Tools
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By Shannon Rogers - Dec 22 New
Hand Tool School #13: Belt Sander vs. Handplane
Trying to make the right call to solve an 18-foot-long problem
I have great respect for contractors who do on-site work. I would be a terrible contractor, and here's why: In my shop, I have every tool I need, but when I have to hit the road to do work, I overthink my selection and bring far too many tools—always missing
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By Rain Noe - Dec 20
A Small, Inexpensive Planer Alternative
StewMac's Safe-T-Planer lets you flatten boards with your drill press
If your work requires you to flatten thin pieces of wood, but you don't have the space for a planer—or you just can't afford one—here's an intelligent alternative if you've got a drill press. A company called StewMac has been providing tools to luthiers (guitar manufacturers) since 1968, and here's
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By Rain Noe - Dec 19
Hacking and Casting a Universal Air Marker
ID'er Eric Strebel runs you through his design and prototyping process while creating a tool for hand renders
In nearly three decades as an industrial designer, Eric Strebel has amassed a good amount of prototyping tools and skills. Here he employs those tools and shows you his design process, from start to finish, as he retrofits a Letrajet Air Marker to accept markers from other major brands. (And
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By Shannon Rogers - Dec 15
Hand Tool School #12: Why You Should Have Hand Skills to Fall Back On
...even if an EMP is unlikely
I'm a hand tool nut, but I don't begrudge anybody from using and loving power tools. However, what happened to "Necessity is the mother of invention?" So many of the time-saving wonder tools that exist today seem to have killed some fundamental abilities. There is nothing wrong with using a
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By Hand-Eye Supply - Dec 14
Casual, Cool, Low Profile Pocket Knives
A few knives that are easy on your wallet and ready for day to day tasks
Our knife selection this holiday season includes a bunch of pocket knives for casual day to day use. They're all sleek, slim, and super-lightweight. Our two new favorites are the Otter Messer Mercator in Brass and Copper. Along with a lot of other folks, we've come to love the Mercator
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By Rain Noe - Dec 12
Super-Protective Gloves: Hammer-proof, Blade-proof and Fireproof
If you earn your living with your fingers and use dangerous tools, give these a look
From a Chilean company called ATIKS comes these Mark VIII safety gloves, which aim to allow dexterity while protecting the fingers from grievous injury. Take a look at what they can do: It's obvious they're targeting the construction industry. What's not obvious is if the gloves are actually in production
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By Core Jr - Dec 09
Firm Project: Ditch Those Sketchy Plastic Bags—Greenskeeper Offers a New Cannabis Storage Solution
As medical and recreational use grows, options for home storage remain outdated and ineffective at storing and preserving cannabis. Introducing Greenskeeper a uniquely functional storage system designed specifically for cannabis users. Wine and tobacco lovers have a multitude of high-quality solutions to properly store their collections yet cannabis consumers are left using plastic bags, food containers and glass jars. This was the impetus that led to develop Greenskeeper for Santa Cruz Bakeware
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By Joel Moskowitz - Dec 07
Tools & Craft #25: The Easy Way to Use a Marking Gauge
Here's how to get around the common problem most first-time users have with it
Every time someone comes in and buys a marking or mortise gauge, I give them a quick demo on how to use it. It's not unusual for customers to know they need a gauge, but not how to use one. It's not their fault. There is a hell of a lot of misinformation on this subject, and using a gauge properly isn't intuitive.
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By Rain Noe - Dec 07
MacGyver Skills: Learn to Clinch Nails
Richard Maguire shows you how nails used to be used like staples
Pick your calamity of choice: Zombie apocalypse, EMP attack or you went back too far in a time machine. You find yourself in a situation where you need to build something sturdy out of wood, but there are no cordless drills nor screws, just a rusty hammer and a box
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By Shannon Rogers - Dec 01
Hand Tool School #10: My Ultra-Functional Toolbox/Mobile Workbench
It's got storage, worksurfaces, a fence and even a built-in vise
I built a toolbox as a Hand Tool School project. Quite a few members had requested it, and I decided to take it one step beyond something just to carry tools by adding in a sturdy benchtop and some workholding functionality. What I ended up with is a sort of
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By Joel Moskowitz - Nov 30
Tools & Craft #24: Learn to Sharpen. It's Not Hard and Builds Important Hand Skills
…plus I can teach you how to do it, in person, for free
The joy of learning to use hand tools to refine your work is rewarding. But that joy can be offset by the perceived "hassle" of needing to occasionally sharpen those tools in order to maintain peak performance. For the uninitiated, sharpening things like knives, chisels and plane irons can be
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By Coroflot Jobs - Nov 30
Design Job: Design the Future! MakerBot is Seeking a Senior UX Designer in Brooklyn, NY
Be an innovator in the world of 3D printing
MakerBot is growing its internal design team to help define how people bring new ideas into reality. With touch points across hardware, desktop applications, mobile applications, and web based solutions, the design team at MakerBot is very uniquely seated between the physical and digital worlds. Let’s design the future, together.
