cordless News & Reviews

Having a radio going while you work is like being inside a time warp. There is something about the music that makes the time just a little bit faster. But hauling a big radio onto the jobsite is the last thing on my mind when I have to unload a miter saw, air compressor and my other tools. Size is the reason I have not purchased a jobsite radio, but the latest radio from Makita UK is small enough to possibly be my first.

I always try to wait for a hot deal before I buy a tool and this is especially true if my purchase will be a power tool. Why not wait and save when you can? Now through January 31, 2012 Amazon has a few free battery deals on select Bosch cordless tools or combo sets, and with the price of batteries the way they are, these deals are well worth it. Also take notice that the free batteries are all the new HC batteries from Bosch. Deal 1: Free Slim Pack HC (1.5Ah) battery with purchase of...

The world of tools is filled with lots of questions and confusions, which are sometimes magnified by tool manufacturers and their fancy way of using words to try and sell you something. These confusions can be hard for the consumer who just wants to buy the right tool. So, in order to clear up some of these questions, I thought I would answer some of the most common questions I receive.

All of the major brands, and many of the smaller brands, have oscillation tools on the market, except for Makita. A few rumors have been circulating around the internet that Makita is coming out with something in 2012, possibly 18V cordless, but I have not heard anything official from Makita just yet. However, a recent patent discovery tells us that Makita is at least working on an oscillation tool, and it could have a universal blade mount.

Jobsites are full of many hazards, and one of those hazards could be waiting to find a home in your truck tire. I am talking about a single nail or screw that has fallen out of someones toolbag or a dropped screw box, something so small that can ruin your day if it ends up in the wrong place. If you are lucky you end up with only a slow leak and have a way to inflate your tire. Porter-Cable has announced a new High-Pressure/High-Volume Inflator that can not only run off of a...

Over these last few years it seems as tough anything that is both small and cordless is by default made to run off of the 12V rechargeable batteries. But what about the people that are invested into the 18-volt battery system, or people without either? This is where Porter-Cable has done something that I really like, they have introduced both an 18-volt (PCC581B ) and a standard alkaline 9-volt version (PCC582B ) of their new Infrared Thermometers. I should also note that the 18V version is compatible with PC 18V Lithium-ion and NiCd batteries. ...

Personally I think right angle drills are becoming more and more irrelevant, primarily because of the smaller sizes of regular ultra-compact drill; and every year these ultra-compact drills get smaller and smaller. Even though the ultra-compact drill has taken away many a job that the right angle drill could do, there are still times when we need something even smaller. The PS11 is the latest right angle drill from Bosch, but unlike other right angled drills on the market, it has an articulating head. The new head allows the tool be used in standard...

For many Festool owners it is either Festool tools or nothing, and in a time when just about every tool user has an impact driver, these same Festool fans have been making excuses as to why they don't need an impact driver. I have heard excuses like, "I don't need an impact because my Festool drill has more than enough power". Really? More torque than an impact driver? Sure their reasoning is a joke, but we have to admire their loyalty, even though it is annoying. But soon all those Festool owners that don't need impact...

One thing I really like about Makita is that they update their tools often; in many cases frequent updates could be perceived as a bad thing, suggesting that a product is being updated to fix an issue, but I have never found that to be the case with Makita. I have been using Makita impact drivers for over 10 years now, well before they were popular, and have used a few different models during that time. This time around Makita has no huge changes to their new LXDT01 1/4-inch Impact Drivers, but even the...

Bosch sent me out their Cordless PS50 Multi-X a few months back, as well as their Corded MX25E Multi-X. Since I got them both around the same time, and have used them both on the jobsite, I figured it would be best to do a single article that reviews and compares both models together. Oddly, Bosch's introduction into the oscillation tool market was done with the 10.8/12-volt cordless PS50, while other manufacturers and even their own tool subsidiary, Dremel, all introduced corded models. But even though the PS50 is a few years old, it is still...