I admit it, I’m an Amazon junkie. I get a lot of what I need off the web, and Amazon is one of the best ecommerce sites out there. I was skeptical when I heard about Amazon Prime and their free trial. Two day shipping free- one day shipping for $3.99. Nope, that’s not a typo, for four bucks you can ship millions of eligible items (items Amazon stocks, as opposed to it’s partners) to your house. Free for a whole month. After that they bill you an ANNUAL fee of $79.
Here’s what Amazon has to say:

Amazon Prime members enjoy the following benefits:
Fast Delivery
• Unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items
• Upgrades to One-Day (Overnight) Shipping for just $3.99 per item

Simple Shopping
• No minimum purchase required
• Members-only 1-Click buttons on product pages
• No need to think about shipping charges

Convenient Sharing
• Members can share benefits with up to four family members living in the same household

Free Trial
• Amazon Prime new subscribers are invited to try Amazon Prime free, for one month.
After the Free Trial period, customers will be automatically charged the $79 annual fee unless they choose not to upgrade to regular annual memberships at or before the end of the trial period.

So I signed up for the free month, figured I’d order a few things and then cancel. Well the membership paid for itself when I ordered a big piece of exercise equipment. I paid an additional $4 for next day service, figuring I’d get an email explaining I couldn’t do that. Nope, next day it showed up on my doorstep. Suddenly I was able to expect 2 day delivery for free. I find myself upgrading to next day service quite a bit, it’s just nice to have what I need exactly when I want it. A month goes by, I did some math and my shipping last year was already over what a prime membership costs- so I took the plunge. I’ve been happily ordering for months- if you regularly order from Amazon it’s worth your time to take a close look at Amazon Prime.

Scientific American has an interesting article from a few years ago on the tools used in the International Space Station. Makita is there of course- there’s some interesting tidbits on the tools and how they avoid over-tightening bolts. Also some of the challenges they had to overcome- like the occasional dropped socket. I don’t know about you, but it always rolls to exact center under the car. Imagine if you lost that socket if it could become lethal space debris! Makita also has an interesting story about how one of their drills was used in order to take some amazing pictures from space. There seems to be no limit on what you can accomplish with good quality tools and some ingenuity. Take a look at the quality tools in our store.

Review

My father was a tool guy. He wasn’t lucky enough to have access to the plethora of tools crowding my workshop, but just the same he could do some amazing things with just a Skil Circular Saw and a pencil. We built shelves, renovated rooms, installed cabinets, framed doors and windows- you name it, he could draw an effortless straight line and zip a straight cut.

He’s gone now, but I can still hear feel him looking over my shoulder every time I build something that comes out perfectly. Unfortunately for me I didn’t inherit his gift to make that perfect cut every time, but with quality tools I can get that precision through precise placement and technology. I stripped the worm gear in a Skil drill so now I only buy the best- just Makita of course. The LS1214FL Compund Miter Saw is a piece of very intelligent engineering that allows even those of us who aren’t carpenters to produce outstanding results. The 15 amp motor comes up to speed instantly, stays at speed under load (through electronic control), and then the blade brake brings it to a quick stop when you let off the trigger.

This beast will handle boards up to 4-1/2”, and makes short work of anything smaller. I don’t know about you, but it irritates me when I spend hundreds of dollars on a equipment and the manufacturer saves a couple of bucks by taking shortcuts. Makita didn’t do that, the factory included carbide tipped saw blade is actually quite good and has handled a variety of cutting tasks for me including shelves for bookcases, 2×4’s for support and crown molding. Speaking of crown molding, the LS1214 features precision bevel cutting up to 45° left and right with a new positive stop at 33.9° left. It can also miter cut using nine positive stops at 15°, 22.5°, 31.6°, 45° left or right and at 0° . It weighs in at 50lbs, so I wouldn’t take it to the beach, but it’s fine for quick loading in the truck to the job site.

Put a Little Light on the Subject

The compound slider also comes with a fluorescent light (vibration proof, of course) on an adjustable arm, and the killer feature as far as I’m concerned- a laser. Flip a switch and the red line shows you exactly where the cut will be. Not within 1/8″- exactly. No more short boards, wobbly table legs, etc. If you measure it precisely you can cut it precisely. My only complaint is under full sunlight it’s not that easy to see, although it’s easily remedied by leaning over a bit to throw the stock into shadow. Stock is held firmly by the included vertical vise. There’s a dust collection bag, but let’s face it, if you’ve worked with wood you know unless you’re dealing with a vacuum system there’s going to be dust everywhere. Every time I take it off it’s full, but I still have to do some sweeping after a long day cutting, which isn’t unreasonable. All in all Makiata put out a great saw in the LS1214FL, I’m very pleased with it.

Quick Links

• You can download the manual and take a look at the features for yourself.
• Read other reviews or Order it Now Makita LS1214FL Compound Sliding Miter Saw
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“Fred Heim doesn’t compete in what he does, literally there’s no one else doing it…” Why not? Everyone needs a mini Peterbilt!

Vasily Lazarenko gave up his job, sold two cars and spent almost two years in his garage building his wooden car. I’m surprised his wife stuck around that long- can you imagine discussion at the dinner table?

And of course we can’t forget Livio De Marchi- here’s his wooden sports car. Oh yeah, it floats.

Review

The BMR100 is a heavy duty job site radio that has more than a few nifty features. First off, it’s solidly built. It weighs in at a little under 10 pounds, so if you accidentally bump it with your work boots it’s not going to go sliding across the concrete and break. It’s has the same rugged features and styling of the Makita line of tools; and the rails on the front prevent damaging the controls if you happen to knock it over. Speaking of knocking it over and general abuse, this unit is pretty well sealed against dust, and is water resistant to JIS-4, which means it can take a splash of water and still operate. So I wouldn’t drop it in the pool, but if you spill a little water on it from the cooler, wipe it off and no harm no foul.

It has side firing speakers and the bass sounds pretty respectable. It will also run on regular AC or one of your Makita batteries, anywhere from 7 to 17 hours depending on the battery you plug into it. It will accept 9.6v to 24v slide and pod batteries- if you happen to have a spare battery lying around and want to know how long it will last with that model, just open up the manual link at the end of this article. You get 5 preset stations on each band, and if you put in the backup batteries it will save your stations. It also has a clock and two alarm timers, as well as a snooze and sleep function. The backlight feature is also a nice touch. Overall I’m pleased with it. I understand the BMR100W models also have an MP3 jack in the battery compartment, which would keep your iPod from harm’s way, for $10 more. Like all Makita tools this one is solidly built and does the job well.

Quick Links

• You can take a look at the manual here.
• Read other Reviews and Order it Now Makita BMR100 18V LXT Lithium-Ion Cordless FM/AM Job Site Radio
• Live Auctions (if available)