|
|
 |
|
|
| |
 |
|
|
|
November 2006 - Think Outside the Box |
|
Six great tools to wrap up for the holidays |
You’ve been good. You’ve been very, very good all
year. You’ve dropped hints, subtly pointed out tool reviews
in CHW, looked wistfully in the direction of your shop and said,
“If only I had that new tool, I could build you that project.”
But hinting is far less effective than telling your loved one,
straight out, what you’d like as a gift this holiday.
And if that doesn’t work, take the cash Grandma slipped
you in her card and buy what you want for yourself.
See below:
1. Jumping on the mini-screwdriver bandwagon is Hitachi,
with its 3.6-volt cordless HXP lithium-ion (Li-ion) tool. Less
than 1 lb. in weight, it’s small enough to be legitimately
called a stocking stuffer, but it has enough power to drive
fasteners in tight spaces ($100, www.hitachipowertools.ca,
800-970-2299)
2. No, it doesn’t have eight
tentacles. What the Skil 7300 Octo finish sander does have is
eight versatile attachments to let you sand in hard-to-reach
spaces and finish surfaces with varying contours and in corners
($60, www.skil.com,
877-754-5999)
3. The Ridgid XLi 24-volt reciprocating
saw is powered by this year’s must-have, Li-ion batteries—they’ll
run up to 160 per cent longer than 18-volt nickel-cadmium (NiCad)
ones ($250, www.ridgid.com,
866-539-1710)
4. Another battery advance this year
came from Bosch. Its new line of BlueCore NiCad batteries uses
cooling rods to keep the heat down and let batteries work up
to 50 per cent longer. Check them out in Bosch’s 18-volt
10" compound mitre saw, Model 3918 ($580, www.boschtools.com,
877-267-2499)
5. The Evolution Rage Multi-Purpose
Saw turns a 7 1/4" blade to cut steel, aluminum, wood,
nails and plastics. It will bite through 1/4" steel—a
good distraction to take you away from the in-laws spending
the holidays with you ($168, www.evolutionrage.com,
866-386-8665)
6. The new 36-volt DC900 hammer drill
from DeWalt has three speed settings to suit the task—to
drill large holes in wood, to use with auger bits or when driving
screws, or for hammer-drilling into concrete ($550, www.dewalt.com,
800-433-9258). |
|
| text
by Susan Peters, photos by Simon Cheung |
|
|
|
|
| FREE
NEWSLETTER |
Subscribe to our newsletter. Every few weeks, you'll get a behind-the-scenes
peek at the magazine, the web site and the folks who put it all together.
CLICK HERE |
|
|
PROJECTS
