On Carpentry, Building and Tools Old and New.

Latest Posts

  • pump_1

Milwaukee M18™ Transfer Pump

March 18th, 2018|0 Comments

A flooded boiler room or an expired water heater means that there’s a lot of water that needs to be pumped away to put things right. It’s only occasionally that I have to deal with such things, but if it requires an immediate response, the Milwaukee M18™ Transfer Pump gets […]

  • detroit_box

KEEN Utility Detroit Low ESD Soft Toe

March 11th, 2018|0 Comments

I’ve been wearing KEEN Utility’s Detroit Low ESD Soft Toe work shoes for more than 4 months now, in rain, shine, fog, and light snow. It’s been a very long time since my feet have had it this good. I’ve been wearing conventional leather boots of several brands for a good […]

  • flex_circ

FlexVolt™ 60v MAX 7¼” Circular Saw

September 24th, 2017|0 Comments

If you look around at my collection of power tools, you will no longer find a corded circular saw. At first it seemed like a risk to do without, but with the rapid maturation of cordless tools, it made little sense to keep one. There was nothing wrong with it […]

Older Posts

  • mak0

Makita’s 18V X2 LXT®(36V) Brushless Cordless Rear Handle 7‑1/4″ Circular Saw

September 4th, 2017|0 Comments

It was not so long ago that the idea of a competent cordless saw was more wish than reality. Many was the time I heard the […]

  • davenports

KEEN Utility Davenport Boots

August 13th, 2017|0 Comments

I received a pair of KEEN Footwear’s Davenport boots for review and have been wearing them for nearly 6 weeks; working on hard packed dirt, concrete, gravel, […]

  • 5_piece

Ryobi’s New Score™ Wireless Speaker Set

May 29th, 2017|0 Comments

Music on a jobsite was once a luxury not allowed by many old school builders, but now nearly a necessity for many of us. It seems […]

  • surge2

Milwaukee M18 Fuel Surge Hydraulic Driver

October 10th, 2016|0 Comments

We first heard of Milwaukee’s new hydraulic (“oil pulse”) driver, the Surge™, through an inadvertent leak from the Home Depot web site that had a page […]

  • miter1

Milwaukee’s M18 Fuel™ Dual Bevel 10″ Sliding Compound Miter Saw

September 5th, 2016|2 Comments

It was June of 2015 when we were first allowed a peek at the prototype of the M18 Fuel miter saw at the 2015 New Product […]

  • polisher450

The M18 Fuel™ 7″ Variable Speed Polisher

June 28th, 2016|0 Comments

Milwaukee gave us an early look at their new M18 Fuel™ 7″ Variable Speed Polisher at the New Product Symposium for 2016. Due in July of […]

  • radius_dvl_ross

Milwaukee’s M18 Radius™ LED Compact Site Light

June 11th, 2016|0 Comments

If Milwaukee’s New Product Symposium for 2016 was a movie and I was voting for the Academy Awards, I would give Best Actor to the M18 […]

  • 3wrenchIG

Milwaukee’s New Line of Adjustable Wrenches

April 13th, 2016|0 Comments

From Milwaukee Tool:

“MILWAUKEE, WI- Milwaukee Tool continues to expand its Hand Tool offering with a new line of adjustable wrenches, including 5 standard wrenches and 1 […]

  • 60_cabinet_feature

Coming Soon: Milwaukee’s New Mobile Storage

April 10th, 2016|5 Comments

04/08/2016

“MILWAUKEE, WI – Following the release of their widely popular 46” Steel Storage Chest and Cabinet, Milwaukee Tool continues to expand their Storage Solutions with the […]

  • pipe_wrench

New Plumbing Tools From Milwaukee

March 7th, 2016|0 Comments

Milwaukee Tool has been supplying tools for the plumbing and electrical trades since 1924, but continues to expend considerable energy in improving existing stalwarts like pipe wrenches, […]

  • IMG_3659

Milwaukee’s Expanded Line of M12™ Heated Gear

January 3rd, 2016|0 Comments

When I first tried on my new Milwaukee Heated Gear back in August, the weather was pretty warm, as you may imagine. It was not my first […]

  • annular_cutters

Milwaukee’s Annular Cutter Set

December 8th, 2015|0 Comments

Milwaukee’s M18 Fuel™ 1½” Magnetic Drill is fitted with a quick-release Weldon chuck to fit and rapidly change annular cutters, and even to mount a Weldon to ½” adapter […]

  • feature_horse450

Russell’s Horses

November 8th, 2015|2 Comments

There’s no denying the importance of saw horses on a construction site. They are used for more than the obvious, being handy for things such as storing materials […]

  • planer_wb

The Milwaukee M18™ 3¼” Planer

October 25th, 2015|62 Comments

I’ve been waiting for the launch of Milwaukee’s new M18™ 3¼” Planer since giving it a try at their New Product Symposium back in June, and […]

  • mag_quarter2

The M18 Fuel™ 1½” Magnetic Drill

September 15th, 2015|0 Comments

When Milwaukee announced their new cordless mag drills in April of this year, it was the first time I had even heard of such a tool. […]

  • grind_dvl

Milwaukee’s M18 Fuel™ Braking Grinder

August 16th, 2015|0 Comments

Milwaukee has introduced its M18 Fuel™ Cordless Braking Grinder (2783-22) , offering three improvements over the previous model. The new tool stops spinning in under 2 […]

  • done_feature

A Farrow & Ball Paint Display

August 8th, 2015|0 Comments

The Anchor Ace Hardware Store in Sandwich, Cape Cod, Massachusetts is now stocking the Farrow & Ball line of paint and wallpaper, and needed a display […]

