The Best Tools of 2024

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For more than 120 years, Popular Mechanics has been a heavy duty brand. We see no reason to change that now. That’s why producing our annual Tool Awards package involves countless hours of staff time, as we search, cross check, test, speak with manufacturers, write, and critique our results. It’s worth it to us, because tools are important. And we know that tools are important to you, too. Sure, we’re tool users here and we enjoy tools in their own right. But they’re important because they help you perform well. You have skin in the game. You own things and you work on them, whether it’s your house, car, furnishings, or gadgets. And it’s an obligation that we take seriously, having spent more than 120 years representing the interests of the owner-builder and the owner-repair person. This year’s top tools will help you complete your next project.

HANDTOOLS

Plier Wrench D53010

Leave it to Klein Tools to come up with this thing: a plier wrench. With the jaw in one position, you have basic sliding jaw pliers. Press the detent bar on the handle and move the jaws up and down, from ¼ inch to 2 inches. However, at the bottom of the lower jaw’s travel, you can detach the jaw and turn it around so that its toothed end is facing up. Now the tool functions more like a pipe wrench. You might think that the idea of a removable two-position lower jaw will be fussy to put on take off or won’t grab securely. Think again. The tool works well on pipe and fittings with the jaw in either position. It’s remarkably versatile and well-designed.

Trimbone Trim Hammer

The Stiletto Trimbone, is a 10-ounce titanium trim hammer made in the USA, with a replaceable steel face. It’s a beautiful example of tool making done right. But don’t make the mistake of thinking this expensive tool ($249) is too nice or too delicate to use. We grabbed a handful of finish nails and sank one after the other, swinging as quickly and with as much force as if we were framing. The Trimbone is an easy swinger and a reliable sinker. It pulls easily, too, from its straight ripping claw to the nail-pulling slot in the side of its head. It racks up bonus points for its easily replaceable grip. Remove a screw at the base of the handle, slide the old grip off and slide on the new one.

32500HD Impact-Rated, Multi-Bit Screwdriver

The Klein 11-in-1 impact-rated screwdriver is designed to better integrate hand and power tools. It’s equipped with No. 1 and 2 Phillips bits, 3/16- and ¼-inch straight bits, No. 1 and 2 square drive, T25 and Torx and ¼-inch hex drive; its socket capability is 5/16, 3/8, and ½ inch sizes. All screwdriver bits and sockets are impact rated. Put them in and out of your impact drivers. All this seems obviously useful, but Klein went a step further. A double ended ¼-inch hex gadget at the center of the shaft (Klein calls it a universal chuck) holds the entire screw-driving shebang together. Since the universal chuck accepts any ¼ inch hex shaft accessory, it allows users to customize the tool to their liking. And we do like it.

Locking Pliers 102-7, 106-12, 104-10

It’s a fact, not merely opinion, that Channellock makes top notch hand tools. Can it extend that reputation to locking pliers? We think so. We’ve tried several of the company’s new Spanish-made tools and were impressed with their fit and finish, and that they lock onto a surface with the vicious tenacity you would expect. All of the pliers feature forged steel jaws, an extra-long spring-loaded release lever, flawless rivets, and lock nut to set the jaw position. The two-tone paint job makes them look great but more important is epoxy resin, which provides corrosion resistance. Dirts wipes off easily, too.

SD-6H 6-piece Standard Screwdriver Set

We love American-made tools at Popular Mechanics, but they undergo the same diehard testing everything else does. Given that you can buy pretty good screwdrivers for as little as $4 each, why buy these? Good question. The simple answer is this: quality. Test One: We drove and removed screws with Channellock’s tools and found them superb for their bite, handling, fit, and finish. Test Two: We clamped screws of various types in our shop’s gigantic machinist vise and test editor Brad Ford (otherwise known as Forearm Ford) used the Channellocks to twist the head off of some of these. Verdict: Pumping quality into a product as simple as a screwdriver really does pay off. Features like vacuum heat-treated blades, a reinforced handle, and a three-sided grip that enables high-torque turning really do pay off in terms of the tool’s performance and durability.

PR8C ½-in. x 8-inch Pry Bar

This was among our simplest tests. We lifted anything in and around the shop that we could find, such as a bandsaw, and we also clamped the prybar in a vise and examined whether we could make the blade deflect (we couldn’t). Simply stated, these high-carbon steel tools are as tough as can be. The textured four-sided grip provides a great hand hold and the fact that the blade passes right through the handle to below the striking cap means that you never have to worry about the handle snapping off in mid pry.

27024T 8 pc Slotted and Phillips Screwdriver Set

Hand tools may be simple but that doesn’t mean that it’s easy to make good ones, especially in the United States, where costs are high and obstacles of every type abound. We tried Mayhew’s new line of hand tools made in the USA both driving and removing screws but in the toughest test of all is this: we clamp various screws in a massive bench vise and then apply the screwdriver to it, either reaming out the screw head in the process or deflecting the screwdriver’s blade. There was no need for concern with these. They’re as tough as they look. Their high-alloy steel blades have a rust-resisting black oxide finish and are so firmly bonded to the handle that even our hardest, blade-deflecting twist would not loosen the two of them or cause wear on the blade’s tip. The handles are a tri-lobe shape that provide an exceptional grip and clean easily. These may be expensive hand tools, but they are worth every penny.

17351 Hammerless Tools

Since spring tools first hit the market decades ago, we’ve been big fans of them. For such small tools, they hit hard and they’re extremely accurate. We tried the nail starter-setter combination, the hinge pin remover (works like a charm), and the center punch-prick punch. Just pull back on the spring and release to deliver a powerful blow at the other end of the tool. These USA-made tools are expensive, but they’re beautifully built.

