Fun with a Makita Drill

I found an interesting video on YouTube via Twitter today and had to share it. Makita drills over 20,000 holes to make a cool looking billboard to demonstrate the precision of their tools.

Skil Power Cutter

Skil recently released the power cutter and is advertising it pretty heavily. It's got many interesting uses, and this innovative tool is great year-round, indoors and out.

Cutting landscaping fabric is a great use this time of year. Scissors can easily dull while trying to cut this stuff, and knives are dangerous, so the auto-sharp blade on the power cutter is a great option here.

Great for Birthdays, Holidays, weddings and other gifting events, the power cutter makes easy work of wrapping paper, ribbons and boxes.

Excellence in cutting fabric means it's great for crafts and hobbies like sewing and quilting. Scissors can tire you out when doing large projects, so the power cutter is the perfect addition to any sewing room.

Outdoors, you'll find it a great choice for cutting vinyl siding, tar paper and more.

Of course, we can't show you everything, but some other uses include cutting carpet, plastic packaging, fabric, leather, paper, cardboard, vinyl siding, vinyl flooring, wallpaper and many others. Use your imagination and you'll find plenty of justification to buy this handy tool.

A Milwaukee Deal

Sometimes, I see a deal that makes me say "Wow." Today is one of those days. We normally sell this Milwaukee 18V 1/2" hammer drill kit for $269, but due to a special purchase it comes with a reciprocating saw and we're selling it for less. Not just less, but a lot less.

I'm going to have to call this a great deal for someone wanting either a drill or a sawzall and get back to work, though. It seems I always have too much of that work stuff left, as I'm sure most of you can relate to.

SeeSnake Micro

This tool just needs to be filed under cool. It's the SeeSnake Micro from Ridgid. If you've ever seen the SciFi show "Ghost Hunters", they use the standard SeeSnake regularly to see into rooms they otherwise wouldn't venture in to. But for plumbers (the day job for the two founders of T.A.P.S.), the SeeSnake is essential in seeing what has caused the blockage in sewer pipes.

But now, Ridgid decided to make a portable version for inside walls. This is a perfect tool for electricians, network techs or even cable installers. It's lightweight and powered from 4 AA batteries, making it very versatile. The screen, at 2.5", is large enough to be useful while still being inexpensive enough to make this device very affordable.

What good is it with a 3' cable you may be asking yourself about now. Well, it's quite useful, because you can add extensions to it easy enough to get up to 30'. That seems like enough length to make it very useful for wiring to me. Adding 9 extensions makes the price quite a bit higher, but it's still much more reasonable than the full sized SeeSnake by quite a bit.

But it's not just about the length. The mirror, hook and magnet (all included) make the uses continue to grow. I'm thinking this could actually be very nice for running network and phone cables behind cubicle walls around our offices. With some imagination, there are a ton of uses.

I'm excited about the SeeSnake Micro. It looks like Ridgid has a real winner, and I can't wait to get my hands on one.

Makita TD020DSEW 7.2V Li-Ion Impact

When Makita decided to come out with a 7.2V Li-Ion impact, I was expecting a smallish drill looking device with half as much power as their 14.4V model. What they came out with instead looks more like a cordless screwdriver with 177 in. lbs. of torque.

While this isn't going to be anywhere near 1/2 of the 14.4V in terms of power (1240 in. lbs.), the size and usability of this device makes it incredibly attractive in place of a screwdriver. It also costs considerably less. In fact, it's about 1/3 the price of a 14.4V LXT impact.

While the 14.4V impressed me at 3.1 lbs, this 7.2V model is amazingly light at just over 1 pound. It's listed at 1.17 lbs with battery, so the weight shouldn't be an issue regardless of use. It also has an LED light for dimly lit work areas and comes with a second battery. With 2 batteries and a 30 minute charge time, it makes for some serious usefulness.

I'm thinking about picking one up for computer desks and other ready-to-assemble furniture. That seems like a great use for the Makita TD020DSEW to me.

Makita 18V Lithium-Ion Drills - White vs. Blue

Today, we added the Makita BDF452HW 18V Lithium-Ion Drill to our website. The first thing you'll notice is that it's white. We nicknamed it "Shamu" when we first saw it. But what makes it different from the standard blue Makita BDF451 18V LXT Lithium-Ion drill?

Pricepoint

So the first thing that'll grab you is the price difference. Sure, $100 less is a big deal, but there's got to be a cause, right? I mean, $100 for blue dye in the plastic they use seems a bit high. But wait, looking at the specifications reveals the answer.

Batteries

The Watt Hours of the batteries differ considerably. On the BDF451, they use 3 AH batteries at 18V, which gives 54 Watt hours (AH * V). The BDF452HW has 1.5 AH batteries at 18V, which gives 27 Watt hours. So the runtime on the BDF451 is going to be twice that of the BDF452HW with the included batteries. What's being done here is that Makita, in trying to get to that $200ish pricepoint, has made smaller batteries for a "Value" line.

Charger

The charger included with the white model is a 15 minute charger which doesn't have a fan includes a fan, although it wasn't listed anywhere in the specs for the charger. The blue model includes the 45 minute optimum controller with temperature control via a fan to circulate air through the battery itself. This helps create a more even charge by having the cells in a more consistent state during charging.

Update: Makita will apparently be moving all of their tools to this charger, which will be 22 minutes on a 3AH battery and 15 on the 1.5AH.

Transmission

Also noted is that the BDF451HW uses a 2 speed transmission and the BDF452 uses a 3 speed. The difference in gearing makes for a 450 vs 560 rating for torque as well. Not that most people will notice the difference in torque, but that shows which markets each one is intended for.

Markets

The white model is intended for use in the high-end homeowner market, the DIY guys and low-end contractor market. The blue model is the flagship, with all the bells and whistles, designed for the professional that is using the cordless tools on a regular basis. They're both Makita quality, but they're just expanding their horizons a bit. The side handle, belt hook, and a few other minor differences make the BDF452 the choice for contractors, and most DIY and homeowner types won't even notice those are missing.

Good Call

I think Makita made a good call here going after the lower price market. This should make it a much easier choice between current 18V Ni-Cad and Li-Ion drills and moving up to Li-Ion. Kudos to Makita for being first to come out with a full featured Li-Ion cordless drill at Ni-Cad pricing.

