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Bosch_stuffIt’s tough showing up on a Monday morning only to find that work has piled up considerably over the weekend.

How am I seriously supposed to wade through two new Bosch cordless drills and a vacuum (I refuse to call them “extractors”, – but I may be forced to in the official review)? And I won’t even mention all the new hand tools from various companies that are slated to come in soon.

Just the thought of heading out to the shop with these new tools and dealing with the drudgery of putting them through their paces is almost more than I can bear…almost. I know you’re thinking, “It must be horrible to have to spend the day in the shop drilling holes in wood just to see how long a lithium battery lasts.” It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.

But seriously, there are two new brushless drills in the pile (one 12 volt and one 18 volt) that I have to get charged up to see just what’s the largest diameter bit they can turn before stalling. And, yes, I do get to drive screws with the drills until the batteries run dry, but I’ll be doing lots of other tests with them, too.

The vacuum (extractor) will be hooked up to nearly every kind of motorized tool to see how well it works. Dare I say, “to see if it sucks?” I’ll be evaluating how well the suction holds as the dust reservoir fills and if it more effectively collects dust, chips or shavings.

So, next time you’re dreading work on a Monday morning, think about poor Chuck Bender stuck in the Popular Woodworking Magazine shop testing out all these new tools. I’m sure it will make your day look a whole lot brighter.

—Chuck Bender

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Showing 10 comments
  • Omar

    I’d be happy to take one for the team and help with reviewing the vacuum, I have actually started doing some research on some of the high priced models to see it they are really worth the money, I currently own multiple shop-vacs. Just a thought.

  • themavericktexan

    Ah, the shop vac. The only the only time you’d actually want a tool in your shop that sucks.

  • pmac

    That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.

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