PS21 Pocket Driver from Bosch
Tools
Buck Knives Introduces New Folding Filet
Do you remember the first real knife you ever had? I mean a knife that didn’t come from a gumball machine or a discount store and was made in Pakistan. It was probably a Schrade, Boker, Gerber or a Buck. Well mine was a Buck 110 and I will never forget how different it was from my other pretend knives. The blade stayed sharp and it didn’t rust at the first sign of humidity. I kept up with that knife through college, which is amazing since I lost sunglasses at a rate that kept many offshore sweat-shop mini factories in business. I discovered Ray-Bans in college, the aviator glasses I was told were a good way to attract girls. I still have Ray-Bans from college. I think there is an innate desire in us to hold onto items we perceive to have quality. So the extra money spent on such items, I came to see as an investment.
ShopBot Jamboree
ShopBot is bringing its annual Jamboree back to Durham this spring. The ShopBot Jamboree celebrates industrial design and digital fabrication by demonstrating how CNC machines can be used to make everything from cabinets and furniture to signs, molds, models, toys, do-it-yourself projects and much more. There will be presentations on the specific applications of digital […]
Trends in Tools
I was talking with my good friend Doug Mahoney yesterday. Doug is editor of ToolSnob, and writes the tool columns for Popular Science and Popular Mechanics, but his real job is as a builder in Boston. One of the subjects we talked about was upcoming trends in tools and products. We have seen the new […]
Tool of the Day, Bosch Nailkiller Has Escaped
Auger bit users dread few things worse than encountering nails hidden in studs, joists, or sill plates. Until now, those hidden nails typically meant two things – the end of an expensive bit and a very sore wrist at the end of the day. With the introduction of the Nailkiller™ Auger Bit this week, Bosch […]
Milwaukee Adds to Its Sawzall Line-Up
Milwaukee Sawzalls are a favorite tool around here. The Sawzall maybe fifty years old but it still holds a treasured spot in every renovators box. Few tools can match it for versatility around a job site. From demolition work to cutting buried pipe, the Sawzall is a go-to tool when nothing else will work. Today Milwaukee introduces […]
Favorite Demolition Tool
A few years ago, Matt Weber and I did a review of demolition tools. I don’t know that any other category of tools gets our testosterone pumping like this one. Well, maybe chainsaws and log splitters, but other than those this is true electronic machismo. The Bosch Brute is the big boy of the group […]
Copper versus Pex Plumbing
PEX plumbing is being used more frequently in today’s construction, tell us about your experience with it. Have you used it in existing construction or new construction and does its advantages outweigh copper pipe? From a cost perspective, which is less expensive. I have used it in vacation homes that have experienced freezing problems in the past. And yes […]
Working with Solid Surface Material such as Corian™, a Follow Up
I was talking to Kyle Carpenter at Solidsurface.com a few weeks ago about working with Corian™ and some of the other materials used in solid surface countertops. I asked him to send me a scrap piece or a drop end for me to practice some cuts, seaming and edge build-ups that I could form into a […]
Bosch Has a Winner With Its Drill/Driver Combination, Tool of the Day
We all know Bosch makes top quality tools and the 26618 drill/driver is no exception. With 1500 inch pounds of torque, the impactor leads its class, and the additional two modes allow one tool to perform drilling and fastening tasks. I attached a Jacobs chuck to the unit and tested it with round shank bits […]