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  1. November 17, 2021

    New Dewalt Cordless Electrical Cable Stapler, DCN701

    Dewalt recently announced a new cordless electrical cable stapler, model DCN701, which they say is 2X as fast as manual hammer stapling (using a DCB203 2.0Ah battery stapling 12-2 Romex in 2×4 wood).

    The new Dewalt cordless cable stapler is designed for fastening NM-B (Romex) type wires and cables, and can also be used for low voltage applications. There’s a proprietary guide that helps users drive staples safely and accurately over cables. Translation: there’s a staple guide that helps prevent users from stapling through cables.

    It is compact, weighs 4.7 lbs without battery, and features a center-mounted LED light for eliminating shadows or working in low-lit areas. The belt clip can be positioned on either left or right sides.

    Dewalt says that their new Electrician’s Stapler can replace manual cable fastening methods, and its compact size allows for use in tight spaces and even overhead.

    They provided me with this chart that shows the stapler’s compatibility. The new special 1″ insulated staples, model number DRS1800, are UL-listed and can be used with single and even double-stacked cables ranging from 14-2 to 10-3 (single stack only

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  2. November 17, 2021

    Skilsaw “Buzzkill” Reciprocating Saw Tools

    Skilsaw sent me a rather cryptic email in mid-August, directing me to a teaser video and newsletter sign-up page for a new tool they were coming out with.

    10 days later, they announced the new tool, their new Skilsaw Buzzkill reciprocating saw, which they claim provides “up to 35%” more vibration suppression over competing models.

    A corded recip saw that promises lower vibration? Sounds good to me, although I haven’t been won over just yet.

    The new Skilsaw Buzzkill, SPT44A-00, is Skilsaw’s debut into the linear cutting market, although it should be noted that there are plenty of Skil-branded entry-level and consumer models available.

    If your recall, Skil and Skilsaw were acquired by Chervon, from Bosch. Before that, Skilsaw sought to relaunch their brand identity separate from Skil, presumably to hone their “for pros” image, separate from Skil’s more entry-level and consumer-focused reputation.

    Some of Skilsaw’s forays into new markets, such as with their worm drive table saw, bear strong resemblances to Bosch tools. With this being a new release post-Bosch ownership, I wonder if it’s an entirely independently-designed product from under Chervon.

    Skilsaw’s marketing video and imagery excludes any competing Bosch saw. Does that mean Bosch’s saws are better, or are they excluding Bosch’s saws as a courtesy, perhaps because they had a hand in the design?

    Chervon is not a household name, but you have probably seen their tools before. They manufacture for many tool brands, including Craftsman and Kobalt. They also launched the EGO cordless outdoor power tool line in recent years, as well as Hammerhead, which doesn’t seem to have reached the same level of success.

    This new Skilsaw Buzzkill reciprocating saw sports some fancy-sounding features:

    Single-wobble drive train for reduced friction to slow heat buildup, contributing to long

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  3. November 17, 2021

    New Bosch Colt GKF125CE Router is Coming Soon

    If you buy something through our links, ToolGuyd might earn an affiliate commission. Bosch GKF125CE Colt Router

    The new Bosch GKF125CE Colt palm router has earned the title of “longest tool tease,” at least as far as handheld woodworking tools go.

    We first wrote about it 2 YEARS ago, after a reader caught sight of a Lowes.com product listing. A new listing popped up a few months ago, but it was only today that Bosch officially announced it.

    So what happened? I’m guessing that it was an in-development product that Lowes’ datafeed somehow picked up on early, or something like that. It was surely delayed, and since it was only officially announced today, we probably won’t ever find out why.

    Since it’s been 2 years, and more information has been made available, it’s worth taking a new look at the router. You might think that corded palm routers aren’t very exciting, but I’ve been particularly eager to see this one launch.

