opcruzer

I have 3 heated hoodies from Milwaukee (over the years have accumulated them) and one of them is the one that comes with the 3in1 jacket and its by far the best of all of them. How and where do I find just the hoodie from this kit as I have looked far and wide and only find the normal one. For all of the nay-sayers the hoodie in the kit has the tougher lining on the front pockets and the bottom of the arms.

I know a lot of you are going to say pelican, but are there any others in the medium size box that still has wheels and a retractable handle to roll thru airports? I plan to have an m18 fuel 1/4" impact and a battery or two and a couple small cases of bits and such and maybe a charger and then assorted small hand tools. I will be traveling to Canada a couple times and to a couple job-sites in KY and TN. I forsee more and more air travel in my future so I want to invest in good equipment.

I am also looking at the new Fuel rotary hammer compared to the Makita x2, the specs are very close and I have yet to find a review or tool battle between. I also checked Javier's site to make sure he didn't slide one in there as well. I have the Makita brushless 18v rotary hammer and it does alright but the new ones do a lot more.

The hypertherm is by far the best in the business.

I have seen some of Javier's videos and must have missed that one. The Milwaukee event that Eric and Dan covered has some literature saying that their fuel saw cut way more than the X2 saw which is obviously not the case. I have been very impressed with all of my other fuel tools but I don't think they can compare with the 2 batteries on the Makita.

I have not seen anyone compare these two head to head and given any remarks as to which one feels more powerful. I have both battery platforms and could get either one and when we are cutting wet or frozen green treat 2x material my current fuel 6 1/2" saw or my older Makita saws just don't cut it. (pun intended) I am also looking for specs to compare the horsepower or "felt power" of the new 7 1/4" fuel circ to the current 6 1/2" fuel circ saw to see if its really that much better. I have seen the claims that the fuel saw will cut a lot longer on a charge because of the brushless motor and that really doesn't matter much in this case as we don't make enough cuts in one day for that to really matter and we have plenty of batteries for it to matter. We also cut up old concrete form lumber and eventually ruin blades because of it and I try to do that with old saws and old blades but anymore blades are pretty cheap its more about getting the work done. We have noticed that changing out old blades helps a lot even on the old Makita circ saws that are known to be underpowered.

I have been patiently waiting for the new Makita 148 impact to get here for months now and have even looked at the cost to get it from Japan and I finally couldn't take it anymore and after having to pay $190 for a bare with shipping I finally got one and its a pretty nice and tiny impact. It definitely tops all of the other ones they have done to date.

Just know that the eastwood machine is a hobbyist or DIY'er machine and not something you would find in a professional shop. I just got a miller plasma and it was $1300 and it uses a lot of hypertherm's parts. Just make sure to also plumb a filter in the air line to keep good air coming to the machine and you will love what today's plasma technology has over anything from even ten years ago. We have an old plasma that is 20-25 years old at my old mans place and its bigger than the old Lincoln red tombstone's (old stick welder everyone has or has used) and its heavy and large and bulky and compared to my new miller which is tiny and cuts better there is no comparison.

As others have said, its not a surprise that other markets get to test it first before we get it. I would like to also think our US market is soo much larger than other markets, they want to have it correct before bringing it to us but we can test stuff too. I just bought the dewalt nailer to replace the to paslode guns I have that I don't like. I need to get them up in the Swap Meet section with pics here shortly as well.

I have the m12, m18 and just ordered the new fuel M18 deep cut band saw, also the corded deep cut bandsaw so I would have to say Milwaukee. The Makita cordless version just didn't come down enough in price otherwise I would have one of those.

Fuel one in the works, I will believe it when I see it. I have the fuel saw and the non-fuel saw at a another place we own and they are both fine but the Fuel one is better in all respects. I will have to saw that I have also had the Makita one for 8 years now as well and its my go to most of the time because of what others have said, it fits your hand the best. Now only if I needed yet another cordless circ saw I could justify the new x2 version from Makita.

I am with Krane here, Makita has been an innovator for a long time and the battery thing gets a worse rep than it maybe deserves. I had some of the first M18 batteries at a feedlot we own and those batteries died left and right compared to the one here or there in my rather large Makita lineup. Soo maybe you are not a landscaper so the new line of landscaping tools isn't for you. They had the first brushless impact way before anyone else and it has a fuel gauge on the tool which is what the whole M12 line uses and it doesn't get this bad of run down. Also of the big three, I will always pick up the Makita impact to drive screws of any kind in wood, its only when we have to drive large self tapping screws into metal that I have to reach for my m18 fuel impacts (but the newest Makita impact should change that also). I also want to point out that Makita has been innovating in more directions with their cordless lineup than their competitors combined (ok maybe close, but you get the point). I have the cordless nibbler for sheet steel (they also have the shear), the concrete vibrator, the first brushless sds hammer drill, the first drywall screw gun, and I believe the first of the big three to come out with a 3/8" drive ratchet. All of these I would have to buy new and different battery platforms to get each one. Then you can come to the x2 lineup which is being expanded everytime I turn around, more innovation that doesn't get the credit it deserves. I continue to buy new Fuel tools and love them but I still can not get away from Makita as they have soo many specialty tools that we use daily and they are always great tools at that. One last rant, I had bought into the 3.0/40 and 1.5/2.0 battery sales pitch for both dewalt for the short time I had 20v tools and with my Milwaukee lineup and in the end its more of a sales ploy than anything. My impacts run for hours 3-4 sometimes and honestly taking a break to switch batteries (because I grabbed an extra one to bring with anyways) is not that time consuming. If only Makita would release their stuff in the US faster it may have been able to keep up better (their 5.0 battery is out in Japan currently and I almost bought one the other day) but I digress. Either way Makita still has a faithful following and they may market in different ways than the others but they will continue to stay an innovator and I will continue to buy their tools for it.

