Tool Reviews

A woodworker is only as good as his tools. In a world with enough woodworking tools to fill entire big-box stores, it’s important to know what you should buy (and what to avoid) so you can produce the best pieces possible and save money. Our tool reviews are different. Rather than use pseudo-science, we use the tools in the shop (we’re all experienced woodworkers), and report back how they perform. So whether you are in the market for a new set of chisels or a powerful table saw, we’ve got the best tools covered.

Tool Test: Knew Concepts Titanium Fretsaw

The truss system of the spine looks curious, but it works gangbusters.

By Megan Fitzpatrick
Page 16

The crazy design of this titanium 5″ woodworker’s fretsaw from Knew Concepts is, I think it’s fair to say, the first thing you notice. But use it and you’ll quickly come to appreciate that the structure helps to make it lightweight and rigid, and the clever tensioning mechanism snugs up the blade tight – and keeps it there.

This frame is a redesign of the company’s earlier titanium woodworker’s fretsaw, the frame of which was a continuous piece of 1⁄8″-thick titanium (the same design as the aluminum woodworker’s fretsaw currently available). But in an effort that was initially meant to reduce materials waste and take advantage of more readily available 1⁄16″-thick titanium, designer Lee Marshall came up with a riveted truss system for the saw’s spine that’s even more rigid than the original (he calls it a “birdcage saw,” in honor of the Birdcage Maserati). The spine is riveted to 1⁄8″-thick titanium arms.

Video: See the company’s titanium and aluminum fretsaws in action – coming soon. Read more »

Tool Test: Makita PJ7000 Biscuit Joiner

By Steve Shanesy
Page 18

The biscuit or plate joiner category of the hand-held power tool world has been pretty sleepy over the past few years. But Makita has introduced a new model that, while not revolutionary, adds some nice, user-friendly features.

The PJ7000 packs plenty of power in its 5.6-amp motor, yet the motor has a relatively small circumference making it comfortable to grip, even for smaller hands. The top handle is comfortable as well. Combined, these holding features provide solid control and less user fatigue. And at just 5.5 pounds, it’s relatively lightweight – about 20 percent less than most competitor models.

Article: Read “A New Manual for Biscuit Joiners” on our web site. Read more »

Tool Test: Bosch 23-gauge Pin Nailer

By Robert W. Lang
Page 18

Whenever I use a 23-gauge pneumatic pin nailer, I feel like I’m cheating. It is a fast, easy and reliable way to attach moulding or other parts without much need to disguise the evidence. The slim fasteners leave tiny holes behind that are nearly invisible. This new gun from Bosch has several features in a well-designed tool that make it a great choice at a reasonable price.

Bosch has devoted its efforts recently to tools that are lighter and more powerful than previous versions. The FNS138-23 has 10 percent more power than the previous model, allowing for deeper sinking of fasteners, or operation with lower air pressure.

Articles: Visit our web site to read more tool tests from our editors. Read more »

Gramercy Holdfasts-the Real Story

Way back in 2005, I wrote an article for issue #4 of Woodworking Magazine about holdfasts. At the time, very few woodworkers knew what a holdfast was, and the article reviewed available manufactured holdfasts, as well as a few blacksmith made ones. We recently put the original holdfast article online, and included a link to … Read more »

Tool Test: Veritas’s New Top-secret Steel

Canadian company creates a steel combining the best of the old and new.

By Christoper Schwarz
Page 14

I’ve long been suspicious of the so-called “super steels” that promise long edge life between sharpenings. That has always meant that you have to spend a long time sharpening the tool on your stones or – even worse – you have to buy fancy equipment to even get a serviceable edge.

Plus, no new steel I’ve tried has ever had the feel of old-fashioned high-carbon steel. Until now.

Veritas is using a powdered steel (a closely guarded formula) that seems to defy many of the normal laws of high-carbon and alloy steels. Powdered metal is nothing new in woodworking. During the last decade, I’ve tried out several plane irons and chisels that were made using the sintering process.

In a nutshell, powdered metals are where you take your raw materials, combine them in liquid form and then atomize them to form a powder. The powder is sifted through a screen for consistency, put into a mould and then heated to form a solid billet. This sintering process allows you to make materials with remarkable consistency that can have properties that would be impossible to make by smelting.

Blog: Read more about PM-V11 on Christopher Schwarz’s blog.
Web site: Visit the official PM-V11 web site. Read more »

Tool Test: Festool Domino XL DF 700

By Matthew Teague
Page 16

Festool recently released the Domino XL DF 700, big brother to its revolutionary Domino DF 500, one of the most innovative tools of the last few decades. Aside from the size, the loose-tenon joints created by the XL are the same as with the earlier version. From a machine that resembles a biscuit joiner, a router-type bit both plunges and oscillates to cut mortises in mating parts. Into each mortise fits a loose tenon, or “Domino.”

How’s the fit? As good as I’ve seen, whether cut by hand or power. And lining up the joint couldn’t be easier.Cut butt joints on square or angled parts, align the two mating pieces and mark the tenon location on both pieces with one quick swipe of your pencil. Line up the machine and make the plunge cuts. The XL also has an improved indexing system that allows for even less measuring.

For the combination of speed and strength, this joinery system is tough to beat.

Video: See a collection of XL reviews. Read more »

Tool Test: M-Power CRB7 Combination Router Base

By Steve Shanesy
Page 16

M-Power Tools offers an aftermarket router base that offers a number of features at the very reasonable price of about $90. It can be mounted to any router that has 5/16″-diameter edge-guide holes spaced between 35/64″and 51/8″.

One key feature is an indexed micro-adjusting wheel that lets you dial in the router bit to a measurement or layout line – it’s particularly useful when routing dados or grooves in combination with a guide rail or circle-cutting jig.

And speaking of cutting circles, the base comes with a pivot pin and pre-drilled holes for cutting circles as small as 3/4″ and up to nearly 9″ in diameter.

Video: See the CRB7 in action. Read more »