This week, Nate gives us a sneak peek at Milwaukee’s NPS21. Plus, we share a ton of new tool reviews, and find out why lumber is so expensive. THIS is your power tool week in review.
Finish Carpentry TV – Miter Saw Upgrade
Today we have several tool stories for you, starting with Richard over at Finish Carpentry TV. Every time we check in with him, it’s because he’s found some amazing new tool or accessory that significantly changes the way he works. And this week is no different.
That crazy contraption is the Kizen Miter Fence Pro Plus. It’s an incredibly clever mod for your miter saw that makes cutting crown an absolute breeze, and an additional jig that makes cutting extreme miters just as easy. I absolutely love watching Richard get a new toy. He’s not pitching the thing to you. It’s not a sponsored video. He just found a unique tool that promises to make his job easier, bought it, and let’s us watch him open it up like it’s Christmas morning. The system turns out to be super clever, and incredibly well built. If you’re a finish carpenter with some crown to install, you should really check out Finish Carpentry TV
Lumber Prices
A rash of new videos hit YouTube this week, all claiming to explain exactly why lumber is so darn expensive, and trying to convince us it’s not a giant conspiracy. Well that’s no fun.
It started with a video from the Wall Street Journal on the 19th. They took a deep dive into the lumber industry, and found a system overloaded with demand, far outweighing supply. They also told a story about how growers are not benefiting at all from the steep prices, but it turns out to be because there are too many growers. Thanks to COVID shutting things down for a bit, and a housing boom no one saw coming during a pandemic, the demand for lumber is off the charts. But thanks to people sharing images on Instagram of lumber yards full of lumber, the conspiracy theorist have all come out of the woodwork… wink… and decided that Sawmills are out to screw them.
Then the next day, Jeff from Home RenoVision DIY went live for 20 minutes and did a fantastic job of revealing a ton of significant information that all effects this mess. Specifically, he addresses the reason you can’t take a picture of lumber in a lumber yard, and then effectively contribute to the discussion. Availability and Confirmation bias is a dangerous thing gang. Jeff illustrates the realities of huge gaps in supply and demand, tells you why they exist right now, and explains how big businesses are forced to respond to them. Honestly, it’s the best explanation of the lumber crisis I’ve seen yet, and I highly recommend you go give it a watch. The reality is there is a ridiculous demand for wood, and you can actually help by choosing to put off your new deck, or do what Jeff suggests, and choose a renovation project that doesn’t use lumber like concrete patios, tile, and many more. For the full video and a ton of alternative ideas, head over to Home RenoVision DIY.
Tool Reviews
There’s a lot of great tool reviews you won’t want to miss this week, including Tim over at Shop tool Reviews who finally got his hands on the new Makita XGT Hammer Drill and Impact, as did Vince over at VCG.
If you’re still counting down the days until XGT hits the shelves (apparently tomorrow by the way), both channels have a lot of great insight.
You can also watch the mysterious team over at Torque Test Channel as they put the new FLEX High Torque Impact Wrench against a Milwaukee M18 and Harbor Freight Earthquake. We’ll embed all of those and the rest of the videos we feature today, in an article on our website.
Tool Talk | Milwaukee Patents
I need to charge these batteries. ON last week’s tool talk, we took a moment to ask you guys how you’re doing. With COVID dragging deep into it’s second year, we know we’re not all benefiting or suffering the same, and wanted to check in on your mental and physical health. A lot of the responses were personal and I didn’t think it was appropriate to single them out here. But we appreciated so many of you sharing your thoughts, and so many of you supporting each other. If you’re having a tough time, I highly suggest you go read the comments and hopefully contribute yourself.
On this week’s Tool Talk, we’re getting a sneak peek into NPS21, thanks to another patent deep dive by our buddy Nate from Doresome Tool Reviews.
LOTS to unpack here, and Nate does a fantastic job of not only uncovering all the patents, but also explaining the significance of the tech, and how it may manifest in this year’s Milwaukee NPS21, assuming that event will take place. A few of the highlights include a Packout ladder and solar panel, an M18 Installation Driver, a lighted job box, and a cool augmented reality system to help you see where utilities should be installed on a new build. For this week’s tool talk, let’s about Milwaukee. As of today, we’ve been told exactly ZERO about Milwaukee’s plans for a New Product Symposium this year. With World of Concrete and STAFDA still planning to be held in person, it’s possible that Milwaukee will hold a true NPS, instead of streaming PIPELINE again. Until we know, I want to know what you THINK will be announced. Not what you WANT, because I don’t need 900 mower and track saw comments. Unless of course you think those will come out…. Oh man that’s funny. But seriously Milwaukee… please?
Tool Pros Podcast | Charity
Brent from Tool Pros Podcast has been looking for a way to give back to his community this year, and is working on a special program that finally came to fruition this week, and it’s kind of amazing.
This is the Miracle Mechanical program, where Brent aims to make a difference, one HVAC/Plumbing repair at a time. For their first effort, they reached out to a family in need, specifically adapting to a new medical condition leading to the regular use of a wheelchair. To help them out they made several major HVAC and Septic improvements to their home, and built a bathroom specifically to accommodate the wheelchair use. This ongoing series is supported by RIDGID, which we think is pretty awesome. You can watch the whole story over at Tool Pros, and maybe find some inspiration of your own to help those around you.
HART | NPS21
While we don’t know anything yet about Milwaukee’s NPS, HART had an NPS of their own this last week, but it’s a New Product Showcase, instead of a Symposium. Totally different. And best of all, they asked Sarah and I to host it!
So even if you are not in the market for DIY power tools, you could at least go and watch for us. The truth is, HART is really doing something unique in the power tool world, which is exactly why we chose to work with them to produce Maker Break. They’re designing a totally new battery platform, not just for woodworking tools, mechanics tools and OPE, but they’ve always had plans to expand their battery platform into more departments at Walmart, and this year they did it. They just launched a line of battery powered stick vacuums, which may not be exciting to you, until you realize how much easier it’s going to be to convince your significant other to allow you to buy tools. Hey hun, want a cool new vacuum? It comes with a handy drill and circular saw! Go watch the showcase to see all of HART’s new tools, and be sure to say hi while you’re there.
Last week, we took a look at Milwaukee’s response to FLEX, which you can watch right here. Special thanks to EGO and OPT