly and allows the user to adjust where they want the light to point.  As with most work lights, the weakest point is the actually bulb and the filament.  Anytime a light drops, the biggest item that will get damage is the actual bulb.  The Bosch has a storage feature inside the light where a user can store an extra bulb in case one burns out.  A user can take a little bit of foam wrapping to protect the bulb that is not in use.

The Review

Alright it is just a light, right.  Well you are right, but if it isn’t useful, what good is it?  So the first thing we took a look at was can this light be useful in open and tight areas.  The battery is the base, so it does have a wide base and will stay flat.  This wide base makes it great for tight spots as we have all had the fun experience of getting into position to perform some work and what happens next.  We knock over the light and now have to try and maneuver to get the light back into place.  The wide base will not eliminate this problem, but it does make it hard to bump out of position.  On the handle there are to screw holes that will allow the user to hang this light for temporary purposes.  You can hand it using screws or even a piece of wire.  Since the screw holes are on both sides of the handle, it is easy to balance the light in the right position.  Again this is a light and there is not much to review, but we wanted to cover at least a couple main points about this light,

Conclusion

This is a different type of flash light where most have a pistol grip, this is more or less a lantern style.  We do like that it has a wide base and offers a lot more freedom of movement then a pistol grip light.  We are a little disappointed it doesn’t have an LED light, but not that big of an issue.  Now we didn’t test how long an 18V battery would run this light, but as you can guess with the size of the light and the power of an 18V, it is sure to last a long time.

 

 

Links

• Bosch 18V Combo Kit
• Bosch 18V Combo Kit Review

About Bosch

Bosch Power Tools and Accessories is one of the divisions within the $1 billion, 4,000 employee strong Robert Bosch Tool Corporation, which is the North American branch of the largest power tool and accessory manufacturer in the world, Robert Bosch GmbH. Bosch provides a complete line of corded and cordless power tools and accessories engineered to survive any jobsite and allow professionals to take control of their work. Bosch Tools

 

Having a cordless circular can be a key in any project.  There are a lot of manufacturers who make cordless circular saws, but be careful before you just buy one.  Because of the type of work a circular saw does, this tends to put the most wear and tear on a battery compared to some other power tools.  So when you buy a circular saw, make sure it is a good professional grade.  Speaking of a professional power tool, this brings us to our review of the Bosch circular saw, model number CCS180.

Bosch CCS180 Circular Saw Overview

The Bosch circular saw is a great cordless saw to have around for jobs around the house or even on the job site.  You can buy this saw separately or as part of the Bosch combo kit.  The saw uses a 6 1/2″ thin Kerf blade.  This makes it capable of cutting through 2″ of material on a single pass.  This saw is powered by the 18V 2.6Ah battery, so the run time for this type of saw is sufficient for any longer jobs.  This circular saw will allow a user to make 50 degree bevel cuts.

Bosch CCS180 Circular Saw Review

Now as always, the first thing we are interested in is the balance of the tool we are reviewing and this is no different.  While balance is great for allowing the user to work longer with a properly balanced power tool, a circular saw is especially more important.  Using a power tool that has an open blade on a 360 degree plan can mean more freedom for a user, but also more chances of accidents.  So a properly balanced circular saw is very important.  The balance of the Bosch saw is great.  It is lightweight and very easy to control on cuts.  The anti snag blade guard is a key feature that lets us make cuts right away without having to deal with the blade guard getting caught.  One thing to note is this saw is designed for thin Kerf blades.

Now we didn’t cut through 2″ material as the saw states it can, we did cut through a lot of 3/4″ plywood and it never had a problem.  The battery lasted for a while and the ECP worked as it stated, where it didn’t get very hot.  As you can see in the video, the saw didn’t bog down cutting through the plywood.  We did a lot more with the review, but as some requested, they only wanted to see the saw in action and not every little cut.  So we did edit a lot of the video to only show the saw in action. 

While some saws have a blade lock in a tight position and makes it very hard to change with someone with bigger hands, the Bosch is very easy to hold down and change the blade. 

Final Thoughts on the Bosch CCS180 Circular Saw

The is a great saw, even if you just buy it by itself.  The balance is great and we like the fact it utilizes a 6 1/2 blade.  The most important item we like is that it is powered by an 18V Fat Pack which is a 2.6Ah.  As we mentioned above, a circular saw requires the right balance of power and weight in order to be effective.  Bosch did a great job by providing enough power to this to make it useful and actually work for long periods in between charges and not bog down. 

