By Rain Noe - Dec 13

Cool Tools: The Overhead Automatic Screwdrivers That Factory Workers Use

Deprag's tools even auto-feed the fasteners

Back when I visited Festool's factory in Germany (image below), I got to see workers assembling a variety of their power tools. At their workstations, the workers had these cool automatic screwdrivers hanging overhead. When they needed to drive a fastener, they grabbed the tool, brought it down to the

By Rain Noe - Dec 11

Making Custom CNC Workholding Fixtures

To execute a unique design, Frank Howarth invents a unique workholding system

People rave about the painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, but few discuss the scaffolding used to get Michelangelo up there. Sometimes when you're creating something, whether it's a work of art or an object, you first have to make an absurd amount of supporting jigs, fixtures or

By Joel Moskowitz - Dec 05

Tools & Craft #118: I Think Better on Paper - My Return to Fountain Pens

This entry will be a little different than the others

I've switched back to fountain pens. I used to use them all the time, stopped, but recently I went back to them. I think the reason might be that like using hand tools in the workshop, there is a feeling of a direct connection with what I am doing, and it's less

By Joel Moskowitz - Nov 28

Tools & Craft #117: Why New Tools Used to Arrive Unsharpened

Buying a sharp tool is actually a relatively new idea

When you purchase an edge tool (plane, chisel, knife, carving tool, etc.), it will either have a "Factory Edge" or be described as "Sharp and ready to use." The idea of having a ready-to-use status is a comparatively new idea in tool marketing. Up until fairly recently - let's say

By Rain Noe - Nov 27

Cool Tools: The Greenlee Ratcheting PVC Pipe Cutter

Clean, quick cuts, tool-less blade changes

PVC and vinyl tubing are super-useful not just for their original plumbing or electrical applications, but for DIYers and ID students seeking to cobble things together with a relatively inexpensive, easily-workable material. One potential issue is how to get clean, square cuts on the end. For vinyl tubing we looked

By Joel Moskowitz - Nov 21

Tools & Craft #116: What We Can Learn By Looking Inside Benjamin Seaton's Tool Chest

I own pretty much every hand tool ever invented. Then again, I'm a tool collector. But the reality is that many amateur woodworkers who don't think of themselves as collector also amass a huge range of tools. It's because they need them! As amateurs, we do a wide range of

By Rain Noe - Nov 21

Winner of the 2018 Collegiate Inventors Competition: The Rhino Rotary Hammer Attachment for Repointing

Hopefully it will be for sale…at a brick-and-mortar store

This week the National Inventors Hall of Fame announced the winners of the 2018 Collegiate Inventors Competition, which asks college students to demonstrate the future of innovation. We dig the competition because it focuses on actual, practical, real-world problem-solving objects. This year's Gold winner of Undergraduates came up with Rhino,

By Rain Noe - Nov 21

Australian Engineer Invents Brilliant Automotive Pulling Tool

The Mechanics Mate Quick Change Hydraulic Puller practically "makes the problem desirable"

A lot of mechanical things are created by tightly fitting one part onto another. This works well, but when things go wrong with a car, mechanics have to remove a lot of these parts: Power steering pulleys, harmonic balancers, Pitman arms. In many instances these parts have never been separated

By Rain Noe - Nov 20

DIY Bar Clamps, of Any Length You Choose

It relies on dimensional lumber for the length, and simple hardware for the rest

You can never have too many clamps, as the saying goes, and those of you who do a lot of glue-up work undoubtedly have some Bessey K-Body clamps, Jet clamps or pipe clamps lying around your shop. And there's no substitute for a good metal clamp. But let's say you're

By Rain Noe - Nov 16

Using Clever Techniques to Restore a Hopelessly Rusted, Frozen Vise

This man brings tools back from the dead

Making a boat anchor is easy: Just buy a heavy cast-iron vise, neglect it for 27 years and boom, you've got a rusty piece metal that can serve no other function. Unless, that is, you're the Swiss tinkerer behind the My Mechanics Youtube channel. He acquired an old, rusted and

By Joel Moskowitz - Nov 15

Tools & Craft #115: Paring Chisels

From the top: Paring Chisel, Ashley Iles Beveled Edge Bench Chisel, 2 more paring chisels, 2" Ashley Iles Bench Chisel, 2 Nishiki extra thin paring chisels, and a Registered Chisel. When a tool maker or seller talks about paring chisels, we don't mean chisels that can be used for paring:

By Joel Moskowitz - Nov 07

Tools & Craft #114: Thoughts on Tool Collector and Author David R. Russell's Legacy

Sometimes a person you have never met, and know only through a book, can have enormous influence on you. David R. Russell, the eminent tool collector and author of Antique Woodworking Tools, was such a person for me. I was saddened to hear that he passed away a few weeks

By Joel Moskowitz - Oct 31

Tools & Craft #113: Thomas Chippendale, Furniture Marketing Genius

What did furniture makers do before Instagram?

