mohawkdec

glad you like it , i found with mine that the equalizer has more effect on packout when you switch from fm to bluetooth, on my dewalt i cranked equalizer up and left it , i cant do that with packout, have to back off allittle bit, nice birthdat present

for over 20 years tung oil was one of my favorite finishes. i always prefered the penetrating oil over the surfaces finishes for interior work. the furniture i have done with tung oil has held up really well. it depends on what you are using it for. if it is going to be exposed to moisture a surface finish would be better. i prefer varnish over poly. dont like the way poly yellows and becomes brittle over time. the water born poly is more non-yellowing but will still yellow alittle in the absence of sunlight. varnish is naturally uv resistance. recently the waterlox finish has become my favorite finish for furniture and cabinets.if you do try this finish be sure to follow the proper steps. you always start with the original which has a 50-55 sheen which puts it in the semi-range, being your doing ply you may have to put 3 to 4 cts of this on. i always bring my ply up to 220 even 320 grit for the first ct. then i will follow with 400 thru 1200 grit for next few cts. your last ct will be the sheen you prefer weather it be satin finish or gloss finish. the tung oil finish is a fine finish but the waterlox is more durable [can be used on floors] and more water resistance.

if you looked at my last post you would have seen i said exactly that. i own every dewalt radio except tstak, you would have also seen i planned on buying the new dewalt radio, but was giving the milwaukee as a gift. i have both milwaukee and dewalt tools. i just bought the dewalt cordless drywall gun over the milwaukee. and by the way, dewalt is also china. my comparision was done by me, not somebody else. i have actually compared both radios, with other people involved, have you actually listened to m18 or are you listening to reviews

fm reception on dewalt has always been a weak point. milwaukee has much better reception.

as you can see from this picture this could be the reason for my results that differ from sombody else, my dewalt has seen better days, its held toghther with painter tape, and has been used every day since it first came out. i fully respect what other people opinions are, especially in this forum, so much so i had to do another comparison yesterday with the radios side by side at a job site we are doing in the albany ny area. this time i tuned into a local fm station on both radios, i used one of the carpenters, one of the framers, and an electrician, did a blind listening test [they had there back to radios] all three picked the m18. which means it very well good be my dewalt. i only use fm or ipod input music. i dont use bluetooth for music, im seeing too many of the young guys spending more time with their phones and radios then working that its starting to irritate me, lol. Dont mean to screw you up Don, the only way your going to know for sure is to compare it with your dewalt. cant go wrong with either one. i love my m18. i also loved my dewalt, but we are now divorced. you say you are upstate ny i have jobs in the fulton, montgomery, albany, county area, if this is the area you are in we could hook up compare, you bring your good dewalt, ill bring m18, just an offer to make it easier for you.

i bought the tough system radio when it first came out and said it was the best job site radio there was, well this xmass i got the m18 packout radio as a gift. i had no intentions of buying it, i was going to get the new tough system radio, im glad i waited. the m18 beats my tough system. the m18 has alot more power. on my dewalt i had to max everything on the eq to get impact. Im a woodstock era hippie that likes my music loud and with impact. i had to back off on the eg when playing my ipod. with the m18 i have full cd sound on my ipod not the compressed mp3 music where they throw out the high and lows and compress the middle. i did a comparison and the m18 was much louder with deeper bass. but where it really shined was the highs if you like guitar and horn your going to love this radio it will actually hurt your ears. it has separate midrange and trebles. when i work alone i play this thing full volume and it is loud. i seen a few reviews on the internet and they said they were not impressed with the sound. i dont understand that. this radio is heavy, but i thing it aids in the sound quality, nothing rattles on it, my dewalt had occasional rattles at full volume. the m18 build quality is much higher. it has a real ac cord, not the toy brick of the dewalt. the first thing to go on my dewalt were the little rubber feet on the bottom, then the power brick, then the cheap plastic cover that took three hands to open. but i was still willing to buy another one because i thought nothing could beat it. i was impressed when i got the dewalt but im really impressed with this m18 .

i am a small time contractor in upsate ny. i myself would not have any use for these tools, but love to see this kind of technology come out. these tools are geared toward the mega size construction jobs where i can see these tools being popular. its a small cost for them. these tools are a whole new animal and a whole new battery platform makes alot of sense to me

i agree 100 percent i too have the issue, since i got into the m12 fuel, i hardly ever grab my big dewalts.

i have a bunch of tstak and toughsystem boxes that hold all my dewalt tools. tstak i dont buy anymore, good shop box but doesnt hold up on job site for me, only complaint i have on tough system is the plastic latches, mine are broke, other than that i like them, they have the best best racking system going. i recently got into the packout system when i got into the m12 fuel sysrem, all hard cases, the quality seems better than the other two, love the way they lock together, best system going for that. like other people have said, all have pros and con. tstak are best bang for the buck, followed by tough system. i dont find the price of the packout that insane, the quality of the box is awesome. if they had a racking system like the tough system, it would be the only box i would buy

