Thursday 28 September 2017

CST/Berger TLM100 Review: Handheld Laser Distance Measure

The CST/Berger TLM100 is a hand-held laser distance measurer that is well-suited for use around the home, for basic DIY tasks and for hobbyists. Like other laser measures, it allows you to quickly get a highly accurate reading when measuring distance and works by using a laser. Here, the laser is projected from the front of the device and will then travel in a straight line to your chosen end point. Once it makes contact with the wall, the pillar or whatever else you are trying to measure, it will be reflected and bounce directly straight back. The device will time how long this process takes and that way, you’ll be given an accurate measure of the distance!

This can be useful for tiling estimations, for making window fittings considerably easier, for painting, for hanging wallpaper, for laying carpets and for measuring gaps for furniture. There are plenty more options and applications for laser measures too, but is the CST/Berger TLM100 a good pick?

Product Description: Basic Specs With Good Performance

The CST/Berger TLM100 has a range of 100 feet, meaning that you can use it to measure distances 100 feet long and no larger. This in turn means it is really best for indoor applications. The minimum distance is 2 foot, meaning that it may not be precise enough for some woodworking applications.

Within that range, it has a good accuracy of 6mm (meaning that it will be accurate to within 6mm). This is not industry leading but it is a good number for the price.

The device does have some other decent bells and whistles. For instance, it comes with a graphical LCD screen and has a decent case with rubber grip to ensure that a) you don’t drop it and b) it won’t break if you do drop it.

The device is light at 12.8 ounces and small enough to be slung in a bag or even to slip into a pocket (with definite, noticeable bulge).

Pros and Cons: Not the Most Powerful or Functional but Good for What it Does

  • The pros of this device revolve largely around the convenience, the small size and the price. On the other hand, the cons tend to revolve around the lack of advanced features.
  • This device is very quick and simple to use. In our testing, we found it to be quick to pull out and very accurate with just the touch of a button. That’s good news of course because it saves a lot of time and means that you aren’t waiting for things to boot up or find your way around complicated interfaces. The battery life is good too and the exterior – though not particularly attractive – is great in terms of ergonomics and durability.
  • This is better than the comparable product from Stanley and anything cheaper is likely not a true laser measure but rather an ultrasonic measure – these aren’t as accurate and you need to be very careful when buying!
  • On the downside though, there are really no bells and whistles here. There is no fold out attachment which means you’ll have to hold it in place and rely on your steady hands. There’s no on-board memory, 100 foot isn’t a huge range and there’s no attachment for a tripod.

Conclusion: What do You Want From a Laser Measure?

As is always the case, the suitability of this device for you is going to depend entirely on your intended use case scenario and the kind of work you do. It ultimately comes down to what you expect to get from a laser measure and what you’re using right now.

If you’re comparing this to a top of the range laser measure, then of course it’s going to lack advanced functionality. But if you’re currently using a tape measure and a pencil, then this will be a huge step up that will improve your accuracy and your productivity. It saves time and makes more accurate measurements.

It’s not over-designed and it really is the bare minimum in terms of what you can expect to get from a laser measure. But for the right kind of user, that’s going to be perfectly fine and possibly even desirable. A great choice in 2017 and 2018!



source http://www.toolerant.com/cstberger-tlm100-review-handheld-laser-distance-measure/

Friday 15 September 2017

The best Roofing Nailer Review: BOSTITCH RN46-1

The BOSTITCH RN46-1 roofing nailer is a nailer that, as the name suggests, is intended specifically for use on roofing. If you’re going to find yourself on your hands and news driving nails into your roofing, then you want to make sure you have a trusty and reliable tool up there to help you. Apart from anything else, you really want to minimize the number of times you end up going up and down that ladder!

And if it’s a reliable roofing nailer you’re looking for, then this product should be more than up to snuff. We spent a few weeks with it to give it a proper run and we found that it was highly reliable, very powerful and had a number of smart features to make it that much more convenient. Let’s take a closer look in this full review….

Product Description: Reliable, Sturdy and Well Designed

The title says it all really: the BOSTITCH RN46-1 roofing nailer is a reliable tool that is sturdy and has a number of useful design features.

To look at, this is a nicely put together nailer with a yellow and black chassis and a rubber handle to grip. It is a pneumatic nailer, so of course it needs to be attached to a compressor. If you don’t have one of those already, then that’s going to slightly increase the price so that’s worth considering for those new to nailers. Pros are already going to have one of these though and they’re a good investment seeing as they’ll be useful for a range of pneumatic tools.

The device is light enough at just 5.8 pounds, which is an important consideration when you’re using it for extended periods. And it is also very powerful and reliable. Capable of up to 410 in/lbs of force at 100psi, this should have no problem with most roofs or nails. It is also capable of driving up to 100 nails, although an interchangeable trigger will allow you to change firing modes if you don’t want to fire too many at once!

The magazine is also relatively high capacity for a roofing nailer and can hold 120 coil nails at once. The magazine is also ‘quick load’ so it should be easy to change when you do need a top up.

Pros and Cons: Lots of Pros for Pros

When it comes to the pros and cons, the BOSTITCH RN46-1 roofing nailer is mostly pros. BOSTISCH make great nailers and this is no different.

While you can get lots of specs from the manufacturers, what they won’t tell you is what it is really like to use in a real-world setting. That’s why we tested the device to find that out for you!

And we’re happy to report that the BOSTITCH RN46-1 roofing nailer is a powerful and accurate tool that will reliably drive nails home with no problems. In our time with it we didn’t experience any jams or misfires and it’s something that all the reviews on Amazon seem to agree with.

We’re also happy to say that the device is great to use. It fits very comfortably in the hand and is light enough to use for a long time without growing tired.

So, what of the downsides? There are always downsides… In this case though, they’re really not so bad. Everything it claims to do, it does well and you’ll be able to rely on this nailer to keep on nailing without error. Of course, you might be able to get more power, a bigger magazine or fancy extra features for more money but that is about it. It’s also worth noting that this is a roofing nailer and whether you want something specific or more general is another point to consider.

Other than that – nailed it!

Conclusion: Perfect for Roofing

In short, this is a really, really good nailer from a company that makes really, really good nailers. It does everything should and is powerful, reliable and well designed. There are more powerful nail guns out there and there are bigger magazines – but for the price this gives you everything you could need and top notch performance.

 



source http://www.toolerant.com/the-best-roofing-nailer-review-bostitch-rn46-1/