There’s a ton going on this week in Power Tool News! Perkins Builder Brothers convince us to buy a $250 Hammer from Stiletto. The Toolaholic shows off the ALL-NEW DeWALT Toughsystem 2.0 Tool Storage System. Those stories and more coming up next on your Power Tool Week In Review!
We can usually count on Vince and the Very Cool Gang to point us to all the coolest power tool toys, but this week, he had a bit of trouble. It seems he saw a bit holder on Instagram and ordered it. By the time it arrived, he and had forgotten who made it, and the bit holder came with zero documentation, as tools from Instagram are prone to do. Vince liked the accessory so much, he decided to make a video about it, knowing full well he couldn’t tell us where to get it! Fortunately, the maker, Ludwig Cabinets, saw the video and outed themselves in the comments. So if you thought your m12 surge impact couldn’t get any cooler, you should really watch this video over at VCG Construction on Youtube.
Recently Eric Perkins of the Perkins Builder Brothers took the all too familiar, Stilleto plunge, and got himself a two-hundred and fifty dollar hammer, as professional framers tend to do. In his first video, Eric found his comment section full of jealousy and disapproval, but after using it on the Jobsite for a few months he’s back to preach the gospel of Stilleto to the skeptical masses. Eric is just as thrilled with the ergonomics, metal shaft and replaceable head as he was the day he bought it. If you use a hammer every day, you just might find value in this rather expensive solution. Find out for sure at Perkins Builder Brothers on YouTube.
Rob Robillard, the Concord Carpenter and a member of the Tool Box Buzz crew, is a talented carpenter, a fantastic educator, and a great guy to just grab a beer with. But have you ever wondered what it’d be like to have Rob as a Boss? Fortunately for us, this week he shared an interview with his newest employee and apprentice, Dave. They sat down for a 20-minute conversation about working as an apprentice carpenter and defining what it takes to succeed. If you’ve been thinking of a career in carpentry, be sure to visit Concord Carpenter and Tool Box Buzz on youtube.
Oh gosh, I needed a good laugh. Thanks, kiddo! DeWALT surprised us all at STAFDA 2019 this week, by revealing a major update to the Toughsystem, dubbed Toughsystem 2.0. Fortunately for those who couldn’t attend, Keefer, the Toolaholic, reviewed all of the system’s improvements, including more robust latches, a clever new connection system, and a series of customizable trays that seemed to grab the attention of everyone who walked in the booth. Unfortunately, the new series won’t be available until sometime next year, so, for now, you’ll have to go back to keeping all your tools in an Ohio Power Tool bucket. You can see Keefer’s video over at Toolaholic on Youtube.
Whenever I think I’ve done something remarkable, and get a big head over it, to bring my self back down to earth, all I have to do is head over to Izzy Swan’s channel on Youtube, and bask in the glory of his impossibly brilliant woodworking projects. Izzy has a real knack for forcing single purpose power tools into multi-purpose roles. This time, he decided his drill press should be a jigsaw. It’s not enough that he figures these things out, but the ease at which he does it. It’s odd… for something to be so inspirational. For some education and inspiration, you can ALWAYS head over to Izzy swan on Youtube.
Disney’s all-new streaming service, Disney Plus, launched this week, headlined by the all-new live-action series, The Mandalorian. Bob, from I like to Make stuff, is just as anxious as we are to see the new series and to prepare for the launch he built his very own Mandalorian rifle. When he started the project, there was only a single trailer available, so the reference material was thin. Fortunately, he found an action figure with a highly detailed rifle he could use as his template. I love watching prop making videos and my own excitement for the Mandalorian made this one all the better! You can watch along at I Like To Make Stuff on YouTube.
When the stew is ready and it’s time to call in the family for dinner, what’s the best way to let them know? It’s a dinner bell! Last week Elijah forged a Dinner Bell Triangle of his own, using ½ steel stock and a torch. But of course, you can’t have a dinner bell without a matching striker, so he made one of those too! If you’re ready to sound the dinner bell but don’t have one of your own, head over to Fire Creek Forge on YouTube.
Last but not least, Brad from Fix This Build That built a giant outdoor dining table with a built-in cooler. And when I say giant, I mean GIANT. Brad built a Parsons style table with Cedar 6x6s and welded a cooler trench for the middle out of recycled steel. During the build, he ran into a few issues but did a great job explaining what went wrong and how to avoid the same mistakes he made. Regardless of the complications, he ran into the final project is a beautiful beast. You can find Brad at Fix This Build That on YouTube.
It’s time for Construction industry news with Construction Junkie. This week we start with TheBIM, which titles itself the definitive video channel for construction, and no one is arguing. They produce some of the most fascinating construction videos we’ve ever seen. This week, they shared an inside look into the world’s most extreme Construction site, located at the Rothera Research Station in Antarctica. Beyond the physical limitations brought on by the extreme climate, they focus on the challenge of maintaining the mental health of the workers who are literally stuck on-site for 6 months at a time. The need to build on the world’s most hostile continent is driven by our desire to learn more about our planet and understand how it is responding to a rapidly changing climate. A noble pursuit, but I doubt the thought keeps them warm at night.
Now if you’re like me before you start building something at work or home, you like to first build it in Sketchup! And if so, there’s a new Bluetooth keypad featuring all of the primary SketchUp tools built by Steve Moore, who is using Kickstarter to raise funds to get it off the ground. This wireless collection of brightly colored shortcuts works with both the online and offline versions of Sketchup, and the arrangement of the keys was carefully tested and planned to be intuitive, making you more productive in the process. Early backers can pledge $65 to get one of their own, assuming all goes well during production. If this looks like something you could use for your projects, you can find the sketch pad for SketchUp on Kickstarter.