Don't tell them but I have bought a couple Makita batteries over the years just so I could return a bad one that didn't last very long and still looking almost new, so in that respect you get them both at 50%. I just couldn't handle that some batteries last 5-6 years and some only 5-6 months it seemed. Also Makita's battery warranty was pretty light at only a year compared the red and yellow stuff.

United makes a nice HD series line that is tailored for contractor use that I am looking at. Basically the floor is thicker that cross members are heavier and closer together as well. They sometimes already have a nice ladder rack on top as well. The one I have now I have weighed a few times and hovers around 6,000lbs most of the time. I have cleaned out some stuff that doesn't get used as much to keep it from being overloaded (7,000 lbs) but I have had numerous problems with this one like the axles not being square and one tire rubbing on the frame to loosing screws on the outside skin for no reason to wiring underneath already breaking because its cheap to fenders not lasting a year because they are thin and cheap. The list could go on and on.

I am glad Makita finally made a more cost friendly band saw. I have the M12, M18 band saws and the corded deep cut bandsaw so I cant justify another one.

He is also a saleman for our company so I usually just heckle him about it and let it go.

We buy a lot of recon stuff from 3-4 brands and all from CPO. If you are only going to use it once or twice, the go recon. We will also give recon stuff out as gifts (also a good excuse to go buy new). We also have a cattle feedlot and I will only by those guys recon tools as they are hard on stuff and don't always remember to pickup stuff everyday so it gets rained on or left in the mud which I cant stand.

I missed a couple drawers but they didn't have that much exciting stuff to show. I will comment on one more area. I do have tools that I lend out on a jobsite ($3 tapes, $5 hammers, and such) and I keep all of the good stuff for myself. For example I have a co-worker that is notorious for breaking hammers and shovels, so now I will only let him use Wilton's "unbreakable" series of hammers, and he also gets the cheap tape measures, because his other nick-name is take-it or break-it. I also make sure I put used bits in his impact (or as we call them, rattle guns) as I am expecting they will not come back.

more pics

The company I work for sells, and builds fabric covered hoop style buildings mainly to feed cattle in. Our customers range from small farmers to large commercial feedlots throughout the Midwest. We are general contractors for some jobs and will sometimes spend a day or two with other crews as they need help. We have a 7'x14' enclosed trailer that we use and I will attach a few pictures below. The trailer is a US Cargo and I would not recommend that brand as they are cheap junk that wont hold up as a tool trailer. I plan to replace it with a larger model from a more reputable brand sometime this year. I started buying Makita LXT tools 6-7 years ago as they had the largest li-ion selection at that time and a great following. Since then we have tried some Dewalt stuff with mixed success and have lately been buying a lot of the new Fuel lineup in 18v and 12v. We use 1/4" drive impacts a lot so I have a lot of them along with 1/2" impacts both small and large. We also have some specialty tools for sheet steel and a vibrator for concrete piers and walls. Given that we are usually don't have access to power we have everything we will need in cordless and some stuff in corded versions to run off a generator. I really like using a large toolbox for storage as its great for keeping everything organized. I have been very happy with the Masterforce tool boxes and have a few at home as well. We buy a lot of name brand stuff because we are usually out in rural areas with limited access to anything or anyone. Some of the other stuff usually in this trailer are a couple eu2000 Honda generators and a things like more ladders or wobble lights or maybe some parts parts for certain jobs we are headed to. I have this trailer wired to that I can plug it into a generator or regular power and charge batteries and run the lights inside. I recommend this to anyone with a tool trailer as we will also run heat in it sometimes in the winter months to get out of the elements for a break.

What about the Makita with 2-18v batteries? Other than price with batteries might scare some away, it should be very close to the bosch as well.

CPO Dewalt has a $20 off promo and the original framing gun is down to $349 now. http://www.cpopowertools.com/dewalt-dcn690b-20v-max-cordless-lithium-ion-31-degree-3-1-2-in--xr-brushless-framing-nailer--bare-tool-/dewndcn690b,default,pd.html?start=5&cgid=dewalt-framing-nailers So if you don't need the 2-speed version and already have batteries like I do its not a bad price. Now I just need to find someone that wants to buy my two paslode cordless guns so I can buy this one.

You just need to be careful when handling these blades as they usually have such a sharp and aggressive tooth pattern that they will tear gloves and clothed easily if you brush up against these blades. Otherwise they work great.

I have been waiting for a thread like this to pop up. I use mainly torx bits and have dewalt, shockwave, and Makita's gold ones and have also tried some Irwin ones from time to time. I really like the shockwave and buy the most of those usually, but I have recently picked up some of the new Makita gold bits and really like them as well. I tend to loose or hand out too many bits to actually use one until its wore out but I will get shockwave ones that the star pattern will twist as it wears and will eventually get thrown when it wont make consistent contact with the screw. For reference we use a lot of #9x3 and #10x3.5 screws in treated lumber and timbers all year round so they get tested. For larger GRK style lags I really like the APEX brand bit and holder I got from someone way back when and usually have a real hard time finding replacement bits for it. I have seen and read reviews comparing Phillips bits, but would love to see a similar review on t25 bits. Hint, hint, hint. I would also say that how bits wear depends on the impact gun used. I have brushed and brushless Makita that usually do the best and the new fuel impacts run soo hard they are usually the worst on bits and will sometimes break or fracture the tip of the bit.

Wow, that is great run time. I can't wait for it to be released in the US. Unfortunately we don't even have the 4.0 batteries yet from Makita so it will be a while I bet.