Tools

The performance of the glue is fantastic. We glued two pieces of pressure treated softwood that had been left in the rain together and the glue held. Eventually the wood failed after some serious abuse with the Estwing. We also tried various tropical resinous hardwoods: oak, ply cedar and redwood. In all instances if applied as per instructions the performance was excellent.

It does foam up while curing, but with time you get quite good at judging how little you have to use, and how best to apply it to minimize this. It is however easily removed and can be filled and over painted with ease.

An older carpenter once told me Estwing made the best hammers in the world. A year or so later he replaced his old leather handled Estwing with a newer Nylon-Vinyl handled version and he gave me his old hammer. He was correct; they are wonderful hammers to use on a daily basis. Eventually the metal fixing on the bottom of the handle came loose. This allowed the leather rings that form the handle to fall off. I must add though that by this time it had been used daily. Sometimes up to 8 hours a day, on roof framing etc on a professional basis for many, many years. I replaced it with a Nylon-Vinyl handled version.

Because they are professional hammers Estwing offer a wide range of head weights, head designs and handle lengths.

Over the years I have used and owned many other types and makes of hammer. The wooden handled ones broke; steel shafted hammers lost their heads (very dangerous).

I also broke the golden rule and bought a cheap copy of the Estwing. One week later the glue in the handle sleeve failed and while driving a 4 inch nail the shaft and head shot out of the handle, just missing a work companion. Think of how often you use a hammer and for how many years you will have it and suddenly the small price premium you may pay for an Estwing will make perfect sense.

We now only use Estwing hammers.Very well balanced with reduced effort required, Minimal vibration, easily the most comfortable hammer to use all day. And I'm not sure how you would ever break one.

Japanese Pull Saws

I first purchased a Japanese pull saw a couple of years ago specifically for all the fine cuts we need to produce.

It takes a while to get used to the different cutting action but once mastered it can produce truly amazing results.

Buy the version that only has the small teeth on one edge of the blade. They produce a version that has small teeth on one edge and large teeth on the opposite edge. This can prove hazardous unless you keep the plastic guards on but these get in the way on large timbers or long cuts. The large teeth can also leave slight marks on the inside of the cut surfaces as you work through large timbers or very long cuts.

Super accurate cuts, leaving an incredibly smooth cut surface. Tends to naturally straighten the cuts. Absolutely superb tool for producing highly accurate results.