Festool, a popular choice for hobbyists, and professional woodworkers has announced that they will be increasing the prices of their tools starting February 1st. This is not surprising to me, but it is bad news for anyone who is saving up to by a Festool product. Prices for Festool products are already double the price of any other manufacturer, so what is a few more dollars, right? I have always been critical of Festool for their prices. My belief is that Festool charges as much as they do, simply because they can. Festool fans say they are worth the price, but what they are worth, and what they should cost are two different things.

The iPhone cost $500 when it first came out, and now it costs $300 and has more features. It is clear Apple charged $500 for the phone because they knew it would sell for that price. In all honesty I believe people would still pay $500 for the iPhone.

The World is in a recession; now is not the time to raise prices for anything. So what is logic behind Festool? Here is what I think. Festool says they are going to raise the price of their tools. This will force people that were waiting, for whatever reason, to buy the tools now. Then a month or two after the February 1st date, Festool will come out with a press release stating they will be lowering the price because of the economy. This way Festool gets sales from people that were waiting, plus they get the sales from a higher price tag. A win win for them and a lose lose for everyone else.

I could be wrong, only time will tell.

You don't have to worry about ruining your expensive tool belt pockets anymore with the FastCap foldable chisels. They work very much like a butterfly knife, where the blade is stored safely away in the handle of the tool until it is needed. This feature also keeps the blade from impacting other tools, therefore keeping the blade sharper longer. Sure most chisels you buy come with some type of blade guard, but how long does it take before those are lost. Plus having a built in guard is much cooler.

The new Pocket Chisel is made of precision tool steel and has a heavy duty nylon 66 handle that locks when opened and will stay locked so that you can hammer the hell out of it. The Pocket Chisel is available in 1/4", 1/2", 3/4" and 1" and the handles are color coded to eliminate having to guess which chisel you are pulling out of your pocket!

Visit the Pocket Chisel page to see a video of the beating in action.

Available form Amazon and other stores for around $20

Voting on the Blog Cabin location has just ended with the narrow victory going to the Meadow View. I am happy with the chosen end result, as it was also my choice.

This next round of voting is to determine the floor plan to be used. We have a choice between a Vaulted View Lodge, and an Endless View Lodge. You can see the two floor plans, and make your choice here. While only one is called Endless View, they both have rap-around patios that are sure to offer great views of the surrounding meadow. This time around the choice is a bit harder for me as some parts of the floor plans just don't make sense, but in the end I chose the Vaulted View.

One of the most talked about tools of 2008 is on sale at Amazon.com for $159.99. The Bosch Multi-X, this is the smaller of the kits available, and includes:

• 12V Cordless Max Multi-X Cutting Tool - PS50-2A
• (2) -- Litheon™ 12V Max Batteries -- BAT411
• (1) -- 30 Minute Charger -- BC430
• (1) Accessory Adapter
• (1) Sanding Plate
• (1) 1-5/8 X 1-1/2" HCS Plunge Cut Blade - OSC112
• Carrying Case

Amazon: Bosch Max Multi-X Cutting Kit