From hand tools to power tools, and other useful gear that enhance a carpenter’s life for the better, here are Mark’s Smashmouth Tool Favorites from 2021.
I’m lucky.
I know this intro should be about what this blog is about–my list of the best tools on my jobsites from 2021–but it isn’t. It’s about how I feel.
Now the favorite tools.
I’ve been reviewing tools for a more than a hot sec. Longer than probably almost anybody you see anywhere you look. I’ve been a carpenter–and before that a landscaper and tree guy–longer than I’ve been reviewing tools for magazines.
The reason for pointing that out in this first ever TOOLS-per Bowl is that a new tool discovery–something that not only does what it says it does, but also opens up new doors and new possibilities for doing work better–well, the rush of that never gets old. I do, but that feeling doesn’t.
It also enables me to dispense with the hair-on-fire race to push new tool reviews out the door like bombardier. Rather, I can write about new-to-me tools that might also be new to you, even if they’ve been around a long time.
So, without further adieu, here are the winningest best-favorite tools from the Circus Maximus jobsite.
Flex Power Tools
2021 saw the introduction of Flex Power Tools on to the shelves of Lowe’s.
Oh, great. Look. Another power tool brand breathlessly trying to reach what some tool companies call “end users.” What’s that you say? It has 1000% more power? Oh, do tell. Is it best in class? Does the new battery tech have 1-million watts…Yawnsville. Nap time.
Well, as Flex rolled out tool after tool, I got my wake-up call. Holy Heck!
Flex is crackback, people of the goodship TOOLS. ALL of the Flexers I’ve used are measurably better–whether that be power, design, innovation, or a combination of the three–than other tools I’ve used.
The impact driver with a Conan-like 24-volt, 5-amp-hour battery is my uber go-to from decks to trimwork like cabinets. Seriously. Winning the innovation nation award is the 6 ¼-inch, top-handle circ saw. I think I like everything about it. It’s definitely my everyday carry.
I could go on about the rotary hammer with exchangeable bit holder and 3-jawed chuck. Its existence means I can drill or chip in concrete and mix grout or joint compound with the same tool.
Touchdown!
OmniTable
The OmniTable is a portable work surface with folding legs that is rippling with DIY details. While I don’t use a single one of them, this table is the first thing I set up on a jobsite and the last thing I break down. It’s fantastic.
Part creeper cart, part drywall bench (350-pound rating) and all table, this thing is a beast. I’ve used it as a jobsite center to house everything from coffee cups to keys to plans. It has served as a small stage to build a privacy screen. I’ve used it at tradeshows to move items on its in-line skate wheels across the show floor.
Its built-in carry handle makes it easy to carry and store in the truck. Its 3-port multi-plug energizes it and makes it an extension cord hub. Rugged, ready it’s a tool that’s here to stay. It’s a favorite tool.
Estwing Hammer
Estwing’s leather handled hammer is not new by any means, but it is new to me. And it has earned a spot as my every day carry. I had an otherwise wonderful Titanium whammer slammer but on a shed I built I had some hand nailing to do. Siding and roofing to be specific–smaller nails. The large head on the titanium hammer was too much and setting these smaller nails was a chafe. So I dug out this 19-ounce, all-steel, leather anachronism.
And it started these nails with just the right ca-thunk I needed. The handle was slippery to start, but it broke in. Later on, when I needed to really tee off on some stuff, the meat was there in the steel. It’s something titanium–easier on the back, worse on the wallet I suppose–just doesn’t have. But the Estwing is light at 19 ounces so, it’s plenty easy on my back.
The claw’s fetch is just about perfect for pick-and-pry demo. And the leather handle is short enough that when I bend down, it doesn’t get pushed out of the hammer loop.
Talk about smashmouth. It’s another favorite-best tool.
Dalluge Pry Bar
There’s not really much super special to say about this Dalluge Pry Bar–other than it is an awesome favorite tool.
