THIS WEEK, we have Milwaukee’s Gen 4, 100k lumen flashlights, an unstoppable mower… thing, New Drills from DeWALT, The world’s strongest drill, and the craziest tool test yet. THIS, is your power tool week in review.
Welcome back power tool fans, we’re starting off this week with Shop Tool Reviews, where Tim got his hands on the ALL NEW Gen 4 Impact from Milwaukee.
Shop Tool Reviews | NEW Milwaukee GEN 4
That is the Milwaukee 2953 Gen 4 M18 Fuel Impact Driver, and Tim decided to answer the question that we’re all asking, is it really any better than the Gen 3? The answer to that question isn’t as simple as you’d think.
Tim starts with a detailed walk through the various differences between the two, starting with dimensions, and of course, those 3 LEDs, which instantly brings this Impact right in line with competitors from 2013. Ring light, please! But of course, what we all want to know is if it’s more powerful. The short answer is yes. It was the first impact he’s tested that broke the 500 ft/lb mark, breaking a bolt at 550. This leads me to my natural next question. “You’re probably going to say, why didn’t you try 575 we didn’t want to. Hows that?” Geesh Tim, sorry I asked. In the end, Tim really liked the features, called the thing a beast, and made a good case for buying a specific kit version of this drill. To find out which one, head over to Shop Tool Reviews.
Torque Test Channel | Flashlights
We’ve all seen them by now. The ocean of flashlights on Amazon, promising absolutely insane power, at itty bitty prices. Most of us roll our eyes and move on, but not TTC.
The torque testing crew took a break from testing torque, and instead went Prime Day shopping, buying 5 of the no-name mega lumen options, and a more reputable example from Anker as the control for their tests. Now I want to you really think about this for a minute. This is EGO’s Portable Area Light, which uses these 4 panels to deliver 10,000 lumens of light. I can tell you first hand, that’s a LOT of light. Now this $33 spotlight promised 90,000 lumens of light. See what I mean? But don’t worry.
The TTC clan are going to test each one using their $400,000 DIY lumen tester. If you haven’t seen any of their other 8-lumen testing videos, you’re really missing out. This one is just as good. Do any of them come close to their claimed output? It’s worth watching to find out, over at Torque Test Channel.
Tools & Stuff | Bosch Pro Factor
At STAFDA last year, Rob and I got a chance to play with a new Bosch Drill with some really unique features. And This week, Tools got a demo version, and put it to work.
That is the Bosch Profactor 18V ½” Hammer Drill/Driver. It boasts 1,330 inch pounds of torque, up to 2,200 rpm, 30,000 ipm, 25 clutch settings, an all-metal chuck, and a collection of electronic tricks that’ll surprise you. Starting with KickBack control that’ll shut down sudden rotational torque, which might not be THAT surprising, but the Electronic Angle Detection feature sure is. The feature allows you to set a specific angle, and then a light on top of the drill will tell you when you’re at the correct angle. In this example, Tools had a 2×4 mounted at an angle. He set the tool on top of the board, and told the tool he wanted to drive or drill at 90 degrees to that board.
Once set, he just adjusts the angle until the light turns green, giving him angle accuracy within 3 degrees. A super useful feature that I’d love to see on every drill I have! The drill is also pretty powerful, with Bosch claiming it to be the world’s strongest. To find out if it is, head over to Tools & Stuff.
Stanley Dirt Monkey Genedek | Toro GrandStand
Sure we all watch tool review videos to help us make good purchases, but once in a while, you just want to watch someone else use an awesome tool, even if you’ll never own one. And for that, I can always count on Stan.
THAT is Toro’s all new 52” GrandStand Revolution mower, powered by Toro’s HyperCell battery system. This is a commercial stand-on mower, designed to run for 7 hours, on a single charge. That’s insane. Especially considering it has 5 motors. Two for the wheels, and one for each of it’s three blades. And to reiterate it’s professional intent, it’ll run up to 10mph. So how do you test a commercial mower with such commercial claims? You give it to a Dirt Monkey of course, who took it to a pasture yet to be mowed this year, with grass ranging from knee to chest high. And then running it till it drops. And it wouldn’t be a Dirt Monkey test without dragging it through a swamp. And yeah, it does a remarkably good job not only for an electric mower, but it’s clearly tackling the same jobs as a professional 52” stand-on gas mower.
