Home Monitors Reviews

I really shouldn't complain here. This router is powerful and does a great job. The soft start is nice and it comes with a variety of accessories. But I just saw the Dewalt kit that's coming out. It blows the Makita away. The plunge has dust collection built in that is really slick. And it comes with a D-handle. Something I would really like to have. but it looks like Makita only offer their D handle with a motor. Gee I've got one of those already. Plus the Dewalt did better in a recent shoot out in one of the magazines. Cost savings I'm sure. For things like switch placement, and ease of use.

Oh and the bits that come with the 1/2" capable Makita are 1/4". Hold out for the Dewalt.

Everywhere I went nothing but the best comments about this router. Now I see why. I previously had a craftsman 1 1/2 hp router. In one word...junk. But this router I could tell was high quality right when I opened the box. The plunge base is great. Easy to use and easy to set up. This set comes with a lot of useful items too. The case is very well designed and holds everything well. Even has extra spots to put bits and template guides. And did I mention quiet! This router makes half the noise of my Craftsman router and the slow start is a great feature as well. The variable speed is also one of the most useful features allowing you to match the speed to the material and bit size. The only thing remotely negative about this set is the switch location. An on off switch closer to the handle would have been better but this was not enough to bring my rating of this router down. Bottom line, if you are a hobby woodworker like me or a professional, this is a great router. you wont be disappointed.

This is it. I own a router that cost me about [money] and I can't even stand the thought of using it now that I have this one. The motor has plenty of power and I like the way it starts with out a sudden jerk. The router bits that came with it works great for me. They have 1/4 inch shafts and I prefer 1/2 inch but they do work great and seem to be quality made. I wasn't to interested in the case until I got done using the router for the first time and realized that I had a great place to store the router along with the manual, the router wrenches and the accessories including about 10 router bits. This saves me lots of time and if very convenient.

This router is worth the money so instead of wasting [money]like I did just buy this one and you won't regret it.

Buying a lathe it one of the hardest decisions you will make in putting a shop together. The possibilities are endless, and, as you move up the price curve the cost of a misjudgment can get terrifying. Unless you are willing to settle for a mini-lathe (Jet makes several good lathes in that category as well) the bigger a lathe you can buy (up to a limit) the happier you will be in the long run.

The 1642, right in the middle of the price range can turn up to a 16" inch diameter bowl and up to 40+ inches in length - in other words, a small log - is one possibility you should seriously consider. At 400+ pounds it is solid enough to dampen vibration without taking a crew to assemble or move it. With a 1-1/2 horsepower motor it has enough power to do just about everything you might want to do.

Spindle speed is controlled by a two-position belt drive (0 - 1700 rpm or 0 - 3200 rpm) and is continuously variable over those ranges. While variable speed isn't a necessity, it's amazing how quickly you learn to depend on the ability to change speed as you turn. This is a superior piece of equipment and to get something better you would have to spend at least twice as much.

There are exactly two things I don't like about this lathe. One is trivial, I would have likes an optional hand turning wheel instead of having to grab a cylindrical turning bar to turn the work about manually. This is only a problem with pieces that are too small to grab onto - like pen mandrels. The other issue is that, to turn a bowl over 16" you have to run the head to the other end of the lathe, rather than turn it in place. This means the lathe takes up a bit more space and is slightly less convenient. But if you are working in that size range you probably should be looking at a more specialized tool.

I would rate this a best buy for the amateur through semi-professional woodshop. I've been using one for a while now, and I've had no reason to regret the decision. Keep in mind that, whatever lathe you buy, your next really big expense will be equipping it with all the neat gadgets that make woodturning a world of it's own.

After fighting a Grizzly lathe for months, I unloaded it on the next sucker ( Sorry, but it was cheap... and inexpensive, too ). The Jet lathe arrived in good condition via ABF who took forever to deliver it. It is heavy, but one person can easily assemble it with a hand cart and a pair of saw horses. Beautifully built. Everything goes together without any adjustments or rebuilding. The true variable speed is a joy to use. The sliding head stock makes bowl turning feasible for left-handers. If you are going to use a lathe, hock the family silver and consider this one.

Jet really thought of everything on this lathe. I previously had a 1/2 HP lathe with turning headstock and one of those cheap stands they typically come with. This thing is HEAVY. The stand is basically two sets of cast iron legs that weigh quite a bit all by themselves. The features on this lathe make it a pleasure to use. The variable speed is simply a dial that works like one of those pushbutton/turning light switches so you can dial in any speed you like. The electronic readout is really neat too. It also has forward/reverse so you can reverse the direction for sanding.

If you're in the market for a lathe, don't opt for the cheap solution like I originally did. If you're going to get a lathe, get a good one like this one. The features it has and its convienences allow you to get better and better at the lathe over time instead of fighting the equipment. You will end up needing a little more than 1/2 HP over time. This lathe rivals ANY of those costing much more. The only way I wouldn't seriously consider this lathe was if I were going to do many large bowls.

