Beam Cutters - Shiver Me Timbers!

The Prazi PR-7000 and PR-2000 Beam Cutters

They are something to behold. At first view they look like a B-movie scream queen's* worst nightmare. You expect the anonymous villain to be waiting behind the door with the circular saw and beam cutter, just waiting for the helpless dupe to come in the room. Of course, he can't chase them far... extension cords tend to snag on corners.

So then, what do you do with a beam cutter?

The obvious thing is to cut wood beams, and it can cut up to 12" deep. We see them used quite often by people building log homes. It's like using a chainsaw, except the chainsaw has a foot which can be adjusted to allow angle cuts that stay true. This allows for rafter cut-outs to adjust the pitch of a roof that stay uniform, for example. It is much less labor intensive than some of the old ways of doing this.

Another great use for this tool is the landscaping industry. Prazi states that you can use this tool to cut railroad ties in the field. How much easier would that make building a tie wall? I know my dad could have used one. He built about six railroad tie gardens (going so far as terracing a good 60 feet of their yard) before this tool was invented. That would have saved me a lot of work as one of his young helpers, too.

There was another time when I was on a construction crew that specialized in rebuilding after fires. We were sent out to rebuild a wooden pedestrian bridge at a state park. The structural beams, and even the planks, were so big that we had to use an 8-1/4" worm drive circular saw and make the maximum cut on all four sides, and then use a reciprocating saw with a long blade to cut the remaining inch in the middle. Needless to say, things would have gone quite a bit quicker with the beam cutter.

We've also seen some other unique uses for them. One that stands out was a historical shipyard bought a PR-7000 (this is the beam cutter to use if you have a worm-drive saw, if you have a standard circular saw you'll want to look at the PR-2000) to cut timbers to repair a damaged mast. That was another moment when I realized, no matter how many different uses I have seen for a tool there will always be others of which I had never even thought about.

There are other options, for example, getting a larger saw like Makita's 5402NA 16-5/16" circular saw. Even with that saw you still would need to make two passes to get through a 8, 10 or 12" beam. Only having used the 5402NA once, I wasn't comfortable with the saw, as the big blade makes a very large "danger zone." I felt like I needed to stand with my leg back pretty far to be sure I wasn't going to injure myself. That is not to say that the large circular saw is more dangerous, but I felt less able to work with the tool safely. That may seem like a little thing, but when you are working in less than ideal locations, being comfortable with your tools is important.

Other options are a regular chain saw, a reciprocating saw, a hand saw or multiple passes with other circular saws. Those choices make you sacrifice either time or accuracy, sometimes both.

I have been impressed with this tool design since I first saw it, and as I see new ways of using the beam cutter, I think my appreciation will only grow. Hopefully, this post will help some people who didn't even know the tool existed find something to make their projects go better.

*No B-Movie scream queens were harmed during the posting of this blog, and I sincerely hope none will be because of the contents.

Omaha, Hockey and Power Tools

So, lately, I've been enjoying some live hockey. Up until tonight it had been Omaha's new AHL team, the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights. Now, thanks to one of our shipping partners, I also got to go see the University of Nebraska at Omaha Mavericks. Other than the suspicion that I am a bad luck charm for our hockey teams (Knights have two losses and one overtime shoot-out loss in the three games I have seen, and now the Mavericks have one overtime loss). Regardless, the games are fun and the teams are quite different to see. The Knights games are much more physical, fast paced hockey and the team is really defensively stacked... good thing too, because we spend a lot of time in the penalty box. They also fight a fair amount, although hockey fights always reminds me of the old Rock'em Sock'em Robots. Also a nice perk is the old Civic Auditorium, while too small for many things the Civic (as we like to call it) is a great hockey venue. Even the "nosebleed" seats are close to the ice, the place can get loud and it holds about the right amount of people for the Knights. I really hope Omaha gives the Knights a shot and will start supporting them. These guys are one step away from the Calgary Flames in the NHL and are definitely professional hockey players. The Maverick games seem to be a little different.

