Bosch has officially announced the new GLL2-80 line laser, big brother to their GLL2-50 line laser. Let me just start out by saying that I love the GLL2-80, I have never used it or even seen it in person, but I love it. Why, because it can project a solid 360-degree laser line on both vertical and horizontal planes. Typical lasers in this class can only do solid laser lines at around 180 degrees. The only other option for 360-degree laser accuracy is a spinning dot laser, but these cost much more and can be harder to see.

The Rockler Bench Cookies have been a hot hot item ever since they came out, so it is not that surprising to find out that Bench Dog is now selling them under their own name. Maybe in this case they should be called Dog Biscuits; only kidding. What this re-branding does for Rockler is allow their product to be sold in non Rockler stores. Smart move if you ask me. The only difference appears to be color, so the question is, do you want orange or blue?

But what good are Bench Cookies without accessories. Accessories? Yup, how about a Bench Cookie Storage Rack. For just under $10 you can pick up a stainless steal storage rack that can hold up to 8 Bench Cookies. You can also buy a complete pack of 4 or 8 cookies including the storage rack. Now you will always know where your cookies are; that is if you can remember to put them away. If you are not interested in the storage rack, Rockler also has a 20oz glass mug set, and a Rockler t-shirt set... because your cookies need friends.

Bench Dog Bench Cookies – Bench Cookie Accessories

A man from Malden, MA was recently awarded $1.5 million after a jury found that injuries to his fingers were the result of negligence by One World Technologies Inc., maker of Ryobi saws. The lawyers for Carlos Osorio blamed the lack of flesh detecting technology, the same technology used in Saw Stop saws, for the injuries he sustained while using a Ryobi saw to install oak wood flooring.

The ruling of the case is simply unbelievable, and puts all saw makers in a hard place. Flesh detecting tech. in power tools is still very new, and this case was filed back in 2006 when it was practically unheard of. Why do people use Ryobi tools to begin with? Simple, because they are cheap. Flesh detecting technology, in conjunction with a braking system is not cheap. The cheapest Saw Stop saw is still around $1500. The fact that the man was using a Ryobi saw shows that he likely would have not opted to pay the added price had it been available at the time. Ryobi needed better lawyers.

Are saw manufacturers now going to have to license the technology from Saw Stop, as I am sure Saw Stop has a pretty good set of patents protecting their company. If they do have to license from Saw Stop, and add all the safety features, we will be looking at a huge price increase. Tables saws, miter saws, circular saws, jig saws, scroll saws, band saws, radial arm saws; where will it stop?

via – Boston.com

No that was not a typo, Rockwell is really going to be offering a 12 volt rotary hammer drill as part of their new 12 volt line. This is the same line that also features their new 12 volt cordless SoniCrafter.

The new H3 #RK2513K2 is the first cordless 12 volt hammer drill I am aware of that makes use of an SDS Plus chuck. Most hammer drills in this class are limited to a standard drill chuck. SDS Chucks and bits are great for drilling, but are pretty much useless for driving. But do not fear, for the H3 has the ability to change between both the SDS Plus chuck and a drill/driver chuck. The Drill is called the H3 because it can be use as a rotary hammer, a drill, or a driver.

Obviously this is not going to be a tool used for heavy duty concrete drilling, but it does have some pretty promising stats. In hammer drill mode, it offers 0-4800 blows-per-minute and has a drilling capacity of 3/8” in concrete. This is plenty of power for most home owners, and for many jobsite applications. At 3lbs. I would much rather use this over my head then a heavier corded tool.

The question we all have is how many holes we can get out of one battery. The spec sheet states up to 15 1/4” holes in 4800 psi concrete. This is not a huge amount holes, but it is what can be expected from such a small tool. The 12 volt lithium-ion battery used can be full charged in about 30 minutes, and can reach a 75% charge after 15 minutes. The H3 Drill is also part of program Rockwell calls Free Batteries For Life, where registered users can get free replacement batteries for the life of the tool. Lets just hope the tools last a long time.

The H3 is coming this spring, both online and in hardware stores for $179.99.

Rockwell - [:cicn:] Amazon