Power Tools – Page 2 – TOOLANDPROJECT.COM

An extension for a drill chuck can mean different things. If you are looking for just an extension for a drill bit, bit tip or nut setter that is one thing. If you are looking for an extension for your drill that has a chuck on the end, well that is something altogether different. The Chuck Extender is an extension pole that is available in 3 different sizes and has all kinds of uses. It’s such a simple tool but one that can be hard to find simply because it may be hard to describe what exactly you are looking for to someone. Hopefully this post will help out.

As mentioned above, the Chuck Extender is an extension pole for your drill. It has a stud on one end that will chuck into your drill and on the other end of the pole is a chuck. So ultimately as the name indicates, it extends the reach of your drill. The tool is available in 3 different sizes. The CE-2 has a fixed 27.5” length and is typically used for drilling holes from above as well as drilling screws from above. This is a great back saver! The CE-6 version is telescopic from 40.5″- 64.5 and the CE-12 extends from 77″ – 139.5″. The longer versions are typically used for overhead work. Because they have the keyless chuck on the end, they are a true drill chuck extension tool. You can chuck in anything you would chuck in your drill.

I have heard of all types of uses for the Chuck Extender extension tool. They include cleaning brushes, magnetic sockets for adding more screws to overhead track, and trailer deck repair. My favorite application and I wish I had a picture, is a customer who was installing a polished DC-3 wing half on end as a chimney for his fireplace. He was going to use the drill chuck extension with a hole saw to drill through the ribs of the wing. By the way if you are reading this and you are that person, send me a picture please!

This is such a neat tool, but it can be hard to find as it really can be hard to search for and find. All three sizes of the Chuck Extender drill chuck extension are currently available here on Amazon. I posted a video below with a nice overview of the tool as well.

If you landed here, you have been searching for .25 caliber disc loads for your Ramset Disc tool. Well, I have some good news and some bad news. First the bad news. Ramset discontinued disc loads years ago. The good news is you can still find some here and there you if know where and what to look for. Many don’t know it but Powers, now owned by DeWalt had a .25 caliber disc PAT tool as well. The Powers P-60 was basically a clone of the popular Ramset D-60 tool. So Powers/DeWalt manufactured disc loads as well. Even though they are not currently making the disc loads, you can also find them here and there. Below you will find a conversion chart so you can see the part numbers for the Ramset and the Powers/DeWalt disc loads. So where can you find them?

Finding the loads for the Ramset Disc tools in the power level you are looking for may take a little patience. I have found ebay a good source. I know, you may hate ebay but this probably is your best bet to find the loads. There may be a few dealers that have a few laying around but sadly you will have a hard time finding someone who even knows that a disc load tool ever existed. I have a few listings below to get you started. Having the Powers/DeWalt part number from the chart above may help you as well. First search for Ramset .25 Disc Loads then maybe try searching the Powers number. The most common you will find is the yellow Powers 50536.

Disc Loads

Clicking a link to eBay may result in a referral commission being paid if a purchase is made.

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Disc Loads

Clicking a link to eBay may result in a referral commission being paid if a purchase is made.

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So what is an impact driver used for and should I have one? Good question. Ask any tool guy if you need an impact drive and he will answer with a resounding yes. Still a fair question is what would I use it for. Let’s take a look at what an impact driver is and compare it to its closest counterpart a cordless drill. You will see there is a definite difference between a cordless drill and an impact driver.

For years cordless drills have been sold as drill/drivers. So they are used just as the name would indicate, to drill holes and drive screws. For the most part a drill does a good job of both in most instances. On your drill you have a standard chuck that will hold a drill bit or a bit holder that can accept bit tips and sockets. An impact driver is not a drill, it is primarily a driver. Instead of a standard chuck an impact driver usually has a ¼” bit holder that hold magnetic sockets as well as bit tip holders and a variety of drive bits. The bits just click in. While you will find drill bits that will click into an impact driver, that really isn’t their strong suit. What really makes the tool different than a drill driver is how it drives the fastener. Impact drivers will have a distinct rat a tat tat sound while under load. This is the result of the tool using an anvil and hammer set up that turns the impact of the mechanism into useable rotational force that can develop much more drive force than a standard cordless drill/driver. So to keep it simple, if you had both, you would use the drill primarily for drilling holes and the impact driver for driving in screws and fasteners. I have both available and I actually use the impact more than my drill. While I do drive screws from time to time with my drill, my go to for fasteners and screws is the impact.

Where the impact driver will really help you out is driving larger screws like lag screws. While a drill driver will struggle to drive in a 3/8” lag, an impact driver will drive it home no problem. The speed of the impact driver is also helpful in any type of production environment, like building a deck. The RPM of the driver is also nice when using self-drilling screws into steel. Assembly and service work are also much faster and easier with the impact driver. You will experience less stripping of screws and it will also be useful when breaking loose stubborn screws. The tool is lighter than a drill as well which is always a plus. A word of caution. The tool does develop a fair amount of torque so use a little common sense or you may find yourself snapping off screws.

