Tool Blog

Twice a year LumberJocks (a woodworking community) hosts build-off contests for its members. Each contest is different and asks the community to build useful and unique woodworking projects. This summer's task is to build a Garden Bench. Whether you live in an apartment or on a grand estate a garden bench is the perfect place to sit, relax, and savour life's gifts. Create the ideal bench for your outside environment and join our Summer Awards! Be sure to describe why you selected the design and show us the finished product in its new...

Check out this great new soon to be tool called Thin-Air. I say soon, because the Thin-Air is still in the final prototyping stage. It is pretty obvious from the photo as to what it does, but if you are a bit confused, I will explain. The Thin-Air is the solution to the pinched or flattened cords and hoses you get while running them under doors. It looks like this could also be mounted on the side of the door, for those occasions where you need to keep the floor clear for other trades. The...

Makita has long been an innovator when it comes to cordless impacts, so it comes as no surprise that they have added even more features to their new BTD144 18 volt impact, and at the same time were able to shorten the length by 1/4-inch from the previous BTD141. The main new features for the BTD144 are the 3-speed selection switch, and a new brush-less motor design. With the speed selection switch, users will now be able to select a lower amount of speed and impacts for jobs that require a more...

Do you need tools, but are strapped for cash? Or maybe you're just too cheap to buy them for yourself. If you borrow more tools then you own, now is your chance to get some that you can call your own. CPO Outlets, which sells certified pre-owned tools as well as new tools from all the major brands, is running a bunch of contests this summer. You could win up to $1200 to spend on CPO stores from most of the major brands, including Bosch, DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee and more. Here is where it gets good... you can...

Check out this amazing screwdriver from SKG Tools. Using its mystical powers it can magically be used on #1 - #3 Phillips head screws as well has #1 - #3 PoziDrive screws. Sweet. OK... maybe it doesn't rely on magical powers, but you have to be impressed with the engineering that went into a single bit that can be used to drive 6 different screw heads. Anyone working with Euro style cabinet hinges knows that using a Phillips screwdriver on PoziDrive screws, just doesn't work very well. But, switching back and forth...

Lenox is giving away $500 worth of Lenox tools as well as some prizes for the runners up. All you have to do to enter is follow LenoxTools on twitter (and you should already be following ToolRank) or add them on Facebook. Very Simple. Good Luck.

In the past, when you needed a 20 degree paper tape collated nailer, your choices were very limited, but now with the introduction of the Duo-Fast DF350S you have literally doubled your choices. As with most newer nail guns, the DF350S has all of the features you should expect, like tool-less depth drive adjustment and a dual trigger for both sequential and bump fire nailing (of course bump firing is the fun mode). A tool hook is also something I look for in my nail guns and the DF350S has one that...

America's favorite do it all spray, WD-40, introduces a newly designed alternative to their classic aerosol spray can. The new non-aerosol design is said to allow for more spray control; anywhere from a few drops to a steady spray. The Trigger Pro is also not bound by aerosol disposal regulations. I guess now it can technically be taken on airplanes; just not in your carry on luggage. Don't blame me for getting arrested if you do. "Millions of people use WD-40 to maintain and repair equipment, but some of our on-the-job users work in...

You might have noticed that I have changed a bit of the look to the site over the weekend. The layout is basically the same, with the changes being mostly cosmetic. The biggest change is to the main menu. In the past you had to click on each tab in the menu the reach their sub-menus. Now you can easily access every tab and sub-menu from every page. This reduces the amount of clicks it takes to get to curtain pages. What do you think of the new look? I hope you enjoy...

The Spout Popper is a small Guillotine type cutter that is specifically designed to cut open caulking and similar type adhesive tubes. The Spout Popper offers 3 bead sizes to choose from via an adjustable selector, and also features a built in seal puncturer. It uses standard utility knife blades as the cutter blade, so you never have to worry about finding replacements. I usually don't care for unitask tools, but I think this tool has its place for painters, and other trades that do a large amount of caulking. The best...