Jronman

@power to0ls here are some things I do to keep safe. I hope they help. If the material is 1-1/2" or less in width I would use a push stick. For material wider than that I rest my right pinky finger on the top of the fence to ensure my hand stays away from the blade. I don't like using push sticks for wider material. It increases the difficulty of getting an accurate cut. If you want to use a push block or a sled that should work just fine since they would have a wider surface to push with. Another tip is don't stand directly behind the piece you are cutting just incase kickback occurs. You wouldn't wan't a piece of wood traveling at high speed towards yourself. Always use the riving knife. This helps prevent kickback. Your left hand moves the material left of the blade and your right hand move material right of the blade while it is spinning. Never cross your arm over the blade to move a piece while the blade is spinning. Make sure both pieces are free of the blade before turning the saw off. If the piece is too big to cut yourself either get a second person to help cut or use a tracksaw or circular saw with straight edge. Make sure you have adequate space in front and behind the saw to cut the piece you want to cut. Keep blade height no more than 1/16" more than the piece you are cutting if possible.

I mostly go to Menards for buying the big bags of shelled pistachios. In terms of tools and tool related accessories, I might get something every now and again but they don't carry any of the battery platforms I own which is a reason I find it hard to shop for cordless tools at Menards. There are a few quality hand tool brands I have gotten there. I've gotten most of my Knipex at Menards and half of it I used rebates on. Thats where Menards does a good job. You use your rebates to buy tools that you wouldn't normally buy. I probably wouldn't have gotten my first pair of Cobras if it wasn't for a rebate. Best tool buying decision I have made at Menards. Menards isn't really intended for tool users like me. Something like an Acme Tool, Toolnut, Rockler, or Woodcraft is more geard for what I like. They aren't afraid to offer your higher end tools.

My shortcomings with Packout have pretty much been resolved during the pipeline. Drawers and wall racks were what I was missing. It might be enough to make me switch but I probably won't consider it until I get a new shop space. I'd like to see customizability features like Tanos has. How cool would it be to option out the other boxes with the white lids from the cooler or have a blackout with red lids. Maybe a red packout with the red handles from the blackout boxes or blackout with black handles from the red boxes. These would just be Milwaukee specific colors but Tanos doesn't limit their boxes to the Tanos grey/blue color scheme. They have many other colors too which I could see Milwaukee offering. For a small fee, companies who want quality storage for their tools can partner with Milwaukee to do do the custom storage. I think the company partnering with Milwaukee, Milwaukee themselves, and the end user would all benefit from this offering.

One step closer to being more like Tanos? Will you be keeping the lid and handles black?

I probably wouldn't worry about my packout if I had any, but I am normally careful with my boxes anyways. Packout may be more expensive than Tough System but you are also getting more strength. Video demos showed it resisting what looked like 12in concrete block while Tough System failed. Do I need that level of protection? It is unlikely I would need this level of protection but I know if I had Packout I won't have to worry about them breaking. This is only if these tests are truthful. The tests I saw were from Milwaukee themselves from an nps coverage.

here is something to consider the original flexvolt 2/6 ah has 15 18650 cells. The xr 6 ah has 10 21700 cells. The 18650 cell is less powerful but you have 5 more to draw from at one time. I'm not sure if the updated flexvolt 2/6 ah has 21700 cells now but if it does then there is no longer the argument towards the battery being less powerful than the xr 6 ah. Also if you want the versatility of having the option of using flexvolt tools, going with the flexvolt battery might be the better option. If you want a lighter weight battery, maybe the xr is the better option.

sweet, Are there any flexvolt tools that you going to use the new batteries in?

I would recommend getting the fuel version of a tool if it is available in m12. I don't know if you are still in need of higher demand tools but since you are in the m18 line now it might be worth looking at more m18 tools. The higher demand tools like the circular saw and jig saw might be the more enjoyable experience over the m12 variants.

I ordered the DeWALT cordless heat gun. I plan to get into epoxy woodworking and in some cases bubbles can occur and the heat gun is supposed to help. I also got some Keen work socks from a 50% off sale.

@Badgerstate it really depends on what product in the m12 line you get and the battery as well. The newer m12 products really perform quite well. If you have the old brushed tools you will find they are very much lacking in performance. I currently own the new 3/8 stubby impact wrench with a small battery. It does everything I need it to do including change tires on my class 4 utility trailer. I don't own any of the larger 6 cell batteries but every video I have seen about the larger batteries shows they have a very much noticeable performance increase when compared to the smaller 3 cell batteries.

or pull a Tanos and make Packout available to any brand.