DWHT35625S 25-ft Lighted Tape Measure

File this one under, “why didn’t somebody think of this sooner?” DeWalt’s 25-foot tape measure is equipped with a discreetly placed and highly useful LED, located at the tape’s front and housed behind a damage-resistant plastic lens. And it better be damage resistant, DeWalt rates the tape to be able to withstand a 100-foot drop. We tossed it down a stair well without bad effect. The tape is protected with a heavy rubber coating and its belt clip is removable (most of us just drop the tape into our nail bag anyway). The blade hook is fastened with three rivets (it’s unlikely to loosen). Dimensions are included on both side of its blade. A USB charge cord is included.

DRILLS AND DRIVERS

Model DCD799B 1/2-inch Compact Hammer Drill Kit

Decades after DeWalt launched a line of power tools apart from the iconic radial arm saw that gave it a start, the brand remains among our highest ranking. We were favorably inclined toward this small hammer drill, among the best we have used in this class of product with a high power to weight ratio. It is about 6-1/2 inches from the front of its chuck to the back of its motor housing and weighs only 2.6 pounds without a battery. With a battery, at most it’s more like 4 pounds. Yet, there are many applications in which it can stand in for a full-size drill, as we found after drilling and driving screws in Douglas fir framing lumber, pressure treated wood, mild steel, and granite. We even drove big 3-inch lag screws with it.

Model D5421 20-volt Hammer Drill Driver

Ingersoll Rand is well known for industrial-duty pneumatic tools so it comes as no surprise that its line of compact 20-volt cordless power tools exhibits gutsy performance. We took this compact hammer drill and chucked in bits for drilling masonry, a ¾-inch spade bit for pressure treated lumber, and a 3/8-inch drill in 1/16-inch steel. Then we drove 3-inch lag screws in a pressure-treated 4 x 4. The gray drill handled each in turn without complaint. The tool is rated for 1100 inch pounds of torque and is equipped with the same type of 24-position clutch ring that you find on drills nearly twice its size. By itself, the drill weighs 3.4 pounds. Depending on the size battery you attach to it, it weighs somewhere between 4.2 pounds to 5 pounds. In other words, it’s solid.

Model D3141 20-volt Compact Drill Driver

If you’re an installer, we think you’ll like this little 20-volt drill driver. Ingersoll Rand’s tool is lightweight (2.2 pounds without a battery) and has plenty of screw-driving power. As a hole driller, it’s no slouch, even if it’s no terror. We put a ¾-inch spade bit in it and found it would make a partial hole in Douglas fir framing lumber before locking up. But with a ¼-inch twist drill bit, it easily poked a hole in 3/32-inch steel. It would also drive 3-inch No. 10 construction screws in pressure treated without a problem. So skip the spade bit and use it for drilling small holes and driving screws. We rate the tool as perfect for any number of different jobs in car repair, machine and appliance maintenance.

Model DCD794 Compact 20-volt Drill Driver

DeWalt’s most compact drill driver is several things: a perfect tool for installing cabinets, doing light carpentry, and remodeling work. It’s just handy. That’s the best way to think about it. Any tool this size that can easily drive a ¾-inch spade bit through a 2 x 4, drill through 3/32-inch steel with a ¼-inch twist drill, and drive a 3-inch No. 10 construction screw is okay with us. Also okay with us is its price, among the best in professional-duty power tools.

FX1231-1A 24-volt Hammer Drill

In the last couple of years, Flex has gone from being an unknown Euro brand to a heavy hitter in the American power tool market. Which brings us to this hammer drill, which is small but solid. We ran it through the usual battery of tests, with spade bits, twist drills, lag driving and the like. Wood, metal, masonry—whatever you need to drill into, you’ll do just fine with the Flex and a sharp bit. It even managed to clear out a hole using a 1-1/2-inch diameter spade bit in construction lumber–not that we would recommend that kind of hole drilling on a regular basis with a drill this size. To the Flex's credit, it would even make such a hole without stalling.

FX1131 24-volt Drill Driver

It would be enough to say that this is a great little drill driver at an excellent price. Really, you could stop reading here and go out and buy the Flex and be happy with it. The specifics: We sank 3-inch No. 10 construction screws with it, chucked in a ¾-inch spade bit and blasted holes in construction lumber, and popped one hole after another in a piece of steel with a ¼-inch twist drill. Aside from that reliable performance, the tool is comfortable and slips easily into your hand, plus it has features you need like a 3-jaw chuck, 18 clutch positions, and a 2-speed selector switch. And given that a bag of groceries today can easily set you back what this drill costs, we also think it’s a heck of a buy.

HCB91B 20V Brushless Cordless 1/2 in. Drill/Driver with Side Handle- Tool Only

Harbor Freight, which owns the Hercules brand of contractor-grade power tools, classifies this tool as compact, meaning that it’s smaller and lighter than typical. For this class of power tool, however, it’s actually a bit larger than the tools offered by Flex, Milwaukee, and Ingersoll Rand. Also, when you pick it up, you notice that it is solidly built and rather heavy. Without a battery, the drill driver weighs 3.2 pounds. That’s about.75 pound heavier than other tools in this class. We don’t find it objectionable; in fact we think it points to robustness.

The more important point, however, is that there’s nothing compact about its performance. The drill driver is slightly bulkier than other tools classified as compact, but it drills and drives as reliably with other power tools in this year’s award testing. And the price-performance ratio is very good. And by the way, that price includes a side handle, a welcome accessory, particularly with torque-rich tools like this.

DX13 18-volt Hammer Drill

Powered by a gigantic 5-Ah graphene battery, the CAT is a formidable power tool that aced its drilling and driving tests. Its entry into the power tool business, particularly with graphene technology, marks another front in the power tool war. It’s claimed that the graphene battery, compared to Lion, offers four times longer life, three times faster charging, and has two times higher thermal cutoff capability. We can say this, that to test thermal cutoff, we chucked a masonry bit in the tool and drilled a hole in a granite block. We sank the bit in as far as it would go and when it would go no further, we just leaned into the drill with all our might. It was either the bit, the drill, or us that was going to give out. None of those turned out to be the case. About all we can say is that wherever the thermal cutoff point is for this tool, it’s pretty darn high. As soon as our elbows recover, we’ll try something more brutal to find out just how much punishment the CAT will take.