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By Kat Bauman - Nov 28
Silca's Seriously Slick New Bike Tools Are Here
Let me love you
Bike and tool lovers take note: Silca refuses to stop making awesome stuff, so look away or start saving. This week saw the first batch of their Kickstarted T-Handle hex wrenches hit the ground, and they look great. Silca has previously been famous for their hyper engineered pumps, and more
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By David Frane - Nov 22
Estwing AL-Pro Hammer
A promising departure from earlier designs—based on physics and an understanding of E=1/2MV²
Say the word "Estwing" on a construction site and every person within earshot will know you are referring to a single-piece steel hammer based on a nearly century-old design. Invented by Earnest Estwing, this type of hammer has been produced since 1923 by the company he founded. The grips on
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By Rain Noe - Nov 17
These Scratch-Proof Safety Goggles Have No Lenses, Just Steel Mesh
"Safe Eyes" are unfoggable to boot
Here's an interesting take on protective eyewear: New-Zealand-based Kiwi Ideas Company has developed Safe Eyes, a pair of safety goggles that don't have any lenses. Instead your peepers are protected by a stainless steel mesh, in either fine (0.35mm) or standard (0.7mm) perforations. These might not keep you from
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By Alex Russell - Nov 17
Sponsored Post: Bringing the "Awards" to the Core77 Design Awards
The crucial role Xometry played in making the 2016 Core77 Design Awards a reality
Manufacturing the Core77 Design Awards trophies is not meant to be easy. Not only does each trophy receive customized engraving to reflect the category and project title of each recipient, but the nature of the trophy as a mold demands that the interior be specially etched in line with the
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By Coroflot Jobs - Nov 11
Design Job: Get Tough: ToughBuilt Industries is Seeking a SolidWorks Modeler in Orange County, CA
Soak up the Cali sunshine while modeling rugged electronic products
ToughBuilt Industries Inc. is an innovative, fast-paced company dedicated to innovation. At ToughBuilt we control the entire product development process, from initial concept and design, through manufacturing, to selling directly to the world. We work in small, focused teams that are expected to be agile and efficient. We are committed to excellence and are seeking the best talent to add to our rapidly growing company.
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By David Frane - Nov 07
How to Drill a Square Hole
The QuadSaw attachment converts rotary motion to linear motion—in four planes at once.
The QuadSaw can be chucked into a drill and used to cut perfectly square and rectangular holes in drywall. The attachment is the brainchild of T. Michael Sebhatu, an African refugee turned engineer, who saw a tradesman installing electrical boxes and decided there had to be a faster, more accurate
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By Shannon Rogers - Nov 03
Hand Tool School #8: Working With the Wood Grain to Ensure Greatest Strength
Learn to optimize the board orientation to your design
(Note: You'll see a shocking photo here of this thing called a tablesaw, which I used to use before switching over to hand tools. This old lesson here is important regardless of whether you use power or hand tools.) I am adding a French foot to a Hepplewhite bookcase that
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By Joel Moskowitz - Nov 02
Tools & Craft #21: Why Furniture Builders Used to Wear Huge Paper Hats
Also, a little about workbenches and saws
Take a look at this image from G. A. Siddon's 1833 The Cabinet Maker's Guide: It's an interesting book (mostly about finishing) that we'll someday reprint, but that's not the reason for this post. Please notice three things: 1. Two of the workers are wearing paper hats 2. The
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By Kat Bauman - Nov 01
What Is Smash Printing? Even Better Than It Sounds
Most artisanal practices don't require heavy vehicles
If you're unfamiliar with traditional printmaking chances are good you'll have never seen Smash Printing, the closest thing to 'extreme printmaking' I can imagine. To execute this kind of print you prepare a physical woodblock, linocut or etched plate up to a multiple feet wide, ink it up, get your
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By David Frane - Oct 31
A Strange Tool for Splitting Bamboo
This Japanese hand tool is so well suited to the material, it is easily adapted to powered use.
