Need a cold-weather reliable, heavy duty cordless hammer drill and impact driver combo kit? Here's one for you to check out: the Milwaukee 0824-24P. It's an 18v lithium ion battery powered Hammer drill with a FREE Impact Driver and also FREE Milwaukee 48-32-0321 21-piece universal Quik-Lok Drill/Drive set. Yup, that's quite a mouthful of free not to even mention heavy-duty.

The Milwaukee 0824-24 is a 18V Lithium Ion Cordless Hammer Drill Kit. The hammer drill is Lithium ion battery powered and cuts up to 25 2-9/16 inch self-feed bit holes per charge. It has a high output motor which puts out 550 in-lbs of torque. The Hammer Drill also features Milwaukee's patented reversible battery, which allows the drill to fit in tight areas and optimize balance while working overhead. It has 1/2 inch metal ratcheting chuck with carbide jaws for superior bit grip.

Comparing the FREE Impact Driver that comes with the kit, the Milwaukee 18v Impact Driver pushes 1400 inch pounds of torque while the Makita Impact Driver BTD140 cranks in at 1280 in-lbs and the DeWalt DW056 pushes 1170 in-lbs of torque. It's a bit larger and heavier than it's competitors but that's pretty much what we've come to expect with Milwaukee.

Milwaukee Lithium Ion batteries have a reputation for functioning extremely well in cold weather, even better than the (gasp!) DeWalt NANO. These are especially heavy-duty cordless power tools, they are also much larger and heavier than their competitors. The Impact Driver 0881-20 is a good 2 inches longer than either the DeWalt or Makita Impact Drivers with almost twice the weight as well. Depending upon your usage this may or may not be good for you.

This special deal also comes with a one-hour Milwaukee charger. The best feature about this battery charger is that it will charge your LiIon as well as your NiCad Milwaukee batteries.

For even more free, you get the 21-piece universal Quik-Lok Drill/Drive set - thats $29 of more stuff for FREE. If a heavy duty cordless hammer drill is what your looking for, this Milwaukee Hammer Drill Kit for $289 is one that you shouldn't pass up.

Makita has another new combo kit coming out, the LXT406. Like I said before, Combo Kits are a great way to get the basic tools you need at a discount. Once you have a cordless combo kit, which usually includes 2-batteries and a charger, then you can look for "tool only" deals at your favorite tool store (Toolking.com, nudge, nudge) and add to your kit. I like the Makita Lithium Ion combo kits because they are professional grade, well-built and durable, they come with a three year warranty on the tools, are lightweight and have superior ergonomics. They only thing that you have to do is pick the right combination of tools that you want to start with.

The Makita LXT406 is a 4 piece combo kit that includes: the 1/2" hammer drill/Driver BHP452 which has a new 4-pole motor for 450 in. lbs. of torque and weighs only 3.9 pounds. Instead of the Impact Driver, the LXT406 includes a cordless Reciprocating saw BJR182. This reciprocating saw also features a trigger-controlled variable speed motor and built-in LED light that automatically illuminates your work area when you squeeze the trigger. I love those features and I love having a cordless reciprocating saw for when I am cutting a hole up in the attic crawl space.

The third tool in the LXT406 is a 6-1/2" Circular saw BSS611 which has a D35 high torque motor. This cordless circular saw delivers maximum power for cutting 2 times the amount of material and only weighs 6.9 pounds. The Makita LXT406 also includes a 4-position Flashlight BML185 with Xenon bulbs that will run on the Li-Ion battery for 4.3 hours.

Makita LXT Lithium Ion batteries provide longer run time, 5 times lower self-discharge (for use any time) and 16 firm holding contact terminals (for constant high power). Lithium Ion batteries also weigh half as much as their NiCad counterparts and don't come with that dreaded "Memory effect". Basically every time you charge them, you will get a full battery charge. The LXT406 kit comes with two - 3.0Ah batteries and a 30-minute Rapid Optimum Charger DC18RA which communicates with the battery's built-in chip throughout the charging process to optimize the battery life by actively controlling current, voltage and temperature.

