How tools actually work, and how to choose one
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 planer takes a board that is already reasonably flat and reduces it to a consistent thickness from end to end. A jointer takes a board that is warped, twisted or has an uneven edge and flattens one face or edge so it can sit true against a fence or another board. They solve different … Read more
A riving knife is a thin curved plate of metal mounted just behind a table saw’s blade, rising and falling with it. It keeps the freshly cut kerf from closing up and pinching the blade, which is one of the main causes of kickback — so it matters because it is a core defence against … Read more
A mitre saw is a power tool with a circular blade mounted on a pivoting arm, used to make precise crosscuts and angled cuts across boards, mouldings and trim. A sliding mitre saw adds rails that let the blade move forward and back, so it can crosscut much wider boards than a fixed head can … Read more
A router and a trim router do the same basic job — spinning a bit to cut, shape or hollow wood — but a trim router is smaller, lighter and less powerful, built mainly for one-handed edge work and laminate trimming. A full-size router handles heavier cuts, bigger bits and joinery that needs more mass … Read more
A random orbital sander moves its round pad in two ways at once: it spins in a circle and it wobbles off-centre, so no single point on the disc ever travels the same path twice. That randomness is what stops it leaving the curved swirl marks other sanders create, which is why it’s the sander … Read more
A jigsaw is best at cutting curves, circles and irregular shapes in sheet material and boards, and at cutouts where the blade needs to plunge into the middle of a panel. It struggles with long dead-straight cuts, thick hardwood, and any job where a clean, splinter-free edge matters more than flexibility. What is a jigsaw … 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.