Milwaukee Sawzalls

One item Milwaukee Tools is best known for is the Sawzall. While that's a trademarked term, other manufacturers also make them (going by the name recip saws, which is short for reciprocating saws). But what is really interesting to me is the number of models that Milwaukee makes of this type of tool. But what is the reason for making so many unique SKUs of sawzall? I'll examine the top selling models a little closer today to show what the main differences are.

Saws of interest

The models I'll be looking at today are the 6536-21 13 amp Super Sawzall, 6523-21 360° Rotating Handle Super Sawzall, 6519-22 10 amp Sawzall, 6509-22 10 amp Sawzall, and the 6509-20 10 amp sawzall.

First things first - Amps

The first thing that people usually look at with a Sawzall is the amp rating. Of these, 3 are 10 amp and 2 are 13 amp. But what does that mean? Most people think that the amp rating states how much power the tool has, but that's not necessarily the case. Matt already wrote about this, so I'll just quote his blog entry on the topic.

You know that amp rating that so many consumers use to determine how much {insert manly growl} power a tool has? It really means very little. The rating process is kind of silly. The testing labs get a tool from a manufacturer and are told "We would like to be rated for 12.0 amps". The testing lab then puts heat sensors in certain areas of the tool, and then apply the requested current to the tool... as long as the sensors do not get above a set temperature in a set amount of time, then the lab says "Hey this is a 12.0 amp tool!"

Thanks, Matt. So now that we know that amps aren't that much of a difference, what should we look at now?

Price

Price seems like something that most people would be at least somewhat interested in. Arranging these by price, we get a range from about $109 to $189. That order looks like 6509-20, 6509-22, 6519-22, 6536-21 and 6523-21 is the highest. But that doesn't really tell us what the differences are yet, now does it?

Cases

One thing that can be noticed by looking at the "Standard Equipment" on each of these tools is that the 6536-21, 6523-21, and the 6509-22 all come with a carrying case. The 6519-22 and the 6509-20 do not. In fact, the only difference between the 6509-20 and the 6509-22 is the case. For $10, it seems that many people don't want the case. Choose wisely.

Stroke Length

One of the actual differences is the stroke length. The 6509 models are 3/4" stroke, the 6519 is 1-1/8", and the 6536 and 6523 are 1-1/4" stroke lengths. What that means is the in-and-out motion is 3/4" to 1-1/4" depending on model, which leads to the ability to cut smaller / larger materials easier. For most jobs, the longer stroke length is actually a plus. If you're cutting into a wall and don't want to poke out the other side or cut hidden wires, you may want the shorter stroke. That's just something you'll need to decide.

Orbital Action

If you've used a sawzall much at all, you'll quickly find out if it has orbital action or not. When cutting wood, orbital movement allows for the cutting motion to move a bit front-to-back, which allows the sawdust to fall from the material being cut. This speeds up cutting and adds to the life of the blade. The 6509's and 6519 don't have orbital action, while the 6536 and the 6523 include this feature.

Cord Type

On the 6509 and 6536, Milwaukee uses a fixed cord. Most people prefer the Quik-lok cord available on the 6519 and 6523 models. This makes it possible to replace a cut / frayed cord without opening the tool - even at the jobsite. As with any saw, the cord can easily be cut by accident, so this is a nice feature if you'll be using the saw quite a bit.

Keyless Blade Clamps and Shoes

All of these models have a keyless blade clamp. All of the models except the 6509 also include a keyless shoe adjustment. Since most people don't even know what the shoe is for, that probably doesn't make much of a difference. If you're one of the people that understands it (hint: it allows you to use other segments of the blade), then the keyless is a nice feature to look for.

Rotating Handle

The 6523-21, while it has all of the nice features listed above, also goes one step further. It also includes a rotating handle. This is designed to make the sawzall even more versatile by allowing the handle to rotate and lock at 45° increments. It can even rotate all the way around without going back to the starting position. That's just dandy, but why would you want that? Simple - flexibility. If you're cutting and want to go right-to-left instead of top-to-bottom, rotating the handle makes that much more comfortable. It also helps keep that pesky cord out of the way when cutting in cramped areas.

V28 Cordless

While these are all electric, It'd be silly not to point out that Milwaukee also offers their V28 Cordless Sawzall for those that just can't cope with a cord all the time. I personally prefer the idea of cordless, but it's a much higher pricepoint if you're not going to be using it very often. For a couple hundred dollars less, that 6523-21 looks awfully nice to me.

Flexible power - the Bosch I-Driver

Every once in a while, a new tool comes along that just says, "Why hasn't anyone done this before?" Well, in 2006 that tool is the Bosch I-Driver.

Being flexible in the past has meant bending behind the motor, such as some of the Milwaukee cordless screwdrivers. They would bend at about the middle of the tool, making for something more usable in tight spaces. But the I-Driver goes well beyond that. By using some fancy gearing, they made it only move the actual bit end of the tool. This makes for a great many uses where a traditional cordless screwdriver just wouldn't do.

But Bosch didn't stop there. Instead, they added in a few features that power tools aren't used to seeing. For example, they added an electronic clutch. The traditional mechanical clutch clicks when the screw is tight. This one simply stops the motor. It was a bit weird feeling the first few times it engaged, but I got used to it after a few times.

Also new to me is the soft start mechanism. My first reaction when pulling the trigger was the feeling that the battery was dead. It's not normal with most cordless tools to pull the trigger and have it go slow unless the battery needs charging, so that's what I thought was happening. However, it was not only fully charged, but the soft start mechanism can actually allow it to drive more screws per charge than the pocket driver. The reason is that you're able to pull the trigger full and let it drive the screw without having any struggle starting the screw without the bit slipping. Slipping when trying to start a screw really shortens useful battery life, so this minor improvement is actually a very big deal.

Finally, since it is a Li-Ion tool and has Bosch engineering behind it, you've got enough life to drive 100 screws and the quality to last a long time. This is one tool that's very high up on my list of toys to purchase, especially since the pricetag is pretty attractive. Any time a professional tool is under $150, it's got to end up on my wishlist somewhere.

Cordless Nailer Technologies

I was doing some searching today on Google and noticed something very interesting about the way people name products online. Items which we call Gas Charged Framing Nailers have been called Cordless Framing Nailers by many of our competitors. This brings up the question, what is a true Cordless Nailer and what isn't, and what technologies in "Cordless Nailing" actually work?

Gas Charged Impulse Nailers

Gas charged nailers, while not having a cord, aren't normally considered a "cordless" item. Even though Paslode calls them cordless on their own website, they aren't run entirely by a battery. In fact, the battery only acts to create a small spark to ignite a gas charge and drive the nail.

