Vise Grips - Making improvements to a classic

Vise Grips, which is an Irwin tradename, have been around for a very long time. In fact, they've been around since 1924. So what can be done to make them exciting again? Well, Irwin has made a few improvements that I learned about at product training that make sense to tell our customers about. Even if you're not a customer, I'll let you read about the changes. Just so long as you buy Irwin, mission accomplished, right?

First, they've changed up the adjusting screw just a bit. There is now a spot to use a hex key to either control the release or draw materials together. As you can see in the picture, drawing together these metal bars with springs was something they showed us, but you could be drawing together wood or metal which may not be perfectly straight, and then you'll understand the use. It's not an everyday use type of change, but it is certainly something worth noting.

They also got rid of the little flip handle on many of the new models, making them one handed quick release. The biggest hitter in this category is the 10WR, which is a 10" model. They also put overmolded cushion grips on one side to make it hurt less when you squeeze down hard. They're not dipped like some competing locking pliers - they're a true overmolded design to make sure it doesn't slip off as you're using them.

One of the more fun things they had us do with Vise Grips was to see how much closing pressure we could create with a pair. Our own Chris started out with 1 hand and got almost 1000 lbs of pressure. After trying with 2 hands, he got up as high as 1950 lbs of pressure from the jaws on the 10WR model. That seemed like a lot at the time (ok, so I should say ton since we're close to 2000 lbs of pressure), but we learned better when we got to the racetrack.


As you can see to the right, Chris got up to 1950 lbs of pressure. At the racetrack, they had rewards set up for certain levels of pressure. At one level, you'd get a Sharpie (owned by the same company), and setting a new record got you a multi-pack of Vise Grips. In the 12 and under category, the record was mid 1700's. The women's record was mid 2500's, and the overall record was over 3600. I think Chris needs to try hitting the gym before we go next time so he's not so embarrassed about his low numbers. Then again, I was smart enough to just not try it in the first place.

Overall, Vise Grips are really functional but not usually exciting. But the changes Irwin made to the Vise-Grips brand of locking pliers sure make them more interesting.

Skilsaw Rebates - $20 from Skil on some great saws

What's even better than getting a great saw at a great price? How about $20 back by mail? From March 2nd to May 31 (2006, of course), Skil is sending $20 back for every HD77M and HD77 you decide to buy, with no limits on the quantity listed on the rebate form. That's an awesome deal if you're looking for a Skilsaw!

What makes this a good Skilsaw for a beginner?

If you've ever worked with any sort of a circular saw, you know that handle placement can be a big deal. If you're not used to a circular saw at all, having the blade on the left side instead of the right allows a right handed person to see the cut without leaning over the saw. By placing the handle behind the tool, Skil has also managed to create a saw that you're pushing through the material instead of guiding from the top. By moving the handle out of the way, you can see more of the material you're cutting and less of the back of your hand. The results tend to be straighter cuts. Beginner and tradesmen alike can appreciate that.

What makes this a good Skilsaw for a contractor?

Skil uses a "Worm Drive" to create a drive mechanism that not only has more power, but also has a longer life than standard "spur" gears. The "Worm" style has more teeth constantly in contact, which creates very little play in the mechanism and a smoother, more consistent spinning motion for the blade. By having gear reduction, the torque is also greatly increased without requiring a much more expensive motor. Less play in the gearing leads to less wear. The end result of using a worm drive is a much more solid gearing mechanism creating a more powerful, longer lasting saw - great for any contractor. If you depend on your saw to make a living, you'll appreciate the accuracy and the longer duty cycle.

Which one should I get?

Between the HD77M and HD77, there isn't all that much difference. Basically, the only difference is that the "M" means Magnesium, which is a stronger metal that is also lighter weight. For a homeowner looking for a quality saw, either would be fine. For a contractor that is going to be using it quite often, the lighter saw and stronger housing will be very appreciated.

Want to play and learn more?

We have an online demo of the HD77M available if you'd like to play with it a bit. You can magnify the saw, spin it to see all sides and learn about all of the features that make it a great saw. Just visit the HD77M Skilsaw page and click on the "Product Demo" button just above the picture. It's vendor supplied, so there isn't a whole lot of explanation of the features, but it's still a fun toy. Enjoy.

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.

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.

Makita's Mysterious Dual Linear Ball Bearings

After a couple of posts already about the Makita LS1013L and LS1214L and the dual linear ball bearings, and about the shortcomings of other manufacturers, I started researching the Makita saws even deeper. What I found was that I could easily locate one of them on one of the rails, but the other seemed to be hiding very well. I could also easily locate one on the schematic of the LS1013 as well. However, the other has been a mystery.

