Stanley Buys Black and Decker in Merger
Today it was announced that Stanley Works agreed to purchase Black & Decker Corp. for $3.5 billion in stock. While this […]
Skil 5 inch Random Orbit Sander 7492-01 Review
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.
Florida Chinese Drywall Causes Insurance Cancellations
Almost everyone is at least loosely aware of the Florida Chinese drywall situation—in fact it’s not just Florida, it’s all […]
Using Self-Drilling Plastic Drywall Anchors
There are many times you need to hang a product on a wall, but can’t necessarily locate a stud. Instead of banging your head against the wall (this never works, only makes big holes), we’ll usually reach for a Buildex Twist-N-Lock E-Z Anchor. These drywall anchors are extremely versatile and come in many different configurations – from light duty to heavy duty. This makes them applicable for almost any use and they can carry from 30 to 85 pounds per fastener. The Buildex Twist-N-Lock fasteners themselves are made from either nylon or zinc and have a unique feature.
Grip Rite Galvanized Roofing Nails
Grip-Rite’s Collated Coil Roofing Fas’ners are held together with wire and are perfect for use with nearly all coil-style roofing nailers. They are available in sizes ranging from 3/4″ to 2″ in galvanized (both smooth and ring shank), and from 1″ to 1-1/2″ in stainless steel. Each nail has a 3/8″ broad head. We used a box of 1-1/4″ galvanized to, among other things, roofa 400 square foot addition. The nails loaded easily and the coils retained their shape, thanks to the double wire weld collation method. This made loading easy and jams were infrequent, though the last nail in a coil would often fall away loose within several of our nailers.
Powernail 50M Manual Floor Nailer
The Model 50M is a manual, single-blow nailer designed to use 18 gauge cleats. It is recommended for use on 3/8″, 1/2″ and 5/8″ tongue and groove flooring, as well as some 3/4″, exotic and solid wood flooring. The 50M uses a thinner 18 gauge cleat that is less likely to split the tongue on thinner woods and provides a reliable bond to the underlayment. This is a very robust nailer and it should do an incredible job at smaller jobs. We don’t recommend it for larger work over 300 sq. ft. as it will invariably produce lots of arm strain due to its reduced handle size and greater amount of required exertion over a pneumatic model.
Milwaukee 4 tool Combo 2694-24 Review
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.
Porter-Cable PC418C-2 18-volt NiCd Cordless Combo Kit Review
When you hear the name Porter Cable, thoughts of quality tools usually come to mind; so when we heard about the new PC418C-2 18V cordless 4-Tool Combo Kit we were pretty excited to check it out. This combo kit comes with most all the tools needed to dive into your own home remodel project including a 1/2″ Drill/Driver, 6-1/2″ Circular Saw, Reciprocating Saw and a Flashlight.
Ryobi Self Leveling Plumb Cross Laser Review RP4000
The RP4000 Self Leveling Plumb/Cross Laser represents one of the best values we’ve seen in a while. For pros and do-it-yourselfers alike, this is one tool that is priced as low, or lower than many of the non-rechargeable competition. The tool actually sits inside of a plastic jacket that contains a threaded tripod mount. Once the tool is lifted a bit and “unlocked”, the level is able to self-level and you can get effective results in any of the three modes. The modes are a combination crosshair/plumb bob mode which fires a horizontal and vertical beam as well as top and bottom lasers for use as a plumb bob. The second mode fires only the horizontal beam and the top dot. The third mode shoots a vertical beam with the bottom dot. For setting up cabinets and interior work this is going to be a no-brainer and a real go-to tool.
Ryobi RP4400 Tek4 LED Flashlight Review
its Tek4 4400 High Intensity LED Flashlight. While not as bright as a competing 12V version we handled from a competitor, it’s also just half the price – and half the weight! The Tek4 4400 weighs in at just under 7 ounces and will run for 6 hours straight. That’s one heck of a worklight! The light turns on by twisting the neck of the flash light. It’s pretty much all or nothing. We liked the light output we got from this work light. It was bright and a more-or-less “white” light, whereas incandescents are typically a very “yellow” white.