Dewalt is coming out with 2 new cordless mowers, one in the 20V Max platform that works with (2) battery packs, and another in the 40V Max platform.
In another post, a reader asked whether the 40V Max platform is dead. Nope, it’s still active. They came out with some new things last year, like a multi-port charger. If Dewalt is slow to release new tools for that platform, it could be because they’ve already covered the core tools. What 40V Max lawn & garden tools do you want to see them come out with next?
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Last year, an HVAC team was trying to make sense of why our humidifer wasn’t working properly. The story behind the humidifier is a long one, but here’s the summary:
New furnace systems and the humidifer were installed in late 2015 by HVAC 1. (Don’t ask me why they kept the old filter holder, which opens against a wall, taking 10 minutes to wiggle the filter out at an angle.)
In Spring 2016, our also-new AC units weren’t working. HVAC 1 told our contractor that the humidifer was triggering something to something something. Oh, and the circuit breakers for the ACs were never turned on.
In Winter 2017, the humidifer wasn’t working. Something that HVAC 1 must have done to “fix” the AC. My contractor referred us to HVAC 2. I remember there being at least one disconnected wire. They couldn’t sort things out, I tried to help them. I took a photo of the wiring that HVAC 1 did.
Is it me, or is that just a little too much copper exposed? HVAC 2 trimmed things down better (or at least he said he wanted to or was going to), but this was the “before” pic.
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We couldn’t get the humidifer to turn on the furnace fan even in the absence of heat, which is what it was set to do the previous winter. It just wasn’t happening. Once we go the humdifier to flow at all, and open with heat, we left it at that.
I was told I could contact Honeywell, but Honeywell won’t deal with me as I’m not a contractor. Maybe this will be something to look at again next year.
This is the Kobalt tap and die set that I bought some time ago, for “just in case” purposes. I donated it to the local high school a few weeks ago, taking this photo before I boxed it up.
When buying TiN (titanium nitride) coated tools, I try to stick to brand names. A reader asked for my thoughts on an OrangeA-branded set found on Amazon. I’d steer clear.
I posted about TiN-coated drill bits before. Generally, if I’m buying things like taps, I go for high speed steel (HSS). I’d rather have a good HSS tool, or other uncoated tool, than a cheaply made and coated TiN tool.
TiN tools have a pretty gold color, and that’s probably why you’ll see it on a lot of cheaper tools – for the perception of high quality. But you might not see any benefits if the TiN (or TiN-like) coating is applied to cheap and low performance tools.
I’m still working on my office/electronics workspace. Sketching on paper is good. Test fitting has other benefits.
The cabinet on the right was extended to have 3 separate sections, but I’m going to change it back. I’m going to increase the space, moving the drawer cabinets over to the right, so that I have more access space for the corner cabinet.
These pieces were pulled from another workbench project. I just used what I had, and so the final spacings will be different. If you look closely, you can see swivel feet and larger diameter leveling feet.
I like swiveling feet a lot more, despite the higher cost. On unlevel floors, whether wood, vinyl tile, or concrete, fixed feet don’t conform well, and you don’t get a perfect fit. I have a Gladiator workbench with a deformed foot, or worse – twisted and damaged mounting threads, that can attest to that.
Swivel feet allow for more contact with the floor when things aren’t perfectly flat. The ones shown here have white Delrin pads and rubber “cushions.” They can support 700 pounds – each. I also ordered some nickel-plated ones to replace the non-swivel leveling feet used for visualization and mock-up purposes.
Cost-wise, the plastic and nickel-plated steel swivel feet are close enough where one style is not more economical than the other. (They’re $9-11 each via McMaster Carr).
I love using 80/20 because it’s so versatile, and it’ll last forever. You can cut it and drill it yourself, or pay machining fees to have it delivered in a “ready to assemble” state.
I also LOVE my Beta tool cabinet. Its lock is in an inconvenient place (rear left side), and its top is thin diamond plate on top of MDF, but the drawers are excellent.
Once the new workbench is framed together, I’ll start building drawers. Once the middle bay is finished, that Beta cabinet will go someplace else, maybe the basement.
One of these days I’ll have to tell you about how it only cost me $20.
I need more drawer-building time. Maybe tomorrow? I have enough plywood for at least a couple.
