HAND TOOLS
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Gardeners who find themselves spending an inordinate amount of time chasing down the right tool for a variety of jobs...
The DeWalt D24000S 10-inch wet tile saw is a game changer for tile-setting projects. With a robust 1. 5-horsepower (h...
A dependable set of hand tools—including those for cutting, driving, gripping, and measuring—is essential for perform...
Originating in Japan, the hori hori knife is a multipurpose gardening tool used for digging, cutting, and weeding. A...
Pocket knives are everywhere. They have become everyday essentials for many, useful for cutting twine, whittling wood...
The bow saw has been popular with woodworkers since Roman times. Early bow saws were made of wood, with a steel blade...
Having a set of dull kitchen knives isn’t just inconvenient; it can also be very dangerous. A good sharpening stone k...
Thanks to its compact folding design, a pocket knife allows the blade to be stored in the handle, and the tool itself...
Any professional chef will tell you that a sharp knife is a safe knife—and that goes for your trusty pocket knife as ...
Whether shaving down a wood door that’s sticking or smoothing the surface of a wavy board, no tool works quite as wel...
Metal hand tools with either a straight or beveled edge, chisels have been around for thousands of years, standing th...
A standard household hammer—weighing an average of 12 to 15 ounces—is indispensable for simple tasks like tapping a n...
In almost any home renovation, achieving the best results requires some type of level. Whether you’re trying to hang ...
Laser levels provide accuracy, consistency, and convenience. The best self-leveling laser level can make all the diff...
Don't let tangled cords get in the way of your home projects. These innovative tools help you get the job done all while running on battery power.
DIYers can't get much of anything done without a good hammer. In fact, they might need several hammers, all of which ...
In this modern age, it seems that as swiftly as new products are invented, they become outmoded, swept away by something newer, shinier, and (inevitably) more exp...
Even with all the new hand and power tools on the market, nothing can replace the dependability of the simple putty knife for everyday DIY tasks. Until now, you h...
When you're using a Phillips-head screwdriver, make sure that you're not doing it the hard way. Here's how. Be sure ...
This is a tool for minimalists, for those who admire simplicity of form and function beyond all else. That's because ...
A convenient method of joining boards is a dowel joint. Especially useful when two or more boards are being joined (b...
A good handsaw, when properly treated, is a tool that can be passed with pride from one generation to the next. Essen...
Most tools seem to develop in families. There are resemblances from one generation to the next, and cousins are recog...
Files are easily taken for granted. They've been around for thousands of years, predating even the ancient Egyptian c...
One of the most common wood joints is the rabbet. Consisting of a rectangular slot at the edge of one piece into whic...
Using woodworking planes whose cutters are out of adjustment is like driving a car in the wrong gear: You may be able...
These simple tools haven't changed much in generations (no doubt the old cliché about not fixing things that aren't b...
A near relation of the try square, the bevel gauge also consists of a handle or stock with an attached tongue (or bla...
The first nuts and bolts, which were put to use during the early years of the Renaissance, had square heads. The hexa...
To those who have used one, a story pole does indeed have a tale to tell. To the uninitiated, however, the story pole...
Pliers are one of those essential tools that most every DIYer and professional has in their tool arsenal. Used to gri...
Today, the tape measure may be the carpenter's best friend, but in dozens of other trades, too, the tape measure can ...
I've lumped together, under a single heading, a family of tools that are used to perform many tasks. They resemble on...
Cutting through stone, brick, or metal? These tools can help. Continue ahead to understand the main types of chisels ...
Suppose you borrowed H. G. Well's time machine and traveled back into history a few centuries or even a millennium. S...
I know you've heard it before, but it's true: sharp tools are safer tools. The chisel is a perfect case in point. A d...
At first, I felt a bit foolish explaining how to use a hammer. Most of us have seen children banging away with toy ma...
In making or repairing small rectangular objects, a square is invaluable in helping ensure the joints are tight and t...
The practice of plane surveying (determining the position of buildings, boundaries, and topographical features as if ...
This tool has ancient origins. Evidence suggests that Egyptian architects used plumb bob-like tools to establish vert...
Coping is a process by which one piece with an irregular surface is fitted to another. In practice, most of us encoun...
Besides "righty tighty, lefty loosey," there's one DIY phrase that nearly anyone can recite: Measure twice, cut once....
Every time you use a power saw, you put your very own flesh and blood at risk. I've worked with more contractors than...
John Wellborn (from Wellborn Cabinets) and carpenter Paul Anderson join Bob for the kitchen cabinet installation.
Bob takes the first of many visits to the Winterthur Garden and Museum in Delaware's Brandywine Valley.
Paul Anderson attaches pre-finished crown molding around the kitchen cabinets in the modern Colonial project house.
Interior designer Leslie Curtis shows off another of her decorating ideas in the dining room.
Thorough Construction's lead carpenter Connor McKenna applies panel adhesive to the tops of the new, sistered joists before laying four-by-eight sheets of Georgia...
Bob visits with carpenter Mark Fortunati, who is building a traditional-looking staircase in the foyer.
Bob observes as general contractor Charlie Tomaszewski finishes up the picture framing for the mahogany deck.
Bob and contractor Ed Weller meet to demolish a block wall in order to open up the room for remodeling.
Contractor Larry Landers installs V-groove pine on the ceiling of the new front porch and demonstrates how to stagger and miter boards for an attractive, old-fash...
Flooring contractor Leo Boudreau shows Bob how to recycle hardwood flooring. First, the floor must be salvaged. A pry bar is used to lift and remove the wood, pie...