How many times have you been in a restaurant, historic building, or just anywhere and wondered what type of wood is being used throughout the building? Maybe you just have too much wood in your shop, and can't remember what is what. Some types of wood are incredibly easy to ID, while other species are not.

The I.D. Wood App for the iPhone or iPod Touch is a reference guide that is designed to make identifying wood as easy as possible. With over 50 species of wood listed, including high quality sample photos and species descriptions, identification should be a breeze. I.D. Wood also lists interesting facts about the species, such as common uses and other names.

I.D. Wood App

One problem many of us face is tool organization. It takes so many tools to get the job done right, that sometimes they are hard to keep track of. One of the reasons for disorganization could be because of using your "work" tools at home, or using the same tools to go from building in your shop, to installing on the jobsite. If you are not completely organized, you could leave an important tool behind, which could be very costly.

I would like to introduce Sortimo, a 40 year old European company that makes just about everything you would need for the ultimate in tool organization. They just recently made there way over to the US, to hopefully bring organization to America. What I like about Sortimo is they offer a complete solution to storage and organization for both the home/business, as well as storage solutions for vehicles of all types. The recent addition of their L-BOXX (similar to the Festool Systainer) has added another solution that can be used at home, transported with their vehicles storage system, and used on the job. Sortimo has also partnered with Ford to offer the Sortimo storage system to the latest Ford Transit Connect Van.

By using a single storage system, breaking down your tool organization by categories, and labeling all of your tool boxes - you can take what you need, leave what you don't, and be sure to have all of your tools when you get home. Unfortunately Sortimo is still relatively new to the US, so there is no place to but their products online. The easiest way to get what you need would be to contact their US HQ and order directly from them. For vehicle storage solutions, they have a number of disturbers across the US, check this map for the dealer nearest you. Video after Read More

Sortimo North America, Inc.
2815-B Colonnades Court
Norcross, GA 30071
Phone: +1 877 812 6994 (toll free)
Phone: +1 404 812 6994
Fax: +1 770 685 6350

So, you just picked up the LS1016L 10" miter saw from Makita, and now you are in search of a miter saw stand to free up your saw horses. Good news, Makita has just announced a brand new mobile jobsite miter saw stand.

The Model 195083-4 miter saw stand adjusts to five height positions to fit workers of all sizes. It also features two out-feed roller stands to support longer materials. If you are working with material in the 14-16 foot range, you will probably have to use additional out-feed stands. The 195083-4 stand also uses large 12 inch solid rubber wheels that should help you get around the jobsite. With the good also comes the bad... the 195083-4 weighs a hefty 90 lbs. When you add the weight of a 50-60 lb miter saw, you are looking at quite a bit or weight when you have to load or unload you stand.

Specifications

Makita Tools
Makita 195083-4 Job Site Miter Saw Stand - Amazon.com

No, you are not day dreaming... Makita has just introduced a brand new 36 volt cordless LXT lithium-ion 1" SDS-Plus rotary hammer. Makita says the new BHR261 was designed and engineered to offer the power and speed of a corded 1" rotary hammer, with the freedom offered from being cordless.

The BHR261 has 3 modes of operation that should accommodate all of your construction/destruction needs: "Rotation only" for those delicate materials, "hammering with rotation" for drilling into harder tougher materials, and "hammering only" used for material removal. The BHR261 uses a Makita built motor that delivers 0-1,200 RPM and 0-4,800 BPM, while also offering AVT (Makita's vibration reduction technology). Even though the new BHR261 is twice the capacity of their 18 volt LXT batteries, the charge time is still only 30 minutes.

The BHR261 kit includes (2) two 36V LXT Lithium-Ion batteries, 30-minute Rapid
Optimum Charger, side handle, depth gauge, and tool case for a MSRP of $899

Hopefully this drill is just the beginning of the Makita 36 volt LXT line. I know many of you are ready for a Makita 36 volt cordless miter saw.

For more information visit Makita Tools