Stanley Works and Black & Decker plan to merge in multibillion-dollar deal

The tool world saw some big news on Monday with the announced merger of Stanley Works and Black & Decker, venerable companies with 265 years of business between them. While the new company's brand recognition should remain high, the name of the $8.4 billion combined companies—Stanley Black & Decker—sounds more like a white-shoe law firm than a powerhouse tool maker.

The New Britain, Connecticut-based Stanley Works, which specializes in tools and hand tools, doors, and storage equipment, will own 50.5 percent of the company. Towson, Maryland-based Black & Decker, known for its power tools, small appliances, outdoor power equipment, and more, also owns Porter-Cable and DeWalt, two companies whose products did well in our latest report on cordless drills. The 18-volt Porter-Cable PC180DK-2, $100, outperformed models costing twice as much. The 18-volt DeWalt DCD 940KX, $280, topped the ratings of heavy-duty drills. Full ratings of drills are available to subscribers.

Three of the lower-scoring general-use drills carry the Black & Decker nameplate. Perhaps the new combined company can tool a change in that performance.—Daniel DiClerico | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

What’s new in Consumer Reports: Home content from the November 2009 issue

Carbon-monoxide and smoke alarms: Daylight-saving time, which ends on November 1 this year, is the traditional date to check and change batteries on carbon-monoxide and fire alarms. If you haven’t replaced your carbon-monoxide alarm in five years or your smoke alarm in a decade, it’s time for a change. We also found that no one device, like a combination smoke-and-carbon-monoxide alarms, we found that can offer complete protection.

Cordless drills and tool kits: Prices are down and performance is up among these household mainstays, always a popular holiday gift. We found an excellent drill for $100 and a capable cordless drill set for $160. Watch this video to see how our tests show performance under real-world stresses.

Best products for the home: Whether you want to give a memorable gift or need to replace an appliances, it’s hard to go wrong by picking one of the many home or garden products that made it into the 398 Top Products special in the November 2009 issue of Consumer Reports. The story covers top-performing dishwashers, vacuums, coffeemakers, slow cookers, sewing machines, and more. (See the video above for more tips on smart appliance-buying.

Home(wreckers) for the holidays: Our experts offer advice and videos instructions for dealing with household spills and other miscues like furniture stains and dripping wax. Videos on removing cranberry, gravy and wine and soda stains and low-cost alternatives to expensive cleaners are also available.

Claim Check—Tide Total Care: We followed up our July 2009 report on laundry detergents by putting Project Runway star Tim Gunn’s TV-ad claims about Tide Total Care’s ability to retain colors to the test.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Discuss products you feel are worthy of recognition or reprobation in our revamped appliances and home-and-garden forums.

DIY or die? Building bust forces toolmaker to target homeowners

There's been some good news of late for the  housing industry, including a 7.2 percent  increase in existing-home sales for July, the fourth consecutive month of positive sales. But manufacturers that support the construction industry are still feeling pinched.

Bobcat Company, which makes light-construction equipment, announced this week that it will be closing its Bismarck, North Dakota plant; 475 jobs hang in the balance as the company juggles positions at a neighboring plant. "We are facing a huge economic challenge and we need to adapt,"  said Rich Goldsbury, president of Bobcat Americas.

To avoid downsizing, other companies are highlighting existing models or developing new ones that appeal to a wider market. That can be a boon for you. In our ongoing tests of cordless drills, we're seeing some major brands emphasize products for the homeowner market. Porter-Cable, for example, has been known for heavy-duty—and often hefty-priced—power tools. But its new 18-volt PC180DK-2 drill costs just $100. Better yet, it's holding its own in our drilling-speed and torque tests.

While Porter-Cable is not abandoning the contractor market, Frank Andrew, director of marketing, wrote in an e-mail that "the Porter-Cable line is designed to serve [a] crossover segment: pro users or DIYers who want performance for tough jobs, but cannot justify the expense of industrial-grade tools."

Whatever you call it, a power tool that delivers pro performance at consumer-friendly prices is a good thing in our book. Watch the video above to learn about drills that provide heavy-duty performance at  lower prices (ratings available to subscribers).—Daniel DiClerico | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: Look for our latest report on cordless drills in the November 2009 issue of Consumer Reports, online and on newsstands in October.

Forty years after Apollo 11 moon landing, consumers reap benefits of giant (technological) leaps

On the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, astronaut Neil Armstrong taking "one small step for [a] man" is the iconic image of the day.

Today is also a good moment to recognize how much the giant technological leaps the research and development done for and by NASA over the decades have influenced the everyday products we now take for granted.

Specific inventions include a shock-absorbing rubber compound used in sneakers, memory-foam mattresses, and algae-enriched baby formula. And countless earth-bound voyagers have benefited from GPS systems.

