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.

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.

Convert your Ni-Cad Milwaukee Tools to Lithium-Ion

Milwaukee Tools just started offering a cool upgrade for existing customers with Ni-Cad tools. It's a kit (2 batteries and a charger) that allows you to power the older Ni-Cad tools with their newer Li-Ion batteries. For around 2 bills, that's not bad at all if you've got several tools already that you'd like to give the longer run-times.

What's even better is that they're offering a 5 year warranty on these batteries. with the first two years being exchange replacement.

Why would you want to do this? There are a couple of reasons. The biggest being that the weight of Li-Ion batteries is considerably less than Ni-Cad, which means your tool using experience will be much more pleasant. Li-Ion also have a longer runtime and more charges in their lifetime.

While this isn't a "Throw out your old working batteries" type of an upgrade, if you've got some aged cells and are looking to freshen your personal battery inventory, this appears to be a great way to go. If the other manufacturers offered this, I'd be all over those, too. It's hard for me to pass up new geek toys.

For more information, including current pricing, you can take a look here.

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.

Is that a V28 Engine under the hood? Milwaukee Li-Ion Chevy Bel-Air

The "Red Line" tour came to our place today. This included the Monster Garage built V28 powered car. Not only is this thing cool to look at, it's also pretty darn quick - getting up to almost 100 mph in the quarter mile. It runs from 384 of Milwaukee's V28 Li-Ion batteries and drew quite a bit of attention (yes, that's almost $50k and 900 lbs of "fuel" for those keeping score at home, not including the 210 V28 chargers). I'm sure that seems like a decent chunk of cash to most of us, but our rep stated that getting this car built cost them $275k, so it's not all that much in comparison.

Now that you know what powers this beast, allow me show you some of the details of this interesting rechargeable automobile.

Stock looking interior

As you can see, the inside is fairly "standard". Nothing overly impressive, other than it looks great for being a 1962 vehicle. Milwaukee had it done in their black and red color scheme with some white highlights, but it still looks pretty stock. It wasn't perfect, but it was also done pretty quickly for the show and wasn't what they were really concerned with. They did, after all, just want to make something that went fast down the 1/4 mile track, and 93 mph in 14.5 seconds isn't too bad for a power tool battery powered car.

Interesting accellerator

If you look really close (clicking on the image to zoom in a bit helps), the gas pedal is actually like those used on boats for trolling motors. I found that a bit amusing that they ended up using one of those, but it is understandable since they're running electric motors with it and not moving a lever to open up the carb letting more fuel and air in. I hadn't ever really thought about what they would use for an accellerator, which is probably why it stood out as much as it did to me. Either way, the feel was a bit different and I thought it was worth noting. The wire coming off of it will be re-run at some point, but for now it's functional.


Stock from the front

From the front, this car looks fairly stock as well. Nothing really screams "electric muscle car" from the outside. Come to think of it, electric muscle car is sort of an odd term. The other phrase I heard to describe this is "High-tech classic". That didn't really make much sense either. An electric car shouldn't be considered a classic if you ask me, regardless how old the body style is. But I would have to agree that it's sweet technology, as would most any classic car enthusiast. I'd still prefer a V8 over a V28, but that wouldn't help with Milwaukee's marketing like this does.

Sweet wheels

The wheels that they chose looked pretty nice as well. I like the Milwaukee logo sweeping across the fender, even if some of the paint had already decided to bubble and start peeling. But hey - it's a classic car body that's been on the road being shown at tool stores around the country, so you can't expect it to be perfect. It's still plenty shiny, and those low-profile tires look nice. I'm just glad I didn't have to mount them on the rims. That would have been a real pain in the back-end. I guess that's why I decided to be a geek and not a tire changer for a career.

Under the hood

Now that you've seen the outside, it's time to take a peek under the hood. Being an electric, it looks quite different. No gas lines, just electrical wires. No oil dipsticks, no air filters, just solenoids and fuses. But since it's a newer technology, it's pretty neat to look at. I think it's cool that a car can run that fast and be almost completely quiet, void of the typical rumble of exhaust pipes. Obviously, if it were a commercial vehicle it would have the wires hidden a bit more, but it's not so it was just made to be functional and semi-pretty to look at. I'll include a few more pictures below from under the hood, just because it's neat.




In this last "motor" picture, notice how fire was hand drawn coming from one of the monsters. Sort of a neat touch.


The Fuel

As you can see from the underside, there is no gas tank. Why would anyone need a gas tank on an electric car? Some of the straps for transportation are still draped over the rear end and sway bar (was that supposed to go there - the bar now looks bent), and you can see that the power cables aren't actually hooked up. At the top of the picture, you can see that the trunk was wood lined, which allowed for easy mounting of the battery receptacles. No, there weren't 384 batteries installed, but looking up it was easy to see where they all went.

