Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a good time last night, but more importantly had a safe night and made it home OK. Now that the new year is here, there are a few things that you need to remember to take care of. First is to take down your Christmas lights. They are not 365 lights. Second is your taxes. You don't have to wait until April 15th to get you taxes done. Third is to add more reviews to Tool-Rank. Thanks to everyone that added your reviews, and participated in the Bosch Impactor Giveaway. Here is to... 

Read the entire post >

Tool-Rank T-Shirts

One of my Christmas gifts this year from my Parents was a small box of Tool-Rank T-Shirts. This is something I had thought about doing in the future, but It was nice of them to go ahead and get it started for me. They even included the little orange Tool-Rank man. The photo is of the back of the shirt. The front has a small logo where the pocket would be. So what did you get for Christmas?  Read More →

Read the entire post >

The Ultimate Job Site Trailer

Do you need a trailer that you can just pull up to the job site and get right to work without having to unload all your tools. The problem with most trailers is the limited access to your tools. If you need something in the back, you have to unload everything in front of it. Check out these contractor trailers from ToolTrailer.com. You have access to all your tools from the outside, making is faster and easier to get your work done. The best part of all, is the built in table saw, and miter saw... 

Read the entire post >

Bosch 1590EVSK Top Handle Jigsaw After Christmas Sale

Amazon has a great price on new Bosch 1590EVSK 6.4 Amp Top Handle Jigsaws. They are on sale for $134.99 + free shipping. This is about the price as the factory reconditioned units on eBay once you include the price of shipping. I own the older version of this saw, and it is truly a high quilty jig saw. This saw has 115 5-star reviews out of 128 reviews. It is hard to get much better then that. User: SulSaw wrote a great review on the barrel grip version of this saw. Bosch 1591EVSK 6.4 Amp Barrel... 

Read the entire post >

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all the Tool-Rank users and visitors. It has been a great year one for Tool-Rank.com, and I really appreciate everyone that has submitted reviews, added comments, and participated in any other way. There is exactly one week left until the Bosch Impactor Giveaway comes to an end. Remember you need to have at least 10 reviews in order to be eligible for the drawing. Good luck to everyone. One contest ends, another should began. Right? I need some ideas for the next Tool-Rank Giveaway.... 

Read the entire post >

Great How-To Scroll Saw Videos

For a while now, I have been thinking about getting a scroll saw. I have never owned one, but I like the idea of being able to make things like ornaments, signs, etc. Plus being a finish carpenter, I always end up with extra wood, that sometimes is too nice to let go to waste. I am the type of person that likes to research everything before I buy (one of the reasons I started Tool-Rank) and wanted to see the types of things that can be made with a scroll saws. I headed over to YouTube to see what... 

Read the entire post >

Weird Black & Decker Screwdriver Features

Take a look at this innovative feature from B&D. The Lithium-Ion SmartDriver with Exclusive Magnetic Screw-Holder. Every time I see this photo I can't help but laugh. Not that this is a bad idea from B&D, but your standard magnetic bit tip holders do the same thing, and have been around for years. Plus at only 3.6 volts, its not like this gun will be driving 3-inch deck screws. I guess the average user would find this useful for light duty work, or crafts, but would also be using very short... 

Read the entire post >

Rope – One Of Mans Finest Tools

Rope is one of the greatest inventions of all time, and also one of the oldest. It is used for everything from sail boats, securing loads, or even for tying your shoes. If you ever watch survival shows like Man vs Wild, you can see how important rope can be if you are alone in the wilderness. A little bit of rope can make all the difference. Survival Straps knows how important rope can be, and they have made it easy for anyone to carry rope around everyday. A specially woven bracelet made of 550... 

Read the entire post >

Winter 2009 Woodworking Awards

It is almost that time of the year again. The 2009 Winter Woodworking Awards from LumberJocks.com are just around the corner. LumberJocks.com is an online woodworking community where users can share stories, photos, and videos about their own woodworking projects. The woodworking awards are a chance for members of LumberJocks to compete against each other to win great prizes. All entries will then be judged by other members, and the person with the most points is the winner. This winter the two entry... 

Read the entire post >

Great Deal on Milwaukee 18 Gauge Brad Nailer

Amazon has the Milwaukee 7150-21 5/8-Inch to 2-1/8-Inch 18 Gauge Brad Nailer on sale right now for a really good price of $89.99 with free shipping. This is a savings of $30-$40 from other online and local stores. This brad nailer has high reviews from the users here at Tool-Rank and at Amazon, it also has a high review from me. I have owned this gun for a few years now, and it has never let me down. The big advantages of this tool besides the fact that it does its job very well, is its very light... 