Don’t forget to check out the Bosch Cordless Drill

Bosch 17618-01 Drill Overview

If you have read our review of the Bosch combo kit, then you know how much we like Bosch power tools.  We feel they are some of the best professional grade power tools around.  That’s why we are excited to give you a review of the Bosch hammer Drill model number 17618, which is a Brute Tough Hammer drill.  If you compare this hammer to some of the other models around, you can see how much more power it has and how well it is built.

This light weight 18V Lithium Ion drill puts out an astonishing 650 in-lbs. of torque, which is pretty incredible.  Compare that to some other brands that have a higher Volt rating with less torque.  Now if you’re not impressed by the amount of torque this puts out maybe the BPM of 30,750 will catch your eye.  Oh yeah, the RPM is 2,050 just in case you were wondering.  As with most brands this utilizes a 1/2″  metal chuck.  The high strength metal collar helps protect the chuck if dropped straight on the chuck.  One nice option is the 25 position clutch setting, which gives you 5 more settings than the average drill.  Again the drill, as with most, has a variable speed trigger. 

One item to mention is Bosch’s ECP or Electronic Cell Protection which is a propriety technology only Bosch has.  The ECP guarantees optimal performance of the batteries even under tough working conditions.  One high point of the ECP is the battery runs cooler, which means a longer life.  These batteries can be charged in 30 minutes and will have 85%  capacity in 15 minutes, so you will never have any real down time, except for lunch and the occasional water breaks.  The Bosch hammer drill utilizes the Fat Pack Bat318, which is a 2.6Ah.

Bosch 17618-01 Drill Review

The first thing you will notice is the balance of the drill.  While it is very light, the balance is exceptional and the weight is distributed evenly along the power tool.  With a drill, and most types of power tools, balance is the key, and we put a lot of weight on this since it is a power tool that is the most used by any professional.  Durability is another aspect we take very seriously with any power tool review.  Since we are limited on the time we can test a tool, we have to look at three things.  First is the reputation and we know Bosch has one of the best reputations around.  Second is the design of the tool.  This hammer drill has two things going for it.  First is the battery which uses ECP, which keeps the battery much cooler.  We all know heat is the number one killer of any battery, so we have to give Bosch a thumbs up on this part of the review.  Second is the new design power train and gears of this drill which increase the life of this drill.  Bosch has many people on the streets that hit the jobs sites, so we get a chance to speak with some of the reps.  They gave us a demonstration of the new design.  While yes it is designed as a sales pitch and to sell more tools, when you see the design you can really understand how it is beneficial and can expand the life of this tool.  The third item used for durability is user’s comments.  We look to the trade world and our readers for feedback about their experience.  There have been times where we have received numerous complaints about a tool and we will take the time to go back to a review and update the power tool review with the new information about the longevity. 

What we did is throw some 3″ screws into a 2×4 that was laying on a landscape timber.  Not that most drills can not do this, well actually we have seen two drills not  able to do this, but they were no name drills.  Our point was really to show you the drill in action and how easy it will drill a 3″ inch screw.  And it should, since it has 650 in-lbs of torque.  We actually had another video of the drill mixing up some concrete, but when we let big Al show off his stuff on the video is was more or less a disaster, which we will put on a blooper highlight reel.  When he first started the drill he had the mixer all the way in the bottom of the mixing bucket because he was to busy showing off.  As you can guess the drill ripped basically out of his hand and the bucket spilled all over the floor.  We tried to recover most of the concrete, but it wasn’t enough to be impressive for a review.  The main point of this drill and what we like the best is the balance, with the weight and the power.  This Bosch drill has the best ration we have seen out of any hammer drill.

Final Thoughts on the Bosch 17618-01 Drill

Overall, this is a great drill for the price.  Now this drill does come in the Bosch combo kit, but you can also buy this drill separately.  If you are looking for just a hammer drill without all the other tools, we think you will hit  bull’s eyes with this drill.  The balance is great and the power is incredible.  Bosch makes some of the best professional power tools on the market and this drill is no different.

