Upcoming Tool News

[onocoffee]

Where the Volkswagen Passat is a Skoda Superb but then with a different grille and user interface

Tangent - When transiting through Frankfurt, I typically like to tack on a day (or four) to hang out, tour around and see friends. One year, I grabbed a car from Hertz for the three hour drive to Saarbrucken. They gave me a big Volvo touring - awesome. High tech, luxurious: excellent. And the moment I exited the garage, the light came on and one of my tires was flat. Went back in and was expecting to wait for them to change the tire but they insisted they switch it out and gave me a Passat wagon.

I love Volkswagens. I've had a 1971 Karmann Ghia Convertible and a 1986 GTI. Love Volkswagen to death. But that Passat? What a hunk of junk. Modern (this must have been October 2018), plastic, underpowered and just mushy feeling and terrible on the Autobahn.

I think the key is if you're a woodworker you may not be cross-shopping DᴇWALT, Makita and Milwaukee, rather you went into Woodcraft intending to maybe buy a TID 18 and came away with the Kreg impact because it was cheaper to begin with and you had a "10% discount on anything but Festool or SawStop" coupon.

I like the thought - because that would have been more fiscally responsible (I got the TID 18 back in July). But I do like the Kreg after using now for six months (alongside the TID 18, Skil 12v and an older DeWalt impact). I find each one is better for different situations. Mostly though, I like using the Skil 12v Impact and CXS`12. I tend to use the Kreg when drilling pocket holes - just because...

Regarding platform uniformity, I get the notion. I like the notion. I just don't practice it. There was a time (in my DIY days) when I was strictly DeWalt 20v. As I've gotten more into things, I've become very agnostic and now have DeWalt 12v, Dewalt 20v, Kreg, Skil 12v, Hercules 20v, Festool 12v and Festool 18v.

I have recently been thinking about getting a new chainsaw - like the Stihl - but is there much value in going the battery route for chainsaws - something akin to the MS271, or just stick with gas?

 

[luvmytoolz]

I have recently been thinking about getting a new chainsaw - like the Stihl - but is there much value in going the battery route for chainsaws - something akin to the MS271, or just stick with gas?

I went through 2 petrol chainsaws before giving up on them, and was looking at a cordless which I wasn't super keen on, until I came across a corded Lamborghini chainsaw (Tonino Lamborghini to be exact) really cheap.

It's been a terrific chainsaw that hasn't given me any trouble. Although now it's mostly been replaced by the RSC 18 and a really long blade.

 

[Michael Kellough]

I went through 2 petrol chainsaws before giving up on them, and was looking at a cordless which I wasn't super keen on, until I came across a corded Lamborghini chainsaw (Tonino Lamborghini to be exact) really cheap.

It's been a terrific chainsaw that hasn't given me any trouble. Although now it's mostly been replaced by the RSC 18 and a really long blade.

I successfully resisted buying a gas powered chainsaw and bought a Makita 18v dual battery version instead. But even the Makita requires messy oil so I only break it out when absolutely necessary.

 

[Cheese]

I have recently been thinking about getting a new chainsaw - like the Stihl - but is there much value in going the battery route for chainsaws - something akin to the MS271, or just stick with gas?

I had a petrol fueled Stihl MS 251 for a number of years, it worked great for felling some serious sized trees. Unfortunately, when I moved into an urban setting, the noise of the saw alerted everyone within a 2 block radius (that was a loud saw) and all the neighborhood busy-bodies decided to weigh in on what I was cutting even though what I was cutting was on my own property.

Consequently, I opted to purchase a Milwaukee electric chain saw. While not nearly as powerful as the Stihl, the stealth factor was a godsend. Because of that epiphany, a few years later I purchased a Stihl HT-KM 12" pole pruner and teamed it with a KM 135R battery powered head unit. It's quiet, it's relatively light and now, none of those nosey neighbors feel the need to perform a community intervention. The battery powered Stihl will cut 4"-6" diameter trees all day long in absolute silence. Watching branches and small trees being cut in complete silence is really pleasant.

 

[COBill]

I can say I own battery power tools from DᴇWALT (20v), Festool (18v), Makita (LXT 18v and XGT 40v), Milwaukee (M12 and M18) and Skil (12v and 20v.)

 

[cpw]

I'm very happy with my Flexvolt chainsaw and 20V pole pruner. I hate having to have mix gas around, since with a lawn service I don't use enough it inevitably will go stale.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

I had a petrol fueled Stihl MS 251 for a number of years, it worked great for felling some serious sized trees. Unfortunately, when I moved into an urban setting, the noise of the saw alerted everyone within a 2 block radius (that was a loud saw) and all the neighborhood busy-bodies decided to weigh in on what I was cutting even though what I was cutting was on my own property.

Consequently, I opted to purchase a Milwaukee electric chain saw. While not nearly as powerful as the Stihl, the stealth factor was a godsend. Because of that epiphany, I then purchased a Stihl HT-KM 12" pole pruner and teamed it with a KM 135R battery powered head unit. It's quiet, it's relatively light and now, none of those nosey neighbors feel the need to perform a community intervention. The Stihl will cut 4"-6" diameter trees all day long in absolute silence.

I had a cheapie 20v chainsaw for small utility so I didn't have to pull out the Stihl (290 Farmboss with 18" bar) and it was ok, but now I have an EGO chainsaw and I'm going to clean up and sell the Stihl. The EGO frankly runs rings around the gas powered saw in speed of cut without the noise and mixing of fuel. (Disclosure...I have other EGO landscaping tools, too, all replacing 20v stuff. YUGE difference)

 

[ReneS]

Well here is some evidence about a switch of focus. It came from Hartville Hardware.

 

[Coen]

I love Volkswagens. I've had a 1971 Karmann Ghia Convertible and a 1986 GTI. Love Volkswagen to death. But that Passat? What a hunk of junk. Modern (this must have been October 2018), plastic, underpowered and just mushy feeling and terrible on the Autobahn.

They were sold with different motors. You might have had a 1300-1400 kg car with a 125 hp engine. If you add 25 hp and loose ~150 kg you end up with a Opel Astra (different name in US I think) or Skoda Octavia that accelerates significantly faster.

Current VW Passat is a Skoda Octavia with a bigger screen but lacking the three multi-function rotating buttons while still being more expensive. So even basic functions require you to look and touch that screen. For that reason alone I would skip it in favor of the Skoda.