Product Reviews

September 2019

Rolling Relief for Boat Trailers

Dual pneumatic jack-stand tires

The small wheel on a trailer’s jack stand may function well enough on smooth pavement, but on sand and soil it will plow when you want it to roll. A pair of wheels with 10” pneumatic tires will make moving a trailer much easier.

September 2019

Dust Deputy Cyclone Separator

Oneida's Dust Deputy

Shop vacuums are useful tools for gathering the wood chips and dust produced by power tools, but cleaning the filters is a messy chore and collection bags can get expensive. The Dust Deputy dumps the debris into a bucket before it even gets to the vacuum.

August 2019

Pedal and Paddle Switches

Safer switches for workshop tools

Bandsaws and table saws demand our full attention, so they should be easy to turn off. Alternative switches allow us to keep our eyes on the blades.

August 2019

Image-Stabilized Binoculars

The Canon IS II 10x30

The usefulness and pleasures of binoculars are often lost because it’s nearly impossible to hold them still. We take a look at an offering from Canon that’s equipped with image stabilization.

July 2019

DeWalt’s Benchtop Planer

DeWalt's DW734

DeWalt’s DW734 bench-top planer can handle lumber up to 12” wide and 6” thick. Its three-blade cutter head spins at 10,000 rpm, making 96 cuts per inch. With powerful feed rollers, it can cut up to 1/8” in a single pass.

July 2019

Quickloader Retractable Ratchet Straps

A better ratchet strap

Quickloader’s retractable ratchet straps are thoughtfully engineered and simple to use. The QL15 model has a reach of 12’ and neatly coils its 1” polyester webbing around a spring-loaded drum. The strap feeds out and retracts like a tape measure so there’s never any slack to get knotted, tangled, or twisted.

June 2019

16″ Wandel Bandsaw

An economical DIY project

Matthias Wandel, a Canadian engineer, woodworker, and YouTuber makes many of his shop tools out of wood and offers remarkably detailed plans for his creations. His 16” bandsaw is a rewarding project for frugal do-it-yourselfers.

June 2019

WS-3000 Tool Sharpener

Turning sharpening upside down

Work Sharp’s WS-3000 tool sharpener uses see-through sanding disks, tempered-glass wheels, and an air-cooled guide to make quick, accurate work of sharpening chisels, plane irons, and other edge tools.

May 2019

Compact Routers

Better visibility, easier handling

A lot of the jobs a router can do don’t require a lot of heft and horsepower. A compact router that is easily managed with one hand will quickly prove its usefulness in the boat shop.

May 2019

Versa Vise

Making itself useful since 1901

A bench vise is an essential tool and the Versa Vise, with its smooth-faced jaws and ability to pivot in four different ways, can handle wood, brass, and bronze without damaging them.

April 2019

A High-Thrust Caulk Gun

The Newborn 250

If you’ve squeezed hard on the grip of a caulking gun and couldn’t get a bead of thick caulk or adhesive flowing from the tip of a cartridge, it’s not you, it’s the gun. The Newborn 250 puts the mechanical advantage in your favor.

April 2019

Pocket Chainsaws

Making the cut without the motor

Where there’s shoreline, there’s usually driftwood that can be useful around camp or worth taking home for woodworking projects. When it’s too big to move or carry, a pocket chainsaw can cut it down to size.

March 2019

Resp-O-Rator

Better breathing for the bearded

Airborne dust in the shop poses a real health threat, but bearded boatbuilders won’t get adequate protection from a face mask if it doesn’t provide a good seal. The Resp-O-Rator solves the problem with a mouthpiece like that used with a snorkel.

March 2019

Portable Running Lights

LED lights from Innovative Lighting

A lot of small boats aren’t wired with electrical systems, so battery-powered running lights are in order for traveling at night. We take a look at a set from Innovative Lighting.

February 2019

Oscillating Multi-tools

DeWalt’s DWE315

The first oscillating cutting tools were created for cutting plaster casts off the limbs of patients who had broken bones. That was in 1967. Today they’re known as multi-tools and they can take on jobs that are impossible for other power tools or painfully tedious to do by hand.

February 2019

Bernzomatic’s TS 8000

Serious heat made simple

The ordinary propane torch is a useful tool but somewhat limited in what it can do by the amount of heat it can create. The Bernzomatic TS 8000, with its larger flame, faster fuel consumption, and the ability to use both propane and hotter-burning MAP-Pro gas increases the range of possibilities.

January 2019

Trailer Guide Posts

Less drama at the ramp

Trailer guide posts can be your new best friend at the ramp when you’re on your own and struggling to get your boat lined up on the trailer and operate the winch at the same time.

January 2019

A 1″ x 30″ belt sander

Just 20 seconds to change belts

A 1”x 30” belt sander is a small benchtop machine that can not only handle woodworking projects too small for other power tools, but also work metal from rough shaping to polishing.

December 2018

V-DrillGuide

Accurate alignment for hand drills

When you can’t get the work to a drill press, the V-DrillGuide from Big Gator Tools makes it easy to drill holes centered and squared.

December 2018

A Cordless Wet/Dry Vac

Portability from Porter Cable

Porter Cable’s compact cordless vacuum cleaner goes wherever there’s a mess to clean up whether it’s wet or dry, in the shop or in the boat.

November 2018

Jetboil Flash

Cooking aboard, quicker and safer

Jetboil’s Flash Cooking System is pot, stove, and fuel all in one tidy and easily stowed package. It is very quick to boil water and simmers gently enough to make cooked meals without scorching. The pot has a neoprene insulating sleeve to retain heat and a webbing handle so you don’t need a pot gripper.

November 2018

P.O.S.H. Rope

Easy on the eyes and hands

For a boat with bright-finished wood and bronze hardware, bright white braided line can look out of place. Langman Ropes’ P.O.S.H cordage has the aesthetics of traditional hemp and the strength of modern synthetics.

October 2018

Cruz Camera

from Hyndsight Vision Systems

Rowing has, at long last, gone digital and wireless. Hyndsight makes a waterproof cameras and monitors that provide a clear view over the bow, so you don’t have to swivel your head like an owl. And the Cruz system goes one better than having eyes in the back of your head; it works for those trailering tasks when you need to be in two places at once.

October 2018

AR-Tech LED Flashlight + Lantern

Five functions and it floats

The Life Gear Flashlight + Lantern was design with boating in mind. It floats, turns on automatically when immersed, has a 100-lumen flashlight beam, and an all-around area light in white for general use and in red for preserving night vision.

September 2018

No-Spill Gasoline Can

A better gas can

Filling a small outboard motor’s internal fuel tank can be a messy task. The No-Spill Gas Can helps eliminate spills and overfilling with its push-button valve and automatic flow stop.