I used one of these when doing some framing at our last house during a bathroom remodel, and it worked fairly well. Since I didn't have access to an air compressor at the time, this really simplified things. This type of gun isn't recommended for extended use, but it works good enough when you're in a pinch.

The consumables are Paslode rechargeable batteries, gas charges (fuel cells), and the nails themselves. Regular maintanence also requires the Paslode degreaser / cleaner for impulse tools (see note in next paragraph).

Paslode isn't the only one making gas charged nailers. Hitachi has a gas charged nailer as well. It's very similar, but green. They have a cleaning document outlining the 30 steps to cleaning a gas charged nailer, which really illustrates why you don't want to use these for your everyday nailing needs.

Porter Cable also made one that they called the "Bammer". I assume that the "BAM" part was in reference to the small explosion from the gas charge.

Cordless Nailers with On-Board Compressors

A couple of years ago, Porter Cable had a unique idea. They built a small air compressor, strapped it onto a pneumatic nailer and ran the whole thing off of a 12V battery. The idea was pretty cool, but it didn't end up working all that well for extended periods.

From what I have read in forums, it appears that there were some issues with seals in the compressor and the tool itself. All that I know for certain at this time is they don't make it any longer. It happened to be somewhere around the time where DeWALT aquired Porter Cable, so many in the industry wrote it off as DeWALT wanting to promote their cordless nailers and not that there were service issues with this model. Regardless the cause, it was a cool idea at the time that isn't currently in production.

Clockwork Spring Mechanism

Senco decided to make their attempt at a cordless nailer much more memorable. (Insert whirring noise followed by a clunk here.) We have sold these in the past, but the time between nails (greater than 2 seconds) makes for a poor user experience. The design is fine, it actually drives the nails ok, but the time savings using a nail gun should be substantial and with these it just isn't.

The concept is cool and I happen to like it a lot. However, winding a spring for a couple of seconds before firing a nail makes it rather difficult to drive that nail exactly where you want it. The odds of moving the nailer go up the longer you have to wait, so quick firing is a very good thing. After listing this as a failure, I'll move on to what we at ToolBarn.com consider to be a good design.

Nail Pitching Machine

When DeWALT decided to enter the cordless nailer market, there were a few chuckles. With the prior failures, the general thinking was that they would also fail. However, the DeWALT cordless nailers have turned out to be amazing in comparison.

Their cordless nailers are designed with a flywheel engine, creating a “readiness to fire” that allows the tool to work as fast as the end user – firing up to 4-5 nails per second. If you've ever been to a batting cage with a pitching machine, their nailers work essentially the same way. This design provides the user with a cordless finish nailer solution that no other manufacturer has been able to deliver in the past. Quite honestly, there are a lot of jobs I'd rather use one of these than have a hose in the way.

At this time, they're all finish nailers. One is angled, the rest are straight. It seems that the emergence of Li-Ion has sort of put new cordless tools on hold, so it'll be interesting to see what they come out with once their "Nirvana" line is released. I'd think that a framing nailer and perhaps even a roofing nailer should be possible with 36 volts to play with, but the heads on the nails will cause problems with this design.

Limited Use - For Now

For now, it appears that cordless finish nailers are the only good solution for regular use. As battery technology gets better and tool manufacturers get more innovative, I'd expect to see more cordless nailers available. The nailers themselves have been slowly getting better and batteries are taking a huge step forward this year, so it should be just a matter of time before someone hits the nail on the head and gives us a full line of cordless nail guns to play with.

Buying Advice - Cordless Drills for Women

At Seach Engine Strategies Chicago in 2004, we had someone stop Matt and myself as we were leaving the ballroom after lunch because she noticed the Makita logo on the sleeve of our shirts. It was Shari Thurow (pictured to the right), well known author, successful busnesswoman and speaker at those conferences. She just had to tell us how much she loved her Makita drill - not because of the power, not because of the longevity, not because of any of the reasons we normally hear. She loved it because of the weight and the fit. It seems Makita makes a drill that fits smaller hands better, and this got me thinking.

Addressing Ergonomics
Makita has long been a leader in addressing ergonomics in making tools. I knew I couldn't pick out the best tools for women, but now that the number of employees here has grown substantially and we have quite a few female employees, I've been able to have them address what's comfortable to them and what isn't. In compiling this data, I now have enough information to put together a cordless drill buying guide specifically for women based upon the unique ergonomic needs of our female employees.

Our Panel of Judges
Our panel of judges consisted of our purchasing agent, our Human Resources director and our customer support team leader. Three ladies in very different jobs and age groups, so this seemed like a nice mixture of opinions to compile for this exercise. I didn't feel it necessary to drag all of our female employees out for this, especially when the first 3 opinions were nearly identical.

Tools to Avoid
The general feeling was that 18V and higher tools, especially the Ni-Cad models, were too heavy. Most of these also didn't fit smaller hands well, specifically the trigger. The handles were a bit too deep, making fully outstretched index fingers fall short of pulling the trigger easily. Weights range here, but some are as much as 6 lbs. in an 18V, making for a heavy drill.

Battery Removal
As a general rule, buttons on either side of the battery are tougher to use. Some brands. such as DeWALT and Panasonic, have the spacing far enough apart that our panel couldn't easily remove the batteries. Others, like the Makita BDF451, have a single button to make it much easier to remove. The Porter Cable 9824 was a single button on the side, which made for fairly easy removal.

The Hitachi DS14DVF3 wasn't overly tough like some of the drills tested were, but the 2 buttons were still more difficult than the Makita and Porter Cable. We also noticed that the higher Amp Hour rated Hitachi batteries were difficult to remove. In fact, when I went back to the call center they had just finished removing the battery from a Hitachi Impact, and it took two people. That's not exactly practical.

Variable Speed
If you're wanting something easier to start a screw / hole with, then the smoothness of the variable speed trigger is important. The Hitachi had a sudden jolt of power when it started up, as did the Milwaukee models we tried. Makita and Porter Cable seemed to have the smoothest triggers. It may not be a huge issue for you, but the less you are able to put your weight behind it the more important the slow startup speed becomes.

Decent Choices
There were two that were considered by our panel to be decent choices - mostly as a backup if one of the two ideal choices below weren't available. The first was the Porter Cable 9824. The balance wasn't too bad, but the weight was a little too much towards the top of the drill. The other decent choice was the Makita 6337DWDLE, which was 4.6 lbs. with battery. The weight seemed to be a bit more towards the front, making it top-front heavy. Again, the grip was a lot better fit than most of the drills we carry. With a little better balance, the 4.6 lbs. wouldn't have been an issue at all.

