Hand Tools
Hurricane Chisel Set Review: Months of Weekend Shop Use
Two years, four chisels, one garage bench. What the HURRICANE 4 piece set does well, where it annoys me, and who should actually spend the money.
Two years, four chisels, and a lot of hinge mortises. What the HURRICANE set does well, where it falls short, and whether it belongs on a weekend bench.
Two years, four chisels, one garage bench. What the HURRICANE 4 piece set does well, where it annoys me, and who should actually spend the money.
Two years on the HURRICANE set, plus an honest look at what the Narex set does better and who actually needs it.
Two years, one garage bench, and four chisels that replaced a coffee can of mismatched junk. Here is what earned the drawer space.
Two years, four chisels, and a lot of hinge mortises. What the HURRICANE set does well, where it falls short, and whether it belongs on a weekend bench.
A working method for paring dovetails, hinge mortises and joint shoulders with a four-piece bench chisel set, plus the honest limits of the set I use.
Two years of paring dovetails and cleaning hinge mortises with a four piece set from HURRICANE. Here is what held up, what annoyed me, and the one thing I would change.
Eighteen months of chamfers, end grain and drawer fitting in a two-car garage shop, with the annoyances included.
A garage-shop comparison, including the four rows I had to hand to Stanley.
Eighteen months with a JORGENSEN No. 60-1/2 on the shelf above the bench, and the jobs it quietly took over from sandpaper.
A weekend woodworker's honest story about the JORGENSEN No. 60-1/2 block plane, what it fixed, and where it still falls short.
Five habits that turn a fuzzy sawn end into a cut edge you can finish straight off the plane. Learned the slow way, on my own bench.
Eighteen months with the JORGENSEN No. 60-1/2: the sharpening session it needed on day one, the fitting jobs it does better than sandpaper, and the depth knob that still bothers me.
Three years on a pegboard in a one-bay garage shop: what a 9.5 inch double-edge pull saw actually does for a hobby woodworker, and where it still fights back.
One saw has lived on my pegboard for three years. The other lived there for twenty. Here is the honest split.
A garage-shop woodworker's honest list of what the SUIZAN 9.5 inch ryoba does well, and the jobs he still leaves to other saws.
Three years, one narrow kerf, and a lot fewer pared tenons.
Five steps that keep a pull saw on the line, plus the two edges most people use backwards and the one habit that ruins a clean cut in the last inch.
Three years of weekend use, one close call with a kinked blade, and a plain look at what a ryoba does well and where it will disappoint you.
After two years on a rolling cart, here is what the coarse side is good for, where the fine side stops, and who should skip it.
A home-shop comparison of the SHARPAL 162N diamond stone and a two-grit waterstone, from someone who uses both on chisels and plane blades.
Two years on a rolling cart in a Fullerton garage: what a double-sided diamond stone actually does for chisels and plane irons, and the two places it stops short.
Thirty years of dull chisels, one rolling cart, and the stone that finally got used instead of stored.
Five steps, one stone, and every mistake I made along the way so you can skip them.
Two years on the sharpening cart, one chipped chisel too many, and a plain answer about what this stone does well and where it stops being enough.
Four years on a garage pegboard, through picture frames, step stools and one stubborn bookshelf. What the 12-inch IRWIN does well, where it stops, and who should put it on their bench.
A home-shop comparison of the IRWIN Combination Square and a cheap speed square, with notes on reach, fine scales, one-handed marking, and where each tool belongs.
Ten jobs a 12 inch combination square handles that a speed square cannot, from a garage woodworker who has kept one on the pegboard for four years.
Four years of picture frames, a blanket chest and a bookshelf, and the one square that hangs where I can reach it.
Five habits that turned my IRWIN 12 inch square from a drawer ornament into the tool I reach for before every cut.
Four years on the pegboard in a garage shop. What stayed accurate, what stayed readable, and the two things about the head that still bother me.
Two years, four chisels, one garage bench. What the HURRICANE 4 piece set does well, where it annoys me, and who should actually spend the money.
Two years of paring dovetails and cleaning hinge mortises with a four piece set from HURRICANE. Here is what held up, what annoyed me, and the one thing I would change.
Eighteen months of chamfers, end grain and drawer fitting in a two-car garage shop, with the annoyances included.
Eighteen months with the JORGENSEN No. 60-1/2: the sharpening session it needed on day one, the fitting jobs it does better than sandpaper, and the depth knob that still bothers me.
Three years on a pegboard in a one-bay garage shop: what a 9.5 inch double-edge pull saw actually does for a hobby woodworker, and where it still fights back.
Three years of weekend use, one close call with a kinked blade, and a plain look at what a ryoba does well and where it will disappoint you.
After two years on a rolling cart, here is what the coarse side is good for, where the fine side stops, and who should skip it.
Two years on the sharpening cart, one chipped chisel too many, and a plain answer about what this stone does well and where it stops being enough.
Four years on a garage pegboard, through picture frames, step stools and one stubborn bookshelf. What the 12-inch IRWIN does well, where it stops, and who should put it on their bench.
Four years on the pegboard in a garage shop. What stayed accurate, what stayed readable, and the two things about the head that still bother me.