Best Jack Planes for Flattening Rough-Sawn Boards by Hand
A jack plane is the roughing tool in a hand-flattening setup: it removes high spots quickly and gets a board […]
Equipment
Best Smoothing Planes for Refining Cabinet Doors and Trim
A smoothing plane is useful for the last light cuts on a cabinet door, face frame or length of trim:
Bench Plane vs Block Plane for Trimming Doors and Smoothing Edges
The short answer For trimming a door edge, a bench plane is usually the better choice: its longer sole helps
Best Low-Angle Block Planes for End-Grain Trimming on Site
A low-angle block plane is useful on site because it fits in a tool belt, sets up quickly and can
Equipment
Compass Dividers vs Wing Dividers for Carpentry Layout
What the two dividers are for Compass dividers and wing dividers both transfer measurements and mark arcs, but they hold
How to Use Dividers to Transfer Measurements Without a Tape
Dividers transfer a distance by carrying it from one place to another, rather than reading it as a number. That
Equipment
Best Pocket Tape Measures for One-Handed Site Measurements
What matters when you measure with one hand A pocket tape is useful on site when you can hold the
Equipment
Best Folding Rules for Measuring Door Reveals and Trim
Why use a folding rule for door reveals? A folding rule earns its place when you need a rigid measure
Equipment
Best Steel Rules for Marking Small Joinery Components
Why use a steel rule on small joinery? A steel rule is useful when a tape measure is too bulky
Equipment
Long Tape Measures vs Short Pocket Tapes for Carpenters
A long tape measure and a pocket tape solve different problems. A 25-foot tape is quick to grab for most