THIS week, Makita launches another tool you’ll want, but you can’t have. PTR tries to choose the best impact of 2021, and Mark finds a mower that automatically cuts perfectly straight stripes THIS is your Power Tool Week In Review!
Sparky Channel | Power Stack
We have a ton to share with you this week, and it all starts on the Sparky Channel, where Bill got his hands on the ultra-compact new battery from DeWALT, featuring their PowerStack technology. And he decided to compare this new lithium-ion pouch wonder, against it’s 2ah cylindrically less abled brother. There have been a ton of tests like this so far. And the results are ALWAYS the same. This new tech is so far, everything they’ve promised. It’s smaller, more powerful, and charges faster. Now we just need to see if they really hold up for 2000 recharges, which should only take… like 6 years. We’ll set a reminder to check back in with Bill in 2027.
Man Caver Tools | FLEX vs HILTI
Earlier this week Dave over at Man Caver Tools forced this Milwaukee Packout Abomination on us, so I was tempted to leave him out this week, but then he put up our sticker, so you know… I guess we owe him. But that wasn’t the only thing he did in that video. He also put the FLEX flagship hammer drill against a $150 Hilti which didn’t seem like a fair fight, considering the Hilti is rated at 708 in-lbs, while the Flex is rated at 1,200. But the results, while predictable, were FAR closer than we expected. And just in case you ever questioned Dave’s commitment to good power tool reviews, the guy literally pauses for a painful thigh cramp, only to shake it off and keep drilling. I would have called it a day, took a nap, and probably just forgot the review altogether.
Project Farm | Best Ratchet
Moving on, Todd over at Project Farm decided to take another look at cordless power ratchets, this time adding 6 more tools to the race, including a $60 Husky, and a $480 Snap-On, which I can only assume makes breakfast as well. In his traditional form, Todd reviews the details of each tool, measures each one, tests how much noise they make, and then proceeds to beat the ever-loving crap out of them in the name of research. Bless ya Todd. So did the $480 Snap-On beat the Husky? Of course not. But it did have the best payment plan! For the full review head over to Project Farm.
Mark Thomas Builder | Cub Cadet GPS Mower
Speaking of terrible segways, Mark of Mark Thomas Builder was at GIE a couple of weeks ago, and he’s been steadily dishing out the videos, but this one caught our eye. That’s is the Cub Cadet Pro Z 900, with a new GPS feature they call SurePath. You know how we all want perfectly straight lines when we mow, (some of us are better than others, right Les?) Les could benefit from SurePath, as it uses GPS to not only map perfectly straight lines between two points, but then automatically steers the mower to drive those lines with perfect accuracy. Look at the gorgeous patterns at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Never in my life have I truly felt the grass is greener on the other speedway like I do now. But before you get too excited about cutting perfect check patterns across the entire neighborhood, you’ll want to brace for that $25,000 bill.
Tools & Stuff | Makita Sheet Sander
Heading to that huge island either north or south of Australia, really no way of knowing, Tools & Stuff is back to his Ebay-Japan hyjinks, this time ordering one of these… “We are of course here to talk about this… World’s Ugliest Battery Sander” Oh come on Tools & Stuff, all Makita Tools look like Reebok shoes with ADHD. You either love it, or hate it, but either way it gets the job done. And this Sander is no different. As a matter of fact, this new ⅓ sheet sander is so good, he’s nearly convinced this is the best sander Makita’s made yet. It appears to work well on all kinds of surfaces, and even beats out the popular LXT random orbital sander in his paint sanding test. While I too can appreciate a good sheet sander, his process for making your own custom sheets from a full sized sheet of paper, seemed to take forever. But hey, a saved penny, is… a penny I guess! For the full review you’ll have to visit tools and stuff.
Pro Tool Reviews | Best Impact Driver of 2021
So I know what you’re thinking… Rob, we’ve been watching impact videos all year, but we still don’t know who’s the best! Well worry no more my power tool fans because Pro Tool Reviews are here to fix everything! But also not. The PTR crew have been reviewing impacts all year, including the best of the best from Milwaukee, Makita, FLEX, Bosch, DeWALT, Hilti, Metabo, and his hotter sister, Metabo HPT. Also ridgid and kobalt for some reason. And after all those months of careful testing, measuring, drilling and screwing, they have a winner. Just kidding they don’t, and they even admit that their choices are going to cause you to unleash hell upon them with the written word, and I’d like to encourage each and every one of you to head over there and remind them what this industry thinks about “Ties for 1st place” 🙂 To see if your favorite brand won (it didn’t) head over to Pro Tool Reviews.
Torque Test Channel | Anvil Difference
Moving on have you ever wondered if switching between a ⅜” anvil and a ½”, on tools with the same stats, would end up with different results? I didn’t. But leave it to Torque, Test, and Channel of Torque Test Channel the YouTube Channel about Torque Testing, to teach us all something new. To determine if an anvil can change torque numbers, the team actually swapped the anvil on their number 1 ranked mini impact, and settled this bet once and for all. And of course, as every time the torque test channel crew chooses to test torque, the outcome is anything but predictable. To find out just how much torque, the torque test channel can test, head over to the torque test channel.
Hayes Machinery | Electric vs Gas Chainsaw
Our last stop is in merry old England, which btw, your Heathrow airport is lovely. Sarah and I recently spend several hours there, I enjoyed sitting in a comfy chair while Sarah repeatedly threw up from motion sickness. But forget all that, because the boys at Hayes Machinery are back at it again, this time they let Suzanne choose a chainsaw to test, and she reached for the Milwaukee M18 16” chainsaw, why? Because she thinks it’s easier and safer. After an afternoon of cutting logs for a fire, she determines that yeah, an electric chainsaw is definitely easier to use, but still powerful enough to do the job. But what about safer? “But is it safer? It’s no safer than a petrol one. It is still a chainsaw. It can still cut limbs off if it needs to.” James…. Why does your chainsaw need to cut off human limbs? How often do you guys deal with Zombies over there? Was Shaun of the Dead a documentary?
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