These NewAge Pro series wall cabinets have been serving me well. I recently hung 3 more up in the basement. They’re not the highest quality, but they’re good for the money. Some of them I purchased, some were provided in a set that Home Depot sent over at my request.
I have been using BOSCH laser levels for all of my cabinet-hanging tasks these past few months. There were 5, maybe 6 occasions. I like them a lot.
Honestly, I like the red lasers better. Green laser light will be more visible from greater distances, but red is good enough for my needs. Either way, I’ve had good experiences with Bosch.
They sent over a range of laser levels (at my request), and I have been trying to evaluate them all comparatively. It’s been a little difficult.
I was also sent one of their entry-level lasers during the holiday season. While not quite as good as higher-priced and more featured lasers, it’s all a lot of DIYers might ever need.
A few months ago I ordered a couple of Proto 540S-series tool boxes. They’re smaller than the Proto 550S tool box I reviewed. (I am currently organizing the drawers with precision tools – please let me know if you want to see photos when I’m done!)
The 540S tool boxes are made in the USA! The one shown here was one of the two that I had to send back, out of three ordered. Shipping damage. Uch. I can’t tell if the damage was done during freight shipping, or at Zoro’s factory.
I don’t have regrets, other than having to go through the hassle of rejecting part of the shipment and waiting for a refund.
These cabinets are… very no-frills.
The locking caster wheels only lock in one place, and can still swivel freely. The drawers only have built-in drawer pulls. The drawer slides are pretty basic. The construction is decent though.
For the same money, you can get a lot more in an imported box, such as better caster wheels, soft-closing drawer sides, nicer and larger drawer pulls, and so forth.
The only reason to buy Proto 540S tool boxes is if you like the configuration options, or the size of the tool boxes, and can spend extra for USA manufacturing.
I have no regrets about keeping the one that wasn’t damaged, although I might have to move it from the garage to the basement.
Shipping damage – ugh. It looks like something heavy was dropped on top of this one. The other one was similarly damaged.
This wasn’t the only damage. This was the only photo shared to my Google Drive at the time. I came across it when uploading another image, and figured “okay, I’ll use this image in a quick mention, why not.”
Little dings and dents are one thing, but structural damage is unacceptable. I don’t weld, and can’t – and shouldn’t have to – fix structural damage to a tool box due to shipping damage.
I have seen different kind of shipping damage to tool boxes. With structural damage, there’s damage you can see, but also damage and weakened areas that you can’t.
Stanley FatMax has sent over a couple of lawn and garden tools for testing. These bypass pruner shears are pretty decent. I used them a few times last summer and fall, and I like them a lot. They’re hard to find, though, which is why I haven’t posed about them yet.
I took some photos the first time I used them, but their availability never really improved.
I have a small tree that likes to spread out into the front walkway and by the garage door. At the time, I was only able to work on things like that every few weeks, and so there was a lot that needed to be trimmed.
I like my test sample, and if they were more widely available I would have recommended them in a post last Fall. Are they better than others on the market? I don’t know. I do have a couple other pruners I bought and plan to use for Spring prep. Ask me in a few months and I might have an answer for you.
It has been a YEAR and I still haven’t done much with the Dewalt LED light heads I bought. I do have a couple of drivers for powering them. Before I can work on electronics, I still have to design an elegant way to mount them.
I think that these might be nice “machine lights” that can be mounted to a drill press, lathe, or whatever.
It will be too hard to design a pivoting lock, but I should be able to come up with a friction-fit design that allows for some adjustability.
They do NOT open easily. All Electronics has started selling another version that doesn’t have any pigtail wiring, for $1 less. These were $2.50 each, $2.25 each if you buy (10). The new listing, which appears to be the same module (based on LED and dimensional specs), and so that $1 savings is likely due to the hassle it takes to open them up for wiring.
One of my Rockler Bandy Clamps broke. I don’t even know what happened. I went to use it one day and found it broken.
Rockler says:
Thank you for your email. I apologize your clamp broke. Unfortunately we only warranty our products for one year. You would have to purchase a new clamp as we do not sell replacement straps. I apologize for the inconvenience. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Ah well. But hey, at least it’s still a good spring clamp.