FX1331 24-volt Compact Impact Driver

Manufacturers sometimes cry foul when they see how strenuously we test tools because our test protocol borders on abusive. We’re okay with that because anticipating the worst case that these tools might encounter helps us assess whether they are indeed award worthy. In the case of this impact driver, we not only countersunk routine No. 10 x 3-inch construction screws into pressure treated wood but we also drove a ½-inch x 8 inch lag screw without a pilot hole. We don’t recommend that test, incidentally. Either the tool will survive, or it will catch fire. The Flex stood up without complaint–especially impressive given that this is classified as a compact, not a full size, power tool. We liked its light weight (4.8 pounds with a 2.5-Ah battery), too. Bottom line: you can select this tool with confidence for routine carpentry and deck building.

FX1681Z 24-volt Angled Joist Drill

Big holes require a big drill. It’s that simple. Equipped with a massive right-angle gear box and frame and a traditional keyed 3-jaw chuck, this Flex machine is well suited to its work of feasting on framing lumber to provide big holes for pipes, electrical cables, and bolts. We chucked a 2-3/16-inch self feed bit, followed by a smaller (1-3/4 inch) self feed bit, followed by a ¾-inch ship auger. Using the drill’s auxiliary handle, we set the drill on its low-speed setting, and marched through our round of test holes in pressure treated and non-pressure treated Douglas fir. We thought we heard the Flex ask, “Is that all you got?”

CMCD750 20-volt Right Angle Drill

Craftsman tools are consistent and perform well in our tests—and they’re well priced. This right-angle drill aced its run through the battery of Tool Awards tests, sinking our No. 10 x 3 inch construction screws without difficulty, and easily making holes with a 3/8-inch twist drill in wood and a ¼-inch twist drill in 1/8-inch steel. It had some difficulty with a ½-inch spade bit in construction lumber, but we wouldn’t hold that against it. We also checked off other boxes on our test forms for a 2-speed selector switch and for comfort, with a full hand-width trigger. If you need a tight-spot tool for that occasional screw or hole that’s hard to get at, you’ve just found it.

R87730B 18-volt Sub Compact Impact Driver

The world might be a better place if construction fasteners were driven (or removed) in places that are easy to reach, but until that day comes, we have the Ridgid right-angle impact driver to drive and remove them. With the exception of making a hole with a ½-inch spade bit in construction lumber, it passed every other test we threw at it with ease, including using a ¼-inch twist drill to make a hole in 1/8-inch steel. Its manufacturer classifies it as sub-compact, and in terms of its weight and ease of use, that’s a fair classification for it. Even with a large 6-Ah battery it weighs only six pounds. But the subcompact title doesn’t describe its overall performance. It certainly punches above its weight class.

DH3628DD 36-volt Rotary Hammer Kit

Most rotary hammers never touch a piece of granite, but we find the material to be ideal for testing these power tools because the material is so hard (hence the phrase, “hard as a rock”). We chucked a flat chisel, a bull point chisel and a ½-inch drill bit into the big green tool. Then we had at the granite test blocks. We were pleased that the drill could score a straight line and break a block fairly neatly. And putting a hole in granite was about as easy as making a hole in wood. The tool gets high marks from us for power, reasonable weight (8.2 lb. with a 4-Ah battery), and for the fact that it’s sold as a complete kit: tool, charger, battery, side handle, depth rod. Even its two-clasp plastic case is good–sturdy enough for hanging around a construction site where people are busting up granite. If that weren’t enough, when it finished the granite test, it bored dozens of holes in the ancient concrete foundation at our headquarters to inject leak-stopping material. If those tests don’t qualify the Metabo-HPT for a Tool Award, we don’t know what does.

GRINDERS AND SANDERS

2984-20 ¼-inch Die Grinder

A die grinder is useful outside the machine shop because it can grind metal with a dexterity that a right-angle grinder and bench grinder can’t match. Do everything from sharpen a mower blade to grind the head off a rusty and hard-to-reach rivet. Milwaukee’s 18-volt version is equipped with a single-wrench ¼-inch collet, and it proved itself in our tests, offering plenty of power and a 2-second brake to stop that power when you need. Like many air tools, its controlled with a paddle switch; unlike air tools, its speed is dial-adjusted through five settings, ranging from low speed of 8,000 rpm to a high speed of 20,000 rpm. We liked the safety, ease of use, and precision that afforded us in our steel-grinding test.

Model 2482-20 12-volt ½-in. x 18-in. Band File

Regardless of where you are on the metal working spectrum, in terms of skill level and whether you do this work professionally or as a hobby, we think you can benefit from this little 12-volt band file. The tool takes a ½-inch wide by 18-inch abrasive belt and despite its petite size and the fact that it’s so easy handling, brother, does this thing remove metal. A push button allows you to set its belt direction (clockwise or counter clockwise) for increased control and safety.

DW220B Cordless Belt Sander

Belt sanders have fallen out of favor with woodworkers, because many will not produce a reliably flat surface like the old machines did. The cordless DeWalt sands in contrast to this, we found, delivering a reliably flat surface on the small oak table tops on which we tested it. In just minutes, the surfaces were neatly sanded and prepared for final sanding with a random orbit sander. That last point is important. DeWalt pitches this as a tool for carpentry and remodeling, not for commercial millwork shops and furniture makers. It’s a good and fast-sanding power tool, more akin to a belt grinder. For its intended work, it delivers reliable leveling. Our follow up with a DeWalt random orbit sander went quickly and well thanks to the preceding work by the belt sander. And we were very pleasantly surprised by the machine’s dust pick up; DeWalt rates it at 95 percent. That’s pretty accurate and reflects what we found in our tests.

