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Brad Holden
Tool: 6-Amp Power Planer Shop Now Manufacturer: Porter-Cable MSRP: $69.98 Say you’ve got a huge, uneven roughsawn board. It would make a fantastic top for a coffee table, but how are you going to level it? Well, one way is to use a power planer, such as this unit from Porter-Cable. A power planer is…
Tool: Sawhorse Supports Shop Now Manufacturer: Rockler MSRP: $17.99 An extra work surface is always handy in the shop. We’ve all thrown a large piece of plywood down on a couple of sawhorses when we need a temporary bench, but let’s admit it—a top that can flex and sag is less than ideal. This set…
Pop Wood Editors
Jointing with a Planer I across some wonderful oak boards for a small table I wanted to build. The problem was the boards were too wide for my jointer, and I didn’t want to rip them any narrower. I solved my dilemma with this planer sled that allows me to use my planer as jointer….
Andrew Zoellner
Harvey Tools recently released a new line of shop tools aimed at the hobbyist under the Ambassador name. We got a chance to put both the 14“ bandsaw and the C200-30 table saw to work in the shop, and overall, we were quite impressed—especially factoring in the bang for the buck factor. C-14 Bandsaw…
Tool: Installation Drill/Driver Shop Now Manufacturer: Milwaukee MSRP: $179 (bare tool) I use mostly 12-volt cordless tools in my shop. Modern technology helps you do a lot with lighter, more compact tools. But it wasn’t until I needed to install hardware in a kitchen full of kitchen cabinets that I realized how much that compactness and flexibility…
Christopher Schwarz
While we lust for a 20″ monster, most woodworkers would be just as well off (or better) with a ‘suitcase planer.’ When I started woodworking in about 1993, I wanted two things: a table saw with a decent rip fence and the biggest thickness planer on the planet. In my opinion, planers are the biggest…
Collin Knoff
Tool: Ryobi One+ HP Brushless Series Shop Now Manufacturer: Ryobi MSRP: $99+ I recently had the chance to sample the new line of ONE+ HP Brushless Power Tools from RYOBI. Like most brushless tools, they are more energy-efficient and powerful while featuring lightweight, compact design. There’s not a bad tool in the bunch, but a few were…
When you’ve been around for 100 years, you’re allowed to celebrate yourself, and that’s just what Powermatic is doing. Throughout 2021 they will be releasing seven tools to commemorate their centennial anniversary. First off this spring will be special editions of the 54H Jointer, 15HH Planer, PWBS-14CS Bandsaw, and PM1300XT dust collector. Each of these…
American Woodworker Editors
Tool: Nx60 Shop Now and DX60 Shop Now Manufacturer: Lee Valley MSRP: $209+ These low-angle block planes from Lee Valley are beautiful marriages of fine art and sound engineering. Under each shiny, streamlined exterior lies a very serious tool-one that should please even the most demanding woodworker. The NX60 (above) and DX60 (below) are part of…
Tom Caspar
Tool: Small Scraping Plane Buy Now Manufacturer: Veritas MSRP: $139 Sometimes a wood’s grain direction is so unruly that planing just gets you in trouble–tearout is inevitable. Faced with this situation, the hand tool to pick up is a scraper. A card scraper is fine for small areas, but to avoid ripples or hollows, you’re better off…
Logan Wittmer
This versatile hand tool should be every woodworker’s first plane purchase. As a “professional woodworker” I often get asked what’s the best bang-for-the-buck tool by people getting into this craft. My response is always to ask if they have a good quality block plane. I know, it’s not the big, awesome aircraft carrier-like jointer plane….
Hand Tool Starter Kit Tool: 45th Anniversary Set of Three Woodworking Tools Buy Now Manufacturer: Garrett Wade MSRP: $253 For a long time, there were really only a couple options to get started using planes and other hand tools: shell out big bucks for new, premium-quality tools that are ready to cut out of the box or…
Modern hand planes continue to be popular, and this low-angle block plane excels at trimming tenons, rabbets, and end grain. Tool: Skew Block Plane Buy Now Manufacturer: Veritas MSRP: $229 When you pick up the Veritas Skew Block Plane, you’ll notice that the blade is skewed at 15°, side to side. When using a regular plane,…
Planing the edge of a long board perpendicular to its face is a real challenge. To make the job easier, I built a guide that attaches to the side of my plane with rare earth magnets. Now jointing an edge is much easier. I simply alter my grip to take full advantage of the square-cornered…
Yoav Liberman
One of the most mundane – but important- tools in our toolbox is a sanding block. We, and I include here my students in grades four to twelve, are using our sanding blocks during the last stages of completing our projects. To me, sanding is the finale before applying a finish. After planing and scraping…
Matthew Teague
Tool: Knife Hinges Shop Now Manufacturer: Lee Valley MSRP: $24.90+ The first time I installed knife hinges I did so with an inexpensive pair, thinking it would be a good way to learn the process without wasting a lot of money on what is a notoriously finicky piece of hardware. Instead, I learned why quality knife…
Charles Bender
Tool: Carbide Birdcage Awl Shop Now Manufacturer: Czeck Edge MSRP: $74 The first thing you notice when you grasp a Czeck Edge Hand Tool birdcage awl is how well it fits in the hand. The cocobolo handle is beautifully turned with a shellac finish that is silky smooth. And the blade is balanced, polished, and sharp….
Tool: Magnetic-Mount LED Work Light Shop Now Manufacturer: Lee Valley MSRP: $36.50 I have a perfectly good light for my workbench, on an attachment that slips into the dog holes. And, it has a magnifier, which is becoming increasingly useful. However: My bench is against a wall, so the articulating arm of the light limits how…
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