Popular Woodworking Tool TestsRSS

Here you’ll find tool tests and reviews from the editors and writers of Popular Woodworking Magazine. Culled from woodworking articles, videos , and blogs, we put both hand tools and power tools through their paces so you’ll know which ones pass muster and which ones are better left on the shelf. Whether you want to stay up to date on the latest invention introduced to the woodworking world or are searching for the finest hand-made handplane being produced today, you’ll find it here, from a source you can trust.

Tool Test: Sand Finish with a Zip

A couple weeks back we were up to our armpits in finishing work. Two projects were in the finishing area awaiting completion for photo shoots this past Wednesday. (I’m happy to report that both projects made the deadline and everything went as planned.) It just so happened that I had a couple Zip sanding products, … Read more »

SawStop Contractor Saw: Assembly

If there’s a tool out in the woodworking arena that garners more attention these days than SawStop, someone please bring it to my attention. I see scads of responses on most forums about these saws and when I’m out talking with fellow woodworkers, I inevitably get asked about SawStop saws. Recently, SawStop introduced a contractor … Read more »

Tool Review: New Digital Miter Gauge

In 2005, Colorado Springs, Colo., inventor Mario Salazar, along with his business partner (and wife) Tia, applied for and received a patent for a digital miter gauge. Salazar felt the world of woodworking needed to arrive in the 21st century, so he added digital technology to a miter gauge. At the 2006 International Woodworking Machine … Read more »

Tool Test: Final Cut Saw Blades

Combination tools are invading the woodworking area. Last year at AWFS, Jet Tools and Grizzly Industrial introduced jointer/planer machines. At the most recent IWF in Atlanta, Grizzly unleashed a machine that will plane a board and sand the piece as it passes through the machine , a helical-head planer and widebelt sander all in one. … Read more »

What's Next from Craftsman – Compact Cordless Jigsaw

The trend in cordless tools is small. We’ve seen compact drills and drivers from Bosch and Milwaukee, and we’ve been impressed. This new generation of tools puts the power and performance of a traditional 12v cordless drill in an easy-to-use, lightweight and compact package. Last week, representative from Craftsman dropped by our shop to show … Read more »

Tool Test: Beadlock Pro

It’s a well-known fact that a mortise-and-tenon joint is the strongest woodworking joint (if it’s made correctly). On the web, there have been lengthy discussions about loose-tenon construction , creating mortises in the two mating pieces then installing a single loose tenon that fills both mortises. With an improvement to the Beadlock system, a jig … Read more »

New Jig Saw Blades From Bosch

Bosch has just announced the introduction of a revolutionary new blade for jigsaws. Designated the “T 308B Xtra Clean for Wood,” this blade promises , and delivers , better cuts than we have ever seen from a jigsaw. A couple months ago we received some samples for testing in our shop, and late yesterday we … Read more »