On The Level - Shedding light on French Cleats, Snow Melting and Cordless Nailers. PLUS -- Our Festool Giveaway.

Published: Mon, 12/07/15

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On The Level - Straight advice from the pros
From the editors of Tool Box Buzz, Home Construction Improvement and A Concord Carpenter
IN THIS ISSUE Volume 19

Tool Box Buzz: Cordless Finish Nailer Head-2-Head Sneak Peek
Todd Fratzel:     All About French Cleats - How-To
Rob Robillard:   Snow Melting System Instalation
Jeff Williams:    Holiday Gift Guide for DIY'ers
Tool Review:     Milwaukee's NEW Stand Light Review
Carpenter's Tip: Salvaging Trim - Quick Tip


Cordless nailers are becoming more popular everyday. Early models featured a gas fuel cell, a rechargeable battery, and eliminate the hassle of air hoses and compressors. Now cordless nailers are showing up and their making a BIG SPLASH! 


This weekend the TBB Crew of contractors got together to perform a cordless nailer Head-2-Head test.  We looked at 10 different nailers and were BLOWN AWAY with the results....look for our article and video in a  few weeks.


Lastly, check out our Festool Giveaway in the right sidebar and our newly published a DIY Holiday Gift Guide if you're looking for some great gift ideas.

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Todd Fratzel
Hanging Heavy Items On A Wall?
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Having a photographer for a wife lends itself to having many beautiful pictures of our family hanging on the walls.

When the items are heavy you want to make sure they are secure, in that case you want to use a French cleat.

A french cleat is a system traditionally used to hang cabinets and consists of a flat piece of wood or metal cut anywhere from 30-45 degrees mounted to a wall. The matching piece is mounted to the back of the cabinet. The two pieces interlock and the weight of the piece pulls the cleat halves together.

Read more....

How To Make a French Cleat
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Rob Robillard
Installing Warmup Driveway Snow-Melting Mat
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Living in the North means shoveling snow, salting your walkway and stairs, and plowing your driveway (or paying someone to do it for you). Over time this becomes a hassle and is probably the reason so many older people become “snow birds” and move South.

After trying a few different mat snow-melting systems, we recently began working with a company called Warmup Inc.

Probably the biggest advantage of all is this is the safety of family and visitors to your home.
Check Out the WarmUp Snow Melting Installation
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Jeff williams
Holiday Gift Guide
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This year we wanted to focus on the DIY'ers in the audience.
We hope you find some great gifts in this years guide!
Read More

Milwaukee M18 LED Stand Light 2130-20 Review

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Getting portable, dependable lighting on a jobsite can sometimes be a challenge.

Milwaukee has some innovative jobsite solutions and Rob just put this one to the test on a recent remodel. 

Did the Milwaukee engineers GEEK out on this one? 
Will contractors want this kind of a work light?  

Read Rob's review and watch the embedded video . . .
Read More


Pulling Nails From Trim - QUICK TIP