Best Choices
Two drills emerged as the best choices for women looking for a cordless drill. The first is the Hitachi DS14DVF3, which is a 14.4V Ni-Cad model. This was the best overall feel, is 3/4" shorter from the chuck to the back of the drill than the next model they liked, and has a reasonable amount of power for most jobs around the house. Best of all, it weighs in at just 4 lbs. with battery. The only real concern is that the battery is only 1.4 Ah, so runtime will be less than many of the heavier models.

The second is the Makita BDF451, which is an 18V Lithium-Ion drill. It weighs 4.6 lbs. like the 14.4V model mentioned above in the "Decent" section, but the balance is much better. It is ideal for jobs where power is essential. The Hitachi has 300 in. lbs. of torque, but this model has 560 in. lbs. without a lot more weight. With 3.0 Ah batteries that last twice that of Ni-Cad and Ni-MH models, the runtime will also be a consideration point - it should be nearly 4 times that of the Hitachi on the conservative side.

This model also includes some nice features in the dual LED lights just above the trigger, easy battery removal, very smooth trigger, 3 speed transmission and a removable side handle for added stability when putting your weight behind it. The belt clip was also a nice touch, even if it probably doesn't get used all that often.

Price Considerations
Price is always a consideration when buying tools. Clearly the best value is the Hitachi, which is priced around $100 with 2 batteries, charger and a flashlight. The Makita is over 3 times as much, making it only an option when the power or runtime are essential. If you have need of more cordless tools to go along with this one, the Makita LXT400 kit has a more attractive price when considered on a cost per tool basis, and each has similar ergonomics and weight to the BDF451.

We'll Take Requests
Got a specific tool that you'd like to get our judges to review? Leave a comment and I'll have them take a look at it. If they warrant individual reviews (such as completely different tools), I'll post them that way. If you're asking about a specific drill, I'll add that to this article. Either way, we will address any requests to assist you in selecting a power tool.

Dual Drill - Two Heads Make One Bad Idea

Brad, one of our Customer Service Reps (if you've called us, you may have talked to him), asked me if I had seen the infomercial with the gimmicky drill yet with the flip around head. I hadn't at the time, but now I can say that I have. They called it the "Dual Drill", and I've got to say - it's revolutionary. Well, if you consider a very bad idea revolutionary.

Drilling Power
Let's start out with some basics of drills. They spin, and to have power in doing so will need a solid connection between the motor and the chuck. Anything that can flip and use a different chuck with minimal effort doesn't have a solid connection between the two. That means you'll have limited power at best. It may not show up when drilling small holes like they show on the infomercial (appeared to be 1/8" or less), but if you're trying to use a wood spade or a holesaw, you're going to want a different drill.

Drilling Speed
According to their site, this drill is "0-550rpm". What's my Makita 18V cordless drill run? 0-450 on the low setting, and 0-1400 on the high speed setting. Making holes on the slow speed is pretty annoying. The high speed is much better for drilling. The newer models are 0-1700 rpm. I also noticed they don't have a clutch for the screwdriving chuck of the dual drill. That's not even a true drill/driver. It's just what they called it, a dual drill. So why do they show it driving screws? They probably figured nobody would notice.

Chuck Quality
A quality chuck alone runs around $30 each. If you have 2 of those, there's no way they can make a decent drill with the cost that's left. Adding in a charger and a battery doesn't leave much, then a case and the included bits? There is no way that the chucks are of a reasonable quality, let alone the rest of the tool.

Crafty Camera Angles
They show a "Contractor" drop one of these out of the 4th story window. It falls, the battery comes off, but it still works once they put it back on. Well, as it's falling we see it turn on its side. Let's just say that it was carefully dropped at a specific angle to do the least damage. They also don't show it actually hit the ground, so who knows if they cut away and have a different drill or not. They also drop it onto material that will reduce impact. They're not dropping it onto anything as hard as concrete or even packed dirt. It was dropped onto a loosely packed rubble pile. At the angle it was dropped, I'd venture a guess that any drill could handle that fall into a pile of soft materials.

Google Shows Deceit
Not that most "Only on TV" products don't have that problem, but I wanted to point out that this one is no exception. Some are even as bad as this customer comment on HSN's site about the infomercial itself:

Customer Reviews

What a deal! (Dana, GA)		01/27/2006
My husband is a tool junky. He saw the info on this and had to have it. We ordered off the infomercial and 3 weeks later had heard nothing and they hadn't taken the money from the charge card. He was very upset. I decided to look on HSN. Found it and ordered it. He had the drill in hand within a week. 2 weeks later we got the charge from the infomercial order. Needless to say . . . HSN is great!

There were some others that came up on the first page of results for this product as well. Sites like www.infomercialscams.com had several complaints already listed, which isn't good for a newer product.

Other Clues
There are some other clues that this company doesn't intend to be around long. If you go to the official site, which is listed as dualdrill.com but redirects to tvgoods.com/carts/dualdrill/index.php?t=tv&m=tv&c=na&k=www.dualdrill.com, you'll quickly see that clicking on the "Customer Care" link shows their other "quality" products, and a different phone number for each. However, the Dual Drill has 2 phone numbers depending on when you placed your order. Nice. The page for the Dual Drill also doesn't look like the rest of their website, which is a sign that it isn't a reputable company.

The Dual-Drill® is the perfect gift, but the manufacturer has only allotted us a limited amount. This is an amazing offer you need to jump on right away!

Nothing says I'll be around tomorrow like the terms "Limited amount" and "jump on right away"... especially on the "Official" website.

As part of this introductory offer we're adding something nobody else does. Order the Dual-Drill® now and we'll give you free replacement batteries for life * - just pay the shipping!

Let's face it - every battery quits working eventually. Offering free replacement batteries for life, with the "Life" having the * next to it, sort of implies that there is a weird condition here. If it were free with the *, that'd be a different story. They do have a note saying "* When your Dual-Drill® battery wears out, simply send it back to us and we'll send you a new battery, and all you pay is shipping and handling." They don't say how much that shipping and handling is, nor do they say what "life" implies. If that's the life of the battery, then it's worthless. If that's the life of the company, it may be worth even less than that.