SB3608DAQ4 3 x 21 Cordless belt sander

Can’t make up your mind whether to go corded or cordless? Well, with the Metabo-HPT belt sander you don’t have to. The machine runs, and runs well, on the company’s multi-volt battery for 18- and 36-volt tools, but an accessory adapter allows you to run it on 120-volt power. We liked everything about this sander from its light weight (about 9 pounds with a 4-Ah battery) to its easy handling. But we particularly appreciated its auto setting. Dial the 5-speed setting all the way to the right to A and the sander adjusts its motor speed to suit the load, conserving the tool’s battery in the process and helping the operator keep a better eye on the surface to be sanded, without the distraction of setting the speed. Pretty neat.

2832-20 3 x 18 Cordless Belt Sander

Anybody looking for a tough little sander will appreciate the Milwaukee, particularly painters who may use a belt sander for surface prep and flooring contractors who need to get close to an edge. The Milwaukee has a feature we’ve never seen on another sander: the front handle slides forward and back a full two inches. That doesn’t sound like much but given the sander’s stubby design (it’s only 12 inches long, even with a big 5-AH battery) that can really help make a difference in terms of handling, particularly when sanding a long surface. In other respects, this is a hearty power tool (Milwaukee rates it as equivalent to an 8-amp corded sander). Equipped with an 80-grit belt, it flew through its job of sanding an oak table top. In hardly any time we were done and moved on to the random orbit sander. If this sounds like what you need, you’ve found your tool.

FX3211 24-volt Die Grinder

This is one of our favorite tools from this year’s Tool Awards testing. The 4.8-lb tool (with a 2.5-Ah battery) powered through our tests on steel with an appropriate enthusiasm. We see it as perfect for deburring and light die grinding. It’s a better choice for many jobs because it will fit in more places than a portable band file will. Also, its well-designed collet is particularly attractive. The collet is ready right out of the box—there’s no need to snap it together. Bits slide in and out of this collet with a remarkable ease—far better than just about any collet we’ve seen, including those on air-powered tools. Also, if you prefer a locking slide trigger to a paddle switch, this may be your tool.

HPTG3612DVE 36-volt Disc Grinder

Metal is hard, but grinding it is easy with this potent 4-1/2-inch disc grinder. It runs as either a cordless (36-volt) power tool or with an accessory adapter, plugs into a 120-volt outlet for unlimited run time. The tool offers great power and is easy to use with a 3-position handle and a tool guard that pivots to any position, putting sparks where they need to go. But it also offers three other features that (especially at this price) are welcome: soft start, an electronic brake to stop the wheel when you let off the trigger, and an anti kickback feature that shuts off power if the tool senses that the wheel has been pinched, either by overzealous grinding or as happens when working in a confined space. We did what we consider typical grinding with it, weld preparation, deburring and face grinding on ordinary low-carbon steel. Then we ground down some welds. The tool was a class act the whole way.

GAG14M1 40-volt Right Angle Grinder Kit

Makita’s 40-volt grinder is one of the best metalworking power tools we’ve ever tested, and we’ve looked at a lot of tools here. The company says that it offers equivalent power to a 15-amp grinder. In general metal grinding and weld removal, it certainly felt like a corded tool. Its power, smoothness, lack of vibration are all valuable to professionals but even more so are its safety features: an electric brake that stops the wheel almost instantly and digital over-current protection to guard against someone overheating the tool if they get a little too enthusiastic with it. The Makita has an easily rotated wheel guard, two-position handle (left and right), an effective spindle lock that firmly stops wheel rotation, and air vents that can’t be blocked by the operator’s hand placement.

GSS18V-40N Multi-Pad Random-Orbit Sander

This is about as complete as sanding gets. The Bosch takes the typical quarter sheet (approximately, a 4-1/4-in. square), however, you can also mount a 3-inch x 5-inch rectangular pad on the tool, and a detail sanding pad shaped like the plate on a laundry iron (approximately 5-3/4-inch long, tip to base). The latter two bases use hook-and-loop sandpaper, but with the quarter sheet you have the option of hook-and-loop abrasives or tearing your own (less expensive) sheets off a roll and fastening it to the machine with two clamps. Bosch provides a hole-making jig with the sander on which you can puncture the abrasive sheets to ensure that quarter sheets you make yourself still have the benefit of through-the-pad dust collection. The sander has good dust pickup with the filtering bag provided, but when hooked up to a shop vacuum, we found that its dust collection is nearly impeccable. That’s a lot of features and benefits, and we didn’t even mention that you can also select infinitely adjustable speed control, through six positions on its speed dial.

FX3411 24-volt Random Orbit Sander

Flex continues to push the envelope with the power tools it develops and another example of this is this voracious random orbit sander. It’s equipped with three speeds and a separate turbo setting to run the sander at 13,000 orbits per minute (or anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 orbits per minute faster than a fast sander). That’s a lot of abrasive action, we learned, as we ran it on maple and white pine. In fact, it’s so aggressive, we think you should probably reserve it for paint stripping. We snapped a lightweight 2.5-Ah battery on it, and it weighed it 3.8 lb. That’s not particularly heavy, so we could see that it would come in handy for interior and exterior paint prep where you need to take a sander with you up a ladder. Flex says the tool will run for 30 minutes using the larger 3.5-Ah battery. Its dust collection is very good. We opened up its bag and were pleased to see that it was well packed–that explains why our work area was still reasonably clean after using it.

SAWS

FX2351Z 24-volt Bandsaw

The cordless bandsaw is the best thing to happen to metalworking since the hacksaw. It makes metal cutting fast, easy, and quiet. The Flex is big; it has a 5-inch cutting depth. We ran it through schedule 40 1-inch steel pipe and ¾-inch bar stock making cut after cut with ease. Slide-off wheel covers and a lever-operated blade tension mechanism make removing and installing blades as easy as metal cutting. Note that this is an old-school piece of equipment. Even with a small (2.5-Ah) battery it weighs 14.2 pounds. On the other hand, if you’ve got steel to cut, then this tool will make your work a lot easier than it would be otherwise.

