August 14, 2014 AsktheBuilder Newsletter & Tips
I've been AWOL for over two weeks! Why? What's the old saying, " ... busier than a one-armed paper hanger."
I've hung wallpaper for decades with two hands and I'm here to tell you doing it with one hand would be frantic! I've been crazy, crazy busy the past twelve or so days.
Right now, I'm in the Milwaukee airport getting ready to fly back to New Hampshire. I blew into town less than 48 hours ago to attend the Milwaukee Tool Conference. Wait until you hear my story next week about my cancelled flight from Chicago to Milwaukee!
I've decided to share with you some of what I saw, but because of the time constraint I'm working against here at the airport, it's going to be pretty hard to share photos with you. I'll do that next week. If you want to see photos right now and you use Twitter, go to the bottom of this newsletter for a hashtag.
Tip of the Week - Cutting the Cord
As you might expect, I get to attend many conferences like this one. Some are sponsored by building materials manufacturers and others are tool manufacturers. I'm here to tell you that the trend is cordless and cordless tools are getting better and better. The days of traditional corded tools that plug into wall outlets or extension cords are numbered.
The magic, and you may not believe this but I have the photos to show you next week, is the miniature electronic components or computers that are now found in many, if not all, cordless tools. I can tell you that Milwaukee tool is achieving great things by the advancements of technology that are found in the tools and the battery power packs. Computers in the tools and batteries talk to one another as you use the tools.
The miniature computers have the ability to sense when the tool needs more or less power. If the tool needs more power to cut through dense wood, the computers allow more current to flow to the motor. This ensures the tool will not bog down and disappoint you. Think of the computers as a gas pedal in your car.
If the job you're doing requires less power, the computer is stingy with the power and it conserves it so the battery lasts longer.
Are all cordless tools the same? Do they all have the same computers? No! As I've said for years, the better products or tools that cost more money probably have better components. I feel it's safe to say Milwaukee cordless tools have some of, in not, the best electronic components out there right now.
Over the next five years, you're going to see more and more cordless tools that you thought would never be cordless. For example, I saw a cordless Hole Hawg drill that electricians are going to salivate over.
The traditional Hole Hawg drill Milwaukee has made for decades and is corded weighs 13 pounds. The new cordless Hole Hawg weighs 9 pounds. I did a side-by-side test with the two tools, and the cordless Hole Hawg drilled FASTER! I have a video of this test that you'll see next Tuesday.
I also tested a cordless traditional 7 and 1/4-inch saw that cut through four sheets of 1/2-inch OSB at the same time. If I didn't know better, I would have sworn I was using a corded saw.
The Batteries
I know what you're thinking. "Tim, cordless is great but the batteries crap out in an hour or so. You're constantly switching out batteries."
Well, the battery engineers at Milwaukee have discovered how to extract more power and more cuts and more holes drilled with their batteries. Much of it is with the electronic components in the tool and the battery packs. But I can tell you that lithium-ion technology has advanced to the point where you may be able to do a standard amount of work all day with just one or two batteries.
I can tell you I will be testing this claim out and will report back to you.
Amazing Flashlights
Two of the new tools I saw were an 18-volt cordless stick light and an 18-volt LED flood / lantern. These are game changers. The flood / lantern has a very handy USB port that allows you to charge your cell phone, even your laptop or tablet from the light. It has a built-in timer that shuts off the USB port after two hours so you always have light power. Simply amazing.
Wait until you see these lights! I'll do videos for you as soon as I can get my hands on them.
My plane is going to board shortly so I'm going to say "See you next week!"
I'll have photos, videos and much more for you to show you what I saw. If you are a Twitter user, you can see MANY photos of what I saw by searching for the following hashtag. I was taking photos all day yesterday and putting them up on Twitter.
Look for my Ask the Builder tweets.
#NPS14