Don’t forget to check out the Bosch Cordless Drill

We are excited to bring you a power tool review of the Bosch 18V Lithium combo kit.  For as much as we love Bosch power tools, this is only our second Bosch tool review.  Our first review was the Bosch Bulldog.  For this review the Bosch 18V Lithium model number is CLPK40-180.  There are a lot of power tool manufacturers on the market, there are a few good ones and even less professional grade tool manufacturers.  Bosch is one of the top professional grade power tool companies around.  While most companies will market to professionals as well as the home owner, Bosch tends to market a lot more to the professional. Most of their tools are designed for professionals that will use and abuse on an everyday occurrence.  When you look at their full line up of tools, you will understand what we mean by professional grade power tools.

Bosch Combo Kit CLPK40-180 Overview

This kit comes with four main power tools.  The Drill, Trim Saw, Reciprocating Saw and Flashlight.  So yes you can say three power tools and a light.  The kit also comes with a 30 minute charger and 2 FatPack batteries, which are the 2.6Ah batteries.  Some of the extras Bosch throws in are a Carbide circular saw blade, 2 reciprocating blades, bit holder, the side handle, Phillips bit and a very nice carrying case.  If you have been following us for a while, you know we always look at balance of a tool first.  Well this review is not different.  As we noted Bosch is designed for the professional and is designed to be used very hard all day long, so you better believe Bosch takes balance and the fatigue factor very seriously.  The first thing you will notice when you pick up the drill or either saw is how nice they feel in your hand.  These are so well balanced, they make some of the other power tools balance feel like a joke.  Now we know how an outlaw in the old west must have felt with a Smith and Wesson six shooter when they were spinning and firing their guns. 

We are going to go into each power tool and a couple other items in greater detail in the following reviews, but we wanted to give you a quick overview.  The drill that comes in this package is powerful.  This is one of the drills that just feels right in your hand.  While the balance is great, it just feels solid in your hand, but without the normal weight of a drill you would expect.  This drill has fast speeds and great torque. In the up coming review you will learn just how fast and strong this drill is and how durable this is made. 

The circular saw is awesome.  One of the best things is the size.  Bosch gave this a 6.5″ inch blade instead of a smaller blade that some of these other manufactures gravitated towards.  Believe it or not, the extra inch does make a huge difference.  The reciprocating saw is not different.  The compact design and low weight make this a great saw to own.  We could handle this very easily and it feels well built.  The stroke length is 1-1/8″ which is great for an 18V cordless.  One of the best features which we will cover in great detail during our Bosch reciprocating review is the Lock-Jaw, which makes changing and holding a blade one of the best on the markets. 

Now the flashlight is nice, but if we had to pick on one thing it would be the light.  As some will love this style and it has many uses, some people might still like the other common style with a handle and finger switch.  Again we will get more into this for our review, but just something to note.  The last item is the contractor bag.  Up until this point we like the Makita contractor bag the best.  After seeing the Bosch bag, we are now torn.   Yes it is only a bag, but this is what protects your investment when the power tools are being stored.

Final Thoughts on the Bosch Combo Kit CLPK40-180

Before we even started this review, we were a little bias because we know and understand how well Bosch is built.  We understand who they are made for. While some companies are struggling to find a niche in the market place, Bosch knows who their customer is and what they do.  We are very excited about trying each of these tools and showing you them in action.  Overall for a four piece combo set, these are hard to beat, but stay tuned as we are going to go over each tool.

Read more about the Bosch Combo Kit

Read and buy the Bosch 18V Combo Kit

Cold Weather Work Gloves Overview

Mechanix Wear gloves have been around for all most 20 years.  They got there name or their start in 1991 when they were used by pit crews in the Dayton 500, hence maybe the name.  Over the years they have grown and become one of the leading manufacturers of personal protective equipment for the hands.  They make gloves for mechanics, military, emergency response teams, and yes for the construction industry.  Gloves play a vital role in protecting a user’s hands.  They can protect from small scratches and small particles, to large puncture wounds and even fire protection. 

For this review we are looking at the Mechanix Wear Cold Weather gloves, model number MCW2-08-010.  The shell is made from a heavyweight fleece with a wind resistant lining.  The cuff sports a Neoprene for a better fit.  One item we like the best is the palm which is made of leather.  The leather provides a superior protection and is a great material for grip.  These gloves are designed for Climate Zone 2 and used in weather from 0-32F.

