Concord Carpenter

Last week I traveled to Mt. Prospect, IL to attend the 2011 Bosch Media Event.  This event is designed for editors to preview Bosch‘s newest tools prior to them being released to the retail market.  The best part of this event, in my humble opinion, is the hands on testing of the greatest and latest offerings of Bosch tools as well as side by side comparisons with similar competitor brands.

In all about 35-40 editors and trade writers attended this event.

Many, many tools were shown but I had only a few favorites which I will preview for you here.  It is my intention to test out my favorites under real jobsite conditions and report back to you with my findings and opinion.

10” Portable Jobsite Table saw, Model GTS1031

The biggest advantage of this saw is that it provides the user with a quick and easy way to transport your portable table saw, one handed, to and from the locations.    A tool free, folding table saw stand is also available and compliments this saw nicely, I recommend getting it.

What impressed me the most with this table saw was its durable and reasonably lightweight design.  It’s not superlight but it is more manageable than most of what I’ve seen.  There is a handle that allows it to be carried one-handed, close to the body as well as a pair of handles for two handed carry.  When carrying this tool two handed it’s very well balanced and super light.

Bosch uses what they call a Square lock Rip Fence technology for the saws rip fence.  In my opinion this fence is not nice as the DEWALT rack and pinion fence but the nicest feature of this fence is that it can be easily removed and stored under the tabletop for transport.  Storing the rip fence ensures protection from damage when this baby gets tossed in the back of a van, truck or tool trailer and you know it will!

Bosch Benchtop Product Manager Jason Feldner explains why his saw is the best:

The GTS1031 has a rip capacity of 18 inches and can also support an 8-inch dado stack blade.  Expect to pay $399.00 for the saw and another $100 for the folding stand.

Bosch BSH180 Band saw 18 Volt

The 18 Volt cordless band saw was impressive to say the least.  It is light weight and smaller than the competition.  It cuts real well and I was able to take super small slivers of metal conduit piping during testing.

The BSH180 weighs only 7.7 pounds, including the battery.  This tool has a rugged aluminum base and was comfortable and easy to use.  The BSH180 accommodates most common size materials cut by core trade users up to 2-1/2” on a single pass.

Plan on spending $399 for this saw.

Nick Feld, Bosch 18V Cordless Product Manager talks about a first at Bosch:

Bosch Gen 2 Brute Tough Drill/Driver (DDH181-01) and Hammer Drill/Driver (HDH181-01)

Bosch claims that the Gen 2 Brute Tough Drill/Driver (DDH181-01) and the Gen 2 Brute Tough Hammer Drill/Driver (HDH181-01) are up to 15 percent more compact and up to a half pound lighter than the closest competition.  They weigh in at 4.7 pounds and 4.9 pounds and measure 8.25 x 9.9 inches and 8.75 x 9.9 inches.

The Gen 2 Compact Tough Drill/Driver (models DDS180-02, DDS181-01, 02 and 03) weigh 3.4 pounds with a Slim Pack / 4 pounds with a Fatback and have a head length of seven inches.  The Gen 2 Compact Tough Hammer Drill/Driver (HDS180-02, HDS180-3, HDS181-01, 02 and 03) weigh 3.6 pounds with a Slim Pack / 4.2lbs with a Fatback, and has a head length of 7.5 inches respectively.

Bosch took the time to explain how tool manufacturers built their cordless motors.  The Gen 2 Brute and Compact Tough drill feature a new 4-pole high performance motor and patented all metal gear train and clutch.

Electronic cell protection in these tools provide up to for 400 percent longer battery life.

One impressive demonstration that Bosch did was to freeze their 18 volt batteries and then break off the ice, plug it into a drill and drill a hole in a 2×6.  My carpentry business is based in the Northeast and I store my tools in a trailer so the cold definitely affects my lithium batteries.

Testing the Bosch 18 volt hammer drill:

I was impressed that the battery worked but I would have liked to see how many holes could be drilled…  We only saw one.

The new Brute Tough series withstands repeated 12-foot drops onto solid concrete and to demonstrate this Bosch dropped on 500 feet out of a helicopter onto grass. They taped the battery on but the drill worked fine.

The drill worked! See video…

Bosch PS90 12V Max Inspection Camera

The new Bosch PS90 12V Max Inspection Camera was impressive and I could not believe the clarity, color ad field of depth of the 2.7-inch LED screen.  This new camera is perfect for inspecting behind walls, enclosed spaces and pipes.

The inspection camera has a waterproof 48-inch long imager to fit into enclosed spaced. The 17-millimeter head is metal and small enough to allow for tight radius bending.

The 12V Max Lithium Ion battery provides 8-15 hours of continuous use. This is a very handy tool, check out my demo video I filmed while at Bosch:

The GLL3-80 delivers full 360-degree coverage on two perpendicular vertical planes and one horizontal plane.   This laser is perfect for remodelers, cabinet installers, electricians, plumbers or finish carpenters who rely on level or plumb lines in their installations.

Unlike traditional cross line lasers, the GLL3-80 allows the operator to position the unit over one reference mark and provide two 90-degree layout lines from one setup point.

The GLL3-80 can be mounted in multiple ways:  he base of the unit is designed to enable either freestanding operation or magnetic attachment to metal tracking. It can be mounted to a standard tripod; and an optional accessory the WM1 Positioning Device is available and offers a telescoping pole and micro-fine height adjustments.

For bright light conditions and/or long distance (up to 265 feet) applications, the GLL3-80 can be used in pulse laser receiver mode in conjunction with the optional LR2 laser receiver.  The GLL3-80 is accurate to within 1/4” over its 100-foot range (in normal mode).