The DeWALT 40v Line Dies, Ridgid Sucks and Milwaukee Pushes Through! – Week In Review 8/30/19 EP 223

This week DeWALT says goodbye to their 40V Max Line, Mark Thomas risks life and limb over a Ridgid and Tim Yells at us again. And we’re happy about it!

So we start off with Brian from the Workshop Addict who decided to show off a pair of really cool, heat guns. He reviews the new Dewalt 20V Max Cordless Heat Gun to see how it compares to the Milwaukee Compact M18 competitor. Brian set out to determine which one had the better features, heats up faster, gets hotter and “has a hook”. Apparently the only test the Milwaukee won, was that last one… having a hook. So it looks like DeWALT has another hot tool on their hands! You can watch the whole thing at WorkshopAddict on Youtube.

We recently featured Austin in our Meet a Maker series, where he told us about his plans to continue his short-form reviews on Instagram while starting to post long-form tool reviews on Youtube. He kicked off this week with an informative review of the new Rear Handle Circular Saw from Milwaukee. Austin not only puts the saw through its paces but goes into great detail explaining the differences between a sidewinder versus rear handle drive, including its roots in the saw that built America, the legendary Model 77 from Skilsaw. If you’d like to watch a review and learn something at the same time, you can find him at Tools At Work on Youtube.

Mark Thomas figured we were still short at least one wet/dry vac review this year and aimed to remedy that situation with the Ridgid Cordless HD0918. He tests it with the typical sawdust, nails and even a bucket of water… but then he suddenly takes a hard right onto Oh don’t do it lane and dumps a pile of wood shavings into the back of his wife’s fancy minivan. Risky Business Mark! You can watch this video at Mark Thomas Builder on youtube.

On to far louder news, Tim Johnson shared a How-To video showing how “We take the yellow out of the escalade headlights!” You know… If I didn’t tell you about the rest of this video, you’d be forgiven for assuming Tim got that yellow out by screaming at them but no, that’s just the enthusiasm Tim always brings to his videos. Seriously Tim is always excited, which is why we love him, and this week he’s pumped about a new headlight restoration kit from Chicago Pneumatic. He used the kit with great success on that escalade, but at $275 you either need to be fixing headlights for a living or at least have an enormous car collection from the ’90s. You can see it all in action at Shop Tool Reviews on Youtube.

 Mark Lowe tipped me off this week to the untimely death of the DeWALT 40V Max tool platform, which naturally lead me over to Stuart’s place at Toolguyd.com. Stuart reported on the sudden disappearance of 40V tools over on DeWALT’s website. For those of you unfamiliar, the 40V Max platform was a Pro Landscaper System. Their batteries were oversized, including a 7.5Ah version with a staggering 300 watt-hours of power. These tools were rated to work not only daily, but all day. We reached out to DeWALT who confirmed the cancellation, and stated: “DeWALT does remain committed to providing solutions for pro landscaping with the Flexvolt System”. Clearly Flexvolt has the power you’d need, but we can’t help but wonder if that means we may see 16Ah Flexvolt Battery, which with the current cells would weigh nearly 4 and a half pounds. But you don’t need me to wildly speculate, for that just read the comments on Stewart’s post at toolguyd.com. Oh and DeWALT assured us that 40V batteries will still be available for the next few years.

This week I found ENCurtis! He built a live edge coffee table, which was gorgeous, but it was the Soap Stone Bowtie accent that really caught my attention. I liked the unique look that the stone brought to his piece that was only enhanced by the pop of color he added with the epoxy! If you are looking for a fun video with a creative Maker you need to go watch ENCurtis on YouTube. 

Mark from Gunflint Designs shared a video where he recreated a project that his dad made when he was a child. Using recycled black walnut from an old ceiling fan and his X-carve, he made two interactive boxes that when triggered, they explode pranking the person who touched them! You can find this project and the plans to the original his dad built, and the updated version at Gunflint Designs on YouTube! 

And last but not least, Johnny Brooke published part 3 of his Home Bar Build series this week focusing this episode on the DIY glass doors. With every video Johnny posts all of us in the studio are salivating over the equipment he has in his shop. It’s what woodworking shop dreams are made of! ANYWAY, Johnny walks you through all of the fine details and techniques he used to finish the custom doors for his Home Bar Cabinets and the results are stunning. Which is not surprising! His work is amazing. You can find him at Crafted Workshop on YouTube! 

According to Construction Pros, a construction company in Chicago called Walsh Construction has implemented a system to control what functions on their employee’s phones are allowed to use on company time. It appears that for now, their aim is to limit distractions when driving company vehicles. So far, the system has blocked an average of 1 text per every 4 miles of traveling. So far their employees seem to actually like the limitations, and embrace the added security it offers them, and of course everyone else on the road. If you’re paranoid about giving up control of your phone to your boss, You can read more about it at for construction pros.com.

Next up, Sony, in their desperate need to be cool, is moving forward with plans after a successful crowdfunding campaign, to release a pocket-sized air conditioner, called the Reon Pocket. The device is designed to fit in the pocket of a special t-shirt near the back of your neck. Unlike other solutions like Makita’s stay puff jacket, Sony’s solution uses the Peltier effect, which raises and lowers temperature through electrical currents. I know… we need to get an intern so we can safely test this stuff from across the room. Sony promises to ship the first batch by March of 2020. 

For more on these stories and all of your construction industry news, visit Construction Junkie.com.

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