Technical What "New" tool has impressed you ?

Over the years many new tools have come along with the improving technology. Some tools have been around a long time but now have been improved. What tool have you purchased that you think most of us would like...and why.

I'll begin with a recommendation for taking a look at a lot of the Kobalt offerings. I bought many Craftsman tools over the years and my first cordless Craftsman drill was very reliable and helpful. I used it for building a large pole barn with thousands of sheetmetal screws to drive, and holes to drill.
Finally the battery went bad. I could buy a new drill and battery for about $10 more than just a replacement battery.Sears played games with customers by offering "on sale" drills that only had one speed and batteries that had low amp/hr ratings and gradually I tired of their game playing. Looked at the Lowes ad and Craftsman is still playing the same game. I mean, really...how much does it cost to put a decent battery with the drill. The ad shows a drill with a 1.3 A/H battery and their next step up is a 1.5 A/H. This translates to how long the tool will function when you use it.
Anyway, when I tired of Sears chincy games, I moved to DeWalt, a well known and respected brand. The drills were rugged but the batteries were expensive and had a habit of dying very quickly immediately after their 2 year warranty. I had three of those drills and a sawsall. Gave them to my son because he still had some good batteries.
So now the purpose of this thread. I bought a Kobalt Lithium Ion Drill with charger and 2 A/H battery for $99. Then I spent $50 and bought a 4A/H battery. This thing drills well, 2 speeds, reverse,and enough torq to twist your wrist if a large drill bites the metal being drilled. So, they also include an extension handle with the drill to prevent you getting twisted. They seem to drill forever.
We were erecting a homemade overhead crane in my sons outbuilding and had to drill some 3/4" holes through the I beams. Yes we drilled small and then larger holes, but the drill just kept drilling. At the end of the day when I left and took my drill home to recharge, my son got his non-lithium Dewalt out to finish drilling the last hole. His battery had to be charged a couple of times, but its getting near the two year mark.
Now I imagine that any companies "brushless" drills with lithium batteries will out perform most
non-lithium drills.....but the question is..."at what cost". The Kobalt drills are on sale at Lowes this Fathers day for $79 with a charger,2A/H battery, and a extension handle. Drill has a "5 Year" warranty and the battery is "3 Years". Spend an extra $50 for a 4 A/H battery and you have a remarkable tool. Now I was a Craftsman guy for decades, but now I don't care what the "NAME" is, I only care about performance and reliability. I bought my wife a "weed eater and a leaf blower" by Kobalt. Extremely light and work well. Wife wanted light weight and I like it too. Again, 5yrs and 3 years. So, my point here is that I'm very happy with every Kobalt tool I've bought and I'm recommending that this Fathers day you try them out. They may become your favorite brand, but whatever you do, try one of those $79 drills.

No, I don't have any affiliation with Kobalt, but it looks to me like Lowes is trying to push Craftsman now, and I want to see Kobalt stay around. I think you will be impressed with them.
My son is going to sell his Dewalts on Craigslist and buy a Kobalt this weekend.

 

I'm not a fan of cordless tools. Before I retired from construction, I used them almost daily and liked them; my favorite was the cordless Sawzall.

But after I retired, I bought a few cordless tools for home use. My experience is the batteries go bad unless exercised regularly. It seemed like every time I pulled them out to use, the batteries had failed. I usually use my drill press to drill holes, a hand-held drill doesn't get used all that often. And as the batteries got more powerful, the bulk/weight of the tool increased making them difficult to use in tight spaces. My corded tools have never let me down...

I notice that they have improved the warrantee length on the batteries, but having to spend 1/2 a day getting a replacement kind of negates the convenience factor..

 

I bought a set of drill/impact driver came with both tools , 2 batteries and the charger for $99 smackers. It is the 20 volt Craftsman bought from Lowes . I have a bunch of DeWalts that the batteries as you said go bad. A bunch of Craftsman 18 volts tools that worked well until batteries got some age. My Craftsman 20 volt tools were great so far.

 

I absolutely used the hell out of the inline cutoff wheels. There accuracy and reach has got to be the best improvement of a tool in some time.
I'm going to add the LED flashlights are great also.

 

Doing construction I use my Makita drill and driver all day every day. I also have a dewalt set, almost never use it as the Makita charges in 1/2 hour, the Dewalt takes a few hours, and the Makita is smaller and lighter to boot. Yes they are more than $99 but worth every penny. I also hear good things about the Milwalkee tools but have no first hand experience. For a homeowner type use the Kobalt/Ridgid
etc might be enough.