The mystery continues
I pointed this out to some of our front counter people, and they saw the same thing I did. This led to questioning of our Makita rep, which ended up with the answer of it's there, you just missed it. One is easily found, the other is buried in the saw.

Searching for answers
Not one to take the easy answer, I went ahead and emailed one of the Makita training personnel that we had at our location a few weeks ago. I asked him where it was in the saw, and let him know we couldn't locate it. I got a response from him that explained why we were missing it, and I'll show you why I missed it here.

The first one
As you probably can't tell (clicking the image lets you see it a bit clearer), part #149 is a linear ball bearing assembly. The full description is shown to the right (as seen on the schematic.) But, that only shows one. There isn't another one listed anywhere as a part.

The second one
But wait! We have a second, it was just impossible to see on the diagram. Part #140, which is the base, includes a linear ball bearing. I didn't quite understand why at first, but it was explained to me by Chris from our front counter. One is fixed, the other is adjustable. By having one in a fixed position, you have something to adjust against when aligning the slides.

Mystery solved!

Anti-Vibration Technology - Jackhammers

Jackhammers, also called demolition hammers or breaker hammers, are best known for breaking up concrete roads and driveways. I usually think about the scene in Total Recall where Arnold is using one when I see a picture of one. In Hollywood, having the vibration shaking him silly is a good thing. In everyday life, that's not so good. In fact, it can be downright harmful.

Combatting Vibration
Fighting the harmful effects of vibrations from jackhammers is not only a good thing to do, but Europe will even have a standard in place soon for the amount of vibration that tools are allowed to pass to the user. Less is better when it comes to vibration, and the latest AVT (Anti-Vibration Technology) from the manufacturers is really pretty cool.

Each manufacturer has a different strategy at the moment, though. There are a ton of options, so looking at the technologies is interesting to a geek.


I'm going to have to ask about this, but it appears that Milwaukee hasn't embraced Anti-Vibration technology yet. Hey Dave, is that so? (The answer will be here when he gets it to me.)

&
One of the simple ways to dampen vibration is by making the handles shock mounted. Essentially, the handles have a little bit of give, making the vibrations that the tool is giving off stop in the handles and not pass the full force to the operator. Very simple, but not totally effective. There still has to be enough force in the handles to keep the tool going in the right direction, so making them totally independent wouldn't work. But, it does indeed reduce the amount of vibration passed to the user. For an occasional user (such as a rental tool), this will be sufficient.


For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Essentially what's tough to stop is the opposite reaction. Using a counterweight, it is possible to time the movement of the counterweight with the force of the hammer and greatly reduce the vibration. In one very impressive video that Makita uses for product training, they have a competitor tool with half full water bottles taped to the handles and the top. Once power is applied, the bottles have enough vibration getting to them that it looks like a nice frothy head on top of the water. Same test on the Makita HM1810 with AVT shows very little disturbance to the surface of the water. This looks to be a huge improvement for the end user, although I've never actually tried a jackhammer.

Still in the early stages
Anti-Vibration technologies are still in their early stages, so I'm sure new things will be coming out in the near future. But for now, it's a matter of how much getting rid of the vibration is worth to you. But then, if you use it a lot it becomes a question of what's your health and safety worth.

Direct Drive Miter Saws with Electronic Speed Control

According to our recent training with Makita, Miter Saws make up 12% of the power tool industry. That may not seem like that huge of a percentage, but this is the largest chunk for a single category. By comparison, electric drills, grinders, and reciprocating saws are all tied at 4%. The only category they could point to as being larger was cordless tools, but that's broken down into drills, saws, etc. and isn't a fair comparison. By the way, cordless is now 44% of the market.

With that big of a chunk of the market being miter saws, Makita has focused on creating a better miter saw. Some of their changes aren't something you'd notice, such as dual linear ball bearings and the machined aluminum base. These both lead to accuracy of the cuts, but aren't really visible.

Direct Drive
Another non-visible change is the patented method in which direct drive is implemented in the LS1214L and LS1013L (12" and 10" models). Typically, you have a belt attaching the miter saw blade's driveshaft to the motor. One thing I know from my days working at an auto parts store is that belts stretch and eventually break. Personally, I'd rather not have a belt in my miter saw if I can avoid it. The figure to the right shows a belt as part #71. This is from a competitor's tool.

Electronic Speed Control
By using gears in the saw (I'll talk about different gear technologies at some point later), it is possible to add in an electronic speed control as well. Not only does that sound fancy, but it really is a good thing to have. It means that regardless of the load, the blade will attempt to stay at the same RPM. This helps avoid scorching as a cut is made. Of course, a speed control adds $40 - $50 to the cost of the unit, but the Makita saws with these included are still fairly price competitive with the similar models from our other manufacturers.

