Preview: Best Boat Building Tools, Part 1 – Small Handheld Power Tools
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November 11, 2011
Email this Video to a FriendInside the Brooklin Boat Yard, master builder Eric Blake talks boat building tools and what he considers to be the wooden boat building industry’s “standard” small handheld power tools. Through hard use, some manufacturers’ boat building tools have proven better than others, and Eric talks honestly about his favorite brands in each tool type. A real money saving video if you are looking to buy just one power tool of each type and want to get it right the first time.
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16 Responses So Far to “Best Boat Building Tools, Part 1 – Small Handheld Power Tools”
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Michael Roddy says:
Believe he meant to say “impact driver” at 6:22. Could be an important distinction for someone picking out a cordless drill / driver set. I have a Milwaukee 18v impact driver and I love it. Either the same model shown in the video or very similar. It’s a great tool. But it’s not a hammer drill.
Jonathan Mc Donald says:
I liked this video. I am a big Milwaukee fan, but I frequent swap meets and grab their aluminum cased drills, shine them up and bask in their performance.
Jeff Levy says:
good stuff here
Ken Page says:
Great video. My old Makita power planer is only just now starting to scream back at me (bearings) to replace it. It’s about 18 years old.
Raymond Hurley says:
Good video. Is the Milwaakee Sharp Shooter the 5 amp or 8 amp model? Will be awaiting the previously mentioned video on routers/router tables.
Dennis Stockwell says:
Very good input on tools that stand up to everyday use!!!
Jim Bauman says:
I agree with David Slater, and want to add that whenever I can get into a boat shop I like to look at (and photograph if possible) everything. There’s tons of ideas and information for the novice everywhere you look. How they’ve built/improvised workbenches, end vises, shoulder vises, plank vises, tool boxes. Lighting, layout. How they store their paint brushes. Even what kind of scraps get saved and what gets tossed! I used to periodically go look around the Rockport A-shop back in the day, and once visited Dynamite Payson at his shop. Priceless!
Steve Stone says:
Thanks for your input Jim. This helps us as we plan what to shoot in the coming months. We went to Harry Bryan’s shop in Canada (www.HarryBryan.com) and have a good video in the editing stage that’s filled with this sort of stuff in Harry’s “off the grid” shop.
Glenn Holland says:
A couple of weeks ago I left my trusty (old) Craftsman jigsaw in the middle of Honduras. For years, I’ve been telling folks to “go to a job site and see what those guys are using”. Yesturday, because of this video, I searched out a good, used Bosch on eBay. Will put the order in today (free shipping).
thanks, good useful information.
Eric Blake says:
Glen, I hope you love it as much as we do, they make a great jig saw.
Jeffrey Wright says:
No Festools?? While pricey, they are outstanding: routers, sanders (NO dust!!), vacuum cleaners, and more.
Steve Stone says:
Hi Jeffrey. We’ve got a couple videos in the pipeline that feature Festools. Yes, you’re right, they’re good tools and probably well worth the price to those who can afford them. You’ll see Bill Thomas using (and swearing by) the Festool sander in the ‘How-to-Build the Fox’ videos.
John Blackhall says:
Good info, thanks. Was hoping you would have recommendation for router. Thoughts?
Eric Blake says:
John, We had routers in the mix initially and decided that they deserved a piece all on their own in which we could focus on router tables as well. Just a preview of what is to come, Porter Cable is at the top of our list. Hold on, there is more coming your way!! Eric
David Slater says:
That was great. Here is an idea for a video. I learned a lot about tools. During the video I kept looking around Eric trying to see more of the shop. It is enormous. I saw dozens of huge c-clamps and i wanted to see more. A video tour of boatbuilding shops would be endless enjoyment for some such as me.
I am working my way through all your videos and they are great. I watch them while exercising and they are long enough for me to accomplish some good exercise. Keep up the good work. Thank you for bringing all this to the public.
Steve Stone says:
Thanks David. We’ve shot tours of several boat yards, so there are several videos in the works for 2012 with tours of great yards.