    It features a 1.25 hp (MAX) 7.0A motor, and ergonomic and soft-grip design. Electronic features include variable-speed controls (16,000-35,000 RPM), soft-start circuitry for reduced start-up torque, and constant response circuitry to help maintain speed under load.

    The 1/4″ router is bundled with a PR101 fixed-base housing which can accommodate bits up to 1-5/16″ wide. Bosch has confirmed that the previous generation Bosch Colt router bases will NOT work with the new GKF125CE router. An optional plunge base will be available in 2018.

    As hinted by the early product listing, there’s a user-friendly depth-adjustment system, and it has both inch and metric scales, for greater precision.

    Motor removal is “push-button easy.”

    There’s an LED work light.

    Additional features include a shaft lock and included collet wrench. The cord is fixed to the router using a ball-joint, allowing it to swivel for easier maneuvering of the cord.

    Bosch’s Colt router has been a hugely popular

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  4. November 17, 2021

    New Rockler Super-Sized Silicone Project Mat XL

    Over at Rockler, they came out with a new super-sized version of their silicone project mat. The “project mat XL” is 23-1/2″ wide x 30-1/4″ long, which they say is ideal for standard-sized workbenches.>/p>

    The mat is easy to clean, since wet glue rinses off and dried glue peels off. It’s also soft, and textured on the top so that it can trap debris that could otherwise scratch or dent your project.

    There is a non-textured zone that serves as a small screw or fastener trap.

    Since silicone is also heat-resistant, you can use this when working with hot glue guns as well.

    The XL project mats also feature interlocking ribs on the ends, face down on one size, and face up on the other. This means that you can create seamless connections for extending the protective matting across a larger work surface.

    Lastly, it can also be used for other applications, not just glue-ups. Rockler adds that the mat also works great as a sanding pad, helping to protect your workpiece while also holding it in place.

    And of course it could just be used as a reusable protective work mat, for the garage, workshop, or even the dining room table.

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  5. November 17, 2021

    Lexus showing two concept cars at Pebble Beach

    Lexus is readying itself for the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and for the occasion, the carmaker is introducing a new concept version of the LC in a striking color scheme.

    The Flare Yellow exterior paint is coupled with dark, forged alloy 21" wheels and a carbon fiber roof. The yellow color continues on the inside, as the alcantara door panels match the outside. The leather seats also feature yellow stitching, as do the instrument panel, the center console and the glovebox.

    The yellow car is the second stage in the Lexus LC Inspiration Series, and it was preceded by a blue LC500 in October 2017. Well, we say blue, but Lexus claimed the special paint itself had no blue pigment, and the impression of color was just the product of nano-structures embedded in the paint, which reportedly took eight months to produce. With the yellow paint, there are no such claims, but we wouldn't be surprised if Lexus told us it was made from crushed yellow pearls.

    In addition to the yellow LC concept, Lexus is also displaying a customized version of the UX 250h. The VIP Auto Salon-built UX, wrapped in blue, comes with exterior enhancements together with a sportier suspension and exhaust setup, as well as a custom bike rack that holds a Lexus F Sport road bike.

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  6. November 17, 2021

    Behind the scenes of the Porsche 911 Turbo 993 'Project Gold' with Porsche's restoration manager

    Porsche unveiled a special continuation model at this year's Monterey Car Week called Project Gold, a 1998 Porsche 911 Turbo 993. And while it may look as though it was simply a 993 given a flashy coat of paint and corresponding interior, the story is more complicated than that, as we learned from Porsche's factory restoration manager, Uwe Makrutzki. In reality, it's the most carefully, obsessively built 993 to come out of Porsche.

    First some background on the project. Makrutzki told us that the first discussions for Project Gold began about two and a half years ago, and they began because of a confluence of happenings at Porsche. Porsche's 70th anniversary of car building was coming up, and Porsche Exclusive Manufaktur had just launched its own special vehicle, the 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series. Porsche Classic, the department that handles restorations, was wanting to do something special, too, inspired by the Exclusive Series 911. Fortunately for the department, they noticed that there was still a complete, bare production-line 993 chassis built in 1994 that nothing had been done with. All of this led to the start of Project Gold.