Read the entire post >

No Love For Blade On Left Circular Saws

What is with the lack of selection when it comes to circular saws that are blade on left? It is actually very surprising to me that manufacturers do not make their circular saws in both versions. Do they not realize that some people are left handed, or are like me and just prefer to be able to cut with my right hand, and see the cut at the same time. Cordless saws are blade left, and so are worm drive saws. Why should people have to switch between both, and not have a choice? Some manufacturers actually... 

Read the entire post >

Bosch Impactor Giveaway Ends This Month

There are only 3 1/2  weeks left until the Bosch Impactor Giveaway comes to an end. All you have to do to be eligible is have 10 qualifying tool reviews, and be a registered user. After you have registered, simply head over to the Reviews section and review any 10 tools. If the tool you wish to review is not listed, you can add it. Visit the Bosch Impactor Giveaway page to see the official rules.  Read More →

Read the entire post >

Sexy Planes From Lee Valley

I dont know anything when it comes to block planes, or any plane for that matter, but I do know when something looks cool. This is one cool looking plane. I almost want to buy it just so I can show it off as fine art, but $280 is a little much for me to use it as a really nice paper weight. For those of you that know your planes, here are the specs. The contoured body is 7" long by 1-3/4" wide, and has a 12° bed angle. It is machined and surface ground to half our normal flatness and... 

Read the entire post >

Makita’s New Ultra-Compact 3-Piece 10.8V Combo

In the past people would look for tools with the highest amount of volts to insure they were getting a powerful tool. Now with newer technology we can get a powerful tool in a much smaller package, which also costs a lot less. Just a few years ago, you could only get a 12-volt Makita impact, and it had about the same amount of torque as the newer 10.8-volt Makita impact. Makita has announced a new 10.8V Lithium-Ion Compact 3-Piece Cordless Combo Kit (model LCT302W). The new combo kit features a 10.8V... 

Read the entire post >

2008 Christmas Gift Buyers Guide

Christmas is just around the corner, and you might be having a hard time finding some great gifts. Hopefully this Christmas buyers guide will give you the help you need. The first link will point you to more information about the tool, the second link take you to a store where you can buy the tool. For more gift ideas, look through our tool reviews, and tool blog. $20 and under Spring Tools Nail Set - You can easily set nails without the need of a hammer. $10.03 at Amazon.com Dura-GRIT - Get long... 

Read the entire post >

Lots of Deals This Thanksgiving Weekend

If you didn't know, because of the holiday weekend, just about every store in the US is having a sale. If you are one of the brave, you might be willing to wake up extra early Friday morning to get the best deals before they are sold out. I am not one of those people, and happen to enjoy the extra hours of sleep. That doesn't mean I won't be out on Saturday trying to snag a deal. Here are a few places that are having weekend sales. Rockler Stores - If you have a Rockler in your area, you defiantly... 

Read the entire post >

Dremel Multi-Max Oscillating Tool In Depth Review + Video

Introduction This is one tool that has had a lot of attention ever since it was announced. It seems people have been waiting for an alternative to the Fein MultiMaster for some time. Let me just say that there is a $300 price difference between the Fein MultiMaster and the Dremel Multi-Max, with the Dremel being the cheaper of the two. This is probably the reason people have such a huge interest. Being someone that has never used the MultiMaster, unfortunately I cannot give you a comparative review. You... 

Read the entire post >

Dremel Multi-Max Oscillating Tool In Depth Review + Video

Introduction This is one tool that has had a lot of attention ever since it was announced. It seems people have been waiting for an alternative to the Fein MultiMaster for some time. Let me just say that there is a $300 price difference between the Fein MultiMaster and the Dremel Multi-Max, with the Dremel being the cheaper of the two. This is probably the reason people have such a huge interest. Being someone that has never used the MultiMaster, unfortunately I cannot give you a comparative review. You... 

Read the entire post >

One moves to China, another takes its place

ToolCrib.com broke a very interesting story the other day. As some of you may know, Irwin Tools bought Vise-Grip some time ago. It is always sad to see a little company get bought up by the big boys because you always know that things will never be the same again. As is the case with Vise-Grip, when Irwin decided to close up shop in DeWitt, Nebraska, and move the production to China. Fortunately for some of the 330 former employees of the DeWitt factory this story has a happy ending, and it could... 

Read the entire post >

Turn your Circular Saw into a Track Saw

There has been a lot of buzz about Track Saws with both DeWalt, and Makita finally coming out with versions for the USA. But I bet many people don't know that you can turn just about any circular saw into a track saw for a fraction of the cost of a complete track saw package. After all, why should you have to buy another circular saw if you already own one, especially if it's a saw you really like? I am talking about the EZ Smart Guide System from EurekaZone. It is one of the coolest systems I have... 

Read the entire post >

To Repair Or Not To Repair?