But of course great power, comes with enormous financial responsibility, and at $30,000, a lot of pros are going to hit the brakes. But as Stan points out, Toro claims that if you run it 700hrs a year, it’ll even out to the same cost as a typical $13,000 stand-on, in just two years, and after that, you’ll be saving over $8,000 a year over gas. And as for the battery life? It’ll maintain full capacity for 1000 cycles. That’s 7000 hours of use, or 10 years at their 700hr example. All of that with no oil, gas, belts, maintenance, fumes, or noise that comes with gas. Really fascinating to see how far batteries have come. Maybe California isn’t doomed after-all. For the full story, head over to Stanley Dirt Monkey Genedek.
Man Caver Tools | DeWALT DCD800
Dave was busy reviewing tools again this week over in the Man Cave… er… this time getting his hands on a new Drill from DeWALT.
THat is the DCD800 20V Max XR Brushless Cordless ½” Drill Driver. That XR of course meaning there’s a brushless motor and enhanced components. Sounds delicious. Up to 2,000 rpm, 15-point full metal chuck, and a cool adjustable led light that can function as a work light as well. Dave runs it through his initial tests including drilling some ¾” holes, running some large spade bits, a whole saw, and even a 1 ¼” speed bore. And of course what would a drill test be without some enormous lag bolts? But these tests are just the warm up. In the coming days, Dave will be sharing a series of Head 2 head tests to see how the DCD800 stands up to it’s competitors. For the full first look, head over to Man Caver tools.
Mark Thomas Builder | Milwaukee Single Plane Laser
Mark Thomas was back reviewing lasers again, this time getting his hands on the latest from Milwaukee.
That is the M12 Single Plane Green laser, which is not my favorite model, but if all you need in a single plane, why not save some money? This one comes in a kit with an M12 Redlithium 4.0 XC battery. And that battery alone can keep this thing running for over 30 hours on a single charge. And that green laser, although more expensive, offers the best visibility possible. It has a 165ft visibility range, super strong rare earth magnets for mounting it on steel studs, and IP54 rated for water and dust resistance. It’s definitely heavy duty, but at $500, so is the price.
And if you’re gonna drop that kind of cash already, why not spend just 20% more on the 3 plane version? Now Mark did demonstrate several situations when a single plan laser is perfect, including measuring grade outside, which is something I need to do. So maybe I CAN afford to save that money. For the full review head over to MarkThomasBuilder.
Mastering Mayhem | Feel Test
We see a lot of unusual tool tests each week on youtube, but Marius and his wife tried something we’ve never thought of. A blind…feeeel test?
They thought they’d see if they could identify their favorite impact drivers, simply by feeling them in their hands. Giving the whole “Feels great in the hand” reference, all new meaning. They included examples from Metabo HPT, Milwaukee, Makita, DeWALT, FLEX, Kobalt, and Ryobi. I’ll be honest, this looked silly at first, but watching these two panic over their choices was genuinely fun, and got me wondering if I could do any better. Unfortunately, Rob keeps losing our impacts, so I couldn’t try it if I wanted to. If you’re looking for a bit of entertainment between your tool reviews, head over to Mastering Mayhem.
Talk Shop Live X Maker Break
For those of you who don’t know, Sarah and I also host a DIY channel here on YT called Maker Break. And last April Sarah and I partnered with HART and Walmart to build a project live, on TalkShopLive. Many of you came to support us, and it went so well, they’ve asked us back. So this Sunday, on August 7th at 2pm est, Sarah and I will not only be building a project, but you can build it along with us! We’d love to have you guys join us. I’ll put a link in the description where you can get more details, and set a reminder. Hope to see you there!
Production Crew Live Giveaway
And if you missed our live show last Saturday, we did randomly choose a channel member to get $2,000 worth of power tools, but our winner didn’t answer their phone. Fortunately, Miguel called us back, and during our Production Crew live show on Monday, we had him call in, and he chose the Rob Robillard Tool Box Buzz shelf. So congratulations Miguel! Soon we’ll be adding a new shelf to replace the last one. If there’s a brand you’d like to see, let us know in the comments!
I want to thank EGO, and SPYDER for sponsoring this episode, guys, we couldn’t do it without you. If you can, do something kind for someone else this weekend. Watching our live show on Sunday would be something kind by the way. Either way, we’ll see you next week.
