– It works the way a carpenter thinks.

If you are tired of working out trim details on a scrap of wood or making shop drawings with graph paper and a ruler, SketchUp is your answer. Unlike most computer-aided design programs you may have tried, SketchUp is very intuitive and works the way a carpenter thinks.

SketchUp has a simple set of tools that you can use to create anything from a rough mock-up to a very detailed drawing with 1/64″ precision. How much detail you want is up to you. The ability to convey your ideas to customers quickly and to produce working shop drawings is what SketchUp can do for you. Are you intrigued? What if I told you that it’s FREE! Read the full article…

Selling yourself: Like it or not, marketing matters.

I started my Handyman business in Los Angeles, CA back in 1999 after leaving a 23-year sales career. I made a good living in sales, but it wasn’t satisfying. I’ve always been interested in fixing things, and even more interested in working with wood.

Over the years, I’ve learned a lot — there’s a huge difference between the work I do today and the funky 1×10 knotty-pine nailed-together bookcase I built for my bedroom as a kid. Today, the jobs I enjoy most, and the ones I make the most money on, involve fine finish work, including custom cabinets, bookcases, and built-ins of every type. 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 and now the doors are wide open for other manufacturers to introduce their own versions. Whether the rumors are true or not, today there is a multitude of multitasking tools available for carpenters, among them, the Fein, Dremel, Sonicrafter, Bosch, and Chicago Tool’s model.
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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 and crosscutting full sheets of plywood, to trimming new doors to fit old openings, to mitering maple butcher block countertops, ripping 45° bevels on cabinet face frames and end panels, and ripping long tapered extension jams, I have to say this saw met and exceeded my expectations.

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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 when you’re driving a screw in tough wood; even if you’re standing on a ladder reaching over your head, you can still drive a long screw without throwing your weight behind the driver; and you can drive handfuls of screws without tiring. 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 tools and gadgets designed by the folks that actually use them—there’s a concept!!! They have come up with a hood that mounts to any chopsaw or sliding compound miter saw. Read the full article…