One Final Clue
For those of you not familiar with "Search Engine Optimization" (I'd assume most of you here aren't), the use of hidden text is something you'd do for a short term gain if you don't care about keeping the ranking for a long time. They included hidden text of "Home of the Dual-Drill, also known as dualdrill, duel drill, dueldrill, and dual drill." on the homepage of the product (scroll to the bottom of the page and press CTRL+A to see it). Hidden text is a spamming technique and is generally considered a very bad idea if you're running a legitimate company that intends to be around for a while. Most search engines will find that and penalize the site, although not usually for a short while - which is where the short term gain comes in as well as the long term loss.

Bad Idea and a Shady Looking Company
Not only do I find this to be a bad idea if you really want a drill and not just a glorified screwdriver, this also seems like a very shady company for the reasons I've listed above. If you don't want to get taken to the cleaners, I'd avoid these people and buy a quality drill from a leading manufacturer of cordless drills. Adding a quick-change set will allow you to switch the bits out easy enough that you wouldn't see much of a benefit from this drill from an ease perspective, but you'll also have a lot more power and a much faster drill from a company that has been around this industry for quite some time. If this "Dual Heads" were really a good idea, one of the current manufacturers would have purchased that patent.

Do Your Own Research
Don't take my word for it. These were just my observations on this product. Do some searches on Google. Watch the crafty angles of the commercial. Do some research, check out the reviews, and remember that good tools will be available from an industrial supplier.

V28 Jobsite Microwaves?

Yes, I said V28 Microwaves. Our Milwaukee rep is so pumped about the future widening of the Milwaukee cordless line that he's predicting things as wild as jobsite microwaves, outdoor power equipment, table saws, miter saws, bench grinders - you name it, they're looking at making it cordless. I suppose that any company that is crazy enough to make a cordless tool battery powered car that runs 100MPH in the 1/4 mile is bound to come up with some oddball products with their cordless line, and it should be exciting seeing the races as the other manufacturers try to keep up in making everything cordless.

I'm looking for comments on the craziest cordless tool concept.

A cordless jackhammer comes to mind.

Cordless concrete saw? Could be possible.

Cordless drywall lighting system? Sure, why not?

How about a V28 powered electrical generator? (Actually, that was something our rep threw out, so it may not be so crazy.)

V28 powered charger for an 18V battery? Ok, that's just silly.

How about a V28 powered forklift?

What can you imagine?

Milwaukee V28 Price Drops and Free Tools!

Milwaukee has given us the green light on some price drops on the V28 line of tools. Now that stock levels are where they need to be to keep us supplied, we dropped the prices to make them more attractive. I'm not sure if it is coincidence with the recent article in The Journal of Light Construction that Milwaukee placed on their site or not, but the timing seemed a little suspicious.

Ripe for the picking
Couple the price drops with the fact that Milwaukee has an aggressive rebate program right now where you get your choice of another V28 tool (tool only, no extra batteries, charger or case) by mail when you buy any of the individual tools and they're ripe for the picking. I've been sticking with my Makita 18V kit, but this really has me thinking.

Power to spare
I've been wanting to get a cordless impact for a while. Of couse, I already mentioned how much power the Milwaukee model has. But when I can get a porta-band and the impact for the price of a porta-band, it gets more tempting. I know I don't need that much power, but Makita doesn't make one that'll work with my 18V batteries anyway and I can't justify moving up to the LXT Lithium-Ion models when I have so many of the 18V Ni-MH models (and batteries) already.

Lead me not into temptation
There's no need to lead me into temptation. I can find it myself, thanks. So why hast thou forsaken me, Milwaukee? I hear the call of the wild, and it says buy one so I can get one. It's just not fair. Please, Milwaukee, hide these offers from me in the future.

Tool batteries don't get a "Memory"

In our recent Makita training, we learned something interesting. Tool batteries aren't subject to the "Memory" effect like other cordless items are.

Memory Cause
So, what is it that causes the memory effect? Well, Makita explained that it is the repetitive use of a battery at the same drain level. Basically, if you consider a cordless phone it has 3 levels. Standby is one level, on a call is a second level, and the 3rd level is ringing. Since a phone spends most of its life in standby, or (if you continually charge it) always on a call, the end result is that the battery gets the same load level repeatedly. A camcorder is a more extreme example, since playing and recording are almost exactly the same level of draw.

Why doesn't this affect tools?
Since tools work on different types of material, run into knots in wood, use different size bits and are variable speed, there is a wide variety of draw levels for the batteries to get accustomed to. The result is that the memory effect is minimized or even eliminated. Chances are that a tool battery will have a cell go bad and quit taking a charge long before it can develop a memory.

Why newer technologies?
In cell phones, the newer battery technologies (Ni-MH and Li-Ion in place of Ni-Cad) were primarily to deter a memory. Each technology was less prone to memory than the technology before it. So why do tools need the upgraded batteries? Runtime, power, consistency and the environment. The Li-Ion tools have a longer runtime, in many cases twice that of previous technologies. They also offer more power that is much more consistent through a charge, making the first use similar in power to the last use of a charge. Ni-Cad is also extremely harmful to the environment, although the others aren't really "good" for it. They are just considerably less harmful than Ni-Cad.

Milwaukee V28 Impact selling point?

When the V28 line of Milwaukee cordless tools first came out, we had a customer come in and wanted to see if the impact had enough power for the lugnuts on his brand new dually. It's listed as 325 ft-lbs of torque, but what does that mean when you're using it? We had a battery charged up, so we took it to the parking lot to see what it would do.

Removed the lug
It removed the lug nut just fine. No problems at all there. In fact, it didn't even seem to think twice about this simple task. The V28's have more than enough power for pulling off a lug nut.

Installed the lug
It didn't have any problems when installing the lug, either. It tightened it up in no time flat, and it gave a couple of clicks so we knew it was tight. That was the point he should have stopped.

One more time
The customer pulled the trigger once more - just to make sure it was tight enough. Well, that was one time too many. He managed to shear off the stud with that little pull of the trigger.

Bought the tool
He was impressed with that, and bought it immediately. He didn't need any more proof that it had some power. The funny part is that relating that story to people in the store, many immediately say "That's the one I need then".

How much is too much?
That brings up the question - how much is too much? I don't personally need to shear the studs off of the wheels of my father's Jeep to know if something has enough power to put a lug nut on or not. I don't need the most powerful tool on the market. The jobs I do never require the biggest, baddest, meanest tool in existence. I'm usually just driving a screw, setting an anchor, or changing a tire. Even some of the much lower voltage tools can handle those jobs without much effort. But, being Americans, we feel inclined to buy too much instead of what may only do what we need. I'm sure someone will come out with a 350, 400 or even 500 ft-lb impact at some point, but what's the use if it breaks everything you're trying to assemble?

