Building Materials & Supplies

Tile cutters don't actually "cut'' the tile, but rather break it to size, which is much easier. The cutter works by scoring the surface of the tile, then snapping it at the scored line. Cutting...

When shortening a piano hinge, you must ensure that the thin rod that comprise the hinge does not receive damage. If you apply excessive pressure to the hinge or use the incorrect cutting tools,...

Whether you're installing floor trim, a chair rail, or framing a window, there will come a time when you have to create a corner with a miter cut. This is simply two cuts at opposite angles on two...

Ceramic tiles are the easiest kind to cut, because if you score the surface and apply pressure on both sides of the scored line, it will snap in two right at that line. This is the principle on...

Cutting a straight line in ceramic tiles is about the easier tile-cutting chore you could ask for---you just score and snap it with a manual tile cutter. Angled and corner cuts can be made with a...

When building a new home the most visible parts are the exterior siding and trim. Recently, a new type of siding and trim has come to market that is made of concrete: Hardie Siding and Trim. These...

A Dewalt miter saw equipped with the correct blade can cut lightweight aluminum easily. All Dewalt saws come equipped with carbide-tipped blades, which are much stronger than regular steel blades....

Concrete block is among the most widely used construction materials because it is a strongly built rigid material. Concrete block may need to be cut for partial wall sections or openings or...

The first rule of caring for a rusted handsaw is don't let your handsaw get rusty. But sometimes we break the first rule and have to make things right. Whether you left your saw in the rain for...

Medium density fiberboard (MDF) is a man-made material typically used in construction of cabinets, shelves and wall units because of its strength, ease of machining and lack of a grain. MDF is...

Hydraulic hose, unlike many other hose types, cannot by cut using snips, scissors or a knife. This is due to the fact that hydraulic hose has steel belting like a tire inside of it. Hydraulic...

The table saw, sometimes called a sawbench, is the cornerstone of any serious woodworker's shop. The tool quickly and accurately cuts wood, and, with a few accessories, can help with complex...

Porcelain tile is so hard and strong that it's easy to assume it must take a wet saw or other extreme measures to cut it. In fact, for straight cuts, all it takes is to score a line through the...

Skill saws, also known as circular saws, are just the right tools for people needing to make quick cross cuts or even short rip cuts. For any carpenter or home renovator, a skill saw is a...

There are several ways to cut tiles--a wetsaw, a hand-saw, tile nippers--but the easier is a score-and-snap tile cutter. This method isn't actually a cut but a controlled break. The cutter is a...

Micarta is a high-pressure composite laminate made by Norplex-Micarta . The material is manufactured by curing paper, linens and various cotton fibers with resins. The company uses these...

Skill saw blades must be changed if they rust or get dull. Obvious signs of a dull blade include burn marks on the sides of the wood or the discharge of smoke during a cut. Changing a skill saw...

Pegboards make a wonderful wall storage area for the garage. Adding hooks to the pegboard will keep tools within reach, and commonly used tools can be stored there permanently. Pegboards make a...

Cutting steel tubing for welding is a relatively simple task. Steel tubes are used for everything from transporting natural gas underground to building scaffolding. Prior to welding the apparatus...

There are numerous ways to cut standard-sized ceramic tiles, depending on the kind of cut you need to make. The preferred method for straight cuts is a score-and-snap tile platform cutter, while...

Ceramic is the easiest kind of tile to cut, because it's made from clay instead of natural stone. While stone tiles usually require a wetsaw to cut, standard sized ceramic tiles (6 to 10 inches)...

Hardiplank siding is a type of cement fiberboard that can look like wood, stucco