As with Tang, Teflon, and Velcro, cordless tools weren't invented specifically for the space program. Black & Decker had actually rolled out the first cordless drills in 1961. By 1964, Black & Decker was supplying NASA with cordless drills that could turn bolts in zero gravity without also spinning the astronauts on the Gemini missions. The photo shows Apollo 13 lunar module pilot Fred Haise testing the Apollo Lunar Surface Drill at the Kennedy Space Center. You can see the handle, battery, power head, and drill stems in the picture. (See our latest report on cordless tools and our buyer's guide to cordless drills and tool kits; ratings are available to subscribers.)

By 1969, the astronauts' tool kit had expanded considerably. To extract rock samples from the lunar surface, the Apollo astronauts packed a rotary hammer drill that could operate at extreme temperatures and in zero-atmosphere conditions. A computer program was used to design a motor that would require as little energy as possible.

After these challenges, developing tools for earthly use and users proved much easier, and a wide range of cordless tools for consumer use (including the Dustbuster line of small vacuums) followed. Consumer designs have been refined to the point where NASA recently modeled the new Mini Power Tool needed to repair the Hubble Space Telescope on a popular cordless screwdriver from DeWalt.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Essential information: See our coverage of tools and power equipment for full reviews of a wide range of useful implements.

Top Gear for Dad: Our best-performing Father's Day gifts

Don't feel guilty—you're definitely not the only one who's yet to buy Father's Day gifts. These gas grills (watch the video buying guide, below), cordless drills, mowers and tractors, leaf blowers, and string trimmers will give the dads in your life the most bang for your hard-earned bucks and will come in handy during your summer staycation or paycation.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums | Facebook

Gas Grills
The Brinkmann 810-8410S gas grill, $200, provides very good cooking performance, lots of shelf space and a five-year warranty on its burners. The Fiesta Blue Ember FG50069-U409 and the Char-Broil Red 463250509, each $450, beat out grills costing as much as $1,400. If you often cook for a crowd, consider the larger Char-Broil Commercial Quantum 463247209, $500, which offers a lifetime burner warranty. More details on these and other impressive performers and coverage of wow-factor features are available in our June 2009 report on gas grills (available to subscribers).

Cordless Drills
The top-rated Panasonic EY6432GQKW combines performance and light weight, but its $200 cost might bust your budget. Consider instead the Craftsman 11588; it's been marked down to $99 at Sears. Or you can further downsize to the Ryobi HJP001K, $80, a compact drill that's a good alternative to pricey cordless screwdrivers.

One of our tested cordless tool kits, the Ryobi P841, is on sale for $129 at Home Depot. The included drill and circular and reciprocating saw were only average performers but should be adequate for most household work; otherwise, consider the heavier duty DeWalt DC4PAKA, $433 at Amazon.com.

If dad needs storage space, this Kobalt 53" Stainless Steel Tool Chest, $1,700, might make an extravagant gift. It boasts a Pioneer sound system, an iPod jack, a 1.6-cubic-foot refrigerator, and other bells and whistles.

Lawn and Yard Care
If your yard is small, a corded electric mower like the Black & Decker MM875, $230,  might be a good choice. Among gas-powered mowers, the self-propelled Toro Super Recycler 20092, $500, was easy to power up hilly lawns.

The Craftsman 28828, $1,750, John Deere LA115, $1,700, and Cub Cadet LTX1040 13RX90AR, $1,500, lawn tractors held their own against mowers costing $1,000 to $2,000 more. (Read this report and watch this video on lawn-tractor safety.)

The electric Black & Decker GH1000 string trimmer, $70, is easy to handle. The gas-powered Stihl HomeScaper Series FS45, $140, has dual cutting lines that made short work of tough weeds. The Toro Ultra Blower Vac 51599, $70, blows away the competition in performance, and its metal impeller can handle debris that can damage other impellers.

Essential information: For Father's Day, try out these easy, delicious recipes for the grill. And check out these suggestions for electronics gifts, courtesy of our colleagues at the Consumer Reports Electronics blog.

Humble cordless screwdriver helps NASA with Hubble Space Telescope repair

Many manufacturers claim their products use space-age technology or materials. But last Sunday, the tables were turned when a NASA astronaut used a tool based partly on a standard cordless screwdriver to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

During an extended EVA—that's NASA-speak for extravehicular activity or a space walk—Atlantis space-shuttle astronaut Mike Massimino used the Mini Power Tool, whose handle design was based on the grip on a DeWalt cordless screwdriver. And in a case of NASA tapping NASCAR, the innards of this 450-rpm driver were based on tools used by stock-car-racing pit crews. The photo shows Massimino practicing with the Mini Power Tool.

According to this Orlando Sentinel report, a NASA aerospace engineer brought one of the bulky gloves worn by astronauts during EVAs to his local hardware stores and tried out dozens of drills, saws, and screwdrivers to find the best grip for the tool.

