Top Tools

You can't beat the look of a wood deck. Or can you? Synthetic and composite decking materials have become more popular, and while they're more expensive than even red cedar, their benefits might just having you leaning toward the new stuff. We built a backyard deck using Trex, one of the pioneers in the "wood-alternative" ...

If you do enough woodworking, whether it's building, renovating or fine cabinet making, you often need to replicate angles or determine an angle so you can split the difference. And don't get cocky about that corner of an ordinary "square" room where your two pieces of trim meet. It's not 90 degrees. Trust me! If ...

If you only buy one plane, buy this one. I've always had a small bench plane, which does the trick when you're tweaking a door or smoothing out an edge. But when I finally picked up a block plane, I realized just how handy this little tool could be. With its low angle blade, it's ...

To the active renovator, woodworker, craftsperson or even odd-jobber, a table-saw is a very welcome – if not absolutely essential – tool. Sure, you can rip long pieces of wood with a circular saw, but it will take you triple the time. You'll have to measure and set up a guide or jig and arrange ...