I’ve had another problem with 2 of my clamps. There’s a plastic pin that holds the pivoting clamping pad to the clamp. It can come loose. I talked to Rockler about this, and a little Superglue fixed things nicely.
I considered building a small table for my daughter, but it would have taken me too long, and that would have been unfair to her. How big should it be? How tall? What kind of stain? So I bought a kids’ table from Ikea and I let her help me put it together.
I bought her a Green Toys tool set, and she can name almost everything in the tool box.
My son did the same – poke at every hole with a screwdriver. He can handle hex fasteners pretty well, though. I might make him some kind of fastening activity center. Turning a screwdriver is supposedly good for little hand muscles.
A review sample for Dewalt’s LED tripod light came in (yesssss!). The first thing I noticed was how sturdy it felt, and how easy it was to deploy and operate.
The second thing I noticed was the little black lint or dust flec that’s sitting on the LED emitter housing. Maybe it’ll burn off?
My Sola Big Red 24″ level has lint in one of its vials. These things haunt me.
This is how I like to see wood finish quart cans packaged for shipping. It’s why, if I can’t buy something locally, I’ll buy from Rockler and not Amazon. If not Rockler, than another woodworking supplier that knows how to ship things like this with minimal risk of damage or leaks.
This is what my basement looks like now. HA! Just kidding – this was at IKEA a few months ago. I have a bunch of photos like this, for an eventual post about the tools that Ikea workers use when redoing sections of the store or putting up new furniture displays. I WISH my basement was this empty.
Finally, here’s some love for my Noga countersink deburring tool.
Hmm. There are different ways to make hearts without messing around with images.
Alt + 3 (on the numberpad): ♥♥♥♥
HTML (❤): ❤❤❤❤
HTML (♥) : ♥♥♥♥
HTML (❥) : ❥❥❥❥
And to think I would have just done: <3
Curiously, the one that’s red is auto-converted to an open source image, while the ones that displays as black are still html that can be modified. e.g.: ♥♥❥❥
There, some love for Noga:
♥♥My Noga Deburring Tool♥♥
Noga has become my preferred brand of deburring tool. Why? It’s what I started with, and they just work. Noga deburring tools are well-priced, and they work well. I don’t think they’ve ever given me a reason to complain.
I also have Vargus Shaviv (Mango?) tools. But I’ll stick with Noga when I can.
Shown here is a handle and adjustable length countersink tool. If there’s interest, I’ll have to dig through past orders and invoices for part numbers.
If you’re just getting started, McMaster has small deburring tool sets for pretty cheap. MSC might have a set in their sales flyer. You can get a handle and a small selection of blades for $8 to $15.
Question
Would you rather this one post had been a bunch of smaller ones instead? I started off thinking it would be quick and short, but it got a little out of hand.
Andrew Q
I prefer this as one ramble catch-all.
Steven McLachlan
Agreed.
Brien
As for Dewalt 40v Tools, I would like to see a dedicated edger.
Kevin
A dewalt cordless pressure washer
Cr8on
I think I’m dizzy…
tim Rowledge
Thos aren’t DeWalt LED heads – those are pickled Minions!
And that HVAC wiring really should never have passed any sort of inspection.
Stuart
I just checked the mail. The town sent a letter, and apparently the bath and HVAC installs are still needing final inspection. This was supposed to be done before we moved in, and I thought it had been. So, we’ll see.
*Looks over my shoulder.* I’m a little spooked out about the coincidence!
James
Lots of HVAC techs are pretty challenged when it comes to wiring. I was doing an energy audit once and the boiler kept firing randomly..in the summer with the thermostat off. It had been looked at by supposedly the best tech by a local company. They indicated a few parts needed changing for several hundred dollars. The unit was just wired wrong. It was set to always constantly fire so basically the boiler was constantly at 180F (the safety high limit) all the time. Took me two minutes and zero additional parts to fix the problem. Probably saving the client hundreds of dollars every year now.
Jim P.
How did the contractor receive a c.o. if final inspections were not completed?
Stuart
I don’t know?
The permits were for remodel work, not new construction.
Waiting to hear from my contractor to see what could have happened. They did a bunch of stuff for us, and always seemed on top of the permits and inspections.
