Trade Culture & Advocacy

Auger bits self-feed through thirty joists without stopping. Spade bits cost a dollar and cut fast until they hit a nail. Every rough-in electrician carries both because structural lumber drilling is a two-strategy problem.

The circular saw handles 80% of cuts on any job site. The jigsaw handles 15%. Neither tool has eliminated the other because straight lines and curves demand different physics - and the 5% of cuts that overlap is where it gets interesting.

The reciprocating saw was born for demolition. The jigsaw was born for curves. They share the same blade motion and live in the same toolbox - and the proximity tells you something real about how construction work actually flows.

The combination gauge exists. It does both marking and mortise work. Experienced woodworkers refuse to use it. Why does the market offer simplicity that craftspeople reject?

Self-centering dowel jigs promise automatic alignment. The mechanism is elegant. The physics guarantee it can't deliver the precision it implies - and the entire product category exists in the gap between promise and tolerance.

Cartridge grease costs six times more per ounce than bulk. The savings sound obvious until you've spent fifteen minutes with grease up to your elbows fighting air pockets in a barrel you can't quite thread back together.

The random orbital sander should have killed the belt sander decades ago. It's lighter, safer, and leaves a surface you can actually finish. But on every serious job site and in every working cabinet shop, the belt sander is still there - pulled out for the jobs nothing else can touch.