I hope that gives you a good idea of what an impact driver is used for. I have never heard of anyone regretting the purchase of one. If you are not sure if you want a 12V or 18V impact driver, you can find more info here. I have both an 18V and a 12V and I use them both a lot.

I was searching for a portable station for a solar project I was contemplating and I came across the usual suspects and then I came across a small company called Crafuel. I had never heard of them but I was drawn in by their videos that show different real life applications for their power supplies. One that caught my eye in particular showed a musician setting up for a gig and plugging in using the Crafuel Alto 1200 power station. To me videos are the way to go to help grasp if a product is right for me. I’m no musician, but the point is, they show different ways to use a product and I can branch out from there. I posted a few of their videos below. You will definitely want to visit their blog that you can find at Crafuel.Com for more great info and ideas.

At the small end, there is the Alto 500. This is a 500 WATT unit features one AC outlet as well as 3 USB ports for charging phones, watches cameras etc. You also have 2 DC ports and a car port. As for charging the unit itself, you have 3 choices of charging. You can charge via a wall plug, car plug or use a solar panel (sold separately). Moving up the line you have the Alto 600, Alto 1000, Alto 1200 all the way up to the Alto 2000. As the capacity grows throughout the Crafuel line, so do the features. You gain outlets and features like wireless charging, fast charging and when you land at the top of the line with the Alto 2000, you have the option of replacing the battery down the road. This unit is especially intriguing to me again, I learn well from videos. To see the video of this monster running a welder was impressive. This unit really would be a capable backup for you home to get you by short term

So there is a little info on the Crafuel line up. I encourage you to visit their site as well as their blog and watch the videos. It will get your juices flowing and help you see the capabilities of the Crafuel portable power supply line.

The DeWalt two speed thickness planer model number DW735X is an excellent choice for a mobile planer. The fair price and quality of the unit is noted not only by the reviews but also the popularity of the product. Let’s take a look at some of the basic specifications and capabilities of the tool. You have a few different options when you are shopping for a portable thickness planer. DeWalt makes several model as do many other manufactures. Read on and see why the DW735X is one of the top sellers.

The DeWalt two speed thickness planer has a minimum thickness of 1/8”. Most will tell you that you should use a sled at that thickness, just to be safe. The maximum thickness is 6”. The feed width of the planer is 12.5”. The motor is 15 amps and the planer features two cutting speeds, 96 cuts per minute or 179 cuts per inch. RPM of the motor is 20,000, the cutter head speed is 10,000 RPM. The DW735 features 3 knife blades that are two sided so you can flip than once before you replace. Replacement of the blades is relatively easy to accomplish. You will find blades for the DeWalt planer easy to come by with factory blades and after markets available. It’s a beefy little unit coming it at 90 lbs. For the price it has a lot of little features like a material removal gauge, and a depth stop to get you back to you most commonly planed thicknesses.

You can learn a lot about tools by reading reviews as long as you are selective. A late package or a damaged project really isn’t a product review is it? There are a few things that keep coming up in the reviews of the DeWalt two speed thickness planer. Easy to set up; will see this over and over again in the reviews of the planer. The quality of the cut is also focused on with most referring to very minimal if any of a snipe. Blade change out is also a common comment. The infeed/outfeed tables are also a feature that many are commenting on with the planer. And everyone for the most part is more than happy with the power of the DW735X. Noise level is mentioned by many but planers are noisy by nature. I don’t know of any that I would like to run without hearing protection.

The DeWalt DW735X two speed thickness planer is a top seller and as I mentioned at the outset, the price is fair for the power, quality an useablilty of the tool. If you are shopping for a portable surface planer, check this one out!

Is there such a thing as a right angle hammer drill? While there isn’t a right angle hammer drill per say, there is a solution. The Bosch RHA-50 SDS Hammer attachment will fit a select range of Bosch SDS hammers allowing you to hammer drill at a ninety degree angle. Bosch lists the part as compatible with newer Bosch corded SDS-plus® hammers featuring the 50 mm collar, including the 11253VSR, 11255VSR, RH228VC, and RH328VC, as well as the cordless RHH181-1, 11536-C and 11536 VSR.

You will lose hammer force with the Bosch RHA-50 right angle hammer attachment, about 40 percent. So yes it will drill slower than a straight on hammer but it will get you in tight spots that a standard hammer drill can’t.

One of our old Bosch reps who had so much experience and stories shared an interesting story about using a right angle hammer attachment. I think it was during the late 80’s there was a good sized earthquake in Japan. The Bosch right angle SDS hammer attachment was used quite a bit to anchor wall plates down in damaged buildings. They were so much in demand it created a real backorder problem!