  • 1key

Milwaukee’s ONE-KEY™ Press Release

July 30th, 2015|0 Comments

7/30/2015

MILWAUKEE, WI – Milwaukee Tool will pioneer the next industry-changing technology with the introduction of ONE-KEY™, the first digital platform for tools and equipment.  By integrating […]

  • stud_drill

Milwaukee’s New M18™ Fuel™ Drills and Drivers

July 21st, 2015|0 Comments

Milwaukee Tool is launching a new generation of M18™ Fuel™ Drill Drivers, Hammer Drills and Compact Impact tools in mid to late August, just weeks away. […]

  • hawg3

More From Milwaukee’s NPS15

July 12th, 2015|0 Comments

The last couple of weeks have involved a lot more of using tools than writing about them, this being the crazy season on the island. There […]

  • hd_9.0b

Milwaukee’s NPS15-What’s New?

June 24th, 2015|2 Comments

Milwaukee announced well over 80 new products during their New Product Symposium last week, including things such as new drill and driver bit sets, so the actual number […]

  • nps_intro

Milwaukee Tool’s New Product Symposium 2015

June 21st, 2015|2 Comments

This June 16th and 17th saw Milwaukee’s 2015 New Product Symposium, a two day media-only event for showcasing the tools that the company is launching throughout […]

  • boxes_feature

Milwaukee’s 46″ Steel Storage Chest and Cabinet

May 23rd, 2015|4 Comments

When I began this blog, it was not my intention to make it all Milwaukee, all the time, but my enthusiasm for their tools has had considerable […]

  • vac450

Milwaukee’s M12™ Compact Vacuum

May 4th, 2015|0 Comments

I have never liked a dirty job site, and I really don’t like building dirt into my work. I don’t care if it can be covered with […]

  • rapid_charge3.1

M12™ & M18™ Rapid Charge Station- Mystery Solved

May 1st, 2015|0 Comments

My first and several subsequent tests of Milwaukee’s M12™ & M18™ Rapid Charge Station were, at best, only partially successful and it turns out that the problem was […]

  • M18_sawzall

The Milwaukee M18™ Sawzall

April 28th, 2015|0 Comments

Milwaukee has a new version of its M18™ Sawzall reciprocating saw. It’s a replacement for the first M18™ Sawzall (2620) and it features overload protection for the motor […]

  • rapid2_feature

The Milwaukee M18™ and M12™ Rapid Charge Station -UPDATE

April 16th, 2015|0 Comments

Back in early March of this year I reviewed Milwaukee’s M18™ and M12™ Rapid Charge Station, finding that it offered faster charging for my batteries of […]

  • 3compacts

Milwaukee’s New M18™ Compact Brushless Drill/Drivers

March 29th, 2015|1 Comment

It took me quite a while to find out what Milwaukee’s slogan “NBHD” stood for. On-line searches turned up a band by that name and an […]

  • bench_raw

A Simple Bench

March 27th, 2015|2 Comments

“We need a bench” was the extent of the direction given for this project. I doubt that anyone would have objected if I had made it […]

  • feature_desk

A Mahogany Writing Desk

March 23rd, 2015|2 Comments

I was commissioned to make a writing desk for a, well…, a writer. I asked if it needed room for a printer and various computer peripherals, but the […]

  • charge_aspect

The Milwaukee M18™ and M12™ Rapid Charge Station

March 10th, 2015|0 Comments

Milwaukee’s eagerly-awaited dual voltage multi-charger is now available and making its way to workshops and job sites. Part of the appeal of the charger is its ability to […]

  • 6circular_saw

Milwaukee’s M18 Fuel™ 6½” Circular Saw

February 9th, 2015|0 Comments

My first exposure to battery-powered saws was the sound of one of unknown lineage struggling to get through some 1×6 pine in the lumber barn at […]

  • 45_plane

Beads, Slate and Flea Markets

February 2nd, 2015|0 Comments

In the early 1970s, my parents bought an old Nantucket house with a kitchen in need of considerable renovation. My father paneled the walls above the […]

  • charging_station

Long Gone and Coming Soon

January 10th, 2015|0 Comments

The first time I made a door jamb I used no power tools. This was not before electricity was available on Nantucket, it was in a […]

  • sawzall_both

Milwaukee Sawzalls Old and New

December 29th, 2014|0 Comments

Somewhere around 1977 or ’78 I was working with my father John Van Lieu on an extensive renovation of a pair of old cranberry shacks that […]

  • newMil_jacket

Milwaukee Heated Jacket Update

December 1st, 2014|0 Comments

When I first posted about Milwaukee’s M12 Cordless Heated Jacket, it wasn’t cold enough to give it a try. Now it’s December and it’s seen some […]

  • miter_sm

Fiberglass Gutters

November 16th, 2014|0 Comments

Nantucket is the land of fir gutters. Historically correct perhaps, attractive in their own way and approved by the Historic District Commission, they are also heavy, […]

  • m18_grinder1

Milwaukee M18™ Fuel™ 4½-5″ Grinder

October 21st, 2014|0 Comments

Combo kits are a good way to go when outfitting with cordless tools. They are more economical than a series of separate purchases and it’s handier […]

  • vl_grandparents_nwb

Russell Van Lieu

October 13th, 2014|2 Comments

Russell Martin Van Lieu (1895-1985) was my grandfather. He was born to a family that worked a farm in Hunterdon County, New Jersey since pre-revolutionary times. […]

Van Lieu Photography Web Sites