Scored some sweet new power tools...

[Hohn]

Hi guys--

I've been blessed to score some sweet new power tools. I didn't do as much research as I'd normally do, but I think they are going to be keepers for sure.

First, my circ saw. I FINALLY have a circ saw! I really wanted to keep most of my tools Milwaukee, and their Tilt-lok circ saw is VERY highly regarded- 15Amps and pretty light for that power.
But I saw a Hitachi 15Amp saw that was $40 less and felt VERY good. The blade lined up EXACTLY with the mark on the base (easy to follow a line), since I checked it with a square in the store. Ive been VERY impressed with the Hitachi so far, but I know nothing about them as far as reputation. I've heard the Hitachi is supposed to be a pretty good brand for an import. It has removable, replaceable brushes that are a universal brush design, so they should be easy to find if I need to. It came with a decent blade, but I swapped it for a Freud when I got home. Forrests will replace these if I ever need new ones.

I was so impressed that I went with Hitachi for a 4 1/2" angle grinder. I wanted a grinder that had the paddle-style swtich (and would LOCK on). The Milwaukees were great and WAY more than I needed. They were also between $30 and $100 more. For my use, 8.5 amps is plenty. It had great balance and worked great cutting off my overload leaf springs (w/ cutoff wheel). I've learned already to use flap discs and not grinding wheels. The flap discs leave a very nice finish and last a long time. No gouging like a grinding wheel can.

I did give into my Milwaukee fixation when I bought a router, tough. As I don't need a lot of HP, I went with the 1 3/4hp router they have that is the BodyGrip design. I've only uysed small bits so far (3/8" wide 3/4" deep flat cut), but I think this will be plenty even for table mounted duty. Its 11 amps. It made short work routing out pedal locations for my guitar pedalboard that I'm building.

I'm also going to be making a rack case for my new Mesa Boogie preamp and some future gear.

These new tools join my Milwaukee 11 Amp Orbital Super Sawzall (*THE* sawzall), my Milwaukee 1/2" magnum drill (800 rpm crazy powerful, while handling like a 3/8 drill), and my DeWalt DW706 12" double-bevel miter saw (I wanted a 12" and this was the only way to get indirect drive)


I'm pumped and having a great time! Now for more projects!!


Justin