Grumpy MSG

Depending on the job site, you may actually be required to wear hearing protection.

I have a few in the house, the first of which has been on a piece of PVC for 15 years or so. it was undone 2-3 times until the length of the pipe was perfect. I like the ones with a 1/4 turn cutoff valve for use on any of the bathroom and kitchen fixtures. Nowhere near as cheap as a soldered connection, but no fear of setting a vanity or cabinet on fire accidentally.

You do know DeWALT (and you might) have a cordless router in 20V already, you can run small 1/4 router bits in the DCS551 drywall tool. At 26,000 RPM it is a hair slower than the compact router's top speed of 27,000. The base is smaller and would limit the diameter of bits available to you, but would probably work great with laminate trimming bits and small radius roundover bits. As for power I don't think the little bit of wood or laminate would work it any harder than cutting 5/8" drywall.

the !/2 and 3/4 combination crimper from Home Depot and a cutter will probably do most of what you need. Throw in some some Sharkbite or Gatorbite push on fittings and you can work wonders with it. P.S.- I am not a plumber either!

I have one of the corded saws and they really excel at long straight cuts when you want them. Do you want cut off the bottom of a door or even the side to fit in an opening? It's a perfect cut if your measuring skills are up to the task. Once you have made the first cut with it the rubber strip shows you exactly where the cut is.

That DW433 model looks like the DeWALT that was sold her in the US and I am 99% sure that the DWP352VS is the Porter-Cable 352VS with a DeWALT designed dust port and bag on it.

We had a tracker like that at work on the fork trucks. we had some genius figure out that the best thing to do to help your numbers was to sit still and talk and raise and lower it every 15 seconds or so. After a little bit the guys who were honestly working couldn't make their numbers yet the F.O. artists looked like heroes and nothing got moved. It went away after about a year. Nothing beats knowing their job and watching them work for a little bit. If you find they aren't getting the job done, then those employees need more supervision. When they catch on that more work means less boss and less work means more boss they will start working harder just to see you less. If I see my boss at the beginning of the day, get the plan and expectations, I really don't need to talk to him unless there are obstacles to success, then it's a call to him or the person who can remove the obstacle. The rest of the time I don't need to see him until the end of the day.

I use to turn wrenches at a farm equipment dealership, so most of what I have is 20+ years old, I have a big Craftsman rolling toolbox set, 9 drawer lower, 12 drawer upper with a hinged lid that covers drawers when down. The top box is a whole lot more secure than a box with a rear internal lock bar, some coworkers had those type and they may rattle open going up the road, then tip over and make a mess if unsecured. The Craftsman is a much better value than a Snap-on or Mac. The top and bottom together cost less than a similar sized truck brand bottom box and the top box generally costs 1 1/2 times what the bottom box costs. I kept a folding shelf on the side of it. As for tools inside of it, most of my wrenches, sockets and screwdrivers are SK, adjustable wrenches are Crescent, my pliers are almost all Channelock, my locking pliers are Vise Grips, my ball peen hammers and soft faced hammers were Blue Point or Snap-on, impact tools like chisels and punches were Snap-on or Mac (can't beat a lifetime warranty in something you beat with a hammer, as well as they were always in stock, never asked any questions and were by the shop weekly), Specialty tools like snap ring pliers, tap and die set and hand held impact driver (nothing removes a stuck screw like it) are Snap-on as well as any really oddball stuff that nobody else makes like a 1 3/16" combination wrench (it cost more than the 1 1/8" and 1 1/4" SK above and below it.combined did). As for air tools and sockets, Ingersoll Rand made a beast in the 244 impact wrench and she is till hammering today when asked. I have no doubt it has more torque than some 3/4" guns. There are pretty much two schools of thought on a lot of mechanics tools, smooth and polished wrenches and ratchets like Mac or Snap-on are easier to keep clean and knurled and rougher texture like SK, Proto's satin finish and Craftsman wrenches make it easier to grab it when it is wet, or greasy. I tend to believe the latter myself, nothing like trying to pick up a wrench that has been dropped in bucket of hydraulic oil.

I have, but like I said I have a 3 of the NiCad batteries that still give decent run time. I have 2 that are pretty well whipped and have thought about taking them to the local Interstate battery store and let them rebuild them and see how well the rebuilds work, but haven't broken down and done it yet. I also have a pair of the Li 18 volts with low usage too, so unless it is a great deal I am not hard pressed to pick up replacements, I don't need a right angle drill or drywall tool often and the jigsaw seems to run forever on the Li batteries. I know a lot of folks like barrel grip jig saws, but I prefer one like the current model. That 7 1/4" 20 Volt Max saw is attractive to me, but wouldn't really be a direct replacement for the 6 1/2", it or the FlexVolt seems more like a replacement for a corded saw than my 6 1/2"

I feel the same way about my older 18V 6 1/2" circular saw and reciprocating saws, I am slowly switching over to 20V Max. I am hoping the current models, which are a little long in the tooth are updated, maybe with brushless motors. I still have a few 18V batteries with adequate run times so they will soldier on a little longer along with a few other low use tools.

