As an Ottawa homeowner, yard care and general maintenance around your property is either something you enjoy, or a necessary evil. With these four must-have items from your Tool & Equipment Store, even the most reluctant will look forward to working outside and the more enthusiastic will love the incredible results they achieve with power tools designed for picture-perfect properties.
Is a pressure washer worth the investment?
Dirt, grime and peeling paint are no match for quality pressure washers. With cold or hot washers in a variety of sizes and strengths, the BE Pressure lines offer excellent value as a tool in your arsenal for Ottawa yard care. Blast away pollen and dirt from vinyl siding, and built-up grime from paver stones or concrete patios and even put a shine on your vehicle. With ease-of-use and power to cut through the toughest of jobs, a pressure washer will make quick work of your cleaning tasks, leaving you more time to tackle other projects or kick back and relax in your newly-cleaned yard.
Are battery lawn mowers any good?
Battery lawn mowers will run for a surprisingly long time. Grass length and quality will determine the exact amount of time and speed, but for small to medium sized residential yards these mowers will get the job done. Some of the options are:
Walk and push mowers for small to medium-sized lawns powered by fuel or with access to an outdoor power source.
Cordless push mowers with two batteries and a charger so you don’t have to worry about fuel or tripping over a power cord. Check out our selection of cordless mowers from Milwaukee, Dewalt and Makita.
Lawn and garden tractors for larger properties or the less enthusiastic who want to put some fun into grass cutting.
Having the right mower for your lawn care needs will not just boost your Ottawa home’s curb appeal, it’ll help you achieve a great look with a lot less effort than with worn or under-powered equipment.
Should I get a lawn trimmer and/or brush cutter?
As long as you’re going to clean up your yard and mow your way to a luscious green lawn, don’t overlook the benefits of getting yourself trimmers or brush cutters to make quick work of ragged edges or overgrown hedges and brush. This detail work doesn’t have to be a cumbersome chore when you have the power of Husqvarna working for you! With models ranging from the basic to ergonomically-designed to take pressure off your lower back, your OFS team can help you select a model that suits your needs perfectly.
Does a blower really help with cleanup?
Yes! Blowers are great on walk and driveways, and save you time and effort (and pain) around the yard. Why spend hours raking when you can blast away grass clippings, leaves and other small debris from your walkways and driveway? With enough power to clear up to 15 feet and up to 30-percent less noise than its gas-powered counterpart, a Milwaukee M18 FUEL™ blower along with the rest of the Milwaukee M18 Cordless Outdoor Equipment series, is the finishing tool for your Ottawa property that you can’t live without.
Take Pride and Have Fun while Maintaining Your Ottawa Property
With this selection of four must-have outdoor summer tools for your Ottawa property, you’ll be basking in the sunshine faster than ever before in a yard that boasts pride of ownership. Even better, you might even have some fun getting the job done! Stop in to Ottawa Fastener Supply today and let our team help you get started today!
Injuries on the job aren’t just a financial risk, they also impact productivity and morale. Providing workers with the rightsafety equipment in Ottawareduces the risk of injuries and ensures compliance with provincial requirements.
Safety Handwear Protection Levels
In 2016, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) released standards pertaining to cut resistance safety gloves. Using this scale, you can provide personal protection equipment to match the job more effectively. The scale ranges from A1 to A9.
A1 – small parts assembly and general purpose gloves
A2 – injection and moulding plastics, pulp, and paper
A3 – handling raw materials in manufacturing and construction
A4 – food prep and HVAC
A5 – handling glass or metal sheets
A6 – glass manufacturing or metal fabrication
A7 – meat processing or metal stamping
A8 – metal recycling or heavy assembly
A9 – sharp metal stamping or metal fabrication
Choosing the right gloves for the job gives your workers the best protection for their skilled hands!
Safety Footwear
Safety footwear is available in multiple ratings for different job sites and the risks involved. It’s important to choose footwear based on the hazards for each type of job site. The soles can include puncture protection or not. The toes have protective caps that are graded for protection. Worksites that require safety footwear should include information about fit and selection of footwear to ensure the right type is provided.
First aid kits are essential if your work site includes dangerous tools and machinery. You can save a life and treat injuries with the first aid kits available at Ottawa Fastener Supply. Follow the Ontario Workplace Safety and Insurance Act and purchase a kit with sufficient supplies for your employee headcount.
Do You Have Employees Trained in First Aid?
If you have employees who are trained to administer first aid on the job, make sure that their coworkers know who to turn to in case of an injury. Depending on the size of your company and the nature of your work, you might want to consider scheduling first aid training for all employees. Even if employees aren’t trained in first aid, it’s important that everyone knows where to find basic supplies, like bandages and disinfectants. Read More...
