HAND TOOLS
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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 come in an almost endless variety of shapes and sizes and are useful for cutting t...
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...
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.
Head to the home improvement store, and you'll find a dozen or more different hammer designs manufactured by the usua...
In any renovation project, you need the right tools to achieve success. That's obvious. But of all the many screwdriv...
If you’re like most people, you probably have a handful of utility knives stashed around the house somewhere</em>—in junk drawers, garage cabinets, or tool boxes....
You’ve got your toolbox organized and know just what to grab when you’ve got a job to do. But wouldn’t it be great if your go-to hand tools had other uses that ma...
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...
We’re entering the season of DIY and “to-do”—and that means it's finally time to get to that list of around-the-house projects you’ve put off all winter. Whether ...
Cutting flooring or siding to fit around curved surfaces can be tricky, especially if you don’t have the right tool. ...
After a combined thirty years in the construction business, brothers Steve and Rick Spencer had grown tired of relyin...
We’d all like a little more time. Unfortunately, you can’t buy it. You can, however, save some time as you go about y...
One tool that should definitely be in any do-it-yourselfer’s toolbox is a good carpenter's square. A square helps you...
Chisels are sharp-edged metal tools used to cut stone, wood, or metal, and they have a spectacularly long lineage. In...
Make sure that when you're using a slotted screwdriver, you're not doing it the hard way. Here's how. Be sure you're...
Using a chalk line is a quick way to give yourself a straight line as a building guide. Here's how. Find the endpoint...
Pliers are a relatively modern invention, and it's hard to imagine what people did without them. There are a dozen o...
Don't wreck a good pair of scissors trying to cut metal. You need a good pair of tin snips. Tin snips look and work ...
When you're using a Phillips-head screwdriver, make sure that you're not doing it the hard way. Here's how. Be sure ...
For jobs that require a hammer with a little more heft than a claw hammer, try a ball-peen hammer, sometimes called ...
Professional builders use a plumb bob to make sure their walls are vertical. Here's how. Measure two inches away fro...
A chisel is one of the most useful tools in the workshop, but it's important to know how to use it. For example, aft...
Checking your work for level and plumb is crucial. Here's how to select and use the right tool for the job. I recomm...
For a lot of jobs around the house, using a staple can be a lot faster and easier than banging tacks or nails. The m...
For tough jobs like removing rust or preparing surfaces for paint or varnish, there's nothing like steel wool. It's ...
This wooden-handled hammer may look strong enough to pull any nail but because the grain of the wood is actually wea...
Many small home improvement projects start with drilling a pilot hole. (That’s a small hole that prepares a material ...
This is a tool for minimalists, for those who admire simplicity of form and function beyond all else. That's because ...
Clamps, specifically hand-screw, bar, spring, strap, pipe, and C-clamps remain the basic tools on which any workshop ...
A convenient method of joining boards is a dowel joint. Especially useful when two or more boards are being joined (b...
I've never seen the guy so angry: His wife used a favorite chisel to open a paint can and my friend Dominick took it ...
The bench grinder is to the workshop as the trainer is to the team. It doesn't run out on the field when a tool goes ...
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...
For woodworkers with old-time tastes, using a molding plane is like drinking a vintage port. The planes are not for e...
Using woodworking planes whose cutters are out of adjustment is like driving a car in the wrong gear: You may be able...
Bench planes are a loosely linked category of flat-bottomed planes. The cutting irons are usually set at a forty-five...
Calipers and their near relations, the compass and dividers, have been in use at least since Roman times. While their...
These simple tools haven't changed much in generations (no doubt the old cliché about not fixing things that aren't b...
A miter box made of wood (usually beech) or plastic is an inexpensive way of making sure the finish cuts you make wit...
The rafter square is designed to take advantage of the geometric laws of the right triangle. For example, the right t...
This is truly a tool of a thousand uses. The thinness of its blade means it can be used for precise marking on cutoff...
A near relation of the try square, the bevel gauge also consists of a handle or stock with an attached tongue (or bla...
We all learned how to use a ruler in elementary school, if not before. Little did we know at that age how many variet...
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 used to grip, position, tighten, loosen, and cut certain metal elements. Learn about five types of pliers:...
Pry bars, crowbars, pinch bars, flat bars, and cat's-paws; those are the names of some of the sturdy steel tools that...
Today, the tape measure may be the carpenter's best friend, but in dozens of other trades, too, the tape measure can ...
Wood is a remarkable material. It's widely available, handsome, and immensely diverse. Many of its varieties can easi...
To the uninitiated, a screwdriver is a screwdriver is a screwdriver. The truth is, however, that’s simply wrong. Most...