It never has failed to do anything I asked it to do and I've had it for about 1 year now.

I have no intention of dying of radon gas, so I bought ye olde safety siren pro 2 and let me tell ya, suckas, I have not died at all yet.

Here's what I don't like about radon gas: everything.

I've named my detector. Yeah, I know it's queer, but it's so impersonal sitting there at the foot of my basement that I thought I should begin treating it like a member of the family. So I call it Cliff.

Every morning after a responsible breakfast (and an irresponsible ingestion of PCP) I run downstairs, kiss Cliff full on the sensors and say, "thank you for keeping my lungs from being filled with gas for one more day on this godforsaken planet, you crazy son of a gun." Then, instead of going to work, I hide down there. And I wait.

Cliff is the best thing that's ever happened to me and every day I appreciate him more and more. I'm going to feel even more secure once I get some batteries up in his lil' area.

I live in an area that is at "medium" risk for Radon. Since we live in a berm home, I was always worried that Radon could be a problem for my family. I bought this within 48 hours it assured me that our home was safe from Radon gas. It worked just like the manual said it would, after I finally found a place for it. :) The manual instructions list 4 or 5 requirements for where to place it. Not to be place in laundry rooms, kitchens, near an exterior wall, on the floor, etc.

The item was shipped in 2 days and it performed exactly as described. It's great because it can be used in any room in the house and you get results within 48 hours at each location. This product could be improved by showing results to the nearest tenth of a whole number rather than rounding the result down to the nearest whole number. Overall, great item.

We've had ours for over 7 years and need a new one. A great night light but super when the power goes out in the night! Lots of power outages in our area and this product has never failed. Switches to a brighter light when the power fails so you can see around the house. We have several in different areas.

I can't believe this item is no longer available to buy. Please see if you can't get it re-added. I bought another brand that does not have the extra plug in it! This item has all ready worked for us when we returned home during a power outage at night. This product is great!

Unobtrusive, simple to use, and works well. I've already had the "opportunity" to need it while in the midst of a construction project. It allowed me to find my way out of my office cave.

I bought this product for digging. I also appreciated the contractor review previously done. I live in an area with poor soil and needed something that was easier to use than a pick. I got the spade and chisel bits. This rotary hammer works great. I dug holes or 8 plants in 20 minutes...and the machine did the work. The cost was well-worth saving my heart and back. I'm sorry that I didn't buy one of these 10 years ago!

Rotary hammers are a big buck item so its important to consider all of them. I use this Bosch hammer in my electrical contracting business. Its small enough to handle easily and it is built to minimize the vibration that comes with drilling concrete. It can drill through concrete up to is specification and handle ground rod driving too. Buy this unit and the Bosch bits but consider the DeWalt accessories, like ground rod driver or spade bit, because they are usually less money.

I've owned an earlier version since 1982. It's taken more abuse than you can imagine. Other brands just don't compare to Bosch's.

I had one of these hammers for years. Let me tell you it's one tough tool. We abused it. It's made primarily for drilling with light chipping as an option. As a drill it excells. Faster than Milwaukee, DeWalt, Makita, Hitachi. For its weight it hits hard. Where we abused it was in using it as a chipping hammer or more accurately a breaker. As a breaker it's pretty slow. So it would run for hours on end breaking concrete out in basements to access plumbing. The tool never gave up. It ran as good the day I sold it as the day I first took it out of the box. It was so used that the rubber grip on the handle was gone. I still got 175.00 for it. Why did I sell it? I upgraded to SDS max. It's better than spline. When they invent SDS super duper max, I'll probably upgrade again. If you have a lot of spline steel, you can't go wrong with this tool. If you don't,Buy the 11230EVS or the 11235EVS. The SDS max system is tighter, smoother and faster drilling than spline drive .

We installed this system in Nov 05 for our second home in Maine. It has signalled us twice when we have lost power and the temp was dropping. Am placing an order for the updated version(allows your own message)for our first home. Very easy to change program from a remote phone.

The product performs as advertised. The instruction manual is complete and easy to follow. After programming the unit,I ran the suggested test on the temperature set point and the unit automatically called the programmed phone numbers. When calling from a remote location, the unit verifies the temperature and power status at the installed location. I hope not to receive any alarm conditions, but I am confident that the unit will provide the warnings that I will need to correct the alarm situation.

This product is a great tool for tracking warranty issues! The customer service you will receive from John Radi and the Service Software team is the best.

I love it! It works even in the worst conditions.

I have a vaction home and was looking for a new Freeze Alarm.

I pick the Deluxe Freeze since you can call it and check the current temp.

This is a key feature since you need to know if the house is warming up after the repair man "fix it". My old alarm would stay it alarm until the room temp was above the set point. The problem was you had to wait hours not knowing if the heat was back on or if the oil tank gelled again.

The set-up was easy and the quality seems good!

I plan to use the remote switch funtion, to provide for a remote warm funtion. This feature does require another Thermostat and some wiring work.

Seems like Freeze Alarm to get!