Choosingthe best fastenerfor your project helps ensure it is built strong and will last for years. However, walking down the aisle of a hardware store and seeing hundreds of boxes of bolts, nuts, and screws overwhelms even the most hardened carpenter. Why so many different kinds? A bolt is a bolt is a bolt…right? They all do the same job, so why are there stainless steel and galvanized steel? Isn’t stainless the strongest? Does stainless steel ever rust or corrode? When is the best time and application for imperial sizes over metric?
If you have ever stood in the middle of a fastener aisle and scratched your head in confusion and frustration, you are in the right place. At Ottawa Fastener Supply, we understand. We make it our mission to provide contractors and DIY warriors with the correct type of fastener for their projects. We are happy to take time and chat about what you are building or repairing and then find the best nuts, bolts, or screws for the mission. We even have a world-famous wall of fasteners just waiting for you to explore.
It is helpful to combat feelings of overwhelm with knowledge. Before you step foot in any hardware or home improvement store, check out the answers to these seven most commonly asked questions in Ottawa about fasteners.
What are fasteners?
Fasteners are tools that hold two pieces together in a non-permanent joint. For example, using a deck screw to attach a deck board to a ledger board creates a joint. Because in theory, these two pieces can be separated, they are considered non-permanent. Unless you are welding, you will most likely be creating non-permanent joints using your drill or screwdriver.
We most commonly think of bolts and screws as fasteners. The idea is correct but not complete. Other fastener categories include nuts, concrete anchors, inserts, washers, threaded rods, rivets, and retaining rings.
As a weekend DIY warrior or a contractor, understanding the different types of fasteners and their best uses can make or break your project. You can find screws, bolts, and nuts in carbon steel, alloy steel, stainless steel, Inconel stainless steel, titanium, and aluminum. They can be coated, which slows corrosion or uncoated. Each type serves a specific purpose.
How strong are stainless steel fasteners?
People believe that stainless steel is stronger than regular steel, but that is not necessarily the case. You may hear it referred to as a soft metal. It is an alloy of low carbon steel and chromium. The low carbon steel cannot be hardened, so it is technically weaker than regular steel.
Stainless steel is popular to use for consumer products. It has hygienic properties, making it useful for surgical and culinary products. It is easy to fabricate and is appealing to the eye. That doesn’t mean it is the best choice for industrial-type projects.
To enhance its strength, stainless steel comes in different grades. For example, 18-8 stainless is comprised of about 18% chromium and 8% nickel and is used primarily for hardware. Stainless 316 is resistant to saltwater and chlorine environments, while stainless 410 is harder than 18-8.
Here are some uses of common grades of stainless steel fasteners:
18-8: marine application both fresh and soft water
305: deck screws for use with wood or composite boards
316: saltwater application – boats, docks, piers, and pools
410: roofing screws, siding screws, and self-tapping screws
Will stainless steel fasteners ever rust?
It is possible for stainless steel fasteners to rust even though they are highly corrosion resistant. This type of steel has the magical power to self-repair. It has an invisible oxide coating that protects the steel from external factors. This adds to its ability to fight rust, especially in an oxygen-rich environment.
To ensure your fasteners will not rust, you will want to choose the best grade for the environment the screws and bolts will be exposed to. Are you building a dock or pier for the local yacht club by the sea? Then it would be best if you choose grade 316 stainless steel. If you are re-roofing a residential home, then you want to consider 410 stainless.
What is the difference between the grades in Metric and Imperial bolts?
The main difference between the grades in metric and imperial bolts is how each is measured. Metric bolt heads are measured in millimeters while Imperial (or standard) are measured in inches or fractions of inches.
Metric bolts utilize the metric system of measurement, even if they are designed in the United States. You can find markings on the heads of metric fasteners that indicate how strong the bolt is, or what’s called its tensile strength.
You will find standard sized fasteners primarily come from the United States. The two basic types of standard bolts are found in the Unified National fine thread and coarse thread. You will not usually find numeric markings on the heads. Instead, you will see lines on the heads. To discover the strength of an imperial bolt, you have to measure the number of threads.
Do I need to pre-drill holes for screwing into wood? Steel? Rock?
It pays to drill pilot holes before screwing in your fastener. Pre-drilling saves you heartache and frustration as you progress through your project.
Let’s take wood. When you drive a screw into wood without pre-drilling a hole, you push the wood fibers out of the way to make room for the fastener. The displaced threads put added pressure on the screw and can cause cracking and splitting of the wood. By creating pilot holes, your screw will not break off, and the wood will not crack.