Wooden MalletsMallets are hammers that are used to drive chisels, gouges, or to shape soft metals. Firmer chisels are...
Quality planed stock can be bought from most lumberyards today, but wood that has been dressed on all four sides wasn...
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...
The glass cutter is a clever tool about the size of a pencil. Its handle, whether made of wood, metal, or plastic, a...
A pocketknife is, simply, a knife with one or more blades that fold into its handle, of a size that will fit convenie...
One reason for the fascination of antique tools is their visual appeal. For many people, the bow saw has just such a...
Like the word handsaw, the name backsaw is something of a catchall term. In general, a backsaw is a handsaw with a br...
Every time I pick up a carpenter's square, it feels familiar. This is one of the practical, substantial tools that al...
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...
When I see a pair of giant snips, I think of Laurel and Hardy. Snips do look a lot like scissors, but they tend to be...
Every time you use a power saw, you put your very own flesh and blood at risk. I've worked with more contractors than...
At first, I felt a bit foolish explaining how to use a hammer. Most of us have seen children banging away with toy ma...
The difference between a Japanese saw and an American saw is more than just the place of origin. Japanese saws have d...
I've admired this deceptively simple tool since I first saw my father use it decades ago. It is used to mark straight...
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...
If you have stubborn nails that pop out of your floorboards, or you need a way to get a finishing nail flush against ...
When you have to tighten a nut, bolt, or other standard fastener, you need a wrench. But what kind?Listen to BOB VILA...
Do you want to make sure that shelf you’re putting up is really on the level? Then you need. . . well, a level. Level...
I can barely think of a home improvement job that doesn’t require a tape measure! Whether you’re framing a new room o...
Tool sets are popular gifts, but none is more useful for the home and garage handyperson than a really good ratchet s...
No workshop should be without levels in various lengths, but for lines longer than 3' or 4', traditional bubble level...
Why You'll Love It: Innovation hasn't exactly shaken up the world of groove joint pliers over the last few decades. B...
Why You'll Love It: Levels don't carry many bells and whistles, but they are important tools for every project, from ...
Why You'll Love It: The ChannelLock 13 'N 1 combines the efficiency of a ratcheting screwdriver with the versatility ...
Why You'll Love It: Save room in your tool belt with 6-in-1 pliers from Milwaukee Tools, which can cut and strip wire...
Why You'll Love It: This Craftsman 154-Piece Mechanic's Tool Set comes with every socket, wrench, or bit you might ne...
Don't wreck a good pair of scissors trying to cut metal; you need a good pair of tin snips. Listen to BOB VILA ON TIN...
It's a ‘staple’ in every tool and craft kit, it can save you lots of time banging tacks or nails, and it can get into...
The tool we think of as pliers only evolved from “tongs” fairly recently, but it’s hard to imagine life without a var...
Besides "righty tighty, lefty loosey," there's one DIY phrase that nearly anyone can recite: Measure twice, cut once....
For a saw that’s great on the curves, no workshop is complete without a good saber saw. CM_BVILANOTES-4 Tool Tip- Sab...
A century ago, knife-maker Wenger (of Swiss Army Knife fame) started a debate that only got louder in 1983 when Tim L...
It’s been in every tool belt since the 16th century. The claw hammer is a must-have for driving and removing nails an...
With all the great power saws available today, the lowly handsaw has kind of faded into the background. But there are...
When it comes to screwdrivers, make sure you're using the right one for the job. LISTENListen to BOB VILA ON SCREWDRI...
Every time you use a power saw, you put your very own flesh and blood at risk. I've worked with more contractors than...
To determine whether a carpenter's square is true, all you need is a straight line. Sound too simple? First you lay t...
This is not dedicated to the woodworkers, the gear hounds or the power tool junkies. This isn't for the contractors, ...
The multi-plane is truly the muscle-driven equivalent of the router. Its handle is of wood, but that's where its rese...
Tool Maintenance. Whatever your storage arrangements, keep your tools clean. After use, remove any sap or resins from...
Traditionally the larger metal squares, like the rafter square, were thought of as carpenter's tools. In contrast, sm...
Sometimes called a "magic square," angle square, or protractor square, this tool functions as a square but is shaped ...
All right, let's say you're raising a stud wall of eight or nine feet and the longest level you have on hand is two f...
This tool is essentially an adjustable hand square, with a couple of clever advantages. It consists of a rigid steel ...
How to Make a CrosscutCrosscuts are cuts that go against the wood grain. Once you've properly measured and marked you...
According to the old nursery rhyme, there once was a crooked man who, along with his crooked cat and a crooked mouse,...
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.
Bob meets lead carpenter Connor McKenna from Thorough Construction, who is working with the original floor joists in preparation for the hardwood floors.
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...