What about the battery doesn't fit, too wide?

Given that it says Oregon chain and bar, I am going to guess it won't be too hard to find a 14 or 16 bar that would fit it if you needed to have the biggest around.

Framer joe, I saw the perfect cell phone for you:

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/valvoline-high-performance-80w90-gear-oil-vv831/7070003-P?searchTerm=gear+oil Here is pretty good substitute for you.

The first step would be to consult your local codes. If you live in a small community you may be able to speak to an inspector who might come out and inspect the build. Let him tell you what will fly and what wont.

I could have sworn Stanley kits use to come in the package small to big of one type on the left and big to small in the other so it had an arrow head shape. But then what would you do with your nut drivers, Torx and Allen head drivers? So many dilemnas. Thank goodness I am more of a hoarder than organizational OCD. It leads me to have more than I need, I am trying to learn to let go of stuff, one tool in, one out. I have been doing better lately, with parting ways with some shelving, a tablesaw and miter saw and committing to give some tools to a nephew when we end up near each other at some point.

The Home Depot has a great deal on that kit right now. $299 for the hammer drill, impact, a 2.0 compact battery, a 2.0/6.0 FlexVolt battery, a charger in a Tough System case. It is sitting right inside the front door near the pro desk. Meanwhile at the local tool sale I picked up the same drill and impact in a hard case with a pair of 5.0 batteries for the same price. I am still not sure which is a better deal, considering I have the 20V string trimmer, both blowers and the 7 1/4" miter saw, so I am pretty happy with what I have that might need the bigger batteries.

If you are going to be cutting a lot of I-joists, you won't regret picking up one of the Flex Volt 7 1/4s for the job.

I have heard of hurricanes hitting the Cape, but I have never heard of tornadoes there. They may be whole lot smaller in area covered, but I think they are a whole lot meaner. I have never heard of a hurricane picking up a farm tractor, but tornadoes have destroyed more than a few 5 ton + tractors picking them up and throwing them like an egg on pavement.

When I use a saw, I want the vast majority of the base of the saw to stay on the "stable" board or piece of sheet goods, not on the cut off. That is why I like having both a left and right blade saw available. The Concord Carpenter does it both the "right" way and the "wrong" way in this video about the Makita rear handle saw. When he is cutting with the sidewinder he has most of the base on the solidly held piece, yet when he is demonstrating the Makita and just making a bunch of quick cuts he has the base hanging in the air and you can see the saw twist a couple of times. You know those cuts were a little crooked when that happened. Right now my 6 1/2" 18V saw with a left blade and the 7 1/4" Milwaukee Tilt-Lock saw with the blade on the right provide those options for me. The two examples of when I would want both saws available is when you are building a deck with boards parallel to the siding on the house and want to make a final cut on the end. I am going to want to push the saw toward the house with most of the base on the deck, not on the cut off. The same thing goes if you are cutting the ends of a roof. I want to be pushing uphill with the saw's base on the roof. If the saw is on the cut off, you slip, it is hitting the ground. I can't think of a reason why I would want to be cutting downhill on a roof either. A slip then and instead of falling into the roof, gravity is going to kick your @$$ and off the roof you go.

Just remember, you were the guy who didn't have a cordless tool until the 20V line was out. You are just now starting to use a track saw. So you could be a little slower in accepting change. I know I can be slow doing it at times too. In my case I don't really understand it yet, mainly because I am not working on big projects with multiple subcontractors and suppliers and have to react to change orders from inspectors, customers and architects. If they get it right, 6 months from now you might be the one speaking enthusiastically about it. In my case I will be sitting there thinking, is it time to retire some more of my 18V tools? Those couple I have that don't get used that much....

DeWALT has traditionally used a belt drive to put the motor up and out of the way for dual bevel tilting. Some other brands have use an angle motor gearbox/ drive or even a hypoid/ worm drive to accomplish the same thing.

Sure enough is!

You have far more options than Festool and Makita. Bosch (as wildroamer has mentioned), DeWALT, Triton and even Grizzly has one out there. Check out the Wood Whisperer on YouTube, he has done few reviews and comparisons between Festool and a few others. Don't forget to figure in the cost of the tracks when you do the math on purchasing a saw. Buying some of them separately can be a bit of a cost. Good research is the key to getting good value.

You mean the splinter guard that is part of the rail? I thought everybody's track had them.