Vicky Sanderson's On the House

Father’s Day is fast upon us, and this week’s Hot Home Products column looks at some nifty gift options. Keep watching this space for more suggestions between now and next Sunday. Here are a couple of ideas for tool-head Dads.

Ridgid has a new five-inch, twin-blade circular saw (shown above) just hitting Home Depot stores, where the brand is sold exclusively. Its counter-rotating blades saw through aluminum, wood, copper, plastic, steel and stainless steel to a depth of 1 1/16 inches, and offers what the company describes as “effortless plunge” on most materials. Other features include a spindle lock for easy blade changes, a side handle that helps when holding the tool in different directions, and a dial that feeds wax to blades when cutting aluminum and brass. It’s got a 10 amp, 120V AC motor, and at about seven pounds, it’s highly portable. About $179 at Home Depot. Ridgid, by the way, has a Lifetime Service Agreement that offers free parts, service and batteries for the life of the tool. There’s also a good tool guide on the Home Depot site, which might help you to pick the right tool for Dad.

I shudder to think of it, but my husband and I have to go up into the attic this weekend and prep it — we’re installing Owens Corning’s blow-in insulation with an AttiCat machine and adding several raft-R-mate attic rafter vents next week (more on that later). Because it’s cramped and dark up there, I’ll need light. For tasks like that in the future, the Man of the House might like a Ryobi Tek4 LED light (pics above). Powered by a four-volt lithium-ion battery, it has a variety of mounting options, six ultra-bright white LED’s, and 90 degree adjustable lamp assembly. It’s also impact, dust and water resistant. About $14 at Home Depot.

Even better might be Ryobi’s Tek4 LED Hi-Beam flashlight, which delivers 220 lumens with a lifetime five-watt LED bulb. Also dust, water and shock proof. It comes with a stand and battery charger. About $60 at Home Depot. These two items are part of a line of cool gadgets that share the same battery, meaning that one battery works across the line. I recommend having an extra battery, though, so that you can have one charging while the other is in use.

If Dad’s happiest in the garden, take a look at Ryobi’s Lithium One+ 18V battery-powered tools while you’re under the big orange roof. I really like the hedge trimmer I got last year. It’s light, easy to manoeuvre and, as I recently learned, if you do manage to break the string (I swear I didn’t see the piece of broken shingle that had fallen off a neighbour’s roof into my garden!) even a tool-challenged person like me can fix it in a jiff. I’ll be looking at more new garden power equipment in an upcoming column, so stay tuned.