For many contemporary furniture makers, Instagram may serve the twin needs of inspiration and self-promotion. Whatever did the talented and ambitious do before #instafurniture, #interiordesign, #maker, #furnituregallery, and the like? I had occasion to mull over this topic at the current Metropolitan Museum exhibit, "Chippendale's Director: The Designs and Legacy

By Rain Noe - Oct 30

How to Easily Attach Sheet Metal to Wood: The "Reverse Rivet" Trick, No Rivet Gun Necessary

All you need is a drill, a pair of pliers and a hammer

ID students, take note: Eventually you may want to present a project in metal. Depending on the object you design, it may be easier to fabricate the object in wood, then paint it to look like metal. Alternatively, you could skin a wooden object in sheet metal, which raises the

By Rain Noe - Oct 30

A Fast, Manual Alternative to Chainsaws: The Silky Katanaboy 650

This super-sized Japanese pull saw requires neither gas nor maintenance

A chainsaw is a huge improvement over its unpowered predecessor, the buck saw a/k/a the two-man crosscut saw. Yet both have their advantages and disadvantages. The buck saw is fuel-free, but does require you have a guy named Paul help you out (everyone knows that Pauls cut faster than fellows

By Rain Noe - Oct 29

Building Out Your Design Student Toolbox? Starrett Tape Measures are On Sale for Crazy Cheap Right Now

It's almost 1/3rd the regular price!

Have you read our advice on building out a design student toolbox starter pack yet? The tape measure is of course an essential item on that list, and now you can buy a high-quality one at a crazy cheap price. Starrett is a measurement tools company known for their precision.

By Rain Noe - Oct 25

Cool Tools: Using a Slide Hammer Nail Puller to Cleanly Remove Nails (Even Headless Ones)

Also, how to avoid running afoul of this tool's one ergonomic flaw

Whether you're dismantling something and trying to preserve it, or trying to correct a project screw-up in mid-build, sometimes you need to remove a nail. If you're pulling it out of trim, you can do that trick where you pry the trim away from the wall, then tap it

By Joel Moskowitz - Oct 24

Tools & Craft #112: Why Large American Manufacturers Discontinue Great Products

The zombie distribution system

If the name Hammacher Schlemmer is known by the general public at all nowadays, it's as the very expensive seller of player pianos and other very expensive "lifestyle" curiosities. But the store's origins are as a large hardware store (based for a long time in New York City's Union Square

By Joel Moskowitz - Oct 17

Tools & Craft #111: Making Stuff, and Other Human Impulses

How do you get students to the point at which they can produce something?

Several months ago a gentleman who runs a local maker space invited me to teach some hand tool classes at the space. I was happy to have the discussion, but we got hung up by a central question: How do you get students to the point at which they can

By Rain Noe - Oct 15

Festool's Affordable Drill Dust Collection Nozzle

It uses the vacuum to both hold itself in place and extract all of the dust

Drilling into sheetrock or concrete produces a lot of fine dust. Most of us drilling a single hole to add an anchor will clean up with a dustbuster and call it a day. But for a professional tradesperson drilling dozens or hundreds of holes in a client's space, the dust

By Rain Noe - Oct 11

Man Hacks a Bandsaw to Rip 4x8 Sheets in Half!

24" width capacity through some crazy blade shenanigans

Most of you who use bandsaws know you can always increase the height capacity by adding a riser block. But a fellow named Ron Sutton over at the Homemade Tools forum wanted more width. "I've converted a 14 inch bandsaw to 28 inches," Sutton writes, "so that I can

By Joel Moskowitz - Oct 10

Tools & Craft #110: Old-School Prototyping and Pattern Making

Here's how we used to develop power tools, among other things

My first job was in Black & Decker's industrial division, specifically the "Advanced Concepts Group." Our job was to design new tools that represented new directions for the company. This was in 1980. Black & Decker's first cutoff saw and first big plumber's drill came out of that group while

By Rain Noe - Oct 09

How It's Made: The Leatherman Wave

Multitool manufacturing

Though first released in the '90s, Leatherman's useful Wave multitool is still their bestseller. In this look inside their Oregon factory, we get to see how each of the components is individually manufactured, and the nifty little jigs and fixtures that are used to assemble them into the end product.

