Tool News Nirvana – Makita Xtract Vac, Veto Pro Pac, DeWalt Handheld Radar, Senco Collated & More

G’Day tool mates! You are cordially invited to another thick-as-a-brick edition of Tool News Nirvana. In this heavy-duty edition, you’re invited to take a look at Makita’s new Xtract Vac jobsite wet/dry vacuum, the Veto Tech Pac-1 (a unique backpack for your tools), DeWalt’s 12 volt Max lithium ion hand-held radar scanner, Zircon’s Metalliscanner rebar finder and Senco’s 2” DuraSpin collated Screwdriver. So settle in and get ready for a trip down under (this paragraph) and check out the latest tools this month has to offer.

Makita Xtract Vac

Dust. Whether you’re a hardcore framer, drywall finisher or concrete worker, you probably eat, drink and breathe the stuff on a regular basis. While it might punch another hole in your man card to be covered in debris, it’s certainly not good for your health or your work environment. This can especially be true when you’re making a dusty mess in an enclosed area like a homeowner’s walk-in closet or in a commercial bagel shop.

That’s where Makita’s Xtract Vac comes in handy. Hook this bad boy up (optional connection accessories required of course) to your miter saw, sander, grinder or other dust/dirt/sawdust laden tool and control the free-fall that often results from using these messy machines. With 135 CFM’s of sucking power  and a two-part filter system that captures up to 99.95% of particles two microns or larger, it meets or exceeds the Department of Energy’s regulations for HEPA filters. That means when even the nastiest of dust and debris starts to blow, this machine really sucks. Read all about it right here.

Veto Pro Pac TECH PAC-1

Backpacks: they’re not just for high school anymore. The Pro Pac TECH PAC-1 is the latest tool-carrying innovation from Veto Tool Bags. Even though it looks like a combination bowling bag/carryon luggage pack, it’s designed to carry all of your tools; either on your back or with the easy release handle and wheeled base.

While it does have 47 pockets designed to fit all of your hand tools, with dimensions of 21.5”H x 14”L x 9,85”W it’s probably not going to help you transport your larger power tools from work truck to jobsite. If you’re climbing onto a roof, walking down long stretches of roadways or surveying a forest, it’s certainly going to keep you from having to make multiple trips to and from your base of operations. While it’s not listed yet, you’ll be able to find the Veto Pro Tech PAC-1 on Amazon.

DeWalt 12 Volt MAX Lithium Ion Hand-Held Radar Scanner

If you’ve ever drilled a hole into a plumbing pipe in a floor, cut through an electrical wire in a ceiling or missed multiple nails into wall studs, then you didn’t have a hand-held scanner to help you see what was hiding behind that wall, floor or ceiling. Some radar scanners work to find metal, some work to find PVC and some work to find studs, but not all scanner tools are designed to find them all.

DeWalt’s new 12 Volt MAX Lithium Ion Scanner not only helps to find hidden objects behind marble, drywall or concrete, it scans them all using their 12 volt MAX battery system and displays it all on a nifty 3.5 LCD color screen. It retails for about $299 and won’t be available until May 2013, but you you can sign up to be notified when the DEWALT DCT418S1 12-Volt Li-Ion Hand Held Radar Scanner Kit is released, via our friends at amazon.

Zircon Metalliscanner Rebar Finder

While the above hand-held scanner can help you find hidden objects behind a wall, it’s not going to help you find rebar behind thick concrete and block walls. Drilling into concrete can be hit-or-miss most of the time when rebar winds its way through a concrete wall, ceiling or floor. Most of the time, you end up hitting the rebar—it’s Murphy’s Law.

If you’re drilling lots of holes in concrete for Tapcons, electric conduit or for Redheads, you need one of these infallible tools to save your drill bits and your sanity. While the Metalliscanner might sound like a song written by Iron Maiden, it can even find ½” copper pipes so you don’t need to worry about creating a leak when you’re ripping through concrete with your latest and greatest power tool. Learn more about this Zircon scanner by checking out this video:

Senco’s DuraSpin 2” Collated Screwdriver

Senco might call it a screwdriver, but it sure looks like a badass screw gun to us. Carry this cool time-saver on the job and you might be mistaken for a character from the video game Halo (sans the wicked helmet). These auto-feed collated screwdrivers come in either 2,500 rpm or 5,000 rpm models — with or without a cord. Prices range from $144 to over $265. Senco plans on coming out with a 3” model this summer (likely April-ish) — and as we all know; size does matter so you might want to wait if you’re looking for a bigger screw to wow the ladies. They’re not posted yet, but when they are, look for the DS232-AC, DS235-AC (both corded) and the DS212-18V, DS215-18V (both cordless) on the Senco Screw Gun page on Amazon.