All these cordless power tools are nicely tucked into a heavy duty contractor bag in cool Makita blue. You'll be able to get this Makita LXT406 combo kit for somewheres around $400. Check Toolking.com for pricing details and availability.

This is pretty frikkin cool. This guy Joe Harmon, a 27-year old grad student is building a wooden car. Not just a small little toy model car, a real full-size, fully functioning, high performance super car called "The Splinter".

The Splinter is made with sheets of veneer pressed over scrap wood that was either donated or salvaged.

"For every piece we make, there is a custom jig being made for that component. I'd say 90% of our time is spent on the custom molds and jigs we're making for these parts.  The Porter-Cable and Delta tools allow us to streamline this process and avoid having to reset our tools each time, says Joe."

The folks over at Porter-Cable and Delta machinery have supported him in this endeavor by donating the tools needed to build this supercar. To keep track of Joe's progress, go to: www.deltaportercable.com/splinter.

Shop for Delta/Porter-Cable tools at Toolking.com.

How does a DeWalt Cordless brad nailer work? Will the mechanism last a long time? Thanks -Joe

Joe,

Thanks for the inquiry.  The new DeWalt Cordless Nailer (DC608K) utilizes the same type of mechanism for driving nails as its larger counterparts (DC616K /DC618K /DC628K)  The nailer utilizes a flywheel, solenoid and a drive pin.  The simple explanation is: when the safety is depressed and the trigger is pulled, the solenoid actually moves the drive pin over against the flywheel which pushes the drive pin down to drive the nail.  Very simple process.">

At this point comparable Nailers seem to be doing well and I would expect the same from the brad nailer.  My only concern at this point is that the gun is heavy, particularly nose heavy.  It is considerably heavier than its pneumatic counterparts.  I don't really see this weight issue being a problem until using the nailer in situations other than 90 degrees to a flat surface.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to call (1-800-696-8665) or write.

Good Luck and Happy Nailing!!!

Got a question for our tool expert Rick Peil? Click here to ask Rick!

">Aren't Combo Kits great?  They give you a nice starting point with a good set of tools, and they cost less than what you would have to pay for each tool individually.  And this new combo kit deal at ToolKing.com gives you a VERY nice starting point: the Milwaukee 0925-24 18V 4-Piece Combo Kit with FREE 48-59-0260 Multi-Bay Battery Charger for $299.99!  This is a tremendous deal, because the multi-bay charger alone is worth $119.

The four 18V tools included in the 0925-24 combo kit are the 6310-20 6-1/2" Circular saw, the 6515-20 Sawzall Reciprocating saw, the 0824-20 1/2" hammer-drill, and the 49-24-0165 work light.  All of these are very nice tools that have been highly rated by users.  You also get two 18V Ni-Cad batteries and a single battery charger in the kit.  On top of that, you get the 48-59-0260 multi-bay 12V to 18V charger--which is capable of charging three batteries at once--totally free!  This kind of charger is essential if you're going to be working long hours or sharing batteries with other people and you want to minimize downtime from dead batteries.

I've checked around on the internet, and most places are selling this kit for well over $299.99.  That's WITHOUT the 48-59-0260 multi-bay charger.  So if you're interested in this deal, head over to ToolKing.com and check out the Milwaukee 0925-24 combo kit right now!

">Are you in the market for a MIG welder?  Then you're in luck, because Tool King has the factory reconditioned Hobart Welders Handler 140 MIG Welder for $399.99!

This MIG welder isn't power-hungry: it runs on standard 115-volt household current, which means that finding power for it won't be too difficult.  The Hobart Handler 140 can handle a variety of wire materials and can be adjusted for different materials of different thicknesses easily.  Users claim that the Handler 140 is durable, reliable and gets the job done nicely.

So what are you waiting for?  Jump over to ToolKing.com to check out the Hobart Handler 140 MIG Welder!