I know I must have left something out, but hopefully not. Here’s the lineup for this Misc. Tool News post:
- Husky 100-Position Ratchets
- Sign up for our Newsletter!
- Craftsman Tool Cabinet Differences (or Lack Thereof)
- Tools in Action Tool Awards Shout Out
- Ridgid Power Tool Price Drops!
- Fun Adafruit Favorite Tools Video
- Giveaway Reminder
- What Did You Treat Yourself to This Holiday Season?
- Gift Idea: Bosch Bluetooth Power Box 360
- Milwaukee IR Thermometer Deal
Husky 100-Position Ratchets
I’m still working on the separate post, but wanted to point out that Husky recently came out with a new line of 100-position ratchets, and socket sets featuring these ratchets. You can of course buy the ratchets separately.
The gimbal ratchet is quite nice, and there’s also a locking flex-head ratchet. Woo!
ToolGuyd Newsletter!
You should totally sign up for our free newsletter!
It’s been a while since I sent out a special newsletter. Automatic updates go out every day there are posts, but to be honest there still aren’t enough subscribers for me to handcraft a custom newsletter each week. I keep meaning to do it every now and then, but it falls to the bottom of my to-d0 list.
Subscribe to the newsletter, and maybe it’ll light a fire under me to start sending out new newsletters again. I’m thinking that a special newsletter might have some news about what we’re currently working on, and maybe some minor tool news that isn’t big enough for an individual post or misc tool news post, and also a link to an older review or two.
While you’re at it, shows us some love on ToolGuyd’s Twitter and Facebook pages. As soon as my schedule clears up, I’ll be uploading some new ToolGuyd videos to YouTube! It’ll probably be after the New Year.
Can You Spot Any Differences Between These 2 Craftsman Ball Bearing Cabinets?
There are two Craftsman ball bearing tool storage cabinets at Sears that I want you to look at:
Can you tell the difference? The only difference I can tell is that Craftsman Cabinet 2 comes with free shipping, a higher list price, and an overall higher price. Cabinet 1 has a lower price, even when you take home delivery fee into account!
I’m hoping that maybe I’m missing something.
Tools in Action 2015 Tool Awards
Our buddies at Tools in Action put together their 2015 tool awards, check it out here!
Ridgid Power Tool Price Drops!
Thanks to everyone that sent these in!
Ridgid’s 18V Gen5X Brushless hammer drill and circular saw combo dropped in price to $179.
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Their Stealth Force quiet impact driver is now available for purchase.
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Ridgid’s $99 impact driver kit has dropped in price to $79.
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
This Ridgid inspection camera deal is back, but only at Home Depot and not Amazon. It’s a decent entry-level inspection camera, and a great buy at $79.
Buy Now(via Home Depot)
Adafruit Becky’s Favorite Tools Video
It’s short, but amusing.
Giveaway Reminder!
You entered our Amazon $50 gift card giveaway, right?
What Did You Gift Yourself for the Holidays?
I just bought myself a book – Art of Electronics 3rd Edition. It’s been on my wishlist for a while, and seems like it might be a good read, or at least a good reference.
Other than that, it’s been a very selfless holiday season for me.
I also bought myself a set of PB Swiss ball-end hex keys from Amazon when Count On Tools was offering a 10% Black Friday discount in their Amazon store, but I’m starting to wish I bought the shorter set. Both are reduced-count sets, with sizes 1.5 mm to 5 mm, and the longer version isn’t as advantageous as when it includes larger sizes.
Holiday Promo Reminder
Amazon’s holiday tool discounts are ending soon, and the same is true for Acme Tools’ holiday discounts and other retailers offering similar $x or $y deals on certain tool brand purchases.
Gift Idea: Bosch Bluetooth PowerBox Radio + Charger
While I haven’t yet finished my review of the new Bosch Bluetooth Power Box 360, I think it’s a pretty darned awesome radio. Even better than the original!
It’s a little pricey at $200, but it’s damn near indestructible. It also has every feature readers have asked for in a jobsite radio or speaker – Bluetooth connectivity, aux inputs, a radio tuner, power outlets, and battery charging functionality.
It sounds as good – or better – than any other jobsite radio or speaker I can remember even listening to. Its subwoofer isn’t huge or impressively boomy, but I think it does improve the sound at least a little bit.
The finer details aren’t lost on me either. It might seem minor, but I greatly appreciate little things, such as the spring-action outlet covers.
If you haven’t yet asked for anything big this holiday season, maybe this should be it.
Buy Now(via Amazon)
Milwaukee IR Thermometer Deal
Over at Tool Nut, they have a Milwaukee IR thermometer on sale for just $35. Shipping is free on $40+ orders.
This is an older model – check out our review of the Milwaukee 2267-20 if you want to see what the new one is like. Although, to be fair, it looks like the 2268-20 might be the closer direct replacement for this model. There’s also the 2269-20, which has a much higher distance-to-spot ratio, but similar K-Type thermocouple input.
Anyway, this Milwaukee IR thermometer is selling for $90 and up elsewhere, except on Amazon where there’s $50-70 pricing and a couple of negative reviews.
$35 is a great price, but I can’t tell you how good or not-so-good this IR thermometer is. Some reviews I’ve seen online are good, others are bad. It’s hard to tell which can be trusted.
If I were in the market for an inexpensive IR thermometer, I might consider this one, at least over no-name import models. Compared to the Fluke I talked about the other day, I’d buy the Fluke.
Buy Now(via Tool Nut)
Compare(The Same Model via Acme Tools)
Compare(Newer Model via Acme Tools)