It has been a while since we have heard anything from Senco about their new Fusion cordless nail guns, but a new batch of information has come out that points to a release coming this May. If you are in the market for a new cordless nailer, it would probably be wise to wait one more month and see what Senco has to offer in person.

The Senco Fusion uses an 18 volt battery to compress a nitrogen filled cylinder; it is the use of this compressed nitrogen that drives the nails. The Fusion is powered with a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePo4) battery that can reach an 80% charge in only 15 minutes and deliver up to 500 shots on a single full charge. The guns weigh in at 6 pounds, which is said to be nearly 2.5 pound lighter then the competition.

The Senco Fusion FN55AX 18-gauge Brad Nailer will fire slight head and medium head straight strip brad nails between 5/8” to 2-1/8”. The Senco Fusion FN65DA 15-gauge Finish Nailer will fire angled strip finish nails between 1-1/4” to 2-1/2” in length. Both models feature a sequential or contact trigger switch, tool-free depth adjustment, an LED work light and will include a 2 year tool warranty.

Senco Fusion Tools

Every time Dremel comes out with a new rotary tool I get that warm fuzzy feeling inside. I don't know why, maybe because it is one of those tools that you know can always get you out of a jam. That is, if you remember to have it on the job when you need it. This is also the reason I love the fact that it is cordless, no cords means it is practically setup right out of the case. The 8200 is Dremel's first Rotary tool that is compatible with all Dremel accessories and attachments, so the gap between cordless and corded is getting even smaller.

In comparison to an older cordless Dremel I have (model 800), the 8200 is a bit longer in length and you can also see that it does not taper towards the top. This might make it a little harder to handle for people with small hands, but for me the difference was hardly noticeable. The balance for the 8200 also seemed to be much better over the previous version; this is probably because of the more compact battery used in the 8200 and the lack of taper.

Actually I am only telling you a half truth. The latest bits from Lee Valley will give you a square hole and does use a drill, but there is more to the story. This new tool is actually a fancy square hole punch that uses a drill bit to remove most of the wood material. For those of you wondering, yes, it functions almost exactly the same way as an electric mortise machine.

I showed you the first Systainer radio modification here, and now comes another from the Contractor Talk forum. Of coarse the advantage of building your own radio is the option to use just about any parts that you want.

Contractor Talk forum member Winchester chose to use a JVC-R600 car radio that comes complete with iPod controls. To get his 12 volt DC radio to run off of 120 AC, he is using a simple computer power supply. Using a computer power supply comes with a few great advantages, the first being plenty of watts to power your speakers. Another advantage is the ability(with a bit of wiring work) to power your USB devices using the power supplies 5 volt rail. Did I mention that PC power supplies are also cheap, and can be purchased for as little as $10. Add a couple more components, and you could have yourself a PC inside of the Systainer; that would be the next logical step.

This build is still a work in progress, so you can follow along if you wish, and take notes for your own build. Though I should warn you not to join the forum unless you are a contractor, they eat DIYers alive.

Contractor Talk