    For a bit over a year and a half, the Porsche restoration team was working on the car. The team decided that they wanted it to very much be a 993 with similar specifications to the original, rather than an over-the-top show car. This is why it has a twin-turbo 3.6-liter Turbo S 993 engine, and not something more powerful from a newer 911. That doesn't mean there wouldn't be any upgrades to the car, though. The chassis did start as a plain 911 Turbo, not a Turbo S, and it lacked the fender intakes of the higher-spec car. The team wanted to add them, which turned out to be quite difficult as there was no tooling to add the intake inlets after the body had been built. So those intakes were added by hand, and to ensure they were properly shaped and sized, Porsche brought in people that worked on the 993 production line to help

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  7. November 17, 2021

    Bentley preps 'Centennary Specification' for all models built in 2019

    For the entirety of Bentley's 100th year in business, the English carmaker will adorn its products with a Centenary Specification. The package consists of unique badging with specially developed Centenary Gold badge highlights, available Centenary Gold thread for the headrest logos, contrast stitching and cross stitching, and a "centenary welcome light" outside the vehicle. The in-house craftsmen have also developed unique embroidery.

    Bentley says the gold hue was inspired by metalwork on vintage models like the 1919 EXP 2 (pictured, red and silver) and 1929 Birkin Blower (pictured, green), the latter one of the company's Le Mans winners driven by Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin. The hue possesses an "elegant warm tone and a deep fluid shadow." The steering wheel badge, key fob, shift knob, and wheel center caps feature the tinted ring. The "B" badge on the radiator surround also features "1919-2019" script, and that script is found on the tread plates, too.

    For those who don't know, eponymous founder Walter Owen Bentley's engineering career began with locomotives — which he loved more than cars at one point — and motorcycles, before settling on automobiles. He bought his first car in 1910, a French DFP, and after improving it himself, set a 10-lap record at the Brooklands circuit. In 1912 he opened a DFP franchise with his brother Horace Milner as Bentley & Bentley, and further upgraded the car with a new piston design that was 88 percent aluminum and 12 percent copper. The Royal Naval Air Service adopted Bentley's piston design and Bentley's re-designed Clerget airplane engines, dubbed the Bentley Rotary.

    After the war, Bentley refocused on cars, and in 1919 released the 3-Litre, which boasted features like a cross-flow head, overhead cams working four valves per cylinder, and twin plugs in each cylinder. The company delivered the first production model in 1921, then went racing and won the second edition of Le Mans in 1924. That is how Bentley beg

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  8. November 17, 2021

    2019 Lexus ES is first mass-produced car to replace side mirrors with cameras

    Concept cars have been trying to replace side mirrors with cameras for decades, and now Lexus is actually going to do it on a production car. There's one important caveat though: It's only for Japan.

    First implemented for the recently redesigned (and recently reviewed) 2019 Lexus ES, the side mirrors are being replaced with small, aerodynamic camera stalks. Those small cameras tucked into the stalks provide a constant video feed to five-inch screens placed at the base of the car's A-pillars. The biggest reason manufacturers are pushing this kind of tech is to improve aerodynamics. Swapping those side mirrors out for something much smaller creates less drag, and ultimately, better fuel economy.

    Lexus says there are a couple other advantages for going digital here too. For one, the camera modules are able to resist the accumulation of raindrops and snow due to their design. There's also less wind noise since the mirrors cut through the air so well. This will become even more important as silent electric cars trickle their way onto the market. The actual visibility is supposed to be better as well. Lexus says that the view is "enhanced" when you activate a turn signal, and helps provide better rearward vision when put into reverse — think Honda LaneWatch, but way cooler.