Battery mounting system

To the left is the view from under the trunk. For whatever reason, they couldn't get the trunk to open, but from the underside all of the battery positions were visible. I was a little shocked to see rust on the underside of the trunk, but it is a '62 Bel-Air body with 43 year newer battery technology - and it shows in areas. The car is still sweet, but it isn't immaculate like I was expecting. In their defense, they did put it together in 4 days and have it scheduled to go in for a complete refinishing (body / interior) after this week. We're one of the last stops to get to see the Monster Garage's original work.

It was an interesting distration from our usual power tool workplace. Given a few more of these events, my blog won't even have to talk about power tools - just the publicity stunts that the manufacturers are trying. But until we get to that point, I'll be going back to Power Tool blogging for a while... except for an upcoming Milwaukee Chopper post.

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.

Li-Ion Tool Sales History - Canada

With Li-Ion tools being out in North America for over a year now I think its time to take a look back and see how it went. What has been selling well, and what has not.

Disclaimer

First a disclaimer, this article by no means is reflecting on the actual quality of any of the products, just the sale history in my geographical area (West Coast Canada, Vancouver Area). I fully realize that other geographical areas may have completely different sales track records, which I would find very interesting to look at also. In fact, I would love to hear some of Brian's comments on how things are going in his part of the world.

History

First a little history. As we all know, Milwaukee Power Tools was the the first to introduce Lithium Ion Technology in North America with their V28 line, and they did so with a big splash. However, they had a very hard time keeping production up with the demand of the product because they couldn't make the batteries fast enough. What happened then is America gobbled up all the available product for about the first 8 months, which meant Milwaukee Canada simply had no units available for the northern distributors.

Product Arrival

By the time we finally got Milwaukee Li-Ion Products, Makita LXT showed up that same week, which was early January 2006. We made a very impressive display for both, having them side by side. On one side we had the larger, more powerful, more expensive 28v Milwaukee tools, and on the other side we had the more ergonomic, lighter, compact and less expensive 18v Makita tools.

Outcome

What happened? Makita 18v Li-Ion so far has completely out sold the Milwaukee 28v tools to the point where our stores will no longer be stocking the 28v series on a regular basis. It seemed the paying customer preferred less expensive lightweight ergonomic tools over the impressive brute power of the bigger tools.

More Choices

When the Bosch 10.8v pocket drivers arrived they to had very good response. The first 50 we got lasted barely a month. Dewalt 36v arrived shortly afterward, and has had very moderate positive response so far.

Current Trends

Right now, it looks like the consumer is leaning towards lighter, compact tools over the big heavy power houses. Milwaukee and Hitachi 18v Li-Ion has also just arrived into stock, but haven't been around here long enough to analyze the demand for them. I would like to know how other areas are responding to the Li-Ion tools. If anyone has information on the subject I would like to hear about it.

Article submitted by Chris of KMS Tools.

My New Favorite Tool

As a tool store, we have the advantage of seeing new products before the general public. We also have the advantage of comparing tools side by side. So when the new Makita 14.4v Lithium Ion BDF440 came in, it quickly found a place on top of my favorites list.

This beauty of a tool is comparable in size to the Bosch pocket driver. It is only about a half inch longer, but it has a 1/2" chuck! It is about an inch and a half taller because it has a larger battery pack, which I actually prefer because it is balanced very nicely and can 'stand' upright on its battery instead of having to lie it down on its side. Having to lie it down is a personal pet pieve with power tools because I hate marking up the sides prematurely.

As for power, it has tons! One of the Makita Sales Reps left his model here for the week to let us try out. As it turned out we were doing some in-house renovations and decided to use this little guy. We were using 17" long 5/8" auger bits bits into pressure treated wood without a problem. Very impressive for a machine thats only 3.5lbs. It has wonderful feeling hand grips, and that little L.E.D. light at the front to help light up your workplace.

If you're looking for something compact yet powerful, you'll want to check this guy out whenever he becomes available.

This article has been submitted by Chris of KMS Tools.

Cordless tool battery stability

Cordless tools batteries are simple, right? Well, Matt didn't think so when he was researching this article on cordless tool batteries. There is a lot of information there, but one thing he didn't really address was stability. His article was already pretty long, so that got left out in the interest of getting it published in the first place.

Basics of battery ratings

Cordless tool batteries are measured in Volts and Amp Hours. Volts is the amount of juice at any given moment, while Amp Hours gives reference to how long the battery can last when doing a job. That's about a simple as I can make it. Ok, one more try using a water pipe as a metaphor. Volts is the speed of the flow of the water, Amps is the diameter of the pipe that can be filled, and Amp Hours is the length of time that this flow can be maintained.