FX2331 24-volt 2-1/2 inch Compact Band Saw

This is the kid brother of Flex’s humongous FX2351 bandsaw, a brute of a power tool. It’s light (8.8 lb with a 2.5-Ah battery) and its speed control is not via a dial, but is trigger controlled. We tried it on copper pipe, steel rod, and tubing, and this tool handled all of those with ease. Its cutting depth is 2-1/2 inches, which is still plenty of capacity. If you’re on the Flex system and you cut metal, it’s a perfect fit for you.

CJ36DA 36-volt Jig Saw

All kinds of saws get all kinds of attention today, but the humble jig saw sees very little product development, it seems. That’s a shame, and we’re glad to see the situation corrected with this 36-volt power tool. Our tests with it in wood and steel show it to be powerful and versatile, cutting both with a minimum of vibration. It has three orbital settings for varying levels of aggressiveness where you are less concerned about surface roughness and more concerned with cutting speed. It has one non-orbital setting and five speeds via an adjustment dial, or you can select the Auto setting by which the tool sets its own motor speed based on the resistance it encounters. The blade guard and blade release work well together–pivot the guard to the saw’s right to engage the lever on the chuck, opening it and releasing the blade. Quick blade changes are a must with these tools, particularly when you’re cutting steel and even the best blades may rapidly wear.

R86346 18-volt Subcompact Jig Saw

If you want a jig saw to make quick rough holes, this may be your product. It’s among the most aggressive that we have seen. Set the orbital to the third (highest) position and its speed dial to 6. It cuts so aggressively, it’s more like a reciprocating saw. Reduce the orbital action to produce a cutting action more in line with what other jig saws produce. That aggressive cut is a couple of hundred rpm faster than a saw that is already considered fast. It cut reliably in tests in steel and wood; our only small complaint with the tool is that you have to watch carefully as you swing the blade guard out of the way. The plastic guard is supposed to engage the latch on the chuck, but it can flex as you swing it to the side, missing the blade lever in the process. Keep an eye on that, though, and otherwise you have a solid little saw.

HPT CR 18DMA 18-volt Reciprocating Saw

We’ve got nothing against product specs, we look at them every day. Examples with this tool: 121 cuts per charge, 3,200 strokes per minute. But what does that really tell you? Anybody can rattle off some specs. That’s why we chucked in the curved wood-cutting blade that came with this saw and raced it through some pressure treated 2 x 12 lumber. Next, we chucked in a metal cutting blade and had at it with some 1-1/2-inch square steel tubing. Our reaction: ooh la la. Now, you won’t find a French phrase like that in the owner’s manual or listed on the spec sheet, but it well describes our reaction using this light little saw. With a 2.5-Ah battery on board, it weighs just 6.2 pounds, or about half what a full-sized corded reciprocating saw weighs, and its design is intended for one-handed use, making it a good fit for tight spots. It will easily handle basic remodeling cuts, small demolition jobs such as lumber, pipe and tubing removal, root cutting and landscape maintenance. The price is right, the power is right, and its handling is right. Its specs are right, too.

TS60KEB-F-Plus Track Saw

We’re big fans of track saws at Popular Mechanics because they enable fast and precise cuts in sheet materials and solid lumber. That is especially the case when it comes to Festool’s newest track saw. It delivers accuracy on par with a small tables aw, producing glue-line quality cuts with the blade 90-degrees to the work surface and at 45 degrees. We used the crosscut guide in similar fashion, making both 90-degree and 45-degree cuts across panels. The Festool was exceptional in all those applications and in one other way: We hooked up a cordless shop vacuum (not even Festool’s own machine) and made another series of cuts. The results were nearly dust free. Impressive. But consider this, the tool is also equipped with a feedback mechanism that prevents kickback. People have a tendency to overfeed track saws since the only thing you need to do is push them, not guide them. Kickback has been a problem for some users, and Festool aims to solve that problem the same way that it has addressed cutting power, precision and cleanliness.

2831-20 18-volt Track Saw Kit

Milwaukee racked up the Tool Award points with this saw kit. It’s fast and easy to set up and break down. Everything about it is intuitive–let’s be frank, this isn’t always the case with track saws. Pull it out of its box, put the track where you want to make the cut, adjust the cut depth (and angle, if needed), snap in a battery and make splinter-free cuts, one after the other. Its electronic blade stop not only increase safety but improves your productivity, allowing you to more quickly move from one cut to the next. The Milwaukee is as accurate a saw as we have ever seen with the ability to shave off a whisper of wood, should you need that. The cut surface off a fresh blade is extremely high quality (glue line accuracy, we call it around here). As a final word of praise: We wish more track saws came with the common sense feature found on it: a dust bag. And the saw does even better hooked up to a shop vacuum, delivering nearly dust free cutting in the process (almost as good as the Festool, which is saying quite a lot).

R48630 18-volt Track Saw

If you’re looking for a track saw that costs a little less and has carpentry-cut accuracy and finesse, the Ridgid fits the bill nicely. As to its cost, it’s especially attractive considering that you get the saw and a 60-inch length of track thrown in. The saw’s fit to its track, its power, simplicity, and ease of use are all commendable, as is its accuracy. The so-called “general purpose” blade that comes with it is fine for carpentry cutting (shelving, primitive book cases, utility cabinets) but is a bit coarse for finish carpentry and building fine built-in furniture. It was also the dustiest of the three saws included here, even when hooked to a shop vacuum. No matter. If you’re on the Ridgid tool system, need a track saw, and, especially, want to save a few dollars, consider the R48630.