    We won't be seeing this futuristic-looking side mirror technology in the U.S. for some time, because it's still not legal here. The technology is legal to use in Europe, but Lexus says it'll only be offered in Japan for the time being. Audi, though, will be bringing its side camera mirror technology to Europe by the end of the year with the E-Tron. There's still no release date on the electric SUV, but it might be the first to market with the tech on that continent.

    Audi wants to bring side mirror camera technology to the U.S. in its E-Tron, but the regulations still need to be changed to allow that here - the E-Tron is expected to be for sale in the U.S. sometime in 2019. B

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  9. November 17, 2021

    Canon got it right on International Women's Day

    "For International Women's Day, Canon..." as I read the subject line of the email, I cringe at the possible endings to that sentence.

    Not outside the realm of possibilities is something like, "Releases Commemorative Pink Camera Strap!" In 2018 I think we're better than that. Probably. I keep reading.

    "...Lends Support to 'Women Photograph'" is how it ends, and I feel a real sense of relief. This was an organization I knew and had covered in the past. It aims to 'elevate the voices of female visual journalists,' offering an additional resource for editors as well as grants and workshops for female photographers. I read on.

    "Canon will work with Women Photograph to aid their travel grant program which funds female and non-binary photographers to attend workshops, hostile environment trainings, festivals, and other developmental opportunities."

    If you're a brand looking to grab a slice of the #MeToo pie, you could definitely do much worse than this. Case in point: McDonald's put on a master class this year in getting it wrong. The fast food giant announced that it would be turning its logo upside down to recognize International Women's Day... a "W" instead of an "M"... for women... get it? Critics spoke up quickly, pointing out that it felt like an empty gesture coming from a company that can afford to do much more.

    The upside down arches were on my mind when I started reading that press release from Canon this morning, so it felt very reassuring to see the brand pledging real support behind an effort created by, and created for, women photographers. Sure, it's all marketing at the end of the day, and I truly hope Canon's support of Women Photograph doesn't begin and end with a one-time workshop. Issuing a press release is cheap. Following through, and staying committed in the long term isn't.

    But if you're going to talk about supporting women

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  10. November 17, 2021

    Panasonic Lumix DC-GX9 First Impressions Review

    The Panasonic Lumix DC-GX9 is a rangefinder-style Micro Four Thirds camera whose most recognizable feature is its tilting electronic viewfinder. The GX9 provides a healthy serving of new features and performance improvements over its predecessor, the GX8.

    The most notable changes include the removal of the low-pass filter on the GX9's 20MP sensor, 5-axis in-body image stabilization (up from 4-axis), slightly faster burst shooting and Bluetooth connectivity. The shutter unit has also been redesigned, with Panasonic claiming a 90% reduction in 'shutter shock' compared to the GX8. There's also a built-in flash - something the GX8 lacked - as well as some tweaks to image processing.

    Panasonic appears to have rearranged their lineup a bit, with the GX9 serving more as a midrange model than its predecessors, sitting alongside the DSLR-style DMC-G85. The price has come down to $999 with a kit lens, compared to $1199 for the GX8's body alone. Alongside the price drop, some features found on the GX8 are now gone, such as weather-sealing. The EVF is smaller and battery life has dropped by about 25%, as well.

    The GX9's closest peers are the Fujifilm X-E3 and Sony's a6300, both of which have 24MP APS-C sensors, hybrid autofocus systems (which the GX9 lacks) and 4K video capture.

    You can see that the differences between the GX9 and GX8 are a mixed bag. The GX9 loses the low-pass filter, get an extra axis (rotation) of image stabilization and adds Bluetooth and a flash. However, its viewfinder is smaller, body no longer weather-sealed and battery life has taken a turn for the worse. Speaking of viewfinders, Panasonic has gone back to a field sequential panel (a different technology than traditional LCD or OLED,) which some people may find distracting due to 'color tearing'. The LCD is now tilting versus fully articulating, which some people may find as an upgrade, and

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