What is battery stability?

Since batteries end up having chemistry tied to them, and nobody that isn't wearing a funny white coat really wants to read about chemical reactions, I'll try to keep this more of a high level overview instead of really in-depth.

What it essentially boils down to is that stability is a measure of how many charges the battery can take before a cell goes bad. Based on the chemical makeup of the battery, this can vary quite a bit. This is also where the newer technologies really shine.

Ni-Cad (Nickel-Cadmium)

This is really one of the oldest battery technologies. The chemical makeup is Nickel and Cadmium, which ends up having the worst symptoms from voltage depression. I won't go into the details about voltage depression - you can read it at the provided link if you are interested. What I will say is that the chemical makeup of Ni-Cad means you see the least amount of time between failures in most cases.

Ni-MH (Nickel Metal Hydride)

This is a slightly newer technology, but it still has voltage depression issues. Although the symptoms aren't typically as quick to develop as Ni-Cad, they do exist and still have to be dealt with. But here's the big secret - The higher the Amp Hour rating of the battery, the less stable the chemistry of the battery. Let me repeat that in different language - Longer life per charge (higher Ah rating) means fewer charge cycles before a cell goes bad.

Li-Ion (Lithium Ion)

For power tools, this is the newest technology. This is similar to what cell phones have been using for years, but with much larger cells to give a cordless tool some actual run-time. For example, my cell phone has a 3.7V 1000 mAh battery. The smaller ones on cordless tools right now are 18V with 3000 mAh (3 Ah). That's quite a difference. But what about stability?

When talking about stability in a lithium battery, we're talking about the different chemical makeups. This is different than the concerns with Ni-Cad or Ni-MH batteries. Basically, when the manufacturers were originally attempting to make Li-Ion for power tools, there were many explosions because of chemical instability before anyone got it right.

That's not a big problem any more, but we still see people searching for V28 explosions at times. I don't know if they want video or are just doing research to make sure that they're safe, but either way it sounds like someone heard about some old problems.

Chem Is Try

The fun thing I remember about chemistry from my days at UNL is that Chem Is Try. Nothing ever comes out perfect the first time, and conditions can contribute to unseen problems. This is not only true in skydiving (as the bumper sticker to the right points out), but also in chemistry.

Milwaukee spent over 7 years on R&D for their V28 series of tools. Makita didn't want to spend that long, so they decided to use Sony Li-Ion cells which were being used in other high-demand applications (digital cameras, camcorders, etc.) already. But the point is, the battery chemistry used by these manufacturers has been tested for quite some time now to make sure that the batteries don't go boom. A few of those could cripple their reputation, and in this industry reputation is a powerful ally or an even stronger adversary.

New V28 Tools Coming Soon!

Our Milwaukee rep was in again today, and he let me know that there are some new V28 tools on the way. Four to be exact.

1) 1" Rotary Hammer
How cool is this? A cordless SDS-Plus rotary hammer! Just what I've never needed. Then again, I've never needed a rotary hammer anyway. If I did, cordless would sure be a nice option. These should be cool for demolition crews like Matt used to work on.

2) Right-Angle Drill
There are a lot of times that I've thought a right-angle would be nice to have. I'm glad they're changing this one over. Milwaukee has always made nice right angle drills, so this could be a huge seller for them.

3) Metal Cutting Saw
I wasn't exactly sure what the difference between a regular circular saw and a metal cutting circular saw was, so I asked. It seems that a metal cutting circular saw has a housing to collect metal shavings and runs at a different RPM. A regular circular saw with a metal blade will send metal shavings at the user, so it's more fun to watch from a safe distance, but much lower on the safety ratings.

4) Jobsite Radio
The Milwaukee radios have always sounded nice with their Rockford Fosgate speakers. By having V28 power, they should be able to bump up the wattage and really have a good sound to them. It may seem ho-hum to most people, but I'm thinking the sound could be almost to the point of good on these, unlike most jobsite radios that are more on the "I can live with it" level. I guess we'll know soon enough. The official statement from their website is "With up to 44 watts of total system power and upgraded amplifier and speakers, this unit will accept 12 to 18 volt Ni-Cd and V18 to V28 Li-Ion Milwaukee battery packs. Under V28 power, the unit will run 50 percent longer." Sweet music to my ears.

More on the way in the not-so-distant future
He also assured us that, among others, the V28 powered jobsite microwave was still going to be coming out in the near future. That'll be the fun one. I'm going to see if we can make him use a cordless microwave to make TV dinners and microwave popcorn for everyone here when they get released. Fun for the whole family!

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.