Andy Ringsmuth
Any chance you can put a better photo of the HVAC wiring? More at an angle? Can’t really see conclusively which wires are connected to which terminals. Maybe a photo of the humidifier end of it too.
I’ve installed my own humidifier and various thermostats, figuring out all the wiring myself. Curious to see if anything jumps out at me if I can see the connections better.
Jim Felt
“Unfortunately we only warranty our products for one year. You would have to purchase a new clamp as we do not sell replacement straps. I apologize for the inconvenience. “
Baloney. Buy a new one if you like the things enough to ever actually use them. And return your defective one ASAP after receiving the new one(s).
And now I’ll read the balance of your long and winding post. ;-)~
Stuart
There’s no Rockler near me, and so I buy online and talk to online customer service.
I use these clamps for lots of random things. I probably won’t miss one of them. I was really hoping that they sold replacement straps somewhere on their site and that they were just eluding me.
Adabhael
I don’t have those band clamps to try this, but based on the photo, it looks like a strip of old inner tube rolled around a nail and glued would make a fat end to slide in and replace the broken band.
Tim
I understand Rocklers point of view on this, but I don’t buy tools that aren’t designed to last for a long time. I expect a lifetime from my clamps, not a year.
At a minimum they should sell replacement straps.
Wayne
Exactly my thought too.
jec6613
The new mowers are already on the DeWalt OPE site – the 40V includes a kit with 6 Ah battery as well as bare, the 2×20 is only in kit. Really glad they went with 40V – I need a mower for a few small areas of my yard that my tractor can’t get to, and all of my other OPE is 40V.
https://www.dewalt.com/en-us/products/power-tools/outdoor-power-equipment
jec6613
Kit price is $399-$435 depending on who’s selling it for both 40V and 2x20V, by the way.
Robert Grasser
I see your BETA chest. Have you used any other BETA tools/items? I have a hookup and can get them pretty dang cheap. Very tough to find objective information on them.
Stuart
Yes, several.
Most I’ve tried are pretty good. I have found that Beta is a solid European hand tool brand. I wish they had strong inch tool offerings. If I could get them for “pretty dang cheap,” I’d go for it.
Joel
I enjoyed this as one post. The laser levels are very useful. I have been using a three plane cross line and have been amazed at the speed and accuracy.
Bryan
I had an older Bosch self leveling laser level and I absolutely loved it. It made life so much easier. I need to put a new one on my list of things to get, and would recommend anyone who hasn’t used one to just go ahead and buy one
Tim
I like this type of post. If you end up building that fastner center for the kids please post it. Sounds like something my nephews would have fun using.
Nathan S
I second this.
Chris
Have you seen the new porter cable 20v wet tile saw? Just saw it on acme tools Instagram.
Stuart
On paper, yes. In person, no.
That’s one of the previews that’s on my “I should have posted about it by now” list.
Corey
As a Master HVAC technician and a NATE certified one, we often leave that much copper exposed. A lot of the terminal wire ports seem to be of varying depths even across the same manufacturer. We all tend to strip to a length that we feel will fit and leave the solid wire exposed a bit. Is it perfect? Nope. But those wires shouldn’t move and should be behind a panel, so there’s very little chance they’ll short.
That being said, if you want to shoot some more pictures my way, I’ll be happy to weigh in on the wiring. Knowing what the model of the humidifier and the furnace are, and the terminal connections on the humidifier, furnace and thermostat will tell me a lot.
Wayne
That’s like leaving lug nuts loose because you’re a mason. WTF?
IDrillHoles
Wow, a master tech? Lol ok.
Anyways, there’s not that many different terminals to plug low voltage wires into. It’s not difficult to strip the copper to the right length. Just like anything else, there’s lots of sloppy installers and techs.
You’d be surprised how little most HVAC guys know about low voltage.
Corey
Christ you guys are quick to jump on people. Realize that the low voltage terminals you’re looking at are 1/8” wide, the size of a thermostat screwdriver. So most of those 18 gauge wires are stripped about 1/4” and secured into the terminals. That’s not an unreasonable amount on a 24 volt circuit which should have no movement of vibration. I’ll happily check your work to ensure you’re within 1/8” of everything you do.
