Power
Tools
- BEST CORDLESS NAILER
Metabo
NT1850DE $271
The heav y-duty NT1850DE
has a permanently sealed
air cylinder for rapid-fire
capability; Metabo esti-
mates that it can punch
three nails a second. Even
professional carpenters
would be hard pressed to
make use of that, but what
we can say is that it rapidly
sank every nail we fired in
softwoods and oak.- BEST GLUE GUN
Arrow GT 300 $50
The Arrow’s 300 watts
delivers rapid and sus-
tained glue-melting
power. Use it to gob on an
adhesive or apply a thin
line—both are afforded by
a simple-to-adjust trigger
mechanism. This was the
only gun in our recent test
with an on/off pilot light,
which is important for
safety and saving energy.- BEST ANGLE GRINDER
Bosch
GWX10-45DE $89
Changing an angle grind-
er’s wheel has gotten a
lot faster with the Bosch
X-Lock system. Pull up
on the tool’s lever and the
two spring-loaded jaws
retract, freeing the wheel.
Push the next wheel into
place, and the jaws lock
with a satisfying click. It’s
true that the tool accepts
just X-Lock accessories,
but it’s the first (and
only) angle grinder that
requires mere seconds to
swap parts, which is a big
step forward.- BEST SANDER
Bosch ROS20VSC $49
This Bosch is comfortable
and fast. But what we like
most about it is how the
rubber O-ring seal on the
dust port and the airtight
canister work together to
pick up all the dust gener-
ated during sanding. And
less dust on the surface
Dremel began making its iconic rotary tool in the 1930s to create an alternative that was lighter,
slimmer, quieter, and easier to handle than the only tool like it at the time, the industrial die
grinder. It achieved this with a new form of collet mounted atop a slim high-speed, low-torque
motor. Within 10 years or so, the company had refined that rotary tool, which hasn’t changed
much since. Today’s product looks unmistakably like that older one, and its ability to drill small
holes, sand, grind, and cut has withstood the test of time. It was the first power tool I used, in my dad’s basement workshop around
- It has an uncanny versatility suited to the many oddball jobs that crop up during small repairs around the house, particularly grind-
ing or cutting metal in a tight spot. And it’s got guts that allow it to punch well above its weight class. Example: I used mine to make a
tight-radius cut when removing rotted steel from the windshield recess of my long-gone 1979 Chevy truck. By the time I cut away the
affected metal, the Dremel was almost too hot to hold. I let it cool off, and I’m still using it. How’s that for durability? —Roy Berendsohn
A Tool We Will
Forever Love:
The Mighty Dremel
14151662 March/April 2020