About The Author

Thomas Gaige

Pro Reviewer

One of the original founders of Pro Tool Reviews, Tom has nearly twenty years of experience in residential and commercial construction. He's been a project manager at an engineering firm, started his own architectural design company, and finally owned and operated a residential construction company as a licensed contractor in South Carolina. Tom's specialties are problem-solving and attention to detail—two traits that are apparent each time he tests and reviews power tools.

Tool Reviews May 31, 2011 0

Bosch Thin-Wall Metal Hole Saws Review

Using products like the Bosch Thin Wall Metal Hole Saw are probably the easiest way to make clean holes in sheet metal. We recently tried the Bosch HTW1 1″ Thin Metal Hole Saw on an aluminum gutter project and found it made our task of installing the down spout connection to the gutter almost effortless. Now this is not just a regular hole saw but one that is optimized to cut metal. It has a built-in spring ejector for the plug and has a 1/4″ hex shank that will fit into your impact driver. Probably the handiest feature is the shoulder that is built into the top of the bit that acts as a stop to keep the hole saw from going completely though your workpiece. The logic for this is that if you have to add a hole to an electrical panel, you can drill into the side of it without fear of the hole saw blasting though the steel wall and into the wires inside.

Tool Reviews May 31, 2011 0

Johnson 25′ PlanReader Architect Series Power Tape Review

Oftentimes, when out in the field, it can be difficult to measure plans to verify dimensions. With the new Johnson 1819-0025 25′ PlanReader Architect Series Power Tape, you have both 1/8″ and 1/4″ architectural scales built right into the bottom of the tape. With larger, easy to see numbers on the top side of the tape, you can do your regular measuring and layout work. When you need to go back to the drawing board to check some dimensions or verify the size of something on the plans, just flip the tape over and you have the two most common architectural scales at your fingertips.

Tool Reviews May 31, 2011 0

Johnson Level 40-6616 Tiling and Flooring Laser Level Review

The Johnson Level 40-6616 Tiling and Flooring Laser Level makes doing right angle flooring layouts simpler and is a good tool to use along the way to check to make sure things stay in line. For a reasonable price, the DIY’er has a tool that can make their tile projects have that professional appearance. Everyone knows that in tile work, it is all about straight lines, perfect corners and a layout that matches the room. Johnson’s new Flooring Laser Level has a simple design, good accuracy, and a reasonable price that will bring a level of quality to your project, even if you are going to do a single floor. With laser guidance within reach, you can ensure that your flooring project will come out the way you dreamed it would.

Tool Reviews May 31, 2011 0

Kobalt 63 Piece Mechanics Tool Set Review

With the recent reintroduction of the Kobalt mechanics tools, we have been eager to put our hands on a set to see what they are all about. The Kobalt 63 Piece Mechanics Tool Set (0338513) that we got in includes some of the most common 1/4″ and 3/8″ drive Metric and SAE sizes sockets that you will need. Things like a 72 tooth ratchet and fully polished chrome plating on all the tools comes standard along with laser etching and red/blue colored markings for easy identification of SAE (standard) and MM (metric) sizes. With an ever-growing line of mechanics tools, it looks like Kobalt is not just about quality, but also variety. They want to make sure that they have what you need to do your projects – and they enlisted the help of Hendrick Motorsports to make sure they did it right this time.

Oscillating Multi-Tool Reviews & Buying Guides May 31, 2011 0

Porter-Cable PC250MTK Oscillating Multi-Tool Kit Review

With just about every tool manufacturer making oscillating multi-tools now, almost everyone has one. If you have been one of the few holding out for other options like a tool-free blade change system, you are now in luck – Fein’s expensive FMM-250Q Top system isn’t the only game in town. You need to check out the new Porter-Cable PC250MTK Oscillating Multi-Tool Kit. This new tool from Porter-Cable has what might be an even better tool-less blade change system than the original from Europe. With this new convenience comes the catch that for now you can only use the Porter-Cable blades and accessories.

Rockwell RK1001K2 12V Drill & Impact Driver Combo Kit Review

Tool Reviews May 31, 2011 0

Rockwell RK1001K2 12V Drill and Impact Driver Combo Kit Review

In our testing and review of the Rockwell RK1001K2 12V Drill & Impact Driver Combo Kit, we found it to offer a good combination of both value and performance. With a myriad of different manufacturers coming out with 12V lithium-ion powered cordless tools it can be hard to determine what ones are the best to pick. If you are on the market for a 12V lithium-ion combo set, we think that the Rockwell RK1001K2 Drill and Impact Driver Combo Kit is worth a look. These tools offer performance that is comparable to many leading brands and, as a bonus, they come with a full three year warranty and a program where they offer free replacement batteries for life if you register your tools.

Tool Reviews May 31, 2011 0

Milwaukee 2460-21 M12 Cordless Lithium-Ion Rotary Tool Review

With only a few manufactures offering cordless rotary tools, the Milwaukee 2460-21 M12 Cordless Lithium-Ion Rotary Tool is a welcomed addition, especially if you have other M12 tools and batteries. The specifications of this new rotary tool are right in line, if not better than, some of the other offerings on the market. Combine this with the well-proven M12 RedLithium batteries and you will have a tool that can be used for your weekend hobbies as well as on the job site. The Milwaukee Rotary Tool comes with a standard 1/8″ collet which will make it easy to use with the plethora of bits and blades that are widely available.

News & Opinion May 26, 2011 0

Hendrick Motorsports Experience

If you are Lowe’s and you are working on a new set of mechanics tools, using the Hendrick Motorsports facility as the […]

Tool Reviews May 26, 2011 0

Maxxeon WorkStar 220 Pocket Floodlight Review

To say pocket and floodlight together sounds a little bit like a misnomer but the guys over at Maxxeon pulled it off with their new WorkStar 220 Pocket Floodlight. This little flash light is hardly bigger then a pen but features a Cree LED that puts out 120 lumens. With the included pocket clip you can put it in your shirt front pocket and you can almost forget it is there until you need it because it only weighs an ounce. With no hot spots or shadows, the light beam has a 1:1 ratio – meaning that for every foot you are a way from an object, the diameter of the beam grows by one foot. Step 20 feet away and you are lighting up an entire room with this baby.

Hand Tool Reviews & Buying Guides May 26, 2011 0

Johnson Level 40-6064 Digital Angle Locator Review

The new Johnson Level 40-6064 Digital Angle Locator takes all the guesswork out of finding odd angles in the field thanks to a working range of 0 to 222 degrees and a built in miter calculator. In the past we would have relied on some fancy guesswork or trial and error to get angled cuts to match up, which usually resulted in wasted material or time. With an easy-to-read digital display, three button control and accuracy to within .5 of a degree, it should be a cinch to calculate the trim pieces needed for that bay window or octagon shaped ceiling cove. As my old boss used to tell me, ‘measure twice, cut once’. Well, that’s a whole lot easier now with angles and miters calculated more precisely and quickly with the Johnson Digital Angle Locator.