Are electronics the future of carpentry? In the early spring, I was up in Oregon straightening out my fly line—sometimes that takes a week or more, if you know what I mean. While I was up there, Brandon Vaughn from SawGear invited me to his office for a peek at their new automatic length measuring… Read the full article
I recently had the honor of being invited to participate in Festool’s cabinet-making class at their corporate headquarters in Lebanon, Indiana. The class was two full days of solid training…and it was a lot of fun. They have a complete training room set up there, stocked full of tools—more than a person could dream of… Read the full article
Hanging doors gets a little easier Some days I hate my job. Have you ever walked on a job and faced a pile of 150 solid core 3/0 x 8/0 doors? And they’re on the first floor? And there’s four floors? And no elevator? I have. All the time.
When I started teaching carpentry clinics at lumberyards around the country, one of the first companies I sought support from was Stabila—I used their levels for a couple of decades and wouldn’t think of switching brands. There was no other spirit level available that guaranteed the same degree of precision, whether the vials were right-side… Read the full article
A unique approach to making a full-function work center As a young carpenter living in an apartment and specializing in residential remodeling, I have to wear a lot of hats—and make them all fit into a truck and small trailer. That is why I always look for tools and techniques that combine multiple tasks into… Read the full article
Oscillating tools that make a carpenter’s life easier For years, the only oscillating tools made my contractors, capable of cutting, sawing, grinding—a multitude of tasks per- formed by no other single tool—were the Fein Supercut and the Fein Multimaster. Rumors have circulated that the patents held by Fein on its well known Multimaster have expired… Read the full article
Cregg Sweeney takes DeWalt’s new DWS520 for a spin. www.dewalt.com :: List price $499 About 18 months ago I bought the Festool TS 55 track saw. I’ll admit that I was skeptical about all the buzz this tool was getting, but very interested to see how this saw performed. After doing everything from accurately ripping… Read the full article
A few years ago, other than the noise of saws and nail guns, jobsites were pretty quiet. But today, on almost every construction site, you’re liable to hear the clacking of an impact driver. After all, most of us have become completely dependent on them for driving screws: they never strip out a head, even… Read the full article
Walk around any carpentry tradeshow and you’re bound to see a million gimmicks and gadgets. It’s rare that one warrants a second look, much less my full attention. But last Spring at JLC Live in Providence I had to stop when I walked by the FastCap booth. FastCap is a company renowned for its innovative… Read the full article
In New England where I’m from, carpenters wear many hats, from framing to finish and all in between. I’ve always had an array of hammers depending on which hat I might be wearing on a given job or given day. I have my 22 oz. long-handled hammer with a waffle head for framing, but I… Read the full article