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Tool & Gear Reviews
Okay, so who doesn't like to see the latest in tools and gadgets? Tool guys and gals like us certainly do. On this page I will endeavor to share pictures and thoughts in reviews of new tools and gear.
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Evolution Rage B 7 1/4" Multi-purpose Circular Saw
I was fabricating a trailer tongue toolbox out of 16 ga. sheet steel and needed a way to cut the material down from 4' X 8' sheets. I don't own a shear. I have Oxy-acetylene, but cutting thin gauge sheet with oxy-acetylene runs the risk of warping the material as well as leaving the edge rather ragged and needing further cleanup. I don't own a plasma cutter, so what options are available? I was surfing amazon.ca when I came across the Evolution Rage B 7 1/4" multipurpose circular saw. Not only does it cut wood, it also cuts aluminum, plastics, and steel. At the time it was $110.00
I figured it was an inexpensive alternative to plasma cutting or shearing, so I ordered one.
I was quite pleased with the saw's performance.
The saw did short work of cutting up the 16 ga. steel. It cut cleanly through the steel without much of a burr, with very few sparks, and leaving the steel cool to the touch. It uses a high torque 3700 rpm 15 amp motor and gearbox and a specially designed blade with 20 carbide teeth to cut through metal without the need for liquid coolant. Most woodcutting circular saws have electric motors spinning much faster at 5700 rpms.
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Chicago Pneumatic Compact
Needle Scaler
A friend of mine with a construction company needed to repair some overhead concrete beams in a car park. When the structure was originally built some 30 years ago. The re-bar was inadvertently placed too close to the edge of the concrete forms. Over the years rust on the rebar had placed so much pressure on the concrete that it actually fractured the concrete and exposed the rebar.
I was hired to clean up the rebar to bare metal and paint it with an epoxy paint to prevent it from rusting again. The tool of choice was a pneumatic needle gun scaler. The local rental companies had needle guns, but they were heavy ten pound tools. I knew that I would be holding this tool overhead and did not relish the idea of doing so for hours on end. In addition, the rental guns required 24 cu ft of air per minute, which would require renting a large tow behind air compressor.
A search on Amazon.ca turned up a lightweight compact
needle gun scaler manufactured by Chicago Pneumatic.
Weighing in at three pounds, and requiring a mere 4 cu ft of air
per minute, you can run this tool with a pancake or hotdog
air compressor!
This thing is the cat's meow for getting in to cramped places!
If you have ever tried to clean paint or rust out of an inside
corner, you know it's impossible with a wire wheel or grinding
disc. Anyone who needs to prep metal for welding will appreciate being able to poke the twelve needles of this little scaler into a corner, push the paddle switch and ten to fifteen seconds later paint and rust is gone! I love it!
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Evolution Rage 3 10" Multipurpose Sliding Compound Saw
When the cheap offshore 10" sliding miter saw that a friend had given me developed some weird electrical problem of refusing to stop when I released the trigger, I decided that was just too much of a safety hazard, and coupled with the other annoyances of the saw, (It was missing the bottom handle for the turret, and the safety guard didn't automatically cover the blade when it was raised) it was time for a new tool.
Coincidently, my local Canadian Tire hardware store had a sliding compound mitre saw on sale that in addition to cutting wood, was supposed to have the ability to cut multiple materials, such as aluminum, plastic and steel. And it was on sale $249.00 down from $449.00. Well, I needed to cut wood for sure, but I really liked the ability to cut aluminum and steel, so I went down and bought the Evolution Rage3.
The tool comes with a handy laser line for guiding your cuts, and it comes with a dust bag for sawdust (I leave mine off because I'm cutting steel, and steel shavings would melt the bag) Also included is the multi-purpose 10" blade, clamp, extensions, and repeat stop.
Overall, I am quite pleased to have a sliding miter saw, that not only cuts wood for my woodworking, but also has the ability to cut aluminum and steel for my welding projects.
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To accomplish multiple material cutting, the saw features a lower rpm motor (2500 rpm) than most woodworking miter saws.( typically 3200-5000 rpm) It also has a specially designed blade for cutting metals in addition to wood. There are some tradeoffs. It doesn't make as beautiful a cut in wood as a fine cabinet finishing blade, but hey, I'm not a cabinet maker, just a home handyman. The blade does cut aluminum and steel though, and does a nice job of it.
