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The Rolgear multi-bit ratchet screwdriver is buttery smooth and quiet

If you ever used a ratchet screwdriver, you know that they can be quite cumbersome. The Rolgear multi-bit silent ratchet screwdriver puts a new twist on the ratchet screwdriver. Unlike typical ratchet screwdrivers, Rolgear uses roller-bearing technology instead of gears.

No gears, no problem

The benefit of roller-bearing technology is both faster and smoother movement. There’s no lost motion trying to get to that next gear, resulting in less effort on your part. And no gears means no noise.

The screwdriver can be used in three different positions, forward, reverse and locked. In the locked position the Rolgear operates as a standard screwdriver.

A simple turn of a knob adjusts the direction of the ratchet.

The screwdriver’s rounded triangular shape prevents it from rolling out of reach. The cushioned handle also doubles as bit storage, storing 7 double-ended bits. To access a different bit take the working bit and use it to push the stored bit forward. An embedded magnet holds the bit in place until you’re ready to use it.

The Rolgear multi-bit ratchet screwdriver comes with a Lifetime warranty on the ratchet mechanism and is available for $24.99 on Amazon.

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The Rolgear multi-bit ratchet screwdriver is buttery smooth and quiet originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 22, 2018 at 12:00 pm.

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WORX 20V GT Revolution Trimmer/Edger/Mini-Mower review

I’ve been a homeowner since 1989, but I have never used a weed eater to trim around trees or the edges of sidewalks. How can this be you ask? I’ve always had problems starting pull string style equipment because I have crummy shoulders and not enough upper body strength. So Jeanne has done the weed eating around our home. But she doesn’t like having to keep track of which gas can has the 2-cycle oil mixed in and sometimes she has trouble getting the weed eater started too. So, I was excited to try the WORX 20V GT Revolution Trimmer/Edger/Mini-Mower when it was offered because it runs on a battery which means no gas cans or special gas and oil mixtures are needed and no pull string to start it. I’ve always wondered how well battery powered outdoor tools work and now I know because I’ve been using this one for the past few weeks. Yes me! I’ve actually started weed eating and trimming for the first time in my life. Let’s check it out.

What is it?

The WORX 20V GT Revolution Trimmer/Edger/Mini-Mower is a 20-volt battery powered weed eater that can also be used as an edger and a mini mower because it has two removable wheels.

What’s in the box?

  • WORX 20V GT Revolution Trimmer/Edger/Mini-Mower
  • 3 spools of line
  • 2 20V batteries
  • Battery charger
  • Manual

Design and features

The WORX arrives about 95% assembled. It has a black plastic shaft that features a rear handle with a pistol style grip that has a power button that you have to hold down as you grip the handle to power on the trimmer. Once it’s running, you can let go of the power button, but you have to continue to grip the handle to keep it running. There’s also an adjustable auxiliary handle that folds down as shown above.

The auxiliary handle can pivot around 180 degrees so you can customize how you hold it.

To adjust the position, you have to press in on the orange locking knob on the side.

The trimmer has a telescoping shaft that lengthens by twisting the orange locking collar to extend the shaft.

Here we can see the WORX 20V GT Revolution Trimmer’s shaft is fully extended. Extending and retracting the shaft isn’t difficult, so it is easy to adjust the length for your height and posture and it makes the trimmer easier to store if you have a small garage or shed where you store your yard work gear.

The business end of the WORX trimmer has several features. First of all, there’s the spool holder. That’s the circular orange part pointing down in the image above. You can see the red line sticking out of the feeder hole in the trimmer’s head.

The spool holder has an orange plastic cap that holds the spool in place. It makes switching out spools really easy compared to a few trimmers that I’ve worked with in the past. The WORX trimmer comes with 3 spools of DNA2 DoubleHelix cutting line (10ft of line in each spool) and when you buy the WORX trimmer you can sign up to receive free spools for life where you get 6 spools and only have to pay shipping costs ($8.62/package of 6).


There’s an extra on-b0ard spool holder on the trimmer’s handle so you won’t have to head back to the garage or shed if you run out of line in the middle of a trimming session.

Back to the trimmer head…


The angle of the trimmer head can rotate in 6 positions so that it can go from trimming to mowing, to edging. You’ll also notice the metal wires. That’s the flower guard.

You can extend or retract the flower guard to help prevent you from trimming foliage that you don’t want to trim.

You might be trying to figure out how this weed eater can transform from a trimmer to an edger and a mower. The secret is the edger/trimmer support wheels that are included.

The wheels snap into the trimmer head. There are two places where the wheels can be attached. One location is the side of the trimmer head shown above. In this location, the WORX 20V GT Revolution Trimmer can be used as an edger.

All you have to do is attach the safety guard…

Then you can roll the edger down the sidewalk.

Or, you can attach the wheels to the underside of the safety guard.

You can then roll the trimmer around like a tiny mower. I found the mower setup to feel a bit awkward. Granted, I am not a trimmer guru as we already established at the start of this review… But for me, using the WORX as a trimmer or edger felt the easiest for me.

Before we can start trimming, we have to put gas in the trimmer… charge the batteries! The WORX trimmer comes with two 20V batteries and a charger. The charger can only accommodate one battery at a time and it takes 5hrs to charge each battery. It should go without saying that as soon as you get one battery charged that you should go ahead and charge the other one next. It is nice that the batteries seem to retain their charge for quite a while. I charged both batteries about 3 weeks ago and have only used one battery so far and the other one is still showing that it still has a full charge.