E0100198 Disston Blu-Mol Xtreme QuickCore Hole Saw Kit

Suddenly, it’s no big deal to make a hole in concrete block. No, really. We’re not pulling your leg. Chuck these carbide-tooth holesaws into a drill with sufficient power and a ½-inch chuck, and you’ve got yourself a hole with minimum dust, noise, and no fuss whatsoever. The good news gets even better: The saw’s mandrel has a spring-loaded mounting knob that allows you to quickly detach the saw from the mandrel. The concrete plug that you produced in the process of drilling that hole pops right out of the saw. We don’t know that we’d say this is fun, exactly, but it comes pretty close. Ten hole saws, one mandrel, and a spare pilot bill are all included in the molded case that secures with two clasps.

GTS15-10 10-inch Table Saw

We ran the Bosch through its paces on 1x white pine, 2x Douglas fir, and 4/4 hard maple, and the machine sawed smoothly and precisely through everything that we fed into it. We’re not surprised. We have more than 20 years of experience with Bosch saws, going all the way back to the 4000 (it’s no longer made). But we tried not bring a bias based on prior experience to our tests. This is a very different machine than the 4000 (and subsequent Bosch saws that we have used). Its saw table is so smooth it can pass for a skating rink, and its rack and pinion fence is simple, highly accurate, sturdy and slides smoothly. We liked the smooth start feature, which is particular welcome on a 15-amp power tool and should help prevent nuisance trips of circuit breakers, particularly when used on old wiring. Other features to improve your woodworking experience: 32-1/8 inch rip capacity to the right of the blade, and a blade brake that stops the blade in approximately three seconds when you shut the saw off.

POWER TOOLS

DCF403D1 20-volt Cordless Rivet Tool

It doesn’t take much work with the Dewalt cordless rivet tool to win you over. It comes with four nose pieces to suit rivets in 3/32, 1/8, 5/32, and 3/16-inch sizes. Slip the blind rivet into the tool’s nose and pull the trigger. The tool bites down and pulls the mandrel through the rivet head, forming the rivet neatly. As for the snapped off mandrel, it’s ejected into in a twist-off cup on the tool’s back, called a mandrel collector. Nose pieces sized to suit the various rivets are also housed there, snapped in place on a separate twist-off ring.

2838-21 18-volt Cordless Router Kit

This topnotch cordless router demonstrates that Milwaukee also builds great tools for woodworkers. Observers of the company know that it is well known for its metal-working equipment, such as those used by plumbers, electricians, welders and fabricators, sheet metal mechanics and HVAC installers. Yet for the last three decades, we’ve marveled that its tools for wood are also excellent. We turned on this router, set its six-speed dial to 5, and neatly carved out deep rabbets in C Select vertical grain Douglas fir and plain-sawn maple. The tool is well balanced, easy to handle and performs just as flawlessly as the company’s corded counterparts. Advanced woodworkers will appreciate that this machine comes as a complete kit, with two bases (standard and plunge), auxiliary face plate, edge guide, ¼-inch and ½-inch collets, tool bag, charger, and a massive 6-Ah battery. With that big battery and the standard (non-plunge) base, the tool weighs exactly 9 lb., or about what a corded full-size router will weigh. Although we didn’t test its length of cut, Milwaukee says the tool will rout 225 linear feet per charge (it doesn’t specify with what bit).

PCL280 18-volt Multi-Size Ratchet Wrench

Anyone who has worked on a car or truck will appreciate that the head on Ryobi’s cordless ratchet rotates around the body through 360 degrees, allowing better access to awkwardly placed fasteners. And since the tool comes with an accessory anvil that accepts ¼-inch hex drive bits, we can see where this would be a tremendous help in driving wood screws. To summarize the tool’s driving and removing capacity, it comes with two double-ended anvils that install and remove without tools: ¼-inch, 3/8-inch, and ½-inch drives as well as the aforementioned ¼-inch hex drive. In terms of power, we tried the tool with a 13mm socket and found that it’s no match for an impact wrench. Still, it’s hearty enough for basic fastener driving and removal.

DCF500GG112-volt Compact Ratchet Kit

Of the three cordless ratchets that we tried in this year’s testing, the DeWalt feels the most solid. It’s maximum torque is 50 ft. lb. and its turning speed is 450 no-load rpm–which is not a lot in the world of automotive. Still, it’s plenty of torque for basic auto work, repairing or maintaining small outdoor power equipment–and more than enough for tight-spot fastener driving and removal in woodworking. Our wrenching consisted of a battery of tests with a 13mm socket and in wood our test was driving and removal a No. 10 wood screw–without a pilot hole. The DeWalt handled all of that well, and with the trigger locked out in manual ratchet mode. It’s a pro-duty tool, regardless of its application.

CMC 934B 20-volt ¼-in. Ratchet Wrench

Craftsman’s wrench is small and light we’re tempted to described it as petite. It weighs only 2.8 lb., and that includes a 2-Ah battery. You can use it manual or powered and in either case, its performance wasn’t petite. With an adapter to fit up to the 3/8-inch drive on our 13mm socket, it easily handled driving and bolt removal. It’s well suited to small automotive jobs, but may well come in handy for appliance repair, and the assembly and disassembly of office furniture. It could be a lot handier than a cordless wrench or drill-driver in these applications.

2524-20 12-volt Power Plane

Now this is what we call precision: a power plane that’s adjustable in increments of 1/256 of an inch. We’re diehard hand plane users at Popular Mechanics, and although we still see no substitute for a well honed and adjusted hand tool, this little cordless gem comes pretty close. We planed maple and Douglas fir with the tool, working face, edge, and even end grain. Careful adjustment of the cutter (you can’t go wrong with such fine increments), a steady hand, and an appropriate speed over the work surface yield a flat and smooth surface without ripple. In terms of weight, it’s one of the lightest power tools we’ve used recently: 4.4 lb with a 4-Ah battery.