Although the tool was designed to survive a shuttle mission, it failed shortly after Massimino began removing 111 tiny screws holding an instrument cover in place. Fortunately, a spare was on board the Atlantis, and Massimino was able to complete the job.

"Hard to sleep last night after my spacewalk, images of the work and the views still vivid in my mind," Massimino wrote on Twitter afterward.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter

Essential information: Even if you're not on an EVA and are just assembling some RTA (ready-to-assemble furniture), our buyer's guide to cordless drills, drivers, and tool kits will help you make a wise purchase. Before buying, drill down into our videos on how we test drills and why cordless drivers might not match up to full-sized drills.

Last-minute Mother's Day gifts for the home

Unless you've somehow managed to avoid reading, watching, surfing, or listening to all media sources, you know that Sunday, May 10, is Mother's Day. It's up to you determine what your budget allows for gifts, but whatever you buy the moms in your life, it's probably money well spent: A recent study said fair corporate-world compensation for a stay-at-home mom would be $123,000 a year. (The Mom Salary Wizard is another way to determine that salary.)

If you haven't yet picked up your Mother's Day gift(s), consider the items below. And if you'd rather go the DIY route, fire up your gas or charcoal grill and make lunch or dinner this Sunday using these easy, delicious recipes for the grill. (Hint: Do postmeal cleanup, too.)

The Fiesta Blue Ember FG50069-U409 and the Char-Broil Red 463250509, each $450, surpassed grills costing as much as $1,400, as covered in our June 2009 report on gas grills (available to subscribers) Or consider the NuWave Pro Infrared Oven, $120. In our test, it cooked some foods well in less time than a conventional oven and was easy to clean.

If you're looking for a kitchen gear, here are some good options:

• The top-rated Cuisinart DLC-2011BCN food processor, $200, outperformed models costing twice as much when it came to chopping, pureeing, and mixing dough. If you don't need a machine that's good at kneading dough, consider the $180 Hamilton Beach Eclectrics 6322 stand mixer.

• If mom needs new kitchen knives, consider the stamped-steel knife sets from Oxo and Chicago Cutlery or the forged-steel set from Ginsu; the sets cost $60 to $100.

• And the $40 Michael Graves model was among the top scorers in our latest report on coffeemakers.

If mom's a DIYer, our tool-and-power-equipment guru Peter Sawchuk recommends the 2.3-pound Ryobi HJP001K, an easy-to-handle cordless drill/driver with a fast recharge time. For yard care, Sawchuk likes the $70 Toro Ultra Blower Vac leaf blower, with a compact design. A top-mounted motor and curved shaft makes the Black & Decker GH1000 electric string trimmer, $70 easy to handle. And if the yard's on the small side, mom might like the Black & Decker MM875 electric lawn mower, $230, which is easy to use and offers very good mulching.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter

Essential information: Check out the recommended Mother's Day gifts from our colleagues who cover consumer electronics.

SiteSeeing: Instructables.com shows you the way with its DIY projects

After working on our latest report on cordless drills and tool kits, I was inspired to find practical, skill-building home projects that could put my own tools to good use and maybe even save me a little money.

A friend tipped me off to Instructables.com, which was founded by four MIT graduates in August 2005. The site features more than 21,000 projects on 18 different channels, according to cofounder Eric J. Wilhelm. They run the gamut from simple (duct-tape wallets) to complicated (turning an old washing machine into a honey extractor) and take the occasional detour into the unusual (converting a car into a garbage-powered vehicle). Instructions are presented as easy-to-follow photo-and-text slideshows and as PDFs.

I wondered about the reliability of the projects—would I end up with an impossible-to-build or even dangerous piece of furniture because some schmo posted lousy instructions? But, says Wilhelm, "We have a publishing review process, and do reject some projects—typically they are simply not complete."

The site's terms of service do require users to agree to "bear all risks associated with, the use of any content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such content." I'm not a lawyer, but I think that means that Instructables.com is not responsible if something bad happens after I make a project I found on the site. My advice: Let the user reviews be a guide—if a project has only one or two stars, you might want to avoid it. And don't do projects for which you lack the skill set or that might pose a safety risk you're not willing to take.

With that caveat and these safety tips for cordless drills and circular saws in mind, consider some of the projects below. (Watch the short buying guide for cordless drills, right.)

Workshop
I told a follically challenged colleague about one of the myriad workbenches on the site. He's yet to build it, though I assured him he'd succeed without pulling out his remaining hair.

Bedroom
A lattice-framed platform bed that uses less $30 worth of lumber.
A loft bed that provides a handy closet space.
A laptop stand that allows you to work from bed.

