7 New Tools That Make Our Life Easier | You May Be Surprised
This post is sponsored by The Home Depot.
We recently did an entire build out in a new Lululemon store that came to Fairhope, AL. We had so much fun designing and building all projects that went into this store that we have fallen in love with OSB. It’s tricky to work with and takes a TON of sanding, but the end result is well worth it.
This year we are apart of The Home Depot’s ProSpective Program where we will be doing tool reviews. These tools might be either new to the market or they are just to cool we had to share everything we love about them! Some of these tools in the list are not part of the program, but we wanted to share them with you as well!
During this build, we were able to use some tools that we got that are a part of this program. First, we want to talk about the DeWalt FLEXVOLT 60-Volt MAX Lithium-Ion Cordless Brushless 7-1/4 in Circular Saw. This thing is bad to the bone. It looks so slick with the blade oriented to the left of the motor and the handle positioned at the rear of the saw for easy line of sight. This circular saw is super powerful and can tear through anything! We love that it has a bevel capacity of 53 with stops at 45 and 25, which is perfect. Another thing that we love is the electronic brake that helps stop the blade after the trigger is released. The best part of the tool is it being cordless. No more dragging around a cord and having to stop and release it from whatever it’s caught on. I’ve never trusted a cordless circular saw before having this one. We used the saw inside to make modifications to our hexagons to fit the space. We will showcase this saw later, but I wanted to throw it in because I’ve never been more impressed with a battery powered tool than this one.
We paired the DeWalt Circular Saw with Diablo’s 7-1/4 in. x 24-Teeth Tracking Point Framing Saw Blade. These two together are a force to be reckoned with, or not because safety first! This blade has a 5X longer cutting life versus standard blades and 2X increased durability in nail-embedded wood applications. It also is 65% more efficient in corded & cordless saws. We have always used Diablo saw blades and have absolutely loved them because they last for such a long time. Diablo make quality products and we’ve had nothing but success with their products. This blade in particular is designed for cordless saws.
After we got done with what we needed to in Lululemon for the day, we stuck around to help out with some other things before their store opening. The Bosch 30 ft. Self-Leveling Cross-Line Laser Level was a huge help! Just to the left of the big wall backdrop we did, they needed some floating shelves hung and we were more than happy to help and it was perfect opportunity to whip out this new gadget. This laser projects two very bright lines that are perfectly level that you can see with no problem with lights on in the room. We love it so much because it comes with its own tripod that is able to clamp to multiple surfaces and allows microfine height adjustments. The absolute best thing is that it self-levels with its Smart Pendulum System. It can indicate what is out of level up on a wall or anything you need help to level out.
Bosch Blaze 135' Laser Measure. This tool is really new to us, but defiantly made our initial meeting much easier and more professional. We used this to measure the area of where the counter and backdrop would go. We like it because it eliminates the need to more items out of the way to stretch out a tape measure. Its also very accurate even up to 135ft. It has easy-to-read backlit color display, default real-time measurement mode, and memory storage
Next, we have the Empire 16 in. True Blue Digital Box Level. To double check we had everything right on the money when leveling the shelves, this came in handy. The level guarantees 0.0005 in. accuracy! That’s nuts! We love the backlit digital display so we can be absolutely sure we are all level. Fun fact: this display is the industry's largest!
We used this level in addition to the Bosch laser level to get out starting piece perfectly level. I never realized how inaccurate the bubble is on a traditional level. This level has a digital readout that tells you which side needs to come up and beeps once the object is level. There is also a readout that tells you a measurement correlating to how much you need to move to make the object level. In total this level has 7 audio indicating measuring modes.
Not part of the program, but this is to good to leave out. Ridgid's Belt Sander is absolutely amazing. We had a ton of sanding to do for this project so we decided to buy a new belt sander. Our older Dewalt sander ate up sand paper all the time and was pretty annoying to use. This Ridgid sander has automatic belt tracking with is insanely good. This thing was the real hero of this build. Side note. We tried both the corded and cordless models and highly recommend to stick with corded for this tool.
Next is the Inventables X-Carve CNC. Also, not part of the program, but this machine did so much for us for this build. Y’all know already how much we love this machine and this project was a perfect example why. We left the CNC running in the background to cut out the 39 Hexagons needed for the project. We also used it for the Lululemon logo and it was a life saver. Honestly couldn’t recommend this anymore. It pays for itself very quickly.
Lastly, we picked up the Ryobi Cordless Finish Nailer and it came in handy so much. We used it in combination with their Pin Nailer to hang all the hexagons, logo, and help preassemble everything. The finish nailer is loud and heavy, but not dragging around a hose is a game changer. Seriously have zero complaints with the Pin nailer. Its amazing. Also, not part of the program.
This build was so much fun to do and such an awesome experience. These tools made it just that much more enjoyable and helped us out a ton! We hoped you learned some new things about all these awesome tools, and happy building!
I acknowledge that The Home Depot is partnering with me to participate in the ProSpective 2018 Campaign. As a part of the Program, I am receiving compensation in the form of products and services, for the purpose of promoting The Home Depot. All expressed opinions and experiences are my own words. My post complies with the Word Of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) Ethics Code and applicable Federal Trade Commission guidelines.