I’ll happily jump on the installer for miswiring it, but the connections are perfectly functional and there’s no reason to jump on him like he’s left inches of bare wire. Some of them are likely not fully seated, leading to more copper being exposed and that could very well be part of the problem.
Put down the pitchforks, short of Stuart taking off the furnace cover and throwing paper clips at the wiring on a regular basis, that’s not going to produce a short.
Hang Fire
This post was readable, even though it was long, because of the different topics. Some other posts of endless analysis paralysis are definitely in the tl;dr category.
I wouldn’t have said anything, but you asked. 🙂
John Sullivan
Okay, I’ll bite: this post was like a 100′ long service table at a buffet restaurant where you feel obligated to try EVERYTHING but end up feeling bloated and queasy at the end. There was a lot of good stuff in there, but too many options to actually enjoy a standout. And you’ll end up with unrelated, multi-paragraph comments like mine, below.
Having said that: “One of these days I’ll have to tell you about how it only cost me $20.” Umm… no. You will tell us NOW!!!! Seriously, make that a mini-post, please? We need to dream of pennies-on-the-dollar tool storage!
SO, when are you going to follow up with info about Dewalt’s LED tripod light? I’m going to hold off ordering one until I know if the QA controls are sub-par.
Lastly, Rockler’s Bandy Clamp: oh, dear. They don’t sell replacement parts that are highly likely to break, and they limit the warranty to a year? Screw you guys, I’m taking my money elsewhere. And by “my money” I actually mean the $900-1200 that I have budgeted clamps (just for clamps!) to outfit a university’s MakerSpace, woodworking shop, and Design Studio. That doesn’t include the few hundred that I spend annually on clamps for myself. I only *wish* that Rockler would read these comments– sell the replacement parts and I’ll buy your product!
Stuart
The Bandy Clamp is quite good. I’ve had one non-fixable failure. It sucks, but not the end of the world.
They replaced one clamp some time ago, I don’t remember what the problem was there. Missing pivot pin, maybe.
I absolutely WOULD buy Bandy Clamps again. They’ve been indispensable.
In general, Rockler stands by their products and offers exceptionally good support. With this, they drew the line at 1 year. Not the end of the world. I’m sure that if I made a big enough deal I could have gotten them to budge.
John Sullivan
I understand, and there are plenty of things that I do (and still will) order from Rockler. But as soon as a manufacturer creates an unsupported product (i.e. one with breakable parts and no replacement parts availability) it is taken off my shopping list.
3-way clamps (a.k.a. edge c-clamps) have gotten the same job done for years… they can be finicky and awkward when compared to a band-enabled spring clamp, but they will last a lifetime. And while the Rockler version of 3-way clamps are nice*, they’re also twice the cost of the much-better Bessey cabinetry face clamp, and 3+ times the cost of the same functionality in a 3-way clamp from Grainger.
So as soon as Rockler offers replacement bands for their Bandy clamp, count me in. Until then, I’ll teach my students how to use a scrap of innertube to perform the same clamping function, or how to wrestle with a 3-way clamp. Because once that namesake “Bandy” elastic band breaks, you are stuck with an ordinary spring clamp that cost 5x as much as one without the band.
* The Rockler version has a quick-release button on the side and a removeable panel to get into the mechanism. Personally, I’d rather have something that is simpler and all-metal, to last longer. There’s too much plastic for my liking, but I can live with that compromise because the body/frame of the clamp seems well thought-out.
Stuart
Good points there.
I just felt compelled to clarify my feelings towards the product, in case what I said in the post suggested otherwise.
I very rarely use mine as edge clamps. I more often use them to hold wires in place, out of the way, or for general clamping needs. It’s one of the best spring clamps I’ve ever used.
Mike Tayse
I did not read all of the above, but it’s nice to know that Rockler only warranties a clamp for one year. Thanks for posting, I appreciate honesty, I sometime feel you’re a bit too nice to the tool companies we all buy from. Sometimes they make crap and you need to say that. mi
Joren
One question I’ve had about the 40V vs 60V OPE from Dewalt, on items like a blower, or string trimmer, do the 60 & 40V models, which on paper look identical in specifications (though the specifications are quite minimal) actually perform the same? There’s little in the 40V line that I can’t get in the 60V line (for what I need), but would rather spend the additional money on the 40V line if the tools are better (just already have 60V for other tools)
Does anyone have any insight on this?