It was at Hida Tool and Hardware in Berkeley, Calif that I encountered this strange looking cast iron tool from Japan. Turns out it is used to hand-split bamboo. What the splitter offers—that simple blades and froes do not—is the ability to split a culm (the woody stem of
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By Core Jr - Oct 28
Firm Project: Easily Dispense Rope During Critical Moments with TRD
TRD was created by a US special ops paratrooper to have usable tangle free cord exactly when needed. In a true emergency or survival situation, there isn’t time to untangle cord. TRD delivers high strength cord when you need it most and it’s built in cutting blade eliminates the need for additional tools.
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By Rain Noe - Oct 28
Alternate Pumpkin Carving Method #2: With a Pressure Washer
This is probably best done outdoors
The Finnish content creators known as the Dudesons got their hands on a pressure washer, then spent an afternoon using it to cut various types of groceries in half. We've cued the video up to go straight to the pumpkin-carving segment:
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By Shannon Rogers - Oct 27
Hand Tool School #7: Does Your Workspace Inspire You?
Let there be light (just not too much of it)
I would estimate that I am doing 85-90% of my work with hand tools these days. Because of thist, I am constantly looking for better lighting so I can truly see my work. Lately, I haven't even been turning on my overhead fluorescent lights, instead favoring the incandescent work light
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By Rain Noe - Oct 27
Alternate Pumpkin Carving Method #1: With DIY Carving Tool
Katie Campshure's homemade ribbon cutter
You know those ribbon-cutter tools that clay modelers use? Here resourceful vlogger Katie Campshure shows you how to make one out of household items, then uses it to carve a rather intricate design into a pumpkin:
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By Joel Moskowitz - Oct 26
Tools & Craft #20: How to Make the Mundane Tasks in Your Design Job Meaningful
Idle hands do the devil's work
I don't care how exciting your design job is—at some point you have to engage in repetitive, mundane tasks. Whether it's naming Photoshop layers, cutting a crapload of biscuit joints or tediously executing some CAD task that you can't automate—how do you deal with it? Me, I've found a strange
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By Rain Noe - Oct 20
Clever, Low-Tech Way to Put Disappearing Wheels on a Very Heavy Workbench
Christopher Schwarz's hack gets your bench ready to roll in seconds
For a good workbench, mass and weight are the rule. You want a bench beefy enough that it's not going to move when you're routing or hand planing workpieces. This means that few serious woodworkers will put their benches on wheels, as that makes them prone to slide and skitter
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By Core Jr - Oct 19
Firm Project: Save Time Installing Door Handles with Jigtech
Designed by AME for Dale Hardware, the Jigtech device helps joiners to fit door handles in a fraction of the time compared to traditional methods. The easy-to-use device saves contractors & fitters up to 20 minutes when installing a handle and latch to interior doors. AME developed the Jigtech product from concept through to prototyping, testing and volume manufacturing, drawing on our experience of developing tools for the DIY sector.
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By Rain Noe - Oct 18
Incredible Dutch Invention Allows One Person to Move a 20-Ton Trailer
The V-Mover is V-mazing
A Netherlands-based outfit called Verhagen Leiden got their start 52 years ago providing industrial cleaning equipment to companies in the Benelux region. Well, apparently part of their clients' needs for keeping their operations tidy involves moving heavy things around to keep their lots organized. Some of these things can be
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By Joel Moskowitz - Oct 12
Tools & Craft #18: Let's Build a Ridiculously Simple Chair
...from the book "Ridiculously Simple Furniture Projects"
A couple of posts ago I wrote about Playatech furniture, which is made of interlocking sheets of plywood. Now here's another approach to simple furniture that is tons of fun to make. We recently added this book, Ridiculously Simple Furniture Projects, to our catalog. The projects in it live up
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By Rain Noe - Oct 11
MIT Engineer/Army Vet Designs Clever Multitool Loaded with Useful Features
The GRIPsher was designed for true field use
Christian Reed is an Army veteran and a mechanical engineer out of MIT. While on deployment, he became "frustrated with available compact multi-tools." As he explains: When wearing gloves and performing other tasks simultaneously, traditional multi-tools were hard to use and operate. Removing my gloves, reaching into a buttoned pocket,
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By Joel Moskowitz - Oct 06
Tools & Craft #17: Women Woodworkers in 19th-Century England
Miss Gascoigne literally wrote the book on turning
I was reading a Chris Schwarz blog entry on his favorite woodworking writer, Mag Ruffman. It reminded me that I have been planning to write an entry about the first woman woodworking writer that I know of. The Handbook of Turning was first published anonymously in 1842, but it is
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