Cold Weather Work Gloves Review

For a review it is hard to show certain features, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to cover them.  For one thing we tested a pair of large gloves.  Now I usually wear a large, while these did fit nice, they wear a tat tight on my hand.  When we gave them to an outside crew to look over, we did hear another user state the same issue.  So one thing if you are ordering these gloves, you might want to go up one size.  However, they had a great feel to them, and while they are cold weather gloves which tend to be a little bulky, they were not too bad, so I wouldn’t loose control while wearing these gloves.  The overall dexterity was still very good.  As noted the wrist is made from a Neoprene and uses an integral elastic wrist band seal which did keep the cold air out.  We used these gloves while we were unloading cement, studs and other materials from a trailer.  The leather palm let us grab the materials very easily.  We didn’t have a problem picking up any of these materials and getting a good grip.  The wrist closure did prevent the snow and wind from entering the gloves.

Final Thoughts on the Cold Weather Work Gloves

This is a great glove as it provides cold weather protection, wind protection and personal protection.  While it does prevent the user from having great dexterity compared to warm weather gloves, considering all the cold weather gloves we tested, this is a great buy.  They are very comfortable, provided us with great protection and we were still able to pick up screws and smaller items to complete a project.  Over the years we have tested many types of these gloves, and the Mechanix Wear gloves have been the best cold weather gloves for the price.

To learn more about these gloves, go to Mechanix Wear Gloves

To purcahse these gloves, you can visit tylertool – Mechanix Gloves

Campbell Hausfeld Overview

Well, this has been one of our longest reviews.  Over three months in the making.  Usually with our reviews we can wrap them up in a couple of weeks with all the different tests and runs on a jobsite or two.  The Campbell Hausfeld was different.  The reason being is while this nailer has all the fancy options a professional nailer needs, its also designed for the homeowner.  After we tried the nailer, we were very impressed and actually thought this could be used by the professional.  So we took it to a non union site and let one of the carpenters run it for a week.  While it was hard for him to put his Makita down, he agreed.  After a week, he basically wanted to keep it.  At this point we knew it wasn’t just us who saw something more in this nailer.  We decided to bring it to a few more jobsites and a couple more homeowners to get more feedback on this nailer. 

The model number for our review of the Campbell Hausfeld finish nailer is CHN70699AV.  This nailer uses a 15 gauge nail from 1″ to 2-1/2″ nails.  As we stated, this nailer comes with all the bells and whistles.  There is a built in laser for greater accuracy when nailing.  Even a stud finder helps the user place the nails in the correct locations.  As with most professional nailers, the Campbell Hausfeld has an anti-dry fire which prevents the gun from firing when there are no nails in the gun, well actually 5 or fewer.  This helps protect your surfaces when you’re not paying attention and just firing like a nut.  As you can see from the video below, this is hard to jam, but if you do, it has a quick clear latch to make jams a snap to clear.  Another nice feature is the bubble level.  This is a great on board tool to make sure you’re plumb. 

There truely is a lot to this nailer, such as oil free maintenance, low nail indicator, swivel plug, no mar tip, quick switch to move from bump to sequential and adjustable exhaust to name just a few.  Now with all these features, you would think the gun would weigh a lot, but it only wieghts 9.3 lbs and the balance is great.  The overall lenght is 20″, height is 17.3″ and lenght of 20″.  So overall, great numbers for this type of nailer with these features.  The Campbell Hausfeld CHN70699AV comes with a storage bag, batteries for the stud finder, and starter nails.  We have seen this retail for around $150 and up. 

Campbell Hausfeld Nailer Review

 If your not familiar with a trim nailer, this type of nailer is good for obviously trim items such as baseboards, crown molding, trim, furniture and more.  Now since you are dealing with more detail work, you need a lot of control over this nailer.  So naturualy as we do with all tools, we paid special attention to the balance of this tool.  Overall, Campbel Hausfeld has great balance.  This was very easy to balance and work with.  While it does weigh 9lbs, the balance makes it feel a lot less.  We didn’t have a problem controlling the nailer and driving in nails at precise angles.