Despite having the same features as other pry bars, the Dalluge deploys them differently–and I think better for lots and lots of demo work–than others. Primarily, it’s long, right around 24 inches. Its tube steel body makes it light, 1 ¾-pounds, and its 2-inch wide forged ends make it great for getting a solid bite on whatever you’re trying to pull apart, like trim for example.
Special teams MVP.
eGo 56-Volt Lawnmower
This eGo 56-volt lawnmower is a grass beast. The home field advantage of cordless lawn mowers, with TWO mighty 56-volt batteries, this thing runs and runs and runs. It handles tall grass like a champ and it leaves a crisp, clean cut.
To be fair, I use it with the bag off and the rear hatch propped open for tall lawns. That’s NOT in the instructions. The bagger works and for yards that need it, it’s even self-propelled. On principle, I don’t use that feature, but I also have a flat yard.
After a solid season in use, it shows no signs of rattling itself apart. The handle collapses quickly for easy storage and, I can’t believe I’m saying this, the quiet operation is really nice. Heck, the thing even has a headlight and it has come in handy when I’ve ignored mowing the lawn much longer than I should.
Power-Trac Loader
There are two phases to my carpentry and home improvement career: Before Hydraulic Equipment and After Hydraulic Equipment. My Power-Trac PT-425 is not only my entree into owning and operating hydraulic equipment, it’s my workworse.
While this unit–it’s a 23-HP 1,300-pound front-end loader officially in the “sub-compact loader” category–is not new, it’s new to me. And has made such an impact on my business that it should be on this list twice. On the small side for a tractor, it is on the huge side in terms of versatility.
I bought it for one thing and one thing only: Augering holes for the decks I build (watch my How to Build a Deck series here).
However, it came with a bucket and that bucket, it turns out, is ideal for an enormous amount of jobsite activities. It’s the perfect tender for transporting tools from the truck to the site, usually a 100-yard walk from truck into backyard. The bucket is also great for mixing concrete.
What the bucket is amazing for is snow removal. I can clear 8+-inches of snow from a 75-yard long driveway with 4-car garage in about 30 minutes. It crushed the city plow snow bank like nothin’.
And with the forks, well, it’s a forklift.
Better yet, because it has wide tires and the body articulates in the center, it has no more impact on the landscape than a riding mower.
Buy it for the holes. Keep it for the 800 other things it opens me up to do. X-factor.
Post-Protector
The Post-Protector isn’t really a tool like a hammer or a drill, but man this doohickey certainly rises from humble “building product” to Full Tool status. And it’s not because of what it’s designed to do–protect wood posts from ground contact decay, which it does superbly well–rather it’s all the other things it makes (A) possible, (B) easier, and (C) more affordable.
Here’s the deal. Post-Protector is a plastic sleeve that you put over the end of a post that’ll live in the ground. This isolates it from the creepy crawlies in the ground that eventually do damage to even treated lumber. Think deck post, fence post, pole-barn post, mailbox post.
Decks are where they really shine for me. See, by using the Post-Protector as compared with pouring concrete in tubes it saves me time. Rather than fussing with tubes (something no deck builder has ever dropped a post dead center in the middle of), mixing, then filling each with about 8-bags of concrete or calling a truck, I can pour one bag of gravel, one bag of concrete per hole, then put my post right in the hole. Using Post-Protector over tubes saves me days–plural.
Next, I can use material–cedar, like in this privacy screen–not rated for ground contact in the ground.
Then, back to tubes, all the dirt I displaced digging the footing hole can go…wait for it…back in the hole. Using tubes, the hole is mostly full of concrete. Other deck builders have to cart dirt away or cast it out into the yard. Not me. I’m in full forward progress at all times with Post-Protector. And the inventor-owner–heckuva guy, too.
Popular Mechanics magazine
That’s right. I said “magazine.” As in paper.