Home office
A slot-together desk.
A design to convert a closet to a work area.
A collapsible hobby desk.—Gian Trotta

Essential information: See our reports on DIY closet and garage organizers and household glues and assembly tips for IKEA furniture.

Find the best value in cordless drills

Choosing the best cordless drill for yourself or as a holiday gift isn't as tough as using one of these tools to build a deck. But if you’re unfamiliar with this type of equipment, finding just the right cordless drill could be a hassle, especially when stores are heavily promoting them as a holiday gift and pricing is volatile.

So we've created the Consumer Reports Value Index™ (below) to help you get the best general-purpose cordless drill for your money. (If tougher tasks are on tap, see our ratings, available to subscribers, of drills designed for heavy-duty work, including models from manufacturers below and DeWalt, Ridgid, and Skil, as well as Black & Decker, Bosch, and Milwaukee.)

This exclusive interactive below combines our ratings of 27 drills—focusing on speed, power, run and charging times, and handling—and the approximate retail price as of December 18, 2008, laying them over a chart with higher-, medium-, and lower-value zones. Products toward the upper-right side of the chart offer comparatively better values than at the bottom-left side. Note that prices here might differ from what you see in our Ratings and in stores.

To use the index, roll your cursor over a model name in the list at the right of the chart, which includes a selection of drills in order of value. Doing so will highlight that model in the chart, revealing its price, battery type, and a link to its model page. Or just mouse over any of the 27 points in the index to pop up the same information. You can use the chart to compare the relative value among two or more models, giving you the needed information to decide which one gives you the most bang for your buck.

The drill that tops ours performance ratings, the Panasonic EY6432GQKW, $185, isn't necessarily the highest-value drill. Lower-priced Ryobi, Craftsman, and Makita models performed well in our tests, so they merit a higher Value Index ranking.

The top values are the Craftsman 11588 and the Ryobi ONE+ P811 (shown above), each a CR Best Buy at $100. In our tests, the Craftsman edged out the Ryobi in speed, power and run time, but both are easy to handle, have short charging times, and come with two NiCd batteries. Smart alternatives to this Craftsman and Ryobi are the Hitachi DS12DVF3, $80, and Makita 6390DWPE, $140.

Lithium-ion, or Li-Ion, drills provide longer run time in a lighter package. The Ryobi P813, $180, was the only drill in our latest report that offered a battery with a built-in charging indicator. That's an important feature, as our tests revealed that several Li-Ion batteries couldn't be recharged after we discharged them fully and that letting a Li-Ion battery sit for longer than 6 months with a full charge can shorten its life.

The ultralightweight Ryobi HJP1001K, $80, makes a great stocking stuffer, but its Li-Ion power and run time are less than those of some other drills—don't expect to use it for a major project. The Makita BDF452HW, $200, and Hitachi DS18DFLPC, $150, are lightweight lithium tools, but their prices are not as svelte. The Ryobi ONE+ P811 comes with NiCds but can also take Li-Ion batteries in case you want the option to upgrade in the future.

Remember, the Value Index provides you with a relative price-and-performance comparison of these cordless drills. So learn more about each drill by reviewing the model pages and reading our buying advice, then use the index as a guide. If you find a cordless drill at a price different from what we show, you can use the chart to determine whether that model will fall into the medium- or higher-value zone. You'll be a more informed shopper when you hit your local home center.—Gian Trotta

Essential information: For more information on buying cordless drills, see our product page, and learn more about other tools and outdoor power equipment. We've also created a Value Index for digital cameras, flat-panel TVs, and GPS devices. Tell us what you think about this tool by posting a comment below.

Cyber Monday deals at Home Depot

Home Depot’s Cyber Monday specials are heavy on power tools, gas grills, and ceiling fans, products we’ve tested extensively over the past year.

The Ryobi One+ 18-volt cordless-tool kit, which includes a drill, circular and reciprocating saws, a work light, and a free additional tool of your choice, is one of Home Depot's offers. Before you buy this $159 kit, refer to our November 2008 report on cordless drills and tool kits (ratings of cordless drills and tool kits are available to subscribers). The smarter move might be to opt for the drill alone—or pick another higher-rated drill or complete tool kit that doesn't use lithium-ion batteries.

A number of high-quality gas grills are among Home Depot's deals; with more Americans grilling year-round, it doesn't seem odd to see grills on sale out of traditional outdoor-cooking season. Our latest report on gas grills covered several models sold at Home Depot. Watch our video buying guide (right) for more information on gas grills.

Ceiling fans might seem an odd choice for a holiday gift, though some folks feel that reversing the direction of the fan blades can make for more efficient heating during late fall/winter. However, while buying the right ceiling fan can help cut you summer cooling costs, we found that reversing fan direction can cause drafts that will have you raise the thermostat and, as a result, boost your utility bill.

Essential Information: Before you dive into your holiday shopping, read about the best appliance retailers.