Features of a Drill / Driver

Drills can do more than just spin. At least they can if they're a hammer drill or a drill / driver. But what is it that makes a drill a drill / driver?

Screwdriving
In case you hadn't alraedy figured it out, the driver part refers to driving screws. This doesn't just mean that you can put a phillips bit into the chuck and use it. This means it is truly designed for driving screws. But what is it that makes it designed for driving screws?

Adjustable Clutch Mechanism
The feature that makes a drill / driver really suitable for driving screws is the adjustable clutch. By setting the clutch to a lower setting, it'll stop when the screw just starts to get snug. By adjusting it the other way, it'll get much tighter. The idea is that you can drive a screw and not have to worry about stripping out the material by over-tightening. That's such a timesaver if you get it set right. Just start low and adjust it until it gets to the right setting.

Still works like a standard drill
As the fact that it is a drill / driver implies, it also works as a drill. There is a mode that turns off the clutch completely so it functions as a drill. The dual modes make the tool much more useful than just having a drilling mode.

More useful, so look for the driver mode
Even more useful is the drill / driver / hammerdrill, but many people won't ever need the hammerdrill capabilities. I'd personally recommend at least looking for a drill / driver, as I know that my in-laws, my father and I personally use our cordless models for driving screws quite often. Making holes is only so useful. Screwdriving expands the uses for a drill many times over and means it'll get a lot more use. Being able to use it more makes it a better value.

Lower voltage batteries - a Makita secret

One of the most unusual little known facts about Makita cordless tools is that any of their pod style batteries can power a tool made to run on a higher voltage, just with a shorter runtime. This has some very interesting applications, especially buying new tools.

Keep using your old batteries
If you buy a newer Makita tool, you don't need to worry about your old batteries becoming obsolete. For example, if you had a 12V drill before and decide to buy a 14.4V impact, the 12V batteries will still work in the new tool. If you had a 14.4V drill that broke, you could buy an 18V no problem without losing the use of your old batteries.

Save money when buying additional batteries
If you want to save a few bucks on your next set of batteries, you can always buy a lower voltage. That's a unique ability. If I decide that 18V batteries cost too much, I can buy 12V or 14.4V replacements. I don't know of any other brand that is set up this way. Very useful for buying batteries for a flashlight, probably not so cool for buying batteries for my miter saw.

Borrow a battery
My neighbor has 12V Makita tools. If I'm in the middle of a job and run out of juice, I can borrow one of his for any of my 18V tools. That could be handy at times. Of course, having 4 batteries of my own means there are few instances where I'll have to borrow a battery, but it's still nice to have the option.

Reminds me of blood types
This reminds me of blood types. Having a 12V is a universal donor (Type O). Owning an 18V tool is a universal recipient (Type AB). Of course, with Lithium Ion coming out now this isn't going to be a universal technology much longer. Also, the MakStar tools don't fit in the same interchangeable line, either. It's still something cool that you can amaze your friends with. Tell them to try that with their "other brand" tools.

Getting a longer runtime for my cordless blower

There is an upcoming product announcement from one of our manufacturers which Matt has mentioned in his article "It's time to put your favorite tools on Lituium (ion)". No specifics yet, but you can probably guess who and what the announcement will be without all the details or specifics. At first, this seemed sort of like just a geeky thing to do to me. Changing battery technologies is cool and all, but for an IT guy how useful would that really be? Well, I'm having trouble deciding.

High Drain Applications
Obviously, longer runtime is a big deal for high current applications. If you only use a cordless flashlight there's not a real reason to switch, unless you're in Alaska and have those 24 hour nights and no charger. Ok, so you'll have to consider it twice there too with the charging problems with cold weather. But when you've got a geeky tool like the Makita UB181DZ which boasts a whopping 9 minute runtime, Lithium Ion may become a HUGE deal. Even if it only doubles the runtime, I could probably get all the grass clippings off of my driveway without swapping batteries.

Fewer Batteries
Right now, I have 4 batteries for my tools. I typically have to use 2 fully charged batteries for blowing off the driveway, sidewalk and patio. I have one always on my flashlight and one is usually in my drill. Being able to do the same amount of work with fewer batteries is cool on the geek meter, but is it truly practical?

Tough Choice
I'll probably get one for the blower and eventually have fewer batteries when some of my current ones start to die. By then, I should know what makes sense - longer runtime or more batteries. Once I have it figured out, I'll let you know what I decided.

The delimma is this: sometimes it's handy to have more batteries, but other times I'd love the longer runtime. I guess it comes down to how many tools do I want ready to go... and how much of an inconvenience it is to swap the batteries back and forth. That means it is subjective and it comes down to personal preference, so there is no right answer.

Features of a Hammer Drill

Drills are pretty common. Most people have at least used one, and probably a majority of households have at least one drill. One question that I've been asked a few times when I mention that I have a Makita 18V hammer drill (an older model pictured to the right) is "What's the difference between that and a regular cordless drill?"

Multiple Modes
Well, the first difference is that there are multiple modes. A standard drill has just one mode : spin. A few add a clutch for driving screws, but most just turn in circles and don't bother stopping. Hammer drills usually have 3 modes. The first is driving, which engages the clutch for driving screws. Secondly, there is drilling. Lastly, we have hammer drilling. But that still doesn't tell us what hammer drilling means.

Blows Per Minute
Yes, this could sound very bad if you're not thinking about cordless power tools. Ok, it still could sound bad. But it isn't meant that way. Essentially, there is more than just spinning going on with hammer drilling. It also has some impact going on, similar to a jackhammer. The chuck (bit holding device for those geeks who can't tell one end of the drill from the other) has the added motion of towards and away from the material. This isn't useful in all cases, but a few special instances it sure is.

Concrete Drilling
When drilling concrete, the hammering motion is a huge help. It not only allows for some chipping to occur (that makes for much faster drilling), but it also helps to clean out some of the debris from the hole as you drill. This leads to more efficient drilling, longer bit life, and a happier user.

Makes Holes in Wood, Too
By switching off the hammer motion, the hammer drill will act just like a normal drill for drilling normal materials like wood, plastic and steel. By having the option, you can use the same drill for more applications. In my book, that's a good thing. I like it when I can do more without buying additional tools. I guess that's why I like Swiss Army knives.