i cant agree more, i have most of my fuel 12 volt tools re-bought, they do 80% of my work now, you put the six ah battery on and you you got one hell of a small tool the only time my dewalt 18 volts get used now is when im driving 3 inch screws or more, big lags, or drilling large holes. yeah, the 18 are getting smaller but you still have to have that big brick on the bottom to get the full potential of the tool. the 18 volts are too much gun for alot of the work we do. we on working on a composite deck now, with one inch decking, most of the screwing is hidden fastners [ small screws], but there are are some areas we have to use 2.5 inch plugged face screwing, my partner has to put his fuel 18v on 3 or 4 setting to have any real speed benifit over my 12v fuel.on 4 he was maybe 1 second faster, on 3 it was less than a second, if that is important, 4 setting could not be used he lost all "feeling" for the screw. home depot has the dual battery makita grinder on display, i couldnt help but laugh, that thing is so huge it should have wheels. dewalt has the right idea on there big saws, battery or plug in, thats a deal maker for me,

was talking to milwaukee sales rep at home depot last week, he mentioned a new battery, big ah, and table saw coming out,

i have both rockets great lights both have metal collars, those look plastic on the dewalt? the older rocket is battery only, the newer one is ac too, love that feature, plus it charges, will take a serious look at dewalt when it has same since i have alot of dewalt 18/20 volt tools.

i stopped at a stewarts shop for coffee around 10pm, backed into a parking spot, came out, got in my truck and noticed my tailgate down after i got home. didnt notice it when i got back in, dont know if taken or lost, i always make sure that tailgate is secure,there was an empty gallon paint container rolling around in back, never fell out

after losing my entire m12 fuel collection, 8 tools, 12 batteries, 5 lights, 4 chargers, two tool boxes, driving home recently late one night in upstate ny, on some very bumpy roads, and not knowing some 50 miles later after i got home, i find myself buying what i already had. with help from the tool guy at my local home depot and milwaukee sales rep. who got permission from his boss to donate a double pack of xc batteries, which i thought was really cool, im slowly rebuilding. take it from me, make sure your TAIL GATE IS LOCKED

lol i havesame problem, for the longest time i bought nothing but dewalt,the tool guy at home depot called me the bumble bee , i was nothing but yellow and black, but then i smartened up, i was buying dewalt just for the sake of buying dewalt, and shut everybody else off, you cant do that today, i make a living with my tools, if i need a certain tool and if it happens to be better than something dewalt has to offer, so be it, i dont care if its red, blue or green. im still loyal to dewalt more than anybody else, and when it comes to buying a new tool i look at dewalt first. When i first started out all my tools were milwaukee and porter cable corded tools, usa made, that s what got me started on dewalt tools, when black and decker brought that name back, they were usa made. dont get locked into one color, your only going to short change yourself on all the great tools that are out there today

my brothers son in law has been working with me alot lately, he is going to start his own business, my brother and i are going to get him a 12 volt system for xmass. he was always a 18 volt kind of guy, but sense working with me he has been grabbing my m12's and he wants them, my brother is a bosch guy, so he gave him a couple of his bosch 12's to use for awhile, he really liked them, that is until he started to use my m12's, so we are going to get him the gen 2 m12;s, nothing wrong with your choice

im not so sure about the size factor, the m12 fuel with the 6ah battery is a kick ass tool, still smaller than 18 volt, and with dam near the same performance, i can drive 3 inch screws all day with it. yeah the 18 volt is going to be a second or two faster, but at the end of the day you might save 10 minutes. the new super compact 18 volt tools are funny to me, if you want the run time that 18 volt offers than you still have to stick a big brick on it. dont get me wrong i still use my dewalt 18 volts, deck framing, heavy construction, i bought into the 12 for cabinet construction, interior trim work, etc. but i seen the power of these little guys, that their role got expanded. todays 12 has gotten better just like todays 18. iv seen so many guys pull out the big guns and either strip out or snap off screw heads. they are famous for doing it on door hinges. just my opinion but the 18 volt is not a do-all volt, im really happy i have both

i too bleed yellow and black but i got into the fuel m12 because dewalt just didnt have anything, i love them im using them more and more, milwaukee took a big chunk of dewalt money from me

that fuel ratchet is on my list, nice

my m12 fuel system has pretty much been my go to tool, my 18/20 volt dewalts dont get used like they used too, i have no problem with driving 3 inch screws, or small lags, i tried my buddies super compact makita 18 volt with 2ah battery, and my m12 fuel with 6ah battery, no contest, i did not like the compact 18 volt. i bought into the m12 because you could see the handwritting on the wall with dewalt 12 volt , i love the two battery styles, when im climbing ladders ill throw the little 2 or 3ah in the handle, when i need longer run time, ill use the the 4.0 or 6.0ah battery. best of both worlds. of course there is also times when only the bigger tools will do.

i have to admit i have a bunch of snap on but those are really nice looking

had to pull the trigger free 9amp battery

i have the tough system, its a bose killer

Roasty, that is one of my worst nightmares, iv had tools stolen before but nothing like that, i feel for you man, i know when it happened to me i was "smash his face, break his legs" type mad. lots of low lives around.

does it have to be painted? you could apply oil varnish which will give you a very interesting look. you will have many different wood tones. iv done both. i oil prime than give it multiple cts of skim cts [pain in the ass]. i use dura-a-bond 90 which dries alot harder than regular joint compound. stay as smooth as possible because its harder to sand than reg. joint compound. than prime again before putting finish on. if just hiding the texture is the issure, you could use one of those texture paints and then be done with it.