How do I know how much charge the battery has? There’s a tester built right into the end of the battery. You can see it in the image above. It’s that rectangular red button to the right of three dots along the bottom front edge of the battery. When you press the button, the lights will light up in green to show the capacity. The first light is low, the second light is 50%, and the third light means it the battery has a full charge.


The battery snaps into the bottom of the handle and is easy to detach when you need to switch it out for a fresh one.

Let’s trim some grass!

It’s time to watch my very first weed eating video! Seriously, this video is the first time I’ve used a string trimmer, so be kind to me please. 🙂

https://youtu.be/Y8DdYCyvRCU

There were several things that surprised me about the WORX trimmer. First of all, I was surprised by how well the trimmer was able to cut thick grass. It even wacked through thicker stalks of mutant weeds and baby tree shoots that you get when you live in a rural wooded area like I do. I’ve also been surprised by how strong the line is because I’ve not needed to press the button on top of the handle to feed new line. And last but not least, I’ve been happy so far with battery life. Actually, I’m still on the first battery after weed eating several days for 15-20 minute sessions.


Cleanup is pretty easy too. I just sprayed everything with a hose and the WORX trimmer was pretty much good as new.

What I like

  • No messy gas and oil to mix
  • Simple to start
  • Easy to replace line spools
  • Converts from a trimmer to an edger and a mini-mower

What needs to be improved

  • Nothing

Final thoughts

As my first battery-powered trimmer, the WORX 20V GT Revolution Trimmer/Edger/Mini-Mower has impressed me with how easy it is to use, battery life, and versatility. Now that I’ve used a battery powered trimmer, I’d like to replace our gas blower with a battery powered blower and do they make battery powered rototillers too? 😉

Price: $99.99
Where to buy: WORX and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by WORX.

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WORX 20V GT Revolution Trimmer/Edger/Mini-Mower review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 6, 2018 at 1:01 pm.

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The Measure Collection – the right tools with the right look for the right job!


If you are a handy-person like me, you are always looking for ways to improve existing items, or to design new ones. Whenever something gets damaged or broken around my home, I am always there to the rescue with my tools and my ideas.

One of the issues I constantly face is the exhaustive search for my smaller tools, which I never seem to be able to find on my first attempt. This is especially true for my measuring tape or rulers which while well-made and effective, are quite ugly, and are always hidden away in some drawer since they never seem to match the decor on my desk.

Enter Grovemade with The Measure Collection that is made up of an attractively constructed ruler, protractor, and triangle. The longest side of each tool is 6 inches or 15 centimeters and includes both metric and standard markings. They are machined from a solid block of aluminum to give a clean and minimalist look. Adding this collection to your desktop will not present the ugly and cluttered look of similar conventional tools, and I think that their design and appearance would give me new ideas of my own.

If you like The Measure Collection, you can purchase it as a set on the Grovemade website for $169, or each item individually for $59.

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The Measure Collection – the right tools with the right look for the right job! originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 3, 2018 at 9:30 am.

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Shain offers a complete storage system for woodworkers

I can see the irony in a post about a pre-made wooden cabinet marketed to woodworkers, but I imagine that many woodworkers are hobbyists who would rather spend their shop time on fun projects instead of making necessities for their workshop.  For those people, Shain offers a complete storage system for woodworking tools in an 84″ X 60″ X 22″ deep cabinet.

The cabinet is made of solid maple framing using dowel construction and with birch plywood panels.  The wood is finished with sealer and multiple lacquer applications.  The upper and lower doors are birch-veneered panels mounted with a continuous hinge.  The top section has various tool holders, designed for specific tools, mounted on the back and sides of the cabinet and on  the inside of the doors.  Adjustable shelves in the bottom section hold bulkier tools; weight capacity per shelf is 40 pounds.  The cabinet is lockable to protect your tools.

The Shain Complete Storage System is $2099.99 (which is 50% off MSRP).  If desired, you can add a complete set of woodworking tools, bringing the complete cost to $9799.99.  You can see a complete list of the optional tool set and place orders for the Shain cabinet and/or tools at Wayfair.

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Shain offers a complete storage system for woodworkers originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 1, 2018 at 9:00 am.

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The Studpop Magnetic Stud Finder nails it every time


One of the inherent talents that I have is the ability to be a handyman. For years I have worked on small fixes around the house, all the way up to bigger projects like constructing rooms in houses, including the framing, installing insulation, installing drywall, and hanging doors. I have a decent collection of hand tools, and power tools, so that I am always at the ready for the normal and infamous “honey do” list. I no longer regularly search the internet for tools, but I do get emails from companies that make tools and from time to time, I will take a closer look rather than just delete them after a glance.

Today I received just such an email, and I was intrigued to see the Studpop Magnetic Stud Finder. It is a simple but unique stud finder that unlike the stud finders that I own, it does not use batteries. It has a built-in popper that works with its built-in magnet to pop out whenever it detects a metal stud. The manufacturer claims that it works on sheetrock, plaster, tile, and lath. All you have to do when looking for a wall stud is to slide it along the wall just like you would an electronic stud finder. It is just that simple.

If you are intrigued by this design and would like to purchase one, you head over to Amazon and pick one up for $10.95.

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The Studpop Magnetic Stud Finder nails it every time originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on May 29, 2018 at 12:00 pm.

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