Workbench Magazine Review

Choose the journal that helps you choose the job

Innovative tool awards

Workbench is known for its annual awards given to the tools that show the greatest innovation in the field each year. The tools awarded run the gamut of items used in the course of construction, cabinetry, and more.

Because woodworkers can be so isolated the publishers of Workbench magazine sought to champion great design and promote it to other woodworkers in order to ensure there would not be a stagnation of innovation in the field. Some of this year's more interesting winners include:

Milwaukee v28 Lithium Ion: Batteries have seen a great deal of advancement in the last five years. Lithium Ion technology batteries had changed precious little in the last 100 years. Indeed, in the late 90s there was speculation that nanotech would create miniature internal combustion engines to replace batteries.

Milwaukee has taken this technology and brought to the tool industry a battery that, while the same size, is any where from 90-100% stronger than those that came before. The battery also works at a cooler operating temperature, which prolongs a charge as well as the life of the battery in general.

Festool C12 Brushless Motor Cordless Drill: Workbench lists this drill as having virtual immortality because of its innovative design. The brushes that transmit the power to the electric motor are often the cause for a great deal of wear and tear on a tool. By eliminating this aspect of the design, Festool has created what amounts to one of the seven wonders of the wood working world.

Plans

Workbench also offers a very well rounded database of build plans online and in its magazine each month.

Heirlooms: This is an area that is very close to any woodworker's heart. Creating something that becomes a family legacy is perhaps one of the greatest projects a person can make. One area that caught my eye contained baby crib plans: not one of the more labor-intensive jobs but surely a great way to make something special.

Organization: This area has plans for every thing from tool sheds to childrens workbenches.

More information on work bench