Installation of the RHA-50 right angle adapter is fairly straight forward. There is a video on you tube that runs through it. Just keep in mind that the tools is designed to fit select Bosch models only. So there you have it. All though there isn’t a right angle hammer drill, there is a simple solution, the Bosch RHA-50.

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I would always tell my son while he was growing up, “there is a trick to everything”. A right angle drill attachment is one of those tricks. There are instances where you are fighting so hard to get into a spot to turn a screw or drill a hole that you really would find a right angle attachment will make your life so much easier. There are few different types and styles depending what you are looking to do. Most are a true 90 degree right angle and you will even find some that have a flexible shaft. You will also find them in a few different sizes for lack of a better term. Here are a few considerations.

You will find some right angle drill adapters or attachments are quite small. While your first thought maybe the smaller the better for tight areas, you may want to consider how you will hold on to the attachment to keep it from spinning. One of my favorites over all is the DeWalt right angle drill attachment part number DWARA120. It is small enough to get in tight places but has enough of a body to hold on to. It is built well and will stand up to your impact driver. It is one of the top sellers. You can find larger and smaller units to suite you application. There are really so many to choose from. I always start with what I really want and start working backwards. I always seem to have expensive taste. Just do yourself a favor and spend a few minutes to see what is out there to make sure you find something that will do the job for you.

Most of the right angle drill attachments you see are designed to accept bit tips or a magnetic socket which is great if you are using the tool to drive screws and nuts. If you want to drill consider a right angle chuck attachment that has a standard chuck on it. As this is typically used for drilling applications, you may want to consider a unit with a side handle especially if you are drilling larger holes or using a hole saw.

As a right angle drill attachment is a “problem solver”, you will note most of the reviews are very positive across the selection. Most of the time right angle attachments are bought for a specific application, used once or twice and then spend most of their time in the bottom of the tool box. If you are going to use the adapter on a regular basis, by all means, spend a little more and shop a little more.

Should I just buy a right angle drill? Well that’s a good question. Most of the major tool suppliers make corded and cordless right angle drills. Every plumber and electrician likely has a few on his truck. Many cabinet makers and installers usually have a dedicated right angle drill. If you already have a cordless drill, you can likely buy a right angle drill body without any batteries and charger for a reasonable price and then you are set. Either way a right angle drill attachment is one of those little tools that you may not use often but when you do you will be glad you have it!

The DeWalt DCD771C2 20 volt cordless drill kit is one of the top sellers on Amazon. I wanted to cover a few points that make it the top seller and you can decide for yourself if it should find it’s way to your work bench. There are so many different cordless drill available on line it’s impossible to cover the good bad and the ugly of all of them. The fact remains this is one of the top sellers.

For a great price point, you get the DeWalt DCD771C2 20 volt drill, two batteries, a charger and a case. This set up will serve most home owners for many, many years. It’s compact and lightweight and with two batteries it will keep you going for most small projects. The fact of the matter is most times a home owner needs a drill, it’s to hang a picture or drill a hole. And most of those holes are under 3/8″. This drill does have a 1/2″ chuck so you can jump up to larger bits or hole saws if need be. Check the reviews, the tool has close to 50,000 at the time of this post with an overall rating of 4.8 stars. The DeWalt DCD771C2 drill kit has been very well received.

The DeWalt 20 Volt platform currently features over 200 cordless tools! That means the batteries and charger you get with this drill will work with the other tools. What that means to you is that let’s say you want a cordless jig saw, you can buy a bare tool and not have to buy more batteries and chargers unless you would like to have more. With 200 plus 20 volt DeWalt cordless tools available, it’s easy to see why you may want to start with this handy little cordless drill.

This really is a nice little drill that will do most anything a home owner would ask. However, there are a few things that you should consider. Really they are not big issues for most users but I want to cover them so you get a good feel for what this drill is made for and why it is a top seller. If you are going to be drilling a ton of holes or are doing something like building a deck, you may want something with a little bigger battery. The batteries with this tool are 1.3 mah batteries which are very light and really should be fine for most users. If you are plan on using the batteries on something like a cordless router or circular saw, you may want to consider a tool with a larger mah battery. All of the DeWalt 20v batteries are interchangeable so the 1.3 mah will work in any tool. Just keep in mind that all things considered, the mah represents the run time. More mah, more run time.

For about $50-$60 more you can get a combo kit that includes an impact driver. To be honest, I use my impact driver way more than my drill. A drill will drill holes and drive screws and bolts. The impact driver isn’t much good for drilling but is far superior in driving screws and bolts. It’s a real luxury to have both, most would argue it’s a necessity. So there you have it, there is good reason that the DeWalt DCD771C2 drill is a top selling drill kit!