I would rather just have DeWALT branded Packout

Bought a new pair a mowing shoes. I went back to Keen utility. I wasn’t impressed with the Kujo Yardwear shoes I got like I have been with my Keen’s. I went with the Flint II Sport. They have the new Keen Regen and new Konnectfit features which should be really nice for mowing.

Wow the wife said buy MORE tools? Must be an awesome wife to encourage tool buying.

Going to start with projects I cut out with my cnc then the goal is once I have some experience with epoxy transitioning to large scale projects like tables.

I got quite a bit this past week. I ordered some Epoxy to try out. I wanted to go with Black Forest Epoxy but their stock in the smaller amounts was gone so I went with a 1 gallon kit from TotalBoat. I also got a multipack of Black Diamond pigments which came with something like 100 different colors in 5 gram packs. I also ordered an ego ADB1000 so I can plug in my commercial battery into my residential stuff. I expect it will be good for the blower when I do leaf cleanups. I also got a replacement 10in chain for my ego pole saw and an AWH1500 wall mount to hang my commercial battery and charger. I also will be getting a replacement 650 cfm blower under warranty. I also got a DJI OM4 to step up my phone camera game. From Shaper I got 2 rolls of double sided tape and 2 Shaper branded sys1 systainers with foam insert. The plan is to cut out custom inserts for all the Shaper Origin and Workstation accessories/parts. Finally I got a stainless 18" woodworking square with case from Woodpeckers. I wanted something more accurate than my el cheapo framing and rafter squares.

Has anyone used battery mounts from the like of 48 Tools or Stealth Mounts? Are they any good or worth getting? I have looked at each brand and notice potential advantages and disadvantages between the two. 48 tools makes their mounts with space for 4 batteries while stealth mounts is individual mounts. Stealth mounts has a larger selection of brands and products to choose from with more confirmed to come. It is a matter of do you want to install one bracket that fits four batteries or four brackets that fit one battery.

I don’t want to talk bad about a brand but it seemed like the BOSTITCH nailers myself or others around me have used were prone to jamming.

I'm seeing more mods to Packout than Tough System. I think the hardcore modular storage users were slightly disappointed with TS2.0. While it is an improvement in some areas over TS1.0, I don't think it is what users really wanted in a TS2.0. Sure you got the vast majority of people who just need a storage system. The flaws in Tough System aren't a deal breaker for them. If it stores the items they need it to store then thats good enough. As someone who has invested roughly $1000 into TS1.0 I am finding it harder and harder to justify getting more Tough System. Some products in the line are in short supply others I just don't need. If I had to start over with a new modular system (in addition to my systainers) I would most definitely go with Packout considering they are getting the E-track shelves and drawer units. I'd like to see Milwaukee become a Packout dealer like Tanos.

My biggest complaint with offering so many different brands in store is the selection becomes increasingly limited. One time I went to Home Depot to buy a specific omt because I knew they sold said omt. Turns out they did sell it but not in store. It is things like this that kinda annoy me.

hopefully next year we will get the gen 4 impact driver

The ambidextrous switch on the Festool Carvex barrel grip is a handy feature. I recently got another Tool Crate and my Shaper Origin, Shaper Workstation, and Woodpeckers Slab Flattening Mill Pro arrived.

I got to thinking Menards has a huge selection of brands under the Robert Bosch and Chervon parent companies. Home Depot already has the TTI market covered. Lowes is also a big SB&D retailer. Should the big 3 home improvement stores have exclusivity rights for certain brands of tools? It seems like they are kinda sorta doing this already. Smaller tool stores like Ace hardware, Acme tool, Do it Best etc. would not apply. Menards could get rid of the SB&D presence and optimize the brands under the Robert Bosch, Chervon, Masterforce, and Metabo/Metabo HPT brands. Home Depot could optimize for TTI brands and Makita. Lowes would be full on SB&D and Kobalt. It might give tool users of multiple brands incentive to shop between stores instead of favoring one over another. Having less brands could also mean you could offer larger lineups of one brand in store instead of having to offer less of one brand to make more room for other brands. It could be slightly less convenient for some but offer a slightly larger line of products per brand which could be an acceptable compromise.

I prefer anything that is considered a high end professional brand. Anything that could be considered midrange or homeowner I did not pick.

could always call up Stan to bring by a delivery of batteries