Just a question I have, and some thoughts on the subject. Do you repair your broken tools, or do you replace them? Probably for every one of us there is a point at which we find a tool takes too much effort to repair, and decide to replace it. Maybe it has nothing to do with effort at all, but price, or even a combination of the two. But with more and more tools being made in China, or Mexico, you can't help but notice that the quality of tools has been suffering. Maybe now more then ever is the... 

Read the entire post >

To Repair Or Not To Repair?

Just a question I have, and some thoughts on the subject. Do you repair your broken tools, or do you replace them? Probably for every one of us there is a point at which we find a tool takes too much effort to repair, and decide to replace it. Maybe it has nothing to do with effort at all, but price, or even a combination of the two. But with more and more tools being made in China, or Mexico, you can't help but notice that the quality of tools has been suffering. Maybe now more then ever is the... 

Read the entire post >

Weekend Recap: 007 Gadgets

This last week has been a little slow when it comes to news, but this is both good and bad. As they say, no news is good news. One reason is because I finally have a job to go to. The past few weeks have been really slow work wise, but this week I started a job doing a ceiling at a Church. The lack of news also has to do with the fact that most manufacturers have already released all of there new tools. You should be out buying them as Christmas gifts. The bad is that there is a lack of tool news... 

Read the entire post >

How to use Fein attachments in the Dremel Multi-Max

Did you know you can use Fein SuperCut ($720) attachments in a Dremel Multi-Max ($100). I didn't know either until just recently. Before I get into the how... you might be wondering why you would want to use Fein attachments in the Multi-Max. Well, Fein makes a lot of specialty attachments that are not yet available for the Dremel Multi-Max. For the regular sawing and sanding attachments you probably want to stick with the Dremel attachments... they are a heck of a lot cheaper, and if or when Dremel... 

Read the entire post >

Spy bolt keeps your cash secure

 Do you have problems keeping your hard earned cash from growing legs? Or Maybe you just need an emergency stash in case something goes wrong. The spy bolt can keep your money well hidden from would be thieves. Simply unscrew the top of the bolt to revel the hollowed out innards. Then you can simply place the bolt in your junk drawer, or even install it onto something. Just be sure to keep track of where it is at all times. You dont want $500 in cash getting away because you sold your jar of... 

Read the entire post >

Cool Flashlight Uses Ultracapacitors Not Batteries

 This cool new flashlight from 5.11 Tactical uses futuristic technology to power its amazing light source. Instead of using the very common and boring battery, they use chose to go high tech, and use ultracapacitors. These ultracapacitors can be fully charged in about 90 seconds, giving you 90 minutes of run time. You might be thinking there is some kind of trade off because of the quick recharge, but you would be wrong. The flashlight has an amazing max output of 270 lumen's for 15 minutes,... 

Read the entire post >

Cool Flashlight Uses Ultracapacitors Not Batteries

 This cool new flashlight from 5.11 Tactical uses futuristic technology to power its amazing light source. Instead of using the very common and boring battery, they use chose to go high tech, and use ultracapacitors. These ultracapacitors can be fully charged in about 90 seconds, giving you 90 minutes of run time. You might be thinking there is some kind of trade off because of the quick recharge, but you would be wrong. The flashlight has an amazing max output of 270 lumen's for 15 minutes,... 

Read the entire post >

Weekend Recap: President Elect

  After what seemed like an eternity, the 2008 US presidential election is finally finished. With both candidates receiving roughly the same amount of actual votes, in the end Barack Obama wins with more electoral votes.Now to the fun stuff.FREE Bosch 14.4V or 18V Battery From Now until December 31 2008, when you buy a qualifying Bosch 14.4V or 18V Litheon Drill you will receive a free Battery via mail in rebate.One Two Three Flashlights in One Transformers flashlights in disguise. Three... 

Read the entire post >

Weekend Recap: President Elect

  After what seemed like an eternity, the 2008 US presidential election is finally finished. With both candidates receiving roughly the same amount of actual votes, in the end Barack Obama wins with more electoral votes.Now to the fun stuff.FREE Bosch 14.4V or 18V Battery From Now until December 31 2008, when you buy a qualifying Bosch 14.4V or 18V Litheon Drill you will receive a free Battery via mail in rebate.One Two Three Flashlights in One Transformers flashlights in disguise. Three... 

Read the entire post >

Porter-Cable not what it used to be?

News from the Popular Woodworking Blog comes as a bit of a shock.When PC Vice-President Dan Gregory said DeWalt tools were their professional-line tools, I was astounded, as were others. He explained that PC is attempting to position these tools for tradesman – an area of the market that PC feels is full of value-conscientious, value-driven buyers. PC is being sandwiched between Black & Decker (at the low end) and DeWalt (the high end). I’ve always thought my Porter-Cable routers and PC sanders... 

Read the entire post >

Next Page »