What I really like is having the ability to shave 1/8" off the end of a piece of 45 degree mitered tube steel. Try doing that with an abrasive cut off saw! The steel is cool to touch when finished and there are almost no hot sparks flying around to cause a fire hazard which is really nice not to have to worry about.
I have not yet tried it, but with the optional diamond blade, the saw also has the ability to cut brick, stone, and tile.
The saw is not a heavy duty, high end tool by any means. It is designed in the UK and manufactured in China. Construction is plastic and aluminum, and feels a little bit lightweight. Ideally, it would be nice if it had a heavy cast steel base and less plastic. Of course that would be reflected in the price and I'm sure it would be double in price, but for most of the fabricating I do in the garage shop, it's more than adequate.
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http://amzn.to/2EHl5fX
Strong Hand Welding Clamp Review
One tool that a welder or a fabricator can not be without is a welding clamp. Or should I say clamps, as in plural. You can never have enough clamps when you are fabricating, especially when it's a large project. Sometimes you need to apply force to a piece in two, and sometimes even three directions. And the larger the clamp, the easier it is to apply a great amount of pressure.
This f-clamp or bar clamp manufactured by Strong Hand tools has a beefy 1" x 15/32" rail with 12 1/2" capacity and a 4 3/4" throat. It can apply 1200 pounds of clamping pressure.
These Strong Hand multi purpose clamps are extremely versatile. It comes with an adjustable removable v-pad to clamp pipe or angle or square tube on edge. Also included is a two inch extender block that turns the clamp into a step over clamp for clamping situations like clamping over the leg of an angle iron or channel iron. What makes these clamps ten times faster than a regular "C" clamp is the sliding arm that you can quickly slide into position and then tighten the screw. The sliding arm clamp can also be turned over and reversed to transform the whole thing into a spreader clamp.
These Strong Hand multi purpose clamps are extremely versatile. It comes with an adjustable removable v-pad to clamp pipe or angle or square tube on edge. Also included is a two inch extender block that turns the clamp into a step over clamp for clamping situations like clamping over the leg of an angle iron or channel iron. What makes these clamps ten times faster than a regular "C" clamp is the sliding arm that you can quickly slide into position and then tighten the screw. The sliding arm clamp can also be turned over and reversed to transform the whole thing into a spreader clamp.
Some models of Strong Hand clamps come with a threaded machine screw on the end of the rail to act as a stopper for the sliding arm. If you need to turn the sliding arm over to act as a spreader, or should you have to take the sliding arm off to insert the clamp through the holes of a fabrication table and re-assemble the clamp, you have to remove the stop screw. Removing the screw makes it easy to lose the screw or misplace it. Most of the clamps at the shops I worked at were missing the stop screws. While this doesn't render the clamp unusable, not having the stop screw installed is extremely annoying because if you try and adjust the clamp with one hand you will definitely have the sliding arm slip off and fall to the floor. This particular model of Strong Hand clamp had a non-removable spring loaded stopper that never goes missing, keeps the sliding arm in place, and is easy to depress and release the arm when you want to turn it over or remove it.
My biggest beef with most clamps is the swivel pad. Strong Hand has two qualities of swivel pads on their clamps. Standard and heavy duty. This particular model has the standard duty swivel pad that is press fitted onto a ball on the end of the clamping screw. These kind of swivel pads do not stand up to heavy use and clamping pressure. If the clamp is not applying pressure squarely and evenly there is a chance of the swivel pad popping off the ball. The heavy duty swivel pad Strong Hand offers on some of their clamps is a far superior device. In addition the heavy duty swivels are replaceable. The press fit standard duty pads are not. Having said that, if you have the standard swivel pad, if you care for your clamps and don't abuse them they will last you quite fine.
All in all however, these clamps are fast, rugged, and extremely versatile. I love these Strong Hand clamps and own several of them. As I mentioned earlier though, you cant have enough of them. I tend to buy them in pairs as I find I usually need two to do certain jobs.
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