By Rain Noe - Oct 08

Hitachi Power Tools is Changing Their Name to Metabo—But Metabo's Tools Will Still Be Different

Explaining a confusing bit of power tool news

North Americans, the next time you pass the power tool aisle of your local Lowes, you may notice something surprising: Tools in familiar Hitachi green or silver will no longer say "Hitachi," but "Metabo"—complete with the latter brand's accurate font. (After "Metabo," you'll notice a small block that says "HPT.")

By Rain Noe - Oct 08

Pro Tip: How to Easily Transfer a Measurement from Inside a Wall to the Outside

A master carpenter shows you how to do it with music wire

Whether you're remodeling your home or performing client work in their space, there may come a time when you need to place something on one side of a wall, yet must feed or cut it from the other side of the wall. (Think of wiring that you'd like to precisely

By Rain Noe - Oct 04

A Smart Design for Sturdy, Breakdown, Space-Saving Sawhorses

Maximum utility, minimal storage space required

Industrial Design 101: From a UX perspective, you want useful things to be around when you need them, and to disappear when you don't need them. Occasional-use items that are bulky ought be designed to fold up or break down. The plastic folding sawhorses in my shop are among the

By Joel Moskowitz - Oct 03

Tools & Craft #109: Testing a Knockoff Tool vs. the Real Deal

It's important to understand the role that manufacturing plays in tool quality and price

What should tools cost? When does a cheap price represent a bargain -- and when is it only a fool's bargain? The price of metal is pretty much the same around the world. So except for labor intensive products such as clothing, the main price advantage many Asian imports have

By Rain Noe - Oct 02

Smarter Than a Panel Lift: This Ceiling Board Hanger Invention

Uses way less materials, seems easier to use

If you've got an unfinished ceiling like this, you need some way to safely raise panels up into position so that you can screw them in place. Earlier this year Frank Howarth created a DIY panel lift to help him do just that. If you don't want to go the

By Rain Noe - Oct 02

Festool's Bluetooth System for Automatic Dust Collection--With Cordless Tools

You can also now trigger the vac from a convenient button on the business end of the hose

Festool pioneered automated dust collection with power tools. Hook your tracksaw up to the vac, pull the trigger on the saw and the vacuum automatically kicks on. The gap in this system has always been with cordless tools. When drilling a series of holes into powdery sheetrock or creating

By Rain Noe - Sep 28

Crucible Tool's Beautiful, Useful and Sold-Out Lump Hammer Will be Back on Sale Today

If you want one, get online at 12pm EST

One thing every furniture maker needs is a wooden mallet, and there are plenty on the market to choose from. But Crucible Tool, the hand tool company started by John Hoffman, Raney Nelson and Christopher Schwarz, decided to produce a steel-headed mallet based on an old British design. You'd think

By Rain Noe - Sep 26

Seeing a Traditional Furniture Maker's Wooden Ellipse Jig in Action is Highly Satisfying

The wooden ellipse jigs used by furniture makers are some of the niftier contraptions you'll see in a traditional shop. "I made this for an upcoming project which [involves] ovals," writes Harry T. Morris, a young craftsman who hails from Wales. "I know this can be done many other easier

By Rain Noe - Sep 25

This Tool Lets You Cut the Edges of FoamCore at Precise Angles for Precision Modelmaking

The Perfect Cut should be a big hit with ID and architecture students

You can get great results building models in FoamCore, as Eric Strebel illustrated in a couple of tutorials. If that or corrugated cardboard is your material of choice, and if you're super-anal about your models, you could take them to the next level if you had some means of cutting

By Rain Noe - Sep 25

To Promote DIY Metric Rulers in the 18th Century, Paris Placed Meter-Long Marble Blocks on Public Buildings

It's like if graffiti was useful

The French Revolution got rid of old things that didn't make sense, like monarchs and backward-ass provincial measuring systems. It's when the metric system was invented. Previously, units of measurement were derived by recording the distance from the king's nose to the tip of his thumb, but after Louis XVI's