How tools actually work, and how to choose one
Find Tool Editorial Team 
A combination square is a measuring tool with a sliding ruler and a fixed head that checks 90° and 45° angles, marks lines parallel to an edge, and gauges depth. It ends up as the most-used bench tool because almost every job — cutting, joining, checking — starts with a straight, accurate reference line. What … Read more
A Japanese pull saw cuts on the pull stroke instead of the push stroke, using a thin, hard, often disposable blade. Cutting on the pull keeps the blade in tension rather than compression, so it can be made thinner without buckling — which means a narrower kerf, less waste, and a cut that tends to … Read more
A rip saw is built to cut along the grain of wood, and a crosscut saw is built to cut across it. The difference is in the tooth shape: rip teeth chisel out long fibres like tiny scrapers, while crosscut teeth act like a row of small knives that slice the fibres cleanly. Using the … Read more
A chisel’s bevel angle is the compromise between sharpness and strength. A shallower angle takes a finer, easier-cutting edge but chips more readily; a steeper angle is tougher and holds up to mallet blows but needs more force to push through wood. The “right” angle depends on what the chisel is doing. What does the … Read more
The numbers stamped on a hand plane are a sizing system, not a performance rating. A low number such as No. 3 or No. 4 marks a shorter, lighter plane built for fine smoothing. A high number such as No. 6 or No. 7 marks a longer plane built for flattening and jointing long edges. … Read more
A claw hammer is a lighter, general-purpose hammer with a curved claw, built for everyday jobs around the house and small workshop. A framing hammer is heavier, longer-handled, and usually has a straighter claw and milled face, built for driving large nails into structural lumber quickly and repeatedly. What actually separates the two hammers? The … Read more
An electric brake is a circuit inside a saw that reverses or short-circuits the motor the instant you release the trigger, so the blade stops spinning in a couple of seconds instead of coasting for ten or more. It reduces the time a bare, moving blade sits exposed after a cut. How does an electric … Read more
Soft start is a feature that ramps a motor up to full speed over a fraction of a second or so, instead of letting it jump to full power the instant the trigger is pulled. Bigger tools have it because a large motor starting at full force creates a strong jolt of torque that can … Read more
Variable speed changes how fast the business end of the tool moves — the rotations per minute of a drill bit or grinder disc, or the strokes per minute of a jigsaw or sander. Slower speeds usually mean more control and less heat; faster speeds mean more material removed per second, at the cost of … Read more
A heat gun is used well beyond paint for shrinking tubing and shrink wrap, softening adhesives and stickers, bending plastic sheet or pipe, freeing stuck fasteners, thawing small frozen sections of plumbing, and speeding the drying of fillers and finishes. It works anywhere controlled, directed hot air helps without an open flame. What else is … Read more
About what you read here. Everything on Find Tool is general information and our own editorial opinion. We research carefully and we say when the evidence is unclear, but we can be wrong, things change, and no article can know your particular situation. Please do your own research and make your own judgement rather than treating anything here as the final word. Prices, products and specifications around tools and workshop equipment change constantly, and what suits one person will not suit another. Check current details yourself, and where a decision involves real money, safety or something you cannot undo, it is worth confirming with the manufacturer, or a qualified electrician or tradesperson before you act.