Screws are not made to drill through metal easily. You may be able to use a self-drilling fastener; however, you can use pre-drilling to save your material and your patience when you don’t have any. You can also use any drill. You just want to use the best choice in drill bits for the material you’re working with.
For rock, you want to use a hammer drill because the material is much harder than wood and steel. You will also want to grab some masonry drill bits.
When should I use fine thread nuts/bolts?
You will want to use fine threaded bolts when working with metal. For example, you have an already threaded piece of metal that you affix to another piece of metal. It also applies if you have two metal pieces that need fastening together with a washer and nut.
In short, fine threaded nuts and bolts work best with pre-threaded metal parts. Fine threaded nuts and bolts are great for applications that need finer adjustments, exposed to many vibrations, and require less torque to tighten.
For most applications, you can use a coarse threaded fastener. They are resistant to stripping, less likely to nick, and are easier and faster to assemble.
When should I use a lock washer vs. a lock nut?
Either choice will give you a tight fit for your bolts. There is a bit of a difference based on the type and environment of the application. Don’t worry. There are just as many types of lock nuts and lock washers as opportunities to use them!
A lock washer can handle the pressure of torqueing a bolt or screw down and is best used for those projects where there is a lot of heat or vibration. Consider if you are working on your car’s alternator or changing the muffler. There is no other place that you can get quite the combination of heat and vibration than your daily drive.
You will find locknuts used primarily in home projects that don’t need or cannot handle a lot of torque to tighten it. These might include light fixtures.
Ottawa’s World-Famous Wall of Fasteners Has What You Need
Find the perfect fit of fastener for your next project when you stop by one of Ottawa Fastener Supply’s two convenient locations. Come in and talk with us about your needs. Our team of experts will happily answer your questions and help you find just what you need from our wall of fasteners. No more frustrating decisions about the correct type of bolt or screw—come see us today!
Original Source: https://www.ottawafastenersupply.com/7-commonly-asked-questions-about-fasteners-in-2020/
While the convenience of cordless power tools makes them extremely valuable for DIYers, as well as professional tradespeople, a key aspect that sets them apart is how long these tools work between recharges. The letters “Ah” or “AH”(“amp-hour” or “ampere-hour”) that you see on your battery essentially denote the charge capacity. The number alongside the letters will tell you the total amount of current the battery will consistently deliver to your tool over the course of an hour. For example, a 2.0ah battery draws 2 amps of power and you will need to recharge it after 60 minutes of continuous use (under ideal circumstances).
Should Battery Capacity Influence Your Choice of Power Tools?
Batteries play a significant role in optimizing the performance of your power tools. Before selecting your power tools, consider some of these aspects related to the tool batteries:
Capacity: What is the battery’s“Ah”? While theoretically a 4Ah battery should last double the time of a 2Ah battery, in reality there are other mitigating factors that determine battery capacity or longevity. This includes construction of the battery (NiCd or Lithium-ion) and the voltage of the tool.
Charging time: How long does it take to recharge the battery to full capacity?
Portability: How easy is it to carry the batteries around from one job to another? What are the potential risks during transportation?
Storage criteria: Is there any specific temperature or manner in which you need to store the batteries?
Cycle life: How many times can you recharge the battery before it needs to be replaced?
At Ottawa Fastener Supply, we carry a large selection of cordless tools, batteries and other accessoriesfrom reputed brands, such as DEWALT®, Bosch, Makita, Milwaukee® and more. Our knowledgeable staff will be happy to assist you in making the best choice for your projects.
Original Source: https://www.ottawafastenersupply.com/what-does-ah-or-ah-mean-on-a-battery/
With the number of brands out there, it’s common for users to think, “Are Milwaukee tools any good?” The answer is a resounding “yes”. When you want the best, look no further than Milwaukee Tools. They are a legend in the industry because they listen to the needs of the contractor and DIYer and then put it into practice. All the time spent in the field evaluating how you utilize your tools resulted in the easy-to-use, professional grade M18 cordless system. They didn’t stop there. Continual research into the demands put on tools with all the cutting, drilling, and tightening soon saw the evolution in the M18 FUEL lineup. You demand the best; Milwaukee delivers with many industry firsts, such as cordless:
Grinders
7-1/4” circular saws
Sawzall
Deep cut band saws
Not only did Milwaukee devote their energies to the world of professional grade cordless tools. They made 2010 the Year of Redesigning of their entire line of hand tools. One example of their redesign is a more comfortable wrench with a thick handle to loosen stubborn rusted bolts.
Ottawa Fastener Supply has the Full Line Up of Milwaukee Tools
For over 90 years, Milwaukee has produced an extensive line of tools, including power, hand, pneumatic, and outdoor equipment. Their goal is to conceive, design, and build the best tools for your money. This means you can depend on a straight cut from your cordless circular saw for hours or dependable grinding on the jobsite. There are other popular brands, but nothing compares to the manufacturer warranty, tool variety, and cost of a Milwaukee.