XR DCF961B 20-volt ½-in. Impact Wrench

DeWalt’s newest wrench packs brains and brawns in equal measure. We couldn’t find a nut it wouldn’t break. So much so, that it’s clear we need to up the difficulty of our tests. Here’s the brain part: after 4 seconds of impacting, the DeWalt automatically ramps up its torque, until the nut or bolt breaks free. Its maximum breakaway output is an astonishing 1750 ft. lb. Also in terms of the tool’s brain power, DeWalt’s engineers equipped it with three speed/torque settings: (no load): 0-400 rpm, 0-800-rpm and 0-1200 rpm. The corresponding torques are 100, 900, and 1200 ft. lbs, with impacts up to 1890 impacts per minute. That’s a lot of punch and a lot of control for any power tool, corded, cordless or pneumatic. DeWalt’s aim was to give the user ¾-inch wrench performance in a tool with a ½-inch anvil. As far as we can tell, they’ve succeeded. Two more check marks for brainy construction: the tool’s precision bolt setting allows you to drive a bolt up to the point that it’s tight. The tool will pause, allowing the user to pull the tool away to grab a torque wrench, if need be. Finally, given that these tools see such a pounding, DeWalt wisely isolate the battery mounting from the tool itself, allowing them to move independently of another to absorb the shock from being pounded while in use.

2967-22 18-volt ½-in. Impact Wrench Kit

Milwaukee was not inclined to let DeWalt grab all the attention in the wrench warfare section of our Tool Award testing this year. Its wrench broke free all fasteners and it gets points for being available as a kit that includes a hard-side case, charger, and two 5-Ah batteries. With one of those batteries aboard, it weighs 7.6 lb. (lighter than the DeWalt’s 9 lb.). Its specs are similar to DeWalt’s if indicating a bit less power: 1100 ft. lb. of fastening torque and 1500 ft. lb. of breakaway torque. If you’re already on the Milwaukee system, and you’re looking for a heavy hitter this is your tool.

3020-20 18-volt 16-ga. Finish Nailer

Milwaukee’s cordless finish nailers have always done well in our tests, providing power to drive a nail consistently through hardwood. This 16-gauge nailer continues in that line. We’re looking forward to a match up of it against other tools, in a fastening Battle of the Titans. Until then, our tests have showed conclusively that this is a fast nailer and very close to pneumatic performance. It drove 1-1/2 inch and 2-1/2 inch fasteners through ½-inch cherry into Douglas fir, sinking each fastener cleanly and rapidly. Even in bump-fire mode, it sank each fastener leaving nothing behind but a crisp-cavity to accept nail filler.

DCE55B 20-volt Drywall Cutout Tool, and DCF630B Screwgun

You don’t have to be a contractor to appreciate these two DeWalt drywall tools. Both are out of the company’s formidable 20-volt power tool line, and if you’ve got a large remodeling job ahead of you, both of them will pay for themselves in the course of it. As to the cutout tool, we appreciated its power and light weight. Even with a big 5-Ah battery, it weighs only 3.2 lb—perfect for a long afternoon cutting out electrical boxes. Also easing the work is its tool-free spindle lock that eliminates the need for a wrench to change bits and the tool-free cut depth adjustment. Further enticement: it comes with a 1/8-inch and a ¼-inch collet, two 1/8-inch guide point bits, and a 1/8-inch multi-material bit. We found it extremely easy to handle with a high power-to-weight ratio. The screwgun is perfect for small to medium drywall jobs. Its four modes make it about as easy to consistently drive a screw (especially overhead) as you are going to find. It has two trigger-activated modes: high and low, push-start high, and lock-on high (for rapid fire repeat screw driving). Its dial-adjusted nose piece and locking collar are pinpoint accurate to help you accurately set a drywall screw and significantly reduce the risk of breaking the drywall’s paper. In all, we found it a pretty remarkable little tool.

CMCW400 20-volt Fixed Base Trim Router

Simplicity is a beautiful thing but even more when it’s the guiding design principle with something as complicated as a woodworking power tool. Craftsman’s little trim router is a great example of not over thinking a tool’s design. For depth control, flip open the latch on its base and slide the base up and down as needed or fine tune it with the depth knob immediately above the latch. Speed control is also dial adjusted through six levels, from 16,000 to 30,000 rpm. The tool’s 20-volt motor has got a lot of spunk, too. You’re not going to use this tool to cut raised panels in hardwood, but it’s got more than enough power for basic routing, shaping, and pattern routing that you would expect to get from a corded trim router. The clear plastic base has one straight edge to slide along an edge guide and the tool comes with a fence that is easily adjusted and attaches securely and quickly to that base through a slot–no fumbling or guessing about how to attach the fence or adjust it.

FX 4221F 24-volt Fixed-Base Trim Router

If you miniaturized a full size router and turned it into a cordless power tool, that’s pretty much what you’ve got with the Flex, the most recent example of the company’s power tools to impress us with power and substance. Like a full size router, you can adjust its cut depth one of two ways: undo the latch on its base, press in on the tabs on its depth adjustment ring and slide the base up and down. To fine tune that depth, rotate the ring and read out the amount of adjustment on the ring’s 1/64-in. graduations. In terms of power and solidity, you have nothing to fear. The tool may be small but it’s stout. Its dial-adjusted speed control (through six settings) ranges from 16,000 to 31,000 rpm–more than enough speed control for small-diameter router bits used in shaping and trimming thin material. The tool comes with a detachable fence and its clear plastic base is round on one edge and straight on the other to facilitate sliding it along a fence.

