Author Profile

Ralph Mroz

Ralph Mroz grew up in an extended family of tradesmen, and worked at the trades summers and weekends through school. He put those skills to good use in renovating the five houses he and his wife have owned. Even while working in the white-collar and law enforcement worlds, he's always had one foot in the construction trades.

All Posts by Ralph - Page 5

RYOBI 1-Gallon Wet/Dry Vacuum

By Ralph Mroz

RYOBI 1-Gallon Wet/Dry Vacuum When cordless tools first hit the market, the push was on for ever-more powerful versions from year-to-year.  But now that battery-powered tools can out-power their cordless counterparts, we’re seeing a trend towards smaller, “right-sized” tools, incorporating appropriate power for a job but at reduced weight and bulk.  RYOBI has been introducing…

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RYOBI Workshop Blower

By Ralph Mroz

RYOBI Workshop Blower The RYOBI Workshop Blower (model P755) is an example of one of the really useful tools that the manufacturers have brought out in the last decade or so: the battery-powered (cordless) blower. A New Type of Blower Where does the RYOBI Workshop Blower fit into your tool kit?  Landscapers have always used…

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Left Blade, Right Blade Circular Saws

By Ralph Mroz

Do Blade-Left Circular Saws Provide Advantages? Do blade-left circular saws really provide advantages?  One of the standard arguments for worm-drive saws, which are typically blade-left, is that they provide better line-of-sight to the cut line than blade-right saws (which most sidewinders are).   A clue that this argument may have faults is that it assumes a…

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SKILSAW Circular Saw

By Ralph Mroz

SKILSAW’s Blade-Right and Blade-Left Sidewinders This is a review of two of SKILSAW’s blade-right and blade-left sidewinders, specifically the blade-right model SPT67WMB-01 and the blade-left model SPT67M8-01.  Both are corded models and, BLUF, I very much like them both.  Now, before I get into why I like these particular coded sidewinders, let me explain why…

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Timberland Wedge 6 Inch Work Boot                  

By Ralph Mroz

Timberland Wedge 6” Work Boot The Timberland Wedge 6” Work Boot (style number 53009214)is a good example of an ever-popular boot design that’s as functional as it ever was.   The moc-toe work boot has been around since the early 1950s.  When I was working the trades weekends and summers through high school and college, all…

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RYOBI 18V Cordless 8 ¼-inch Table Saw

By Ralph Mroz

RYOBI 18V Cordless 8 ¼-inch Table Saw The RYOBI 18V Cordless 8 ¼-inch Table Saw is a new offering from RYOBI, available as are all RYOBI tools exclusively from The Home Depot.  Part of RYOBI’s One+ HP line, the RYOBI ONE+ HP 18V Brushless Cordless 8 ¼-inch Compact Portable Jobsite Table Saw (its official name,…

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RYOBI 15 inch String Trimmer

By Ralph Mroz

RYOBI ONE+ HP 18V Brushless 15 inch Attachment Capable String Trimmer The RYOBI ONE+ HP 18V Brushless 15 inch Attachment Capable String Trimmer (model P20220) is one of the new tools that RYOBI introduced this spring.  It’s part of RYOBI’s EXPAND-IT power pole attachment family, in which a powered handle segment attaches to a lower…

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CHANNELLOCK SPEEDGRIP and NUTBUSTER Pliers

By Ralph Mroz

CHANNELLOCK® Straight Jaw SPEEDGRIP™ and NUTBUSTER® Pliers CHANNELLOCK Straight Jaw SPEEDGRIP and NUTBUSTER Pliers are improvements to classic designs.  CHANNELLOCK® Straight Jaw SPEEDGRIP™ Pliers (model numbers 428X, 430X, and 440X) are a significant improvement in the ease-of-use department over the original design. Similarly, the CHANNELLOCK NUTBUSTER parrot nose pliers (models 410 and 414) serve up…

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