Bosch's Upcoming Lithium Ion Tools

I came across a press release about the upcoming Bosch Lithium Ion cordless tools and thought it was interesting. As I discussed in a previous post about the Makita LXT cordless, they're taking the weight advantage and slightly more power approach, while others are going with the biggest numbers on the block approach. The technologies are varying from 18V to 36V, which is an "All your eggs in one basket" type of a philosophy. Bosch, being a German company, doesn't usually gamble.

Bosch Power Tools and Accessories announced the launch of two distinct new Lithium Ion cordless power tool lines - 10.8 and 36-volts - powered by Litheon, the industry's most advanced Lithium Ion battery technology.

How smart! If high voltage takes off, they've got it covered. If low weight is the way people decide to go, that's also covered. Where it starts to get really interesting is their choices of tools for each voltage.

New 36-volt tools include a one-inch Bulldog rotary hammer in early 2006, followed by a drill/driver, hammer drill/driver, reciprocating saw, circular saw and more near the end of the year.

I can see a rotary hammer needing the power. The drill/driver probably doesn't need as much as the 36V will afford it, the recip saw would be overkill in my opinion, but the circular saw could be great. So what does that leave for the lower voltage?

A 10.8-volt Pocket Driver and 10.8-volt I-Driver will also launch in early 2006, followed by more tools later in the year.

A pocket driver and an I-Driver. Ok, so a pocket driver should be similar to this Metabo driver (I'd include a link to the IXO series Lithium Ion tools, but they told us we can't sell them right now), but what is an I-Driver? I-Don't know. A google search only tells me that it is an open source project on sourceforge, so we're left to wonder. The other thing I could find was referencing a car from the late 50's and early 60's. No clues there.

I guess I'll wonder with the rest of you until our Bosch rep sheds some light. Early 2006 isn't that far off.

Cheap Cordless Tool Shortcomings

I've seen lots of cordless power tools lately that are under $50. We even sell some. But what that makes many people wonder is what are the shortcomings? Are the more expensive tools really that much better?

Gears
Gears are one of the places many cheap tools are lacking. Many are plastic or nylon, making them lightweight and cheap but lacking durability. That's what I call disposable.

Batteries
Batteries can be made inexpensively by using lower ratings. The smaller cells typically have the ratings measured in mAh (milli-amp hours) instead of Ah (amp hours). The difference is a factor of 1000, so 800 mAh (like many inexpensive tools) is much less than a 1.7 Ah tool. The result is a battery that doesn't last as long on a charge.

Chargers
The main place that cheap cordless tools lack is in the charger. A decent charger, such as a Makita DC1804, will run around $50 by itself. Why is that? The most expensive part of a charger is the protection circuit. This protects the charger in the event of a bad cell in the battery. Cheap cordless tools don't have a protection circuit.

Who cares?
The answer is that anyone buying a tool that they expect to last longer than a battery should. Once a battery cell goes bad and it gets placed on that charger, the charging circuit gets literally fried. If you, as most people do, spend weeks to find a source to buy a replacement charger in this situation, it will get fried just as soon as you put your dead battery on the charger. At this point, you've got 2 fried chargers and a bad battery. You'll need to buy another charger and another battery now to get it working. This tends to lead to practicing 4 letter words as you throw things in the trash.

Why should you pay more?
Simply because it will cost less in the long run. The batteries will do more work per charge, the tool won't break as easily, and replacement parts are much easier to find. The "I'm not going to use it much" argument doesn't hold up, either. The less a battery is used, the more likely it'll get drained and sit around, which is one of the main causes of bad cells. Do yourself a favor and spend a little extra.

Reciprocating Saws

Reciprocating saws, also known as sawzalls, are a very useful tool. They can cut most anything you want, from 2x4's to steel studs. Depending on the blade and your skill level, you could make just about anything with one. It can be used similar to a jig saw or for demolition. That's just an awesome tool. Oh, and they can be used to cut cars in half. That's just cool. This one was cut with a Lenox blade and a Milwaukee V28 cordless recip saw at our annual tent event last summer. It took just 1 minute and 45 seconds to cut this car in half. What an awesome demonstration of cordless technology.

Many of these saws have an adjustable shoe. My Makita JR180DWD has one, but I never understood why. When Makita was demonstrating their new LXT model for us (it will be available soon), they explained the logic behind making the shoe move. Quite simply, this allows you to use different parts of the blade when cutting to extend blade life. It can also be used to limit the depth of a cut, but that wasn't the original reasoning behind the adjustment.

Now that I understand the reason for having an adjustable shoe, I'll probably be using it a whole lot more. The Makita models are, for the most part, a tool free shoe. Many of the others are getting there, but some still require a wrench to adjust the shoe. With the reasoning behind moving it, I can't imagine a wrench would be a good way to go.

I also now understand why so many people call asking for parts for the Makita JR3000's shoe. Unfortunately, that part has gone through almost 14 variations during the product's lifetime. That's why we have a note on our site to take it to a Makita Service Center. Makita won't even help you over the phone with those. They require seeing it to determine what the correct parts are. At this time, we have a few of the JR3000VX1 left, which includes a free pair of gloves. It's been a great tool, which is why it's been so long in existence without moving to a new model.

Currently, the only way to get the Makita LXT Recip Saw is to buy the LXT 4 piece kit. There is a rebate until March to get a free recip saw with that kit. For the price, that's an awesome deal. If I didn't have a kit already, I'd be jumping all over it. But I don't use them enough to justify spending that much for a new one.

For an electric recip saw, my preference is the Porter Cable Tiger Saw. The rotating handle is just cool. As a geek, I like toys like that. It becomes very comfortable in some applications when sideways. Other times, up and down is more appropriate. The rotating allows you to decide based on the job. It also has a keyless blade change and shoe adjustment. Again, very cool and well worth the additional few dollars over some of the lower end models.


My next project is going to be building a desk similar to this producer's station. I'll be cutting an aluminum rack for my equipment to mount on each side. I'm sure I'll be able to use my recip saw for that, and I'm looking forward to it. I'll also get to use my circular saw, miter saw, jigsaw, brad nailer, air compressor, and my drill - both as a drill and as a driver. I'll be sure to post some pictures when I have it completed. I don't know too many geeks that build their own desks. I guess that makes me a unique geek.

Makita LXT Lithium Ion Cordless Tools

Makita has introduced their LXT line of power tools recently. I already own their largest 18V cordless kit, so it hasn't been a temptation until I learned a whole lot more about them.