More Marketing and R&D Dollars
Knowing that miter saws are in the largest category for tool manufacturers sure explains why Makita and others tend to put the most marketing hype around them. Makita also seems to have placed more R&D dollars into the miter saw. I still like my LS0711Z (18V cordless, but not built for many moons now), and the newer electric models look even nicer. Currently, only Bosch is making cordless miter saws of the manufacturers that we carry. It's cool, but not necessarily all that useful (also known as a geek's dream tool). Then again, 44% cordless, 12% miter saws - I'd expect to see a few more get into this market (again for some) as Lithium Ion becomes more mainstream.

Education is Essential
With all the buzzwords surrounding miter saws these days (dual linear ball bearings, machined base, direct drive motor and electronic speed control to name a few), it's no wonder many people just buy whatever is on sale. Then again, how would any of our manufacturers be able to put 40 pages worth of information, or a 3 hour educational course, onto a single brochure? I guess that's why we have salespeople - we can do the education of the customer for the manufacturers. Vendor training is just extremely important for us to be able to do that. I wouldn't have known why direct drive and electronic speed control were important when buying a miter saw until our vendor training, but hopefully I was able to convey the reasons these are important features to look for to you as well.

Single linear ball bearings?

My post yesterday on dual linear ball bearings prompted Matt to look at some of the schematics for the other manufacturers. He didn't seem to believe that some of our manufacturers would be so cheap as to only use one linear ball bearing like Makita was implying. We did a little research, and the results were astonishing.

DeWALT DW708

This particular model of DeWALT has single bearing on the lower of the sliding rails. It's not possible to tell if it is a sleeve or a ball bearing, just that it is a bearing. However, it can't be purchased independently. It's part of an assembly (reference #121, although the 12 got clipped) for $370. Ouch.

DeWALT DW718

Admittedly, the DW708 isn't their newest model. The DW718 is probably a fairer test of their current manufacturing practices. What do we see here, then? One bearing, can't tell if it is sleeve or ball bearing, and it is still part of an expensive full assembly.

Hitachi C10FSH

To stop picking on DeWALT, I'm going to show a Hitachi now. Part #106 in the diagram is a bearing. They call it a "Ball Bushing". Just one, but we know for sure this is a ball bearing type.

Milwaukee 6497

Milwaukee has 2 ball bearings. WOOHOO! Wait just one second, though. That's part #6, and they don't go on both rails. They go on one rail. That's not exactly how it should be done. One rail is just sliding through a hole, the other has 2 ball bearings. Interesting.

I'll have to add in the Makita version as soon as I locate a schematic for it. This should be interesting.

EDIT: I finally got a solid answer from Makita on where the second ball is located. I have this entered in another post titled Makita's Mysterious Dual Linear Ball Bearings. It was a bit much to add to this already lengthy article.

Dual Linear Ball Bearings

Warning: Buzzwords debuzzed in this post.

If you've looked at miter saws at all, you've probably seen some mention of linear ball bearings. If you've looked at the Makita miters at all, you've probably seen dual linear ball bearings mentioned. But that brings the question, what the heck is that?

Picture: Dual Linear Ball Bearings

As you can see in the above diagram included on a Makita marketing piece, the linear ball bearings are exactly like they sound - ball bearings in a line. When you're using a sliding miter (the only place you'll see these), the linear bearings are used around the rails of the slide mechanism. The alternative is to use a sleeve.

Using a sleeve means two bad things happen.
1) More friction.
2) Less accuracy.

The basis of a sleeve is that you have a rail and a sleeve. The sleeve needs to be just loose enough to slide over the rail. However, since a sleeve has no rolling parts, there is more friction. This leads to a less smooth motion of the slide, creating the possibility of irregular cuts. It also isn't held together as tight - there has to be some play to allow the rails to slide - so there will be some loss of accuracy. Add in age and the cuts become less accurate. Sliding miters aren't for your average homeowner ($500 saws are a bit pricier than what most people want for the home), so accuracy should be a huge consideration when buying a sliding miter.

But why dual? Well, that's quite simple. Dual means you have one linear ball bearing on each rail. This makes for the most accurate cuts, smoothest motion and best performance. So then, why not dual? Well, Makita loves this part. If you save $20 per miter saw by leaving off a linear ball bearing and sell 1 million saws, you have saved enough money to sponsor a racecar.

I didn't really know what I was doing when I bought my miter saw. I purchased a Makita LS0711Z some time back, just as they were being discontinued. I consider myself fortunate. I got a decent saw, and the cordless is incredibly handy. I certainly hope they make another cordless at some point. Until then, my father will be incredibly envious.

If you're in the market for a very good sliding compound miter saw with dual linear ball baearings, I highly recommend the LS1013 (10") or LS1014 (12"). They are available with or without the laser, and are very well built. They also have a few other features that I'll be discussing in later posts.