The first thing we noticed about Douglas hammers is their unique heads: The top of each tool is almost flat, which makes a nearly straight claw. Tool designer Todd Douglas Coonrad designed the claw to act as a chisel; he even beveled the edge to a chisel’s 8 degrees. He says the claw is perfect for splitting blocks or for demo work.
Coonrad also designed his hammer to extract stuck nails by including a side-pull notch in the hammerhead cheek, which optimizes nail-pulling leverage. The hammerhead and tang are a single piece of steel through-bolted to a 16-inch long hickory handle. If you manage to break the handle, you can buy another one and bolt it on.
The tool also has a magnetized nail set and overstrike protection plates, and comes with either a tractioned or smooth face. These hammers swing hard and are comfortable to hold. The 20-ounce original model is also available in 18- and 23-ounce sizes. The tools cost about $60. For more information, contact Douglas Tool Inc., 831-420-0456; www.douglastool.com.
Yokee Advanced Harness
This Editors’ Choice Award winner puts safety in the palm of your hand–or, rather, in the seat of your pants. Yokee’s fall-arrest garments include a safety harness, lanyard, and bib overalls all in one. If you’re having a tough time getting your crews to tie-on, make these pants your company uniform. If your crew is wearing their pants, then they’re wearing a full-body harness.
The cotton duck overalls have all the pockets and adjustments you’d expect; the harness is stitched to the inside. The garment is rated for 320 pounds and exceeds ANSI and OSHA standards. And not only are the pants comfortable to wear, say the roofer/inventors Dave Young and Mark Townsend, they’re comfortable to fall in.
During early tests, prototype garments gave the inventors a seriously uncomfortable pinch where they least wanted to be pinched, when the line went taught. To eliminate that, Young and Townsend designed a perforation in the back of the bibs that allows them to tear open. This spares you a meeting with the ground and any unnecessary discomfort on the way down. For more information, contact Yokee Advanced Harness Technologies, 800-890-2018; www.yokeeusa.com.
Porter-Cable
When we saw this tool’s prototype in August we knew it was a winner. It was so new, the number 12 was scrawled on it in Magic Marker in lieu of a label. Porter-Cable’s new Tiger Claw reciprocating saw uses two unique features to get its blade just about anywhere you need it. First, the saw’s body articulates 180 degrees, clicking into positive detents every 15 degrees. In addition, the nosepiece holding the blade rotates 360 degrees in both directions–while the tool is running. This radical articulation will help you maneuver the blade into tight spots you couldn’t reach before.
While the saw’s new features don’t add much weight (the tool weighs 9 pounds), they do eliminate the ability to set the tool for orbital action, so engineers upped the strokes per minute to 0-2,900 to keep it aggressive. The Tiger Claw uses the same motor and the same great tool-less blade change found on the company’s Tiger Saw.
The tool is 18-inches long overall, but bent in half it’s just 8-1/2-inches long. It has a 1-1/4-inch stroke and comes with an insert that accepts jigsaw blades for tight scroll cutting. The Tiger Claw costs $299. For more information, contact Porter-Cable, 800-487-8665; www.porter-cable.com.
Spec out Corded Circular Saws on ebuild, the Professional’s Guide to Building Products (TM).
ebuild Specs for Cordless Circular Saws.
Lee Unlimited Power Bench
We love inventions that come right from the jobsite. Clint Birkeland is a South Dakota carpenter who wanted a mobile saw stand portable enough to get to his jobsites and tough enough to stay there. So, he designed his own.
Birkeland’s Power Bench workstation unfolds in 1 minute from a 2-foot-square package into a 9-foot-long, 18-inch-wide miter saw stand. The adjustable deck height accommodates almost any make of miter saw or metal cutting saw. The legs also adjust for use on uneven terrain or to set at different work heights. The bench’s main legs are made from 11-gauge, 1-inch-square tube; the rest is made from 15- and 16-gauge square tube and 1/2-inch, schedule-40 pipe.
The unit has 8-inch, rubber-coated wheels and is available with accessories like table extensions for longer materials and stop rails for repetitive cuts. The Power Bench costs $499. For more information contact Lee Unlimited Power Bench, 605-365-5430; www.powerbench.com.
Hilti
Although we often focus on power, speed, and performance in new tools, safety and health concerns are always top priorities for us. Hilti’s new wet Diamond Drilling System (DD EC-1) wins on all accounts, but especially for its dust-free operation now that silica dust has been identified as a serious health hazard.
The system pumps water from a portable recycling unit tank to the drill and into the hole, where it picks up the dust. A vacuum pump sucks the water back into the tank for filtering. The constant flow of water not only contains the dust, but also aids the diamond drill bits, leaving clean holes suitable for anchors.
The 8,000-rpm drill operates so smoothly it’s also ideal for drilling into granite countertops or tile surfaces, according to the company. And it’s quiet enough for work in confined or otherwise restricted spaces. The system costs $4,450. For more information, contact Hilti, 800-879-8000; www.us.hilti.com.
Cordless Nailer Evolution
If pneumatic nailer companies follow the trend set by cordless electric toolmakers, we’re in for quite a horse race. And we’ll ultimately be the winners. Cordless nailers offer freedom, flexibility, and speed. Some day they’ll probably be used as commonly as cordless drills are used today. Here are two models that take the category further towards that goal.
ITW Paslode
Paslode has been the horse to beat since it invented this category in 1986. The company’s new TrimMaster IM250A angled finish nailer takes the category to a new level. This well-designed, compact, and powerful tool would be a great addition to any trimmer’s pneumatic tools. For some, it might even replace them.
The TrimMaster is light (4.9 pounds), holds 100 nails, and fires fast enough to keep pace on almost any job. It’ll shoot nails from 1-1/4- to 2-1/2-inches long, and gets into all the tight corners that standard angled nailers reach. It’s got an easy-to-use, tool-less drive-depth adjustment, and a handy, built-in belt clip. The propulsion system is the same as that on Paslode’s other hoseless tools; a combination of gas cylinder and battery power-powered firing. You’ll get about 4,000 shots on a single battery charge and 1,200 from a canister of gas. The TrimMaster sells for $429. For more information, contact ITW Paslode, 800-334-4811; www.paslode.com.
Senco Products