Renegade Volt ES 200i Welder

Welding doesn’t get anymore compact or potable than this: a cordless welder powered by DeWalt power tool batteries. ESAB’s welder is a breakthrough in that respect. You don’t need a truck or any kind of service vehicle. You could put this thing in the trunk (or even the back seat) of any car and take it anywhere. Set up takes minutes, just slide in the four DeWalt Flexvolt batteries, set the welding parameters on the digital readout screen, attach your work lead and weld as you would normally. We ran 3/32-in. 6010 and 1/8-in. 7018 rods with it making the kinds of welds you would typically encounter in the field doing repair work. The model we tested came with four 60-volt, 12-Ah batteries and weighed 54.4 pounds. It’s a lot to carry, but still manageable. ESAB says that when equipped with the largest 12-Ah version of these batteries, the machine will melt its way through 33 E6013 electrodes. We didn’t burn through that many rods. Our tests consisted of running test beads to get the hang of the machine and then fastening a loop to a weather-beaten steel post at a remote location for the purpose of chaining off an entryway. It’s a remarkable machine with an accessible learning curve suitable for anyone who has stick welded before.

GNB18V-12N 18-volt Concrete Nailer

We looked askance at this tool when we heard about it. A cordless nailer for concrete? Really? Then we test fired it and were pleased with what we found. It’s a reliable shooter. We drove ¾-in. nails into concrete without trouble. They come in a collated strips, and you drop them into the nailer’s 22-shot magazine like you would a finish nailer. Slide the magazine lock in behind the fasteners, click in a battery, and pull the trigger. Suppose you want to fire individual non-collated masonry nails, even Non-Bosch nails. No problem, the Bosch will do that. Longer nails? Yep. The tool is rated to fire nails up to 1-1/2 in. long. Our response to driving nails into concrete: Sure.

ACCESSORIES AND EXTRAS

56412 Rechargeable Flashlight With Work Light

I keep trying to shrink my tool kit and my preferred method is to find tools that do double duty. Enter the Klein flashlight/work light. The rechargeable flashlight has two levels of brightness and a side-mounted work light. It has a ring magnet base; stick it to a steel pipe, ductwork, electrical box, or even the head of a large screw or bolt. To activate the work light, hold the “on” button for a second or two longer than you would to activate the flashlight. Other key details: a rotating collar protects its charging port, and the pocket clip (nice as it is) is removable.

MM450 Slim Digital Multimeter

We briefly admired this Klein multimeter before tossing it from eight feet onto a concrete floor (it’s rated for a 6.6 foot drop). Next, we ran a series of electrical tests with it, and found it no worse for the wear. It racked up bonus points for its slimness (about ½ inch to ¾ inch slimmer, depending on the meter you’re comparing it to) and for its large face (2 inches by 2 inches). For a meter so slim and light, it’s packed with all the features of a full-size meter: AC/DC reading in volts, amps, micro amps, milliamps, minimum and maximum range, and a thermocouple for measuring temperature. Throw in the ability to read frequency, capacitance and test diodes. The Klein may be small, but you’ll be able to get the job done with it.

935DAG Electronic Level and Angle Gauge

This spunky little gauge measures about 2-1/2 inches square and quickly and accurately reads angles to assess the pitch of pipe, ducts, vents, rafters or ground slope. But as the advertising pitch has it: but wait there’s more. All four of its edges have a V groove, allowing it to fit directly to a pipe, for example, and a concealed magnet in its base holds it to ferrous metal, whether that be a pipe or a steel rack or post that you are trying to plumb. Stick the gadget on a piece of steel, steel pipe, or even a hefty nail driven into a straight piece of lumber and you’ve got yourself a level of any length. That’s a lot of capability, given this thing’s small size. Two AA batteries are included.

CMSTVS6311BK Rolling Tool Cabinet

Everybody who saw the Craftsman rolling tool box in our test area wanted it: staff members, visitors, and truck drivers making deliveries. And you can see why. It’s a beautiful piece of American tool making glory with the heft and authority of a railroad freight car. It’s equipped with what seems like acres of drawer space. And about those drawers, each is mounted on a ball bearing full extension slide. Each drawer has 150 to 200 lb. of weight-bearing capacity and soft-close sliding action. With spring-supported casters and heavy 16-gauge sheet steel construction, Craftsman rates it as being able to support 3000 lb. That’s a lot of tools!

MODbox Mobile Workstation

If you can’t get a day’s work done with the MODbox Mobile Workstation, there must be something wrong. It’s designed and built by Klein Tools, a company known primarily for its electrician equipment, but also its obsessiveness with product design and quality. There are more elaborate workstations out there (Milwaukee’s Packout comes to mind) but the Modbox is ingenious in its simplicity and the ease by which you can make the system suit your preferences. All its parts are weatherproof and snap together to provide you storage and mobility for pliers and screwdrivers, large power tools, and just about anything else you might need in a day’s work, from your favorite coffee container to tool bags (sold separately) and trays for small parts. Although the MODbox is designed primarily for electricians, we can see how anyone would benefit from the neatness and mobility it provides. After all, features like 10-inch wheels and a hefty removable telescoping handle are helpful to anyone.

0801-20 70,000-BTU Forced Air Propane Heater

Freezing while you work, or while you play (tailgating, for example), isn’t much fun. If you’ve been there, and who hasn’t, consider this cordless propane heater. We highly recommend the appliance. Attach an 18-volt Milwaukee battery, hook its hose and regulator up to a propane tank, press its igniter button and just like that you’ve got a warm work or play environment. We were really taken with its ease of use, portability and power. On high, it puts out 70,000 BTU. That’s a lot of worksite heat. But you can adjust its output down to 30,000 BTU (which is still considerable). Suppose your battery runs out of power, then what? Its engineers have wisely also designed it so that it can run on 120-volt power. Just plug in an extension cord.

CMCE521B 20-volt Air Compressor

For a power tool that weighs only 2.6 pounds with a battery (2 Ah), this air compressor has got a lot more power than its appearance or weight would suggest. You pick it up and wonder what it can do. As it turns out, it can do a lot. Aside from the typical lever-lock air fitting on the end of its 24-inch hose, It comes with two adapters to help it handle anything from sports equipment, and bike tires, to care tires and pool toys. Its pressure tops out at 150 psi and its digital gauge helps you monitor output as the tire fills.

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