 

I've got a buddy who owns a cabinet shop and Dewalt cordless drills and impact drivers are the standard. One day a new hire shows up with Ryobi cordless drills/drivers. Of course they all gave the new guy a hard time for not having "real" tools, i.e. Dewalt. He proceeds to point out that most problems they have with cordless tools is that they get knocked off a ladder and break or they get left behind at a job site and are gone for ever. That said he pointed out that the Ryobi tools are a heck of a lot cheaper than the comparable Dewalt AND as it turned out they worked as well or better than the Dewalts.

 

https://www.tooltopia.com/3m-automotive-07547-2.aspx

I work on rusty stuff. Cleaning the rust off the hub around the lugs was a pain. Then I saw this. Chuck in die grinder, zip zip, clean and shiny again.


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Plunge cutters

 

Another nod to cordless drills, impact drivers. Went from 12v Makita to 14v and 20v Dewalt stuff. Have compact Ryobi's that I use around the house and have been very happy with them.

Plasma cutter. Cleaner and easier than a torch in many cases.

X2 on LED lighting be it shop lights or flashlights. I have a small, tactical style flashlight that's multiple times lighter in weight, brighter and lasts longer than the old 4 D cell "club" maglight and heavy ass "lantern" lights.
Have used this Dewalt flexible flashlight for years. The battery acts as a weighted base and you can set it up to aim wherever you need when working alone. Handy as hell under a car, doing plumbing, etc around the house.

 

Would not think leaving tools behind or dropping from a ladder would be a problem in a cabinet shop,
unless they also do installs.

 

Dremel rotary tool use it on a average of 1 to 2 times weekly

 

Since I brought up the subject and recommended the Kobalt cordless drill to everyone, I thought I'd address some of the comments. Apparently these lithium batteries do not have "memories" which limited the older batteries to getting less than a full charge if you didn't completely deplete them before recharging.
From what I see,recharge times are less than an hour but won't promise that for all brands.
Last is the importance of the warranty and replacement costs for batteries. Here are the latest prices from the Lowes website. As you can see, the Kobalt has 3 yrs and the cheapest($50) prices. Craftsman wants twice as much as Kobalt for a battery but does have the same 3 yr warranty. Dewalt sells a 2 battery pack for $179 and is "currently" listed as available for a reduced price of $139 ($70 ea)....and still only warranties them for 2 years.
Now I'm not saying the Kobalt drill is better than Craftsman or Dewalt because I don't and haven't owned any of their Lithium powered tools. BUT I have purchased many of their non-lithium batteries in the past. Anyone who has owned any brand of cordless tool is well aware of the importance of both replacement battery cost and the length of the warranty on them. Most people want more than one battery. I had about four Dewalts and they were all dead and out of warranty....so I moved over to the Kobalt. I am totally satisfied with it as well as the leaf blower and weed trimmer that I subsequently bought...based on my satisfaction with the drill. I am an admitted tool-a-holic and not your average home owner mechanic. I have a loooottttt of tools, many of which are pretty high dollar or rare for an amatuer mechanic. If I want something, I find a way to get it.....but I hate feeling like I'm being taken advantage of by some of the tool manufacturers who ride their name recognition but don't produce a superior product anymore. There is a world of difference between the brushless motors used today and the old non-lithium batteries. All I can say is that if you go buy one of the $79 (on sale for Fathers day) Kobalts is that they guarantee you are going to get at least 3 years of use out of it or go get a refund. I think each of you will be impressed with the power and dependability.


Edit note: Yep, as "Hot Rods ta Hell" mentioned,the LED flashlights are great too. I have some of the Kobalt ones and during power outages they make great light sources and you just use the existing drill battery. Really bright.

and as "Pat 55" mentioned....Plasma Cutters are amazing. I luv mine.

 

They do everything from start to finish

 

Power Probe 3 for my electrical diagnosis.

Nice to be able to provide and measure proper voltage and a reversable ground scheme at whatever device I am testing.

Oldmics

 

Biggest problem I have with any kind of tool nowadays is quality. Brand name doesn't seem to mean shit any longer. The only thing to go on are the reviews of the people who use them. I feel the blame is on the cheapo tool manufacturers who have taken their factories to "you know where". We blame "them", when the blame rests mostly on the manufacturers who refuse to pay costs in North America. Greed, plain and simple.