The Mavericks have been in Omaha long enough to develop some nice traditions, and they are playing down in the relatively new Qwest Center. The traditions include, among other things, the Red Army (a group of Maverick fans that bring drums and cowbells and make a point of working up the crowd) and the moment after the first Mav goal someone throws a big ol' frozen fish on the ice and then they send out our mini-Zamboni complete with a fisherman's catch net to scoop it up. During tonights game, there were numerous chants, the wave went around about 6 times and during one of the numerous sponsor giveaways, I was chosen as a local TV stations Fan of the Game so I get to go back in two weeks to see the Mavericks take on Lake Superior State. That'll be fun, I'll be right behind the oposing team's bench, closest to the ice I've been yet, but not by too much. The Mavericks seemed to have stronger offense, but a little weaker defense than the Knights. College hockey also seems less physical so far.

So, beside the work connection for tonight's tickets, what's with the "Power Tools" in my title? Well, I've noticed both facilities use a DEWALT Cordless Compact Drill probably the DW926K-2. When they setup the goal, they use a spade bit (probably 1-1/2") to clear out the hole for the goal guide posts. Just another use for a couple of products we sell of which I would have never thought. It's also another good indication of the principle that more power isn't always what you need. When you are sliding on ice with tennis shoes and you only have one job to do with your drill, do you really need 6 pound tool when a 3-1/2 pound tool will do?
Feel free to drop us a line if you use a power tool in a place or in a way we wouldn't expect. I like to know what people are doing, maybe I can make a suggestion or two to help you find a better way of doing things, or maybe your way will help someone else think outside the "tool" box.

It's time to put your favorite tools on Lithium (ion)

Brian posted a while ago about the Makita LXT cordless tools, and in that post he talked specifically about the difference in philosophy between Makita and their 18 volt Lithium Ion and some other manufacturers and their decision to go bigger. Today, it seems I have come across a few interesting pieces of information that could set things on their ear, a bit. I have to be a little more vague than what I normally am, mainly because this has not been officially announced or even hinted at by the company in question.

One company will be offering 18 volt lithium ion batteries to power their existing 18 volt tool line in the United States this summer. It is one of the players who have already invested in a higher than 24 volt system of lithium ion. If you step back and think about this for a moment, you can realize how huge this could be. You already have an 18 volt drill, flashlight, impact driver, circular saw and a host of other tools. Now, you can extend their run time greatly with the simple purchase of a new battery and a new charger (sorry, the old chargers simply won't work with lithium ion batteries, which requires a whole different technique for optimal charges and lifetime extension). From the information I saw, it looks like they will also introduce tool kits designed specifically for the new Li-Ion batteries as well.

Imagine if you could take those new batteries and safely hook them up to a competitor's tool. What's that? You don't like pretending? Well, maybe you won't have to. I will post more on all of this when I can do so without risking bodily harm.

Smells like DeWALT Spirit

So, looks like I got a little information on the new DEWALT line of Lithium Ion 36 Volt tools. As you can see from the image they look like they are calling the line the Nirvana Li Ion and we are expecting to see them mid to late spring, probably in that month that has all the flowers.

As far as the inital wave of tools they look to be releasing over the following months I think we can expect a hammer drill, a 7-1/4" circular saw, reciprocating saw, their bendy neck lantern / flashlight (these four pictured), a jigsaw, an impact driver and a rotary hammer (definitely the product that could most benefit from having 36 volt power).

It seems that their DC9360 battery will use exclusive nano-phosphate lithium-ion cells. They deliver two to three times the run-time compared with their current 18 volt batteries. DEWALT is anticipating 2000 recharge cycles on the battery, which is a significant increase. The battery is slated to be 2.4 pounds which is roughly the same weight as their current 18 volt batteries. Otherwise, it will be a slide on style, instead of the familiar pod currently in use.

The first things I notice when I look at them is how long that battery is. Looks to be about 1/3 longer than the current 18 volt batteries. This could give some of the products a little more stability when standing alone, but I worry about the battery getting in the way, a bit. As soon as we get some hands on, I'll definitely post impressions.

Some other observations that I can make from the pictures and product literature that has been released. The circular saw being a 7-1/4" design will make a lot of framers happy. They will finally get that half an inch back of cutting depth, and should have the power to use it effectively. The hammer-drill pictured has a decidedly different chuck style than what I am used to seeing from DEWALT, but from their 36 Volt subsection on their website, it looks like the above may be a prototype. The mini-site (all done in Flash) lists it simply as a self-tightening chuck. One other small detail that I have noticied: even though A123 Systems hyped a spec on the battery technology stating it was able to regain 90% of it's charge in 5 minutes, the charger DEWALT is producing is a 1 hour charger.

Again, I'll bring you more specs as I find them out. Hope that helps a little on the initial thirst for knowledge.