The stud finder is a nice addition to this nail gun.  Besides being easy to use, it is very accurate.  Now what we love is the trigger.  It is a piece of cake changing from bump to sequential with a three position trigger.  As you know, we think safety is the most important part of any tool and any job site.  With the easy to use trigger and changing the trigger action with one hand, it allows the user to focus on the work.  If you have seen the video below, then you will understand about jams with this nailer.  As you can see we tried to jam the gun by firing it into a cement block.  We didn’t have much luck to get this to jam on video, which overall is very impressive.  We have tested other guns and when we fired it into a cement block, we could all most guarantee we could jam the gun.  However, a couple days later we did end up jamming the gun and with the quick latch up front, it was very easy to open up and clear the jam. 

Now we could go on and on about the other features, but we won’t.  We figure this review is long enough and if you’re like us, you probably have a short attention span.

As we noted above, we took this nailer to a bunch of different jobsites and some homeowners we knew that would be working on projects that needed a finsher nailer.  Over and over we heard the same thing, this was an amazing nailer.  The balance, the power, the feel, we heard it all!

Final Thoughts on the Campbell Hausfeld Nailer

Overall this is a great nailer.  While this is designed for the home user, we think many professionals will see the benefit of using the Campbell Hausfeld CHN70699AV.  This comes with all the bells and whistles the professional guns come with, but at half the price.  With the way we need to manage our cash flow, this makes sense.  If you are looking for a finish nailer, this is a must buy.

Skil Reciprocating Saw Overview

 The Skil Reciprocating saw is part of the Skil combo kit we reviewed.  The Skil saw uses an 18V Lithium Ion battery system to power the saw.  So looking at the battery we know it has some power to cut.  Taking a closer look at some of the specs, we have to say were were a little disappointed.  The stroke length is 7/8″ and strokes per minute is 2,800.  But again we had to remind ourselves this is designed for a homeowner, not the professional.  With that in mind, the technical specs are in line with other homeowner reciprocating saws.

 The Skil Reciprocating Saw Review

Now if you have been following us for a while, you know we released our review of the Skil combo kit a while back and you may be asking yourself, why did we wait so long to release this review.  Well the reason was because we had some problems with the saw and we wanted to see if it was us or were others  having the same problems.  Before we get into the main problem we had with the saw, lets talk about what we did like about this saw.

Picking up the saw, we did notice the balance of the saw was very good.  We have seen better, but for the home market, it is good.  One cool idea Skil had was a blade storage system.  On the top of the saw a user can store blades, so they are very accessible when you need to change a blade.

The battery profile of the saw is great.  The batteries are not bulky, so it makes it easier for a user to get into tight spots.  This is a huge key for those hard to reach jobs.  The saw also comes with a turbo mode which in essence is an orbital action to help cut through wood quicker. 

Skil is owned by Bosch, so when we were ready to test this, we had a feeling this would be a great saw, just as the bosch reciprocating saws are.  Well the one problem we encountered was keeping the blade locked into place.  Now this didn’t happen every time, but it did happen enough times where it was very annoying.  The Skil saw uses a toolless chuck to lock the blade in place, as do most of the saws these days.  If we were cutting a simple piece of wood, the blade stayed in place with no problems.  Anytime we did a little harder job or turned the saw to get the blade to bind, the blade would come out.  With that in mind a reciprocating saw is used to destroy, so naturally you are going to bind a blade from time to time, so this was a huge annoyance to us.  We tested the tool a bunch of times only to find this was happening over and over.  We even tried different blades and had the same results.  We wanted to be sure it was the tool and not us.  We lent the tool to three different people, but never told them about the problem we were having.  Each of the three people came back and stated they had the same problem as we did.  With this in mind, we knew it wasn’t us doing something wrong.  So were thought that it was either a defective tool or this is a defect in their design.

As time has gone on we have received more feedback from our readers and their experiences.  While some haven’t had this problem, others have experienced the same problem.  So even after all this time we are still not sure if they have defective saws out there or just a defective deisgn. 

Final thoughts on the Skil Reciprocating Saw

 Overall while this saw had a lot of great features we were very disappointed with the locking mechanism that holds the blade.  Under heavy use or even sometimes under light use the blade had a tendency to come loose and pop out of the shaft.  While we love the Skil combo set and think the other tools are great, we feel there are better reciprocating saws for the homeowner.

More information on the Skil Reciprocating Saw

You can see more information on the Skil Reciprocating Saw at Skil Reciprocating Saw