Todd
Target Coatings is a good supplier for varnish, etc. Shipped properly. I’ve been pretty happy with their pigmented lacquers for kids shelving.
Nathan L
O.M.G. lol Stuart! What got into you?
I started out immediately planning to comment about how much insanity like that i see from HVAC companies here. I’ve pickled my brain a few times fixing (or trying to) their “work”…
…and then before i knew it we were off again somewhere else. I have been living a lot in my own stream-of-consciousness for a bit since unexpected brain surgery and to start venturing into an interesting post and then keep bumping from one thought clump to the next following your own full-steam one was a weird experience!
It got even more surreal when you apparently got as out there in your fixation a few times as i’ve been experiencing. Hahaha how to input hearts in html and your Ikea basement love.
Whew what a ride!
Let me go back and collect the thoughts that bumped off the bruised old noggin:
–yes please any comparison/reviews of laser levels (one of my next purchases probably)
–and those awesome-looking pruners
— and now i see that’s a deburring tool and not some tool for Ikea employees to use to assemble their display (because of course it would be called noga) so i guess that means i will have to look into them
***
I like the post because it lets you cover a lot with less effort which lets us see some of your thinking we might not otherwise, but i also think breaking out the quick more concise comments/reviews on the different tools from the more tour/organizational/planning/show-and-tell would be nice.
Stuart
Sometimes post topics end up getting sidelines because they’d end up being too short, or because I don’t think there would be enough interest, or because I simply don’t have the time.
So I lump them together. =)
There was one photo I wanted from my phone, but I ended up finding several more that seemed fitting for a misc. tool discussion post, and so the final result is a little longer than I had anticipated.
I do tend to fixate, and that’s why ToolGuyd exists. =)
Travis
I tend to agree that cheap tools often use plating as an upsell to disguise lack of quality in the tool itself.
However, a quality plated tool (taps especially) is a joy to use. I recently came into a selection of Emuge coated taps, and I have to say that for hand tapping they have quickly become my favorite. My normal go to has been Greenfield (cle line), and they make a solid product. But the smoothness and greatly reduced threading force really has me sold.
James
Regarding the humidifier: if you have a simple (2-wire, no outside sensor) humidistat on the wall, then you should have one wire that goes from that to the humidifier, then from the humidifier to the G terminal on the furnace. The other wire from the humidistat should go straight to the R or RH terminal on the furnace.
Bob
Stuart, you nailed it on TiN coated tools.
When I was a young engineer at a fortune 500 company, one of my projects was to evaluate TiN coating on precision carbide drills. The shallow holes had very tight tolerances. Broken drills, scrapped parts, and drill re-sharpening were all very expensive. A vendor came in with a new-fangled gold coating that was supposed to get us a lot more holes before drill wear knocked the holes out of tolerance. I collected data on 100K holes or more, with and without TiN coating. I’ll guess that puts me in the top .00001% of TiN knowledge. Bottom line, it got us about 10-15% more holes per sharpening over the same uncoated drills. Because the drills and drilling were so expensive, my studies determined it justified coating costs. However, I did learn that TiN coating on homeowner drills and tools is 100% wasted. It helps only on very high precision, high volume production. I would expect zero improvement on a hand drill drilling through angle iron or making an occasional knife.
Nathan
That HVAC story made my teeth hurt – I’d be more than furious over that. Not only illegal but highly suspect on safety. Should be an easy lawsuit and I hate saying that.
ON the dewalt stuff – I would love for them to make their OPE pro like look like the Echo- 58V trimmer such as to have the split boom and attachment series. Or as someone else said have some more dedicated tools to go with. I don’t know if I’ve seen a 40V hedge clipper – but they might should make one.
Otherwise I love my Echo stuff just bought that series hedge trimmer this weekend and it is awesome.
Someone said something about a pressure washer – I’d love that. Doesn’t have to be much but something like a hose in sprayer sized animal or so – maybe 600 psi or such – and 1 gallon per minute or maybe less. IE make a Dewalt flavor of that workx device they’ve started selling. I’d buy one. I have a pressure washer – but it’s often a pain in the rear to get setup for small things.