THIS WEEK, EGO gives us a ride in their new ARC, TTC tears open their Triple Hammer, T&S uncovers 10 new Makita Tools, and we tell you how we got the Milwaukee Track Saw first. THIS is your power tool week in review.
Welcome back power tool Fans it was a pretty crazy week. If you guys missed it, yesterday we gave the world and exclusive first look the highly anticipated Milwaukee M18 Track Saw,
Torque Test Channel | Metabo HPT Issues
But today we’re starting over at Torque Test Channel, where the trio of torque testers thought they felt something wrong in their triple hammer, so naturally they cut it open.
THIS is the extremely popular Metabo HPT Triple Hammer Impact, in both 18 and 36v clothing. In a previous video the team noted some odd behavior, and assumed it had to do with the unique 3 hammer design. But instead of just assuming, they decided to cut one open and used a high speed camera to watch the hammers in action, and sure enough, they found some odd behavior, including the occasional skip. As interesting as the video already is, they quickly followed it up with a pinned comment and updated description, as they believe the odd behavior may actually be a… feature? They literally have Metabo HPT engineers working on an answer for them, and even suggested they may take the video down if they later deem it to be misleading. It’s really a fascinating thing to watch, so be sure you head over and do so, before it’s gone.
Tool Review Zone | Milwaukee M18 Jobsite Vacs
A while back Milwaukee invited a few of us out to Wisconsin for the unveiling of their new line of 18 and 36v Wet Dry Vacs, and we were excited to run into Clint from Tool Review Zone, who even took the time to shoot some fun footage with us. Unfortunately, Clint had all 4 of his SD cards stolen on the way back, and I can tell you as a video guy, that’s painful.
But fortunately for Clint, Milwaukee just sent him a vac of his own, and the entire AirTip lineup for him to put to work, and this time, we all get to enjoy the footage. If you’re trying to decide if the M18 vacs are worth it, Clint does a fantastic job of covering every single inch of the new tool, including every feature and function. He also got the new soft accessory bag that straps onto those 4 hooks on the top of each new vac. And of course he puts the vac to work, and details the steps for emptying it out and cleaning the filter. But most of all, Clint really likes to clean his hands. You can see the full review in the Tool Review Zone.
Tools And Stuff | Top 10 New Makita Tools
Tools from Tools and Stuff is a fantastic source for Makita Tools, and this week, he details over 10 new Makita tools he found in Japan, that may soon be in our own markets.
The list is not small. We’re talking about things like an 18V heat gun, a new XGT impact in a wide range of colors, an XGT power cutter, Polisher, and even a sweet XGT Metal cutting saw. Seriously, the list goes on and on, including the typical Makita weirdness like the 36v Kettle, and the weirdest lawn mower we’ve ever seen with a clear grass bag, that I didn’t know I even needed. If you’re a Makita fan, you’ve probably already seen his video, but even if you’re not, there are just too many “don’t miss tools”, for you to miss it. You can see it at Tools and Stuff.
Belts And Boxes | Milwaukee Track Saw
If you haven’t seen it yet, here it is. As we announced yesterday here on Belts and Boxes, THIS is the all new Milwaukee M18 6 ½” Track Saw. And we had a bit of fun with it yesterday for April Fools. So today, we thought we’d answer some questions about it that you guys left yesterday.
So first off, we want to thank Austin Patrick. He’s one of our Production Crew members, and he originally suggested we build a full size Milwaukee Track Saw out of LEGO. Of course that would be insane, so fortunately after a quick search in the LEGO sub reddit, we found Jason and the team at Playwell Bricks.
We just showed them the only leaked image that exists, and then had them reference other tracksaws, and they came up with this design, which we think is pretty amazing. They even built the 51” track, and yes it slides along it. The saw does plunge, but only about half an inch. Which is tragic, because the sawblade they built is simply fantastic. I’ll have Spencer put a render of it on the screen. So we can’t get the blade out, but we can make it spin, thanks to the detachable arm they built into the back of the motor. Oh and yes, it’s all glued together.
BUT, if you want, you CAN build your own. We put the instructions on our website, and Jason even provide a shopping list of the bricks so you can order what you need from Bricklink. The final brick count is 3423 pieces, and he said you can expect to pay $550 or so for all the LEGO you’ll need. And yes, we did spend over $3,000 on this one. That fee covered a few things. The bricks, Jason’s design, the assembly, and delivery. We also paid a bit more to have the whole thing rushed. We could only give Jason 5 weeks to complete it, and that includes ordering parts from all over the country, assembling it for testing, and then disassembling and reassembling with glue. Jason, you did a remarkable job. We love our saw, and if any of you are interested in having your own custom kit made, they can build anything over at Playwell Bricks.
EGO Power Plus | ARC
Speaking of April 1st videos, EGO surprised all of us today, with a totally true announcement about their first recreational vehicle, the ARC, and seeing as they sponsor our show, I called in a few favors to make sure Sarah and I got a ride.
That was so… true and real life. Under the tag line, Power, Performance, Propulsion, the ARC is The world’s first completely electric hover car powered by EGO 56V ARC Lithium Batteries. And clearly those batteries are being put to good use. With a top speed of over 200 mph, and a ridiculous 1.8 sec 0-60 time, this is not a toy. This, is a revelation. Offering seating for two and a range of 540 miles, this would be the perfect daily driver for most users. And because it hovers, it doesn’t care if you’re on road, off road, or even over a lake. The Arc will get you there. Rob and I took a ride in the prototype, and as you can see, we were into it! No word yet on price or availability, but you can find more at egolabs.io.
That’s it for today. Next week we’re going to be announcing this month’s Shop Class Heroes, plus we’ll be revealing the contents of our new giveaway shelf, chosen by Hayes Machinery, and sponsored by Spyder.
Thank you FLEX and Ohio Power Tool for Sponsoring this week’s episode. If you liked this episode, we’d appreciate a thumbs up, and if you loved it, we hope you subscribe. If you can, do something kind for someone else this weekend, and we’ll see you next week.