THIS week, Milwaukee announces a crap ton of tools, plus Scott Brown crowns the king of multi tools, while Tools & Stuff has a tool you can’t have. This is your Power Tool Week In Review!
Workshop Addict | DeWALT Xtreme Saw
We have a bunch of news and reviews to get to this week… starting with Brian over at Workshop Addict who offered a detailed look at the all new DeWALT XTREME (with an X) 12V 5 ⅜” Circular Saw. I am all about these new tiny circular saws. Their form factor makes them so easy to handle, I have no idea how DeWALT continues to get so much power out of a 12V platform, and of course with DeWALT’s build quality, it’s likely to stand up to jobsite abuse for a very long time. And as Brian points out, this new one is made in Mexico. “This saw is made in Mexico. That’s huge to me. I’m thrilled to have something on the channel that’s not made in China because that’s all I’ve seen. Made in Mexico is one step closer to made in the USA, I’ll take that..”. I get it that Mexico is closer to us geographically, so is he expecting people to be happy that it’s Made Adjacent to the USA? The whole Made in the USA argument drives me nuts, but yeah suggesting Mexico is better than China, I don’t get it. Maybe we need to have a proper Made in the USA discussion on the channel. Let me know below if you’d like to see that. That’ll go well. For the full review head over to Workshop Addict.
Scott Brown Carpentry | Makita Multitool
If distance makes things worse, then I’m not sure I can love Scott Brown anymore. Ok, yeah there’s no way. I’m smitten. This week Scott made a rather bold claim, as only a Youtuber would. Which is to say, ask a question, because more people will click. His question was this. Has Makita Made The Ultimate Multi Tool? The one he’s referring to is the new DTM52 LXT Brushless Multi Tool that’s been making the rounds on the other side of the earth. And this new Multi Tool is standing out because of one very important change. This new version uses the Starmax Blade System. To better understand why that’s important, Scott decides to explain it to his lovely partner Jess, while they eat lunch, which quickly becomes the cutest moment in power tool history. The short version is this, Makita found a clever way to make their cordless solution accept all 3 types of starmax blades, which makes Scott, and now Jess, very happy. Unfortunately, we can’t get the new multi-tool here in the states just yet. For now, we’re stuck with the XMT03 which is brushed and uses a non-starmax although tool-less solution, and it’s still very popular over here. So for now, we’ll just have to take Scott’s word for it, and if Scott says it’s the best, you’d be a fool of a took not to agree.
Torque Test Channel | Makita XGT IW
Speaking of Makita, Over on the Torque Test Channel they’re back on the torque dyno, this time making a case for the NEW Makita XGT Brushless ¾” High-Torque Impact Wrench, suggesting it may be the best possible tool for Big Rig drivers and service techs. Not only did this terrible tower of torque beat out the Milwaukee 1” 2867, but it comes within spitting distance of the over the top 2868 D-Handle, but at nearly half the cost. While testing the torque, they also took the time to take a close look at the difference between the 2.5ah battery that comes in the kit, and the 4Ah pack that uses 21700 cells. The difference turns out to be a bit more complex than one simply being better than the other. For the full story head over to Torque Test Channel.
Tools & Stuff | Makita Tester
Tools & Stuff likes to send me videos before he launches them to the public. Now he says that so we can include them in our show, since I write each show on Tuesday, shoot on Wednesday, edit Thursday and Launch Friday, the same day his videos come out. But the truth is, I think it’s schadenfreude. The guy loves that he has all the cool tools, while I only have 6 or 700 of them. But I digress, because the Makita toy he has this week, is easily one of the coolest yet. That is the Makita BTC04 Battery Tester, and the BTC05 XGT 40V adapter plate. Now look what this sucker can do… you put your Makita battery on it, and the first thing it tells you, is how man times it’s been charged! (4:28) But that’s not all, it can also show you your battery health, the current voltage, and even the voltage of each individual cells. Most interesting to tool testers, is the readout of the internal temperature! That’s a huge deal. Lots of guys test them with external thermometers, but getting an exact reading from inside the battery is pretty cool. Or Hot. Depends on what you were doing with it. Of course, You can’t buy one of these In the US, but after watching so many Tools & Stuff videos, I think I’m finally ready to roll the dice on some Japanese eBay purchases, so wish me luck. If there’s anything you guys would like us to import for a closer look, let me know in the comments.
OPT | Bosch Blaze Laser Distance
Jeremy from Bosch stopped by Ohio Power Tool this week, and the boys tricked him into shooting an interview about their newly updated line of BLAZE laser Distance Measurers. We actually have a couple Bosch BLAZE lasers here at the studio that we use all the time, but ours are far simpler than these models. Speaking of, they have a lot of models now. In that video they deep dive into the GLM165-25G and the GLM165-27CGL, both of which fit nicely into the line between the GLM165-22 and the GLM-20, and of course they’re accompanied by the GLM165-27C and 27CG. But lets not forget the GLM 42, GLM 50C and CX, the GLM 165-10 165-40 or the GLM400C and 400CL… Each one a classic Bosch. There’s actually a lot to learn about these useful tools, and if you’d like to learn even a small ounce more than Rob on the subject, all you have to do is watch the video at Ohio Power Tool.
Milwaukee New Tools
There’s not much Milwaukee on Belts and Boxes, but Milwaukee is aiming to fix that by launching 87 new SKUs this week. The Milwaukee haul includes an absolutely awesome new M12 Underbody Magnetic light that I NEEEEEED. 2 new Fish Tapes, 15 new Winter Dipped Gloves of various cut levels and sizes, 10 new Polyurethane Dipped Gloves, and 10 Nitrile Dipped Gloves. Last of all they announced 49 new sockets, part of their unique FOUR FLAT side design, the new skus include sizes for ¼”, ⅜” and ½” drive.
Last week we asked if this brad nailer is the new boss, which you can watch right here. I want to thank FLEX, and Ohio Power Tool for sponsoring this episode. Guys, we couldn’t do it without you. Have a safe weekend, and I’ll see you next week!