Check out the wide selection of Milwaukee Tools at Ottawa Fastener Supply. We pride ourselves on carrying the best in power tools and love sharing our knowledge to help you make the best choice. Come in and take advantage of our years of experience to make your next job or project go off without a hitch.
The Tool and Equipment Store, your Ottawa hardware store, stocks the DEWALT 20V Max line of power tools. DEWALT’s latest additions to the line “have been the buzz of the industry in the last year,” according to Chris Hollinrake, Public Relations and Media Buying Manager at Stanley Black & Decker Canada.
The DEWALT 20V Max line of power tools totals over 100
products. Find yours and make your workplace cordless by visitingThe Tool and Equipment Store,
your Ottawa hardware store,today.
Ottawa,
ON-based specialists for a full range oftools, Ottawa
Fastener Supply are now inviting clients to review theBosch REAXX Table Saw. The
product is designed harnessing Bosch Active Response Technology, which detects
human flesh coming into contact with the blade to rapidly drop the blade below
the table top. The REAXX Table Saw also features an enhanced SquareLock rip
fence, to support precise clamping for more intuitive use. It’s a leading
example of the refined tool options available at Ottawa Fastener Supply.
Safety is one of the foremost
considerations for all woodworking professionals and hobbyists. Each year,
thousands of people are injured using table saws. It’s the reason many are
looking for a product designed with the latest safety features. Now, woodworkers
across Canada can access to the latest in safety systems with the REAXXTable Saw available from Ottawa Fastener
Supply.
The REAXX Table Saw is designed
to put the safety of the user at the forefront. Its Active Response Technology
platform engages the second a user comes into contact with the blade, assuring
the highest level of injury prevention on the market today. The system is also
built for maintaining an efficient working speed under various load conditions
through the use of Bosch Constant Response technology. It has a 25-inch rip
fence capacity and onboard storage for all required accessories.
The REAXX Table Saw is the latest development in
woodworking safety innovation. To learn more on the product, call the team atOttawa Fastener Supply today
at 613 828-4117 or visit their business website atwww.ottawafastenersupply.com.
At busy work sites, teams must
consider their full range of tool storage requirements. Heavy tools require
robust storage systems to ensure optimal safety in transit from one point to
another. Each storage product must be designed for high levels of durability
and for high levels of performance within challenging working conditions. TheDeWalt
ToughSystem line of products has
become the leading and most versatile solution to these common storage
challenges, and in this latest article, the team at Ottawa Fastener Supply
outline the benefits of the latest DeWalt ToughSystem products.
ToughSystem DSCarrier
The ToughSystem DS Carrier is the foremost product for transporting all
ToughSystem cases on the job. For large construction teams, the carrier offers
a superior level of flexibility compared with other tool transportation
products. It features adjustable folding brackets so that teams can tailor the
storage area for their tool transportation needs. The product also features a
refined central locking mechanism that secures the boxes to the frame.
ToughSystem DS400XLCase
The ToughSystem DS400 XL Case is the market-leading product for durabletool storage. The system
features a thick structural foam box with an integrated water seal. This helps
protect tools from the damage caused by moisture. Another advantage of the
ToughSystem DS400 XL Case is it offers an inner vertical storage space for
smaller hand tools. It’s the leading market solution for a broad range of
storage demands.
ToughSystem DS250DrawerUnit
For teams with significant storage requirements, few products offer the
performance provided by the ToughSystem DS250 Drawer Unit. The DS250 stands out
on the market for its 44lbs weight capacity and the depth of the drawers within
the system. He DS250 offers deep drawers for heavypower tools and
shallower drawers for smaller parts and accessories. It’s the ultimate
organizational product.
ToughSystem Tote
The ToughSystem Tote provides work teams with a large open space for tool
placement. A leading advantage of harnessing multiple ToughSystem Totes is
their stack-ability, which enables teams to place one on top of the other for
effective storage of all tools. The product features a side grab handle for
ergonomic handling and easy transfer onto the ToughSystem carrier.
ToughSystem Organizer
The ToughSystem Organizer allows teams to quickly and securely separately tools
and accessories by type. The product offers a refined storage system featuring
4 large and 8 small removable cups for optimal packing of all products used on
the job site.
By reviewing the full array of ToughSystem storage options from
DeWalt, working teams can now secure their tools while assuring effective tool
management. To learn more on the latest ToughSystem products, speak with the
experts atOttawa Fastener Supply today
at 613 828-4117 or visit their business website atwww.ottawafastenersupply.com.