While most drywall contractors will scoff at the idea of a collated screw gun, many homeowners and yes even some contractors are finding them very useful. I decided to write a quick review of the advantage of them. I know there are more brands out there but DeWalt, Makita and Milwaukee are the main ones that offer either the cordless drywall screw gun with an auto-feed attachment or as a complete kit. Keep in mind; we are just considering the collated screw gun for drywall applications. You will find others for decking and more. You will also find corded collated drywall screw guns as well.

There are a few benefits of a cordless collated drywall screw gun. First off, for those who don’t hang much drywall, it will be faster. For the pure drywall contractor, they use so many screws and get so good at hanging the drywall; they likely will lean towards a corded single feed tool. Still, they too find situations where the tool is useful like small jobs or even tacking up drywall overhead. I think of how many times I have got a piece of drywall in place, then dropped the screw and fumbled trying to grab another one. I am just your average, well maybe below average DIY homeowner. Not stringing power cords is also a real benefit. In some applications you will have no power at all. So yes a collated drywall screw gun does have its place.

When I was selling power tools, I learned very quickly not to tell a contractor what color power tool he liked. That somewhat applies to cordless collated screw guns as well. The big three mentioned above are all good quality tools that will do the job. I would tell you if you already have a DeWalt, Milwaukee or Makita preference, you will likely lean towards your brand. And that make sense. You already have the battery and charger so you have the option of buying a bare tool if you want and saving a little money. If your batteries have a little age, buy a complete tool. You can never have too many batteries. The most popular collated drywall screw bun right now on Amazon is DeWalt. That really shouldn’t be a real surprise; Dewalt has done a great job with their cordless line. DeWalt, Milwaukee and Makita have an auto start feature that you can use. What you can do is lock the trigger on and the motor won’t start until you start the screw. This is a great feature for any collated screw gun that is cordless. It will really extend the run time of the tool. As mentioned earlier, most of the manufactures offer a bare tool or a kit. You may have to order the auto feed part for the tool separately so make sure to read the description well.

I actually came up with the idea for a post on a collated screw gun when I was reviewing a product called the SGP screw gun pole extension. When I say the guy installing drywall overhead with the extension, it showed me just how fast these tools can be, with or without the extension. You can learn more about the SGP pole here.

I had seen the Jet Flip Top Tool Stand before but I was still thinking about building my own. I had seen a few videos and had my own ideas on how I could improve on it. But as time went on, it was apparent that if I wanted a flip top tool stand, the quickest and easiest route would be to buy something like the Jet Flip Top Stand. After all while building a flip top tool stand would be a fun project, it wasn’t really what I wanted to build! So I shopped around and ended buying the Jet 728200 Flip Top Machine Stand on Amazon. I bought casters for it at the same time

The package arrived well packed and damage free. It was a fairly simple build. I have heard some complain about the instructions being subpar which may be but really it’s fairly straight forward. I used my small 12 volt impact driver where I could but having a small ratchet set with an extension will help you out. The Jet flip top machine stand has adjustable legs. I set it close to max as I wanted to make sure I would have enough room to flip the tools. As mentioned earlier I did add locking casters as I want to move the table around and clean etc. If you want a little lower height, omit the casters. I ended up with a working height on the sander of 44” and 46” on the router table. The sander height is ideal for me, the router table maybe a touch high but not an issue

I mounted my Wen oscillating spindle/belt sander on one side of the flip top stand and my Bosch router table on the other. I made sure to get the router table dead center side to side and it barely fits through the legs during the flip. I used ¼-20 x 2-1/2” bolts along with serrated locking hex nuts and washers. I would have used 2-1/4” if I had them on hand. I may switch to nylon lock nuts, we will see if there are any vibration issues.

I am really impressed by the Jet flip top table. It is very solid and the flip table rotates smoothly. You just pull the red levers out, and pivot the top 180 degrees. A couple of pins on the back will click in place and then you just push the two red levers back in place. Of course, you do have to remember to take any loose items off the top or the tools themselves or you will be crawling around the floor looking for them! It would be ideal to have on board storage for the extra spindles and for the sander. I guess I could mount a holder on the side of the table for that. I haven’t decided to how to route the cords yet. I will probably tack the to the respective tops of the flip top table and maybe use Velcro to route them. You certainly could build your own flip top table for your power tools, but if you decide to go the route of the Jet 728200 Flip Top Machine Stand, I am sure you will be happy with the purchase.

Fits many JET benchtop machines
Bolt two machines, one on either side of the flip top, for maximum storage
Ergonomic handles on either side make rotating and locking the flip top easy
Table has a 20″ x 25″ work surface
Table height is adjustable from 30″ to 35″
Steel construction with solid top holds up to 300 pounds