If there's one thing that gets swept aside in the constant rush to put out daily fires and meet long-term deadlines, it's our ability to educate and train our teams – rookies and veterans alike – on an ongoing basis. Read more
Veteran contractor Don Hodge of North Little Rock, Ark., went online to look for a Lenox 3-inch hole saw and came away as this year's winner of the Site Commander Sweepstakes. He picked up the keys to his new truck at the Lenox 301 NASCAR Race in Loudon, N.H., at the end of June. Read more
By now, everyone involved in residential remodeling should know about the EPA's Renovation, Repair, and Painting (RRP) rule. As of midsummer there were still plenty of questions and confusion regarding the requirements for tools and equipment. In particular the government was still in the process of clarifying for carpenters, plumbers, painters, electricians, and other residential contractors how the cleanup and disposal of waste materials and workplace dust and debris should be handled. Read more
Acme Tools, the Midwest retail powerhouse that created the original online tool and construction equipment sales site, Tool Crib of the North, has re-entered Internet retailing after a 10-year hiatus. Tool Crib was sold to Amazon.com in 1999. Read more
If your pickup is a Tundra and it's got serious frame rust, you could be in for some good news: Toyota has announced that it will replace the complete frame on affected vehicles built between 2000 and 2003 at no cost to the owners. Read more
Just a few short months after Dodge announced that it would produce a gas-electric hybrid version of its recently re-engineered Ram 1500 pickup 'sometime in 2010,' the struggling automaker has pulled the plug on the project. Read more
Turnabout is fair play in the automotive business, so after Ford and then Dodge gave their heavy-duty pickup lines a top-to-tailgate remodel, truck buyers could guess that it wouldn't be long before General Motors' fleet of HD work vehicles would get an overhaul as well. Read more
Wormdrive saws are known for being plenty strong – and plenty heavy too. And as it turned out, where power is concerned, the DWS535 ranks right up there with the best of them. Read more
Finding a new tool that fits the work is a real pleasure for the pro. A full-size portable band saw used to be the tool of choice for cutting angle iron, Unistrut, and threaded rod on the job – even though its nearly 5-inch capacity is overkill for most chores – but now our plumber's crew grabs one of Milwaukee's compact models instead. Read more
We've carefully selected more than 50 hand tools to share with you this issue. This diverse collection of tools represents the next generation of designs, with features that will help you carry on your own legacy of quality and provide continued enjoyment in your particular trade. Read more
Lee Breton has been asked to do some crazy things in his career at Lenox Industrial Tools, and he's done them all. But now, after 48 years with the company, he's hanging up his tool pouch – and leaving a hole in the tool industry that will never be filled. Read more
Tools for nailing through steel or into fully cured concrete used to be limited to PATs (powder-actuated tools), but gas-powered pinners are gaining popularity. And there are powerful pneumatics – some old and some new – that have been flying under the radar for some time even though they excel at shooting into these tough materials. We gathered all the tools we could find in the two categories and gave them to a commercial contractor in Wisconsin to see how they fared on the job. Read more
Johnson's Tile/Flooring Laser Level 40-6616 projects two 90-degree laser level beams that are visible over multiple surfaces with an accuracy of +/- 1/4 inch for up to 60 feet. Read more
Hilti's PMC 46 Combilaser features Hilti Pulse Power technology for accuracy in level, plumb, and squaring functions. Read more
DeWalt's DW030 Laser Distance Measurer covers distances up to 100 feet with 1/8-inch accuracy. Read more
CST/Berger's electronic self-leveling Mini-Line and Point Laser Tool XLP-34 provides a 90-degree horizontal and vertical layout grid with bright red laser lines and self-leveling accuracy up to 1/8 inch at 100 feet. Read more
Stabila's LD400 Laser Measure calculates length (up to 200 feet), area, volume, continuous measure, square footage, and diagonals with an accuracy of +/- 1/16 inch. Read more
The Bosch GPL5C self-leveling five-point laser projects plumb, level, and square as well as cross-alignment lines on floors and ceilings, eliminating the need for two setup points. Read more
The Leica Lino L2P5 is a super-bright, self-leveling, dot-line laser. Read more
Milwaukee's Two-Beam Plumb Laser 2320-20 is compatible with the company's M12 12-volt cordless-tool batteries. Read more
The Spectra Precision HD100 Laser Distance Meter measures distance with 1/16-inch accuracy up to 330 feet and calculates area, volume, room dimension, and various Pythagorean functions. Read more
The Pacific Laser Systems HVL 100 is a 360-degree self-leveling laser for plumb, level, and square. Read more
M.Power's Combination 3D Square ($50) is a try square, marking gauge, and saddle square all in one. Read more
Milwaukee's new hand-tool line is growing, with several everyday tools for the electrical and plumbing trades. Read more
Bridge City Tools' KM-1 Kerfmaker is an ingenious little device that accurately figures a table-saw blade's kerf into repeatable cut lengths for lap joints. Read more
Stanley is reviving its old Sweetheart branding yet again, this time for a line of bench chisels. Read more
Tajima Tool's Combination Drywall Rasp ($16) has teeth made of chromed die-cast aluminum. Read more
Bostitch, now the brand for Stanley's heaviest-duty pro hand tools, has introduced a series of new products. Read more
Greenlee has some interesting fastener-holding drivers. Read more
Lee Valley Tools comes up with a lot of thoughtful designs, and its Veritas brand Skew Block Plane ($189) is no exception. Read more
Bessey is known for its strong industrial and shop clamps. Read more
Ideal Industries has invented a better mousetrap for the electrician in the form of an improved armored cable cutter. Read more
Jackson has a new demolition tool called the Pulverizer Read more
Nail Jack extraction pliers have an 'anvil' behind the head that you pound on to drive the tips into the wood surrounding a nail. Read more
Irwin's newest Vise-Grip pliers have a 'self-energizing' jaw design that shifts under load and self-tightens, similar to the action of a pipe wrench. Read more
Like many multi-tools on the market, SOG's PowerLock pliers ($110) have a knife blade, screwdrivers, and a 1/4-inch hex-bit driver adapter. Read more
Green Grass Group's DoubleVsquare ($25) — which consists of two triangular-type aluminum squares hinged down the center — makes it easier to transfer marks around corners Read more
Craftsman wrenches are synonymous with lifetime-warranty quality. Read more
Starrett has a new plastic version ($25) of its Pro Site Miter Saw Protractor that's half the size and price of the aluminum model. Read more
Ridgid plumbing tools have been a mainstay in the industry for decades, and the company's newest offerings show us what plumbers have been missing until now. Read more
Rockler's Pock-It Hole Clamp ($20) is a novel device for aligning and clamping pocket screw joints in 3/4-inch stock up to 3 inches wide. Read more
Jevon's Tools 3D Squares ($60) are sold in sets of four to help with clamping casework corners and making joinery square, but they also have other uses. Read more
Megapro won an Editor's Choice award a few years back for its handy 15-in-1 screwdriver. Read more
The DoorJack is a clever foot lever for lifting and rehanging doors up to 240 pounds. Read more
The wet/dry vacs in Fein Power Tools' Turbo line are designed with 0.3-micron Tier-II HEPA filters to comply with the new RRP rule, says the maker. Read more
Dustless Technologies offers a wet/dry vac with a dedicated HEPA filter (model 16006) to meet the requirements of the new EPA lead rule, says the manufacturer. Read more