THIS week, Makita continues to fight itself, Todd pits Japanese vs German hand tools, and Nate gives us a peek at a possible Milwaukee future. This is your Power Tool Week In Review!
Welcome back power tool fans, I’m Rob, and man oh man what a week for power tool news! Thanks to Ace Hardware and Home Depot, we got a peek at a now confirmed M18 Mower, and a still un-confirmed track saw, and now our buddy Nate at Doresoom Tool Reviews, dug up several fascinating insights at the patent office. But before we get to all that, we’ve got a ton of great tool reviews this week.
Man Caver Tools | Metabo Hammer Drill/Impact Kit
First up, Metabo HPT makes it’s very first appearance over at Man Caver Tools where Dave breaks open a new Mid-range Hammer Drill and Impact Driver kit, both compatible with the popular Multivolt batteries, but not being 36v tools, they won’t work with the AC adapter. Not that you’re likely looking to do that, but fyi. Being Mid-Range means both of these tools lack a lot of features we’re used to seeing on top tier tools, but they also lack the top tier tool pricing. Dave seemed to be overall impressed with the set, only complaining about the lack of a second handle on the hammer drill, and while he liked the triple hammer impact, but noted that the feature was likely holding back potential power. Of course this is just an introduction as far at MCT videos go, and you can all look forward to seeing both of these tools tested against several other brands in the future.
Tool & Stuff | LXT vs XGT
Moving on to Makita this week, our buddy over at Tools & Stuff continues to dig deeper into the Makita XGT platform, this time giving us a detailed comparison between their new XGT Rear Handle Circular Saw, and the LXT 18v X2 Rear Handle. This is another one of those confusing matchups, where Makita seems to be making identical saws for 2 very different battery platforms. I know Makita gets a lot of crap for XGT. Most people we talk to seems to think that the XGT tools are pretty great, and Makita should have just phased it out LXT, and moved us all into XGT. But boy is that easier said than done. So instead, we get these odd brothers who are almost identical, in capacity, and ergonomics, but with the XGT being newer, it has a better motor, more power, much higher rpm, and so it wins every performance test. And at only $39 more expensive, it’s getting easier and easier to recommend everyone just buy XGT. There’s a lot more to this story, which you can get by watching the full video over at Tool & Stuff
Scott Brown Carpentry | Makita XGT 40V Cordless Miter Saw
I don’t know why the best Makita content comes from the other side of the world, but it does. Scott Brown took a break from making the best on the job footage we’ve ever seen, to talk about Makita’s XGT 40V Cordless Miter Saw, and by the end of his review, it’s obvious this guy is smitten. He said he’s been using the saw on the jobsite for about 5 months, and between the 5 saws he has on hand, this Makita is the one he now grabs by default. It’s proven to be lightweight, which is important when you’re dragging it from your work van to the jobsite often but despite being powered by a battery, it still has all the power Scott needs to get the job done. He goes into great detail on each feature, separating the things he really likes, like the cut capacity and bluetooth compatibility with the Makita bluetooth vac, and even a few things he doesn’t, like the tiny dust extraction tube that gets clogged rather often and the rather high price. But of course, when Scott tells us which tools he chooses for every day work, we listen, and we think you should too.
Torque Test Channel | Best Budget Impact Wrench
Now we realize that not every job calls for a flagship tool, or even a “pro” tool. In that light, the boys at Torque Test Channel decided to gather a group of usual suspects in the sub $120 mid-torque impact wrench category. I didn’t realize there were so many options in that category, but they found a Craftsman, Bauer, Ryobi, Orange Ridgid, and HART from Walmart. The first thing you’re going to notice is how big these tools are. Compaction takes dollars guys. But this lineup of entry level tools, appear to deliver enough power to get a lot of work done. Which one was best? You’ll have to head over to TTC to find out.
Sparky Channel | DeWALT 20V Max Band Saw
Moving onto DeWALT, their new 20V Max Compact Band Saw found it’s way over to the Sparky Channel, and I’ll be honest, anytime Bill shows up in our power tool video feed, we get excited to watch. Bill has a rare passion for power tools that make every review an informative, and entertaining event. And this time was no different. Bill naturally uses the new DeWALT to cut steel conduit to size, and found the 20V Max to be more than up to the task. Bill also liked how easy it was to change the blades, and points out every feature DeWALT managed to pack into such a little package. Overall he found it to be lightweight, powerful, and consistently delivering very clean cuts. Is that enough? If Bill likes it, and you’re a sparky yourself, you owe it to yourself to take a look.
Philly Fixed | DeWALT 12V Xtreme Circ Saw
That wasn’t DeWALT’s only stop this week, as the new 12V Xtreme Circular Saw showed up at Philly Fixed. This is the DeWALT DCS512 5 ⅜” circular saw, that carries the XTREME label, which typically promises lots of power, itty bitty package. And while the saw appears to deliver on both fronts, you have to remember that a low voltage battery on a small saw will still have it’s limits, and Jim does a good job of showing you the limits while also highlighting it’s capabilities. This saw isn’t designed for every job, so of course it’ can’t do every job. But for the work it aims at, it appears to hit. You can watch the full review over on Philly Fixed.
Review Wrap Up | Various
There were a bunch of other great reviews this week including Todd at Project Farm who put a bunch of pliers through test until they explode,
Shop Tool Reviews took a look at the Milwaukee Gen 2 M18 FUEL 4 ½” Angle Grinder,
Mark Thomas put the new Milwaukee M18 Abrasive Saw to task,
and Vince had a great interview with a Mechanic who dumped SNAP-ON tools for a Milwaukee setup that was packed with useful insight.
Doresoom Tool Review | Milwaukee Tool Patents
But speaking of Milwaukee, that most exciting, although unofficial, unsubstantiated, and completely theoretical news came from our buddy Nate over at Doresoom tool Reviews, who once again crawled into the patent office, and came out with a TON of exciting insights into the possible future of big Red. This time around he found some absolutely fascinating things that will please a lot of packout fans, like a fold out work surface, a sawhorse, and a wireless phone charger! There’s also a super cool M18 hoist, Pipe Threader and a couple X2 style double battery tools that could mean a whole host of new possibilities in the future.
There’s also a ton of MX Tools, including a freak’n welder, some lights, and a disposable shop vac. Of course, these are just patents. The vast majority never turn into tools, but it’s always fun to let these technical ideas fuel a bunch of fantasies in the comments. Highly recommended the video.
The Event
A couple of days ago I was fortunate to participate in a local meet up at Ohio Power Tool, where I was able to reconnect with some old friends, and meet a bunch of new ones.
I want to thank Vince, Clint, Dave and several others who showed up, and of course Ohio Power Tool for hosting it. I’m looking forward to being a part of more of these as soon as COVID finishes its never-ending world tour.
Oh… and guess who comes back next week. You think you’re happy. This studio is WAY too quiet when I’m on my own. So be sure to join us next Friday, when life returns to the Belts and Boxes studios. Last week we saw crazy news from Milwaukee and Makita is DeWALT clothing, which you can watch right on the channel. I want to thank EGO and Ohio Power Tool for sponsoring this episode. Guys, we couldn’t do it without you. IF you liked this episode, give it a thumbs up and if you loved it, we hope that you subscribe. Have a safe weekend, and I’ll see you next week!