First, these aren't simply 18V cordless tools with Lithium Ion batteries. These are completely redesigned for usability and durability. Makita's goal was to reduce weight while keeping the same or better performance, and I'd say they were pretty successful.

More Power
Wanting more power isn't new. This is how Americans buy power tools. Unlike the European market, we want larger numbers. More amps must be a good thing on that recip saw. More Amp Hours must be great on that battery. More torque is the way to buy an impact driver.

Well, in the European market, fewer amps is a sign of efficiency. Work done is the measure of a battery. Torque is a consideration, but there is a limit. Most of the impacts and drills on the market today could break your wrist if you're careless, so why would you need more power?

So, in keeping with the American tradition of more power (insert Tim the Tool Man laugh here), Makita changed their motors to give more power, but also more control and durability. For those who aren't familiar with the history of DC motors, allow me to relate that to you.

In the beginning (meaning until the mid 90's), there were can motors. These were simple, self contained motors that you just replaced as a unit when they failed. They were fine (some manufacturers, especially homeowner grade, still use these), but an entire motor is costly to replace when you're using it regularly. They do all eventually wear out, you know.

The next step was to give that can motor external brushes and add in a ball bearing instead of a sleeve. This wasn't until the mid 90's, but it was a huge improvement. Now, users could replace the brushes without the entire motor needing replaced.

The next step was around 2002 when the 2 piece motor was introduced. This made an armature and a housing that could be replaced individually as well as having ball bearings on each end, although some manufacturers only use a single bearing. Now we're getting much cheaper to repair.

Finally, the LXT line is Makita's first line with what is known as a 4 pole motor. On a standard motor, there is a North and a South magnetic pole, so power is generated ever 180 degrees of turn. With a 4 pole, there are 2 North and 2 South, so power can be generated every 90 degrees of turn. This means a motor can be lighter, but you'll still end up with more power.

Lower Weight
Why would big, mean tool toting construction workers care about a couple of pounds of weight? Simple. If you're driving screws above your head all day, a 4 lb. tool is much more comfortable than a 6 lb. tool. This was a real goal of moving to Lithium for most of the manufacturers, as the Lithium cells were much lighter than Nickel Cadmium or even Nickel Metal Hydride batteries. Add the 4 pole motors I already discussed above and there was a significant weight difference between the LXT and previous 18V offerings from Makita.

More Work
Nobody wants to do more work, right? Well, that means you should let the tool do more work for you. But that's not quite what this means.

How much work can you do in one charge? Well, these new LXT tools do more per chage than a Ni-CD or Ni-MH tool. Now, add to that the fact that they can charge up to 1400 times and you've got a battery that does 280% more work than your previous batteries at only a slightly higher cost. Very cool. Very cool indeed.

Better Engineering
Makita wasn't the first to come out with a line of Lithium Ion tools. Milwaukee beat them to the punch, at least in the US. However, Makita took their time to do what they felt was right in creating these tools.

Milwaukee wanted the ultimate in power - rivaling most of their corded tools. That's why they went with a 28V system. They felt that keeping the weight the same and increasing the power would be the way to best fit the American market. As I said above, we tend to buy based on bigger numbers and not based upon what we really need.

Makita, on the other hand, wanted to make something more on the pracital side and not so much on the ego side. Their 18V system is much ligher and tends to have the power to do most anything that a cordless needs to do.

Milwaukee isn't alone in this quest for more power. DeWALT has announced that they're going to be launching a 36V Lithium Ion system. Bosch is going to launch a 32V system. Hitachi and Panasonic both appear to be doing 18V systems. Makita is also going to be bringing out 12V and 14.4V Lithium down the road. It'll be interesting to see which catches on.

The other note that I made on the engineering side (along with the 4 pole motors and common sense approach) was the charging system. This is what's really tough with Lithium Ion and, to a lesser extent, Ni-MH (Makita was the only one I know of to do Ni-MH for most of their line world-wide).

Milwaukee has sealed their batteries completely to keep dirt and particles out, which is great for keeping clean contacts. However, to get the best possible charge an even temperature within a set range is required. If the batteries are too hot, they simply wait a bit, then try charging until it gets too hot again, pause, then charge more. This can be rough on the batteries. Cold is equally as hard to charge in, so they normally draw some juice from the battery until it heats up enough that it'll accept a charge.

Makita, wanting to do things how they saw right, added most of the technology to the charger instead of the battery. Their batteries have an air-channel all the way around, but the ends are sealed to keep contaminants out. This creates for a more even temperature across all batteries, allows them to blow cool or warm air around the batteries for charging, and in general makes for a more common sense approach to batteries. The batteries are what will need replaced, not the chargers, so putting the technology in the charger saves expense when you have to replace the batteries.

The other thing they did was to make the drill / driver a 3 speed. Most tools just have a high / low setting, but this one has a middle speed as well. DeWALT uses a 3 speed on a few of their cordless models, but 2 of the speeds are pretty quick. Makita realized that most of the time you need a different speed to get more torque, so they have a 0 - 300, 0 - 600 , and a 0-1750 setting. That means you can really control the low RPM speeds, but the fast "Drill this little hole" or "Drive this screw" which doesn't need the control has a setting as well. I thought this was very well planned and implemented.

Improved Ergonomics
Makita realized that by lowering the weight, the balance of the tool has changed. They also realized that by not having a "Pod" style battery (where part sticks into the handle of the tool), they could make the grip shape and size change. The result was actually rather nice. I was impressed by the feel of the handle. It seemed very natural and very well balanced. Even when drilling with a 12" long, 1/2" bit into the end of a 4x4, it was manageable with one hand. That was a nice change. Using two hands, it worked remarkably fast.

Conclusion
If I didn't already own the biggest, baddest 18V Makita cordless kit run with 18V Ni-MH batteries and the 18V sliding compound miter that they used to make, I'd be seriously tempted to buy an LXT kit. Even owning that, I still find it tempting. Makita has done a great job of creating these tools, and I've got to give them credit on doing it with a very, very good common-sense approach. Now we'll just have to wait and see if people want the bigger numbers (Voltage) or if they took the right approach for marketing to the US population.

If you'd like to learn more about battery technologies, Matt has written a great article titled "Cordless Tool Batteries - A Primer" that I'd recommend.

* The opinions expressed here are mine based upon product training I have recieved from our vendors. I am, after all, just a geek.