Skil’s cordless power cutter (~$40 via Amazon) is a small shear and flat-material cutter that’s powered by a rechargeable 3.6V lithium ion battery. It features an auto-sharpening faceted blade that can handle material up to 1/4″ thick.
Bosch has taken the technology behind the power cutter and beefed it up into a professional-grade cordless shear. The new Bosch cordless GUS 10.8V (its European designation) can cut materials such as PVC, leather, carpeting, or cork up to 11mm (0.433 in.) thick.
The GUS 10.8V utility shear will be added to Bosch’s 10.8V (12V Max) cordless tool lineup, and will feature electronic cell protection, an adjustable blade guard that adapts to the thickness of material being cut, and an integrated cut-control marking to help users make straight and precise cuts.
No-load speed is 0-700 RPM, and with a single battery charge the shear can cut up to 200m (656 ft) of 4mm-thick PVC. The shear weighs 1kg, including an installed battery.
Bosch GUS 10.8V Cordless Shear Blade Guard Adjustment
Pricing will be EUR 199 for the shear plus 2 batteries and an L-Boxx to hold it all, or EUR 129 for just the tool plus L-Boxx.
USA availability has not yet been mentioned.
(The tool is dubbed GUS 10.8V to differentiate it from its 9.6V NiCad predecessor. We’re having difficulty finding details information about the GUS 9.6V, and cannot determine if it or the Skil 3.6V lithium-ion cutter came first as we first assumed.)
Here a pic of the GUS 9.6 from the 2003 Bosch catalog:
http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/7232/boschz.jpg
Wow, great reference, thanks! I would say that it definitely predates the smaller Skil version, then. Still, seeing as how we never saw the 9.6V version in the USA (did we?), I wonder if we’ll see the new GUS 10.8 in the 12V Max lineup.
I hope they will introduce it in the US so they have something Milwaukee doesn´t have
Sometimes products are offered over here first like this one, but often tools are offered in the US first like the BSH180, PS11 and the axial glide miter saw for example.
That’s true. I suppose it make sense – it seems that European power tool trends and USA trends can be quite different. For example, I’ve seen a few two-in-one portable table saw and miter saw combos in Europe, but nothing of the sort will make its way here anytime soon.
Its always nice to see more tools in Bosch’s 12 max line up. IMO their 12 max line is still a little behind Milwaukee. I still think they need to add a 12 max Dremel-like tool (after all Bosch owns Dremel) to get a leg up. After seeing how immensly popular the skil 3.6 volt cutter is, this should be a big hit too.
We could definitely use this tool in the landscape industry. I hope it comes to the US soon.
To add, the only competitor in the US is the Skil power cutter, which doesn’t have the ability to switch out batteries when it dies, you have to stop using the tool and plug it in, which is not cool on the job site. This is a professional grade tool and I want one.