While hardly new–Popular Mechanics has to be 100 years old–it was a genuine pleasure to read each issue that came in 2021. Each issue I sat down with, I’d look at the cover art and table of content and say to myself…Nah.
Restoring an antique plane, hyper local nuclear power, fake towns built for WWII…none of this is up my alley. Who cares?
But then I’d get into it.
The front matter is all one page or page-and-a-half reads. They’re just dense enough that the sizzle has some steak but they’re not so long you have to devote serious time to it either. Give me more than a page on quantum computing (I still don’t really know what it is) and my brain is mush anyway. The features are all–seriously, all of them–interesting in some way.
Turns out that antique plane I wasn’t interested in was made of wood. The bulk of the article was a giant woodworking project.
And the home section. It’s fantastic. Solid tool reviews by reviewers who, thank god, know what they’re doing and how tools are used. Does it skew maybe a little DIY? Sure. But it’s still great coverage. How-to is creative and useful. And the section editor has a unique take on just about anything home improvement, from boots to pocket knives.
Nahhhh…turns into a page turner. It happens time and again, month after month.
So hurray for edited content. Hurray for people who care about what they’re putting out, to paper in the palms of my hands. And, hurray to another favorite tool.
Skil Table Saw
The rebranded and re-chooched Skil table saw is everything I want in a table saw and everything I don’t.
Let’s start with don’t.
I don’t want a table saw and container ship anchor to have similar weights. I don’t want it to be hard to set up and I don’t want it and whatever labyrinthine maze of tube steel stand it comes with to take over my truck like kudzu.
And on those notes, Skil’s tool delivers. It’s light and carries easily. It’s folding legs fold underneath the saw deck rendering it the best shape of all for storage: A cube. And they unfold just as nicely.
I do want a table saw to be powerful (it is) and its adjustments and switches to work well (they do) and I want the details like throat plate and blade change thought about in the design stage (they were).
Add to that obvious durability and a good price and we have a Skil player right there. A clear tool favorite.
Blow Gun Accessory
One wouldn’t think that a simple blow gun for the air compressor would make a list like this, but the Kobalt Tools high flow blow gun isn’t your typical air compressor accessory. This turbo charged beast mode blow gun is awesome in a shop or on a jobsite. The reason is, it blows a LOT of air.
Cleaning off the workbench? Boom.
Cleaning dust off the tools at the end of the day. Woosh!
Need to hang it up in between tasks so it’s handy for the next time it’s needed? Big ole trigger on there that’ll hook up nice.
Venturi ports are part of the secret, siphoning outside air into the aperture to combine with the compressed air. The venturi unscrews if you need less of a hurricane.
This is one of those tools I don’t use often, but when I need it to spring into action, the air is there.
LiteBand
Needing to see things is part and parcel with home improvement. Under a sink? Chasing daylight to wrap up a project or load the truck? Deck inspection?
How about checking on the house during a power outage or–worse–having to do something you need both hands for like pumping water during a power outage?
While flashlights work here, they have their limitations, limitations LiteBand blows away. And it’s become one of my tool favorites.
Essentially an LED strip mounted in a head band, it casts a wide, gentle…beam isn’t the right word…orb. Unlike a head lamp that light sabers the beam wherever you turn your head, LiteBand has so much light emitting from it that it does point where you look, but it doesn’t leave everything else in the dark.
And, as a strip, it stays still on your noggin. I’ve gone running with mine and it was an excellent light source–it helps you to be seen as well as to see–and it didn’t bounce around. With one around my head and one around my waist, I was able to run in the woods in pitch black.
Easily slung over a nail in the shop or tucked in a truck compartment, it’s out of the way when you don’t need it. USBc charger port for the on board battery means you’re not running out of batteries as the tool powers down.
Innovative. Useful. Stadium lights.
What are your favorites?
Are there other tools that you’d add to the list of best tools?
What are your current tool favorites? Any surprising go-to tools that you didn’t think you’d use, but seem to reach for a lot?
