THIS WEEK, Nate digs up Milwaukee secrets at the patent office. Makita’s new XGT Auger get way too close to this guys foot. EVERYONE reviews the new RYOBI Track Saw And James fills one of our giveaway shelves with $2 Grand worth of EGO! THIS is your power tool week in review.
Welcome back Power Tool fans, and I bet our set looks different today. That’s because this week we’re here at TTI International in South Carolina, Home to HART, RIDGID and RYOBI, the three most ALL CAPS power tool companies in the world. Which is why we think their other brother is up in Wisconsin.
We’re here this week because Sarah and I were asked to host a HART Talk Shop Live for Walmart, which was insanely fun. And an All new Outdoor Power Equipment event with HART where we got to try their all new riding lawn mower! If you missed that, we’ll put a link in the description.
Project Farm | Circular Saw
But we need to get to the news, where we’re starting with Project Farm. Todd decided it was time to go shopping for a ton of circular saw, build a few torture devices for them, and see which one survives.
Todd must of had a coupon this week, as he brought home examples from FLEX, Milwaukee, Bosch Makita, DeWALT, Kobalt, WORX, Ryobi, Craftsman and RIDGID. He then proceeds to test them for cutting speed, maximum torque, blade speed, vibration, blade brake, weight and more. Todd has never been accused of phoning it in, but this week he really put in a lot of work to give each saw it’s best shot. And of course in the end, there are winners and losers, but he’s careful to take not only power and performance into account, but cost and value as well. If you’re looking to add a new circular saw to your collection, you should stop off at Project Farm First.
Doresoom Tool Reviews | Milwaukee Patent Office
Our buddy Nate over at Doresoom Tool Reviews has been digging around the patent office again, this time for Milwaukee secrets, and he found more than a few.
Now just like Nate, we always like to remind you guys that patents rarely turn into new products. But it’s still fun to imagine what might be just down the road. And Nate sure found some good ones. There were new patents expanding on the M18 Coil Nailer he found last year, which is a good sign. A few Gen 4 Drills, a pistol grip knockout punch and Easily the most important, a PACKOUT Mug. It clicks into a PACKOUT. Milwaukee… you’re doing the lords work, keep it up. For many, many more Milwaukee tidbits, head over to Doresoom tool reviews.
Torque Test Channel | 120v / 18v Transformer
The Torque Testing Team over at Torque Test Channel normally spends their days testing and documenting the stats of impact wrenches, but occasionally do silly science things, like adding that 2 STROKE motor to their Milwaukee High Torque. But today, they’re teaming up with Harrison Hobbies, to do something even more irresponsible. Awesome.
Their plan, is to use a 120v to 18V transformer, and wire it into a counterfeit Milwaukee battery, and then use it to supercharge their 1” D-Handle from Milwaukee. Genius right? Kids, do NOT do this at home. The short version is yes, they CAN get more power out of an outlet, and the improvement seemed to surprise the TTC team as much as it surprised us. But as Torque notes “The sketch factor is off the charts”. And he’s not wrong. Things absolutely get sketchy, which is why you should watch the full thing at Torque Test Channel.
Ryobi Track Saw
Back on March 2nd, we announced the launch of the all new Ryobi Track Saw, surprising all of us mainly because we were all still waiting for Milwaukee, Ryobi’s corporate pro-level sibling, to launch theirs first, which of course they didn’t do until the end of the month, right here on Belts and Boxes. Well the Milwaukee version is still, let’s say, being assembled, but the Ryobi found it’s ways into the hands of several of our favorite tool reviewers this week, and they all have a lot of good things to say about it.
First on the 5th, Clint over in the Tool Review Zone got his hands on the latest Ryobi tech, reviewed the features, put it to work, and decided it was real nice like. His only complaint was with the stock blade which is an easy fix.
Then two days later, VINCE over at VCG Construction took a turn, and after using it for a while he thinks that the Ryobi makes a great first track saw, allowing you to make perfectly straight cuts without breaking the bank.
And then finally, on the 9th, Tim Johnson at shop tool reviews put the Ryobi Track Saw to work, and found it to be a capable track saw, and agreed it’s a great DIY solution, and the price simply can’t be beat. We’ll link to all three reviews below.
Production Crew Giveaway
We have a few more videos for you this week, but first We’re going shopping! We need to spend $2,000 on new power tools for our Production Crew monthly giveaway. If you’re new to the channel, once a month we go live, and randomly choose a channel member, who gets to pick from one of 4 shelves, each loaded with over $2,000 worth of new power tools. This month we reached out to our buddies at Hayes Machinery all the way over in the UK, and asked them to pick out $2,000 worth of EGO tools, and he graciously said yes.
Later today we’ll hop over to OhioPowerTool.com and get our EGO stuff ordered for this month’s shelf. If you’d like to learn more about our channel member program, you can click the join button that shows up after you subscribe. We add SPYDER PRO accessories to every shelf, so you our winner can get the most from their pro tools, so I don’t see why we wouldn’t do the same with EGO.
Tools & Stuff | Makita 40V XGT Auger
Hopping down to the other side of the planet, our buddy at Tools And Stuff got his hands on the new Makita 40V XGT Earth Auger, and again, I NEED THIS THING.
I don’t need to build a fence or anything. I just need to dig a bunch of holes with a giant power tool. You guys get me right? Tell me I’m not crazy in the comments. Please. Speaking of crazy. Look at that monster. WHY ARE YOU WEARING FLIP FLOPS Tools! You should really put on some Georgia Boots. Georgia Boots, No. They don’t sponsor our channel. Don’t worry, he eventually puts on some boots, and then proceeds to dig some very big holes, likely trying to find his way here to the states. The new Makita proves to be incredibly powerful, making quick work of even the heavy clay found in the land of the hobbits. You can see the full review at Tools & Stuff.
Pro Tool Reviews | FLEX Rear Handle Circular Saw
The boys at Pro Tool Reviews have been incredibly impressed with the all new FLEX rear handle circular saw.
So much so, that this week they decided to put it head 2 head with rear handles from Milwaukee, DeWALT, Makita and it’s own sibling, the legendary Skilsaw. And in the end, they go so far as to declare the FLEX to be the best cordless rear handle circular saw that you can buy in 2022, which is not a small deal. They credit the win to a solid design, well thought out features and the 24V battery platform that clearly provide the power that a rear handle needs to work it’s way through a stack of OSB on the jobsite. You can find the full review at Pro Tool Reviews.
Shop Class Heroes
Every month, we choose a shop class somewhere in the states, and lend them a hand through our Shop Class Heroes program. And this month, we’ve chosen the Malad High School in Malad City Idaho, thanks to Dale who reached out to tell us about their shop class program, that not only launched his career in metal fabrication, but is also the program his younger brother is is right now. Dale, we’ll be reaching out to the class this week, to see how we can help with some new tools and consumables. We always start with $1,000, but our members and tool companies often donate even more. We’ve already had two members donate $100 each, so we’re at $1,200 so far! We’re going to be working with SKIL this month to provide them with a bunch of new tools, and we’ll show you what we send them in a couple of weeks.
That’s it for today. Special thanks to TTI, HART, RIDGID And RYOBI for hosting us this week. We want to thank SKIL and Ohio Power Tool for sponsoring this episode, guys we couldn’t do it without you. If you enjoyed the show, we’d appreciate a thumbs up, and if you loved it, we hope you subscribe. If you can, be kind to someone else this weekend, and we’ll see you next week.
