This past year has seen some great new developments and innovations in the woodworking tool industry that make our hobby a lot easier and more convenient. Some major manufacturers have either merged or have been taken over by others. For example, Ryobi. All but lost, Ryobi is now a new company and is producing excellent home woodworking power tools that are really affordable. In doing so they have increased the interest in both woodworking and home repair/renovation.

Robert Bosch is a major manufacturer of power tools and this year they have taken over Vermont American Tools and Skil TOols. Vermont American makes some of the finest woodworking tool accessories on the market. And of course, Skil. When you think of Skil, you automatically think of the portable circular saw. They have a full line of portable power tools that are priced just under the Bosch brands.

To get on with it then, here is my opinion of the past year's best tools. I would like to stress that the tools are listed at random, there is no first or last. They are all great tools.

Delta & Porter Cable...

Of the major manufacturers, Delta and Porter-Cable (really the same company, one makes stationary tools and the other makes Portable tools) have been the producers of most of the new and innovative tools this year and thier 'think tank' must really be busy.

Porter-Cable recently released a Cordless Router powered by a 19.2 V NiCAD battery (see photo 1). The 9290 has a 600 watt, 23,000 RPM motor and is compatible with the P.C. model 690 router and can use the optional plunge base or the standard fixed base.

Speaking of cordless, Porter-Cable has also added another first, a Cordless Brad Nailer (see photo 2). You may think that this is not really innovative, but, consider this. The BN200V12 is both a 12 V cordless and a pneumatic nailer. A great ideaif you are refinishing a room and don't want to lug 50' of air hose along with you.

From Delta, we get another great idea that no one has thought of doing, adding a second speed to a thickness planer. Why would you want two speeds in a thickness planer? Well, the thicknessing speed will bring the boards down to size and the finishing speed will give you an ultra-smooth finish. This new planer is a 13" model witha 1/8" to 6 1/2" capacity and has a depth stop for more convenience. (see photo 3). The head lock virtually eliminates snipe, that pesky little dip on the ends of the boards.

Wizard

The latter is a rectangular frame that will scan a board 12 1/2" x 6 1/2" and pick up the smallest trace. An audible loud beep and LED lamps light up in both units to pinpoint the tool damaging villain. See www.wizarddetectors.com for more information.

Craftsman

Craftsman has a neat new tool they call the 3-D Sander (see photo 4). The sander is small and comfortable and has three small rotating sanding discs that adapt to contours like railing tops. The 3-D will also hug concave surfaces and has a variable speed motor to boot. The 3-D is priced uner $80 and like all Craftsman tools, they are only available at Sears.

C.H. Hansen

Sharpening a carpenter's pencil has always been a real pain for me. Inevitably you get the lead point almost right but it needs just one more cut. That 'one more cut' usually cuts the lead off as well. Very soon you are down to sharpening a 'stubby.' C.H.Hansen in the U.S. has solved the problem with an ingenious $4 tool -- a Carpenter's Pencil Sharpener (see photo 6). Put it on a string and tied it to your shop apron. This little idea will put a nice sharp point on your pencil. It's available at Home Depot.

Boa Constrictor

What a heck of a good idea. The Boa Constrictor (see photo 9) will open just about anything from jam jars to pulling apart those stuck vacuum cleaner wands. They have a rubber belt attached to a handle and are fully adjustable. The Boa Constrictor is sold in two sizes either separately or in pairs at Canadian Tire stores.

Vaughan & Bushnell

The Perfect Saw Guide from Vaughan & Bushnell is one of the finest hand tools that we have tested in the past year (see photo 10). SO simple yet so accurate, this Dozuki style, thin kerf handsaw cuts like a hot knife through butter and with the guide makes compound miter cuts a breeze. If you want to master hand cut dovetail joints quickly, this is the tool to do it with.

Franklin

Franklin International are the people that bring you TiteBond adhesives that are considered the best in the woodworking industry. Franklin recently introduced a new product called the HighPURFormer (see photo 5). What the HighPURformer is, is a Cordless Hot Melt Glue Gun. The adhesive range for this new tool consists of hot polyurethane adhesives that have tremendous strength. You can glue end grand to end grain without even thinking about joint failure. THe WW30 hot melt glue is a woodworking glue that sets up in 30 seconds, the WW60 is also a woodworking glue that fills gaps and sets up in 60 seconds. The third hot melt glue is the MP 75 and this is an all purpose adhesive that will glue almost anything to anything. It's pricey and it won't replace your liquid gludes, but itis a time saver and will find lots of uses in the shop.

See you next year!