World of Concrete 2013

Day 2 of World of Concrete came and went.  Another day, another dollar spent, another pair of sore feet.  Today we saw some more cool tools and had an inside look at Hilti.

Hilti

You won’t find Hilti at Home Depot, Hilti tools are used to build Home Depots. Yesterday we talked about the TE 30-A36 SDS Plus Rotary Hammer which is a huge game changer.  Today we had a chance to learn about Hilti and the power behind the massive tool manufacturer from the small country of Liechtenstein.  One thing we learned from the President of Hilti North America, was how much Hilti is one big happy family and they are dedicated to producing the best tools for their user.  He also said one thing that really caught my attention.  One goal they have is to make job sites cordless.  Imagine going on a job site and not even seeing a corded tool, how awesome would that be?   After seeing the TE 30-A36 perform, while this is still a hefty goal, it does seem attainable.

Another cool innovation by Hilti is a new hollow bit.  This bit is not only a time saver, but it takes the worry out of wondering if an anchor was set right.  No more blowing and brushing.  Just hook up your rotary hammer to the vac, drill your hole, inject your adhesive and insert your fastener.  Now imagine drilling 1,000 holes and the time you can save with this bit and we all know time is money.  That is the the perks of Hilti innovation.

Another cool tool is the PS 1000 X-Scan.  We will have the video uploaded soon which is more in depth, but this is a huge push forward.  A user can now see what’s below the surface.  Not just rebar, but electric, PVC and more.  Now a user can cut or drill safely into concrete without hitting a tension cable or something catastrophic like that happen.  Basically it’s an MRI for concrete.

We also had a chance to take a look at the Hilti 18V metal saw, SCM 22-A.  We saw it cut through some rebar with little effort and best of all, it’s a cold cut which is industry leading at that depth.  When you’re done cutting, you can handle the material right away as it is cool to the touch.

Hilti had a lot of other cool tools, but we will be doing another article covering Hilti in more depth.  Also we will be uploading the videos soon.

Makita

Yesterday we had a chance to see Makita’s new MM4 which is a 4 stroke concrete saw.  Yes, the days of mixing fuel is over.  One can is all you need.   Today we checked out the 12 gallon wet/dry vac.  This is a great vac and can be used with most tools to help control dust which also helps protect the user .   The other cool tool is their HRH01ZX2 which is a 1″ Rotary Hammer Drill.  Is it a 36V or an 18V?  Well actually it’s a 36V that uses two 18Vs to power this tool. What we really like about this style is you get the power of a 36V tool, but you don’t have to invest into a new battery platform.  Makita has over 60 tools in their 18V line up, so this is a huge plus that you don’t have to upgrade.  You can check out more tools at Makita.

Robo Work Tools

This may look like a jigsaw, well maybe it is, but it doesn’t cut wood.  This is a pretty cool invention that automates joint cutting.  This looks like a real time saver.  One cool feature of this tool, is it’s very easy to come apart and clean when you are done.  You can check out more by visiting Robo Work Tools.  Special thanks to Tim Carter of askthebuilder.com for this find.

Johnson Level

We went across the street to see the Bricklayer 500 and ran into Johnson level where they were holding a contest for most pulls up using the Johnson Level Bamboo level.  The winner did either 26 or 27 pull ups.  Dan came in close, he was only 25 pull ups short.  Check out Johnson Level.  We would just like to note how much we like Johnson Level and not because Dan thinks his future ex wife works there.  They are great people, family owned and build a quality product right here in the U.S.A.

The internet in Vegas is awful, so we really can’t upload any videos as we don’t have a week.  When we get back we will be uploading all the videos we took at the show.  Check out our YouTube Channel soon.