That said, I have a Kama band saw that I wouldn't give up for anything. Every time I use it it puts a smile on my face. Cuts perfectly square every time. Made in Italy I think.

 

Maybe not all that new, but they are to me. The round ratchets1/4 -1/2.I love those things.I do love the battery powered tools also. I carry bat powered 3/8 impact to car show with me.Guys laughed at me until they needed to borrow....carry on.I love new tools

 

My 2 favorite newer tools are:

#1. Eastwood flaring tool. Makes perfect 37 and 45 degree flares every time. Single, double or bubble. Would never go back to the old ways of doing things.

#2. Milwaukee 3/8" 18V impact wrench. Use it for everything. Good battery life and had a ton of torque. Also use the same batteries as my 18V Milwaukee 1/2" drill so I always have a battery ready.

Those are 2 tools I can't imagine not having anymore.
SPark

 

Several companies are offering these slick the way they go from internal to external with the flip of a lever. https://www.toolbarn.com/gearwrench-3151.html/

 

^^^
yes, those work very well.

Stay away from the HF snap-ring pliers; they're junk

I've been more than happy with Makita 12v drills Got 2 of them and 4 batteries.
Also like the Milwaukee cordless Hackzall...very handy for getting at the parts in U-Pull-It jobs.
Got a wood blade for it too...great for trimming limbs from trees
I see most Milwaukee cordless tools are now 18v "Fuel"

 

I have a hydraulic line flaring tool. It was very expensive, but worth every penny. I’m so tired of the old way of flaring lines.


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Hello,
When driving an original 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery, it was a hassle to break out the bumper jack and crank handle for a flat tire fix. Soon, we got a scissors jack and twirly, folding handle. That made raising the sedan delivery easier. This jack had the additional small storage thing going for it, as it folded down into a small format.
old new
But, taking off those lug nuts put on by some gorilla, took a lot of time and teenage muscle. It also gave out its share of skinned knuckles on various protrusions or the ground. So, the crisscross, lug nut, removal tool was purchased and that saved injuries. It took less muscle to take off and put on those lug nuts.

This crisscross wrench was a gift from the gods, but it also took up room because of it wide design. Luckily there was a small/slim compartment where this wide tool could be jammed inside, ready for use when necessary.


Jnaki

Now, many years and cars later, this tool was designed and now solved both problems easily and with a simple design. The 26 inch compact wrench has the necessary cross bars and levers built in place. The separate pieces simply slide inside each other. So, the storage space is a two inch wide area that is easily found inside of trunks or spare tire wells.
Problem solved...
"Sometimes, it takes a village..."

 

I love these Nebo Slyde flashlights. Bright and even light with a good strong magnet makes using them under a car easy.

 

I bought a few of those cheap LED lights. Broken em all. Guys at the shop had one of these from Matco. Was the best $85 I've spent . I use this thing all day at work. Magnetic base is strong and it swivels. Its bright as heck.Perfect for those of us with less than perfect eye sight. Now I need one for the home shop.

 

Check out the Ridgid cordless tools. Permanent magnet motors and LIFETIME warranty on batteries, if you register them.

 

I picked up a porter cable restorer, it's a hand held drum sander, I bought the scotch brite style drum and use the hell out of it on rusty metal.

 

Been around for a while but I love the Gear Wrenches excellent tool and you can get in tight spots with a ratchet. Also good luck with Milwaukee cordless impact and ratchets.


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I’ll check those out. Never seen one before. Thanks for the post.


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When I was doing the 3/16" hard brakelines on my Model A I wanted to keep the bends nice and tidy, and some of the bends needed to start as close as possible to the flare nut. I looked online and found one that really looked like a nice piece but it was around $140....ouch! I ended up buying a simple tubing bender to at least try out at Horrible Freight for $9.99 and although I used it slightly different than it is intended, it did nice, clean, kink-free bends that could start right at the flare nut like I wanted. https://www.harborfreight.com/1-8-eighth-inch-to-1-4-quarter-inch-tube-bender-94571.html

Lynn

 

a screw driver that doesent slip out of the slot and the handle doesn't spin when tightentng tight screw. WOW! what next????

 

That there are so many lights in this thread indicates I ain't the only one finding it harder to see. Check this little mother out, its changing my life. Small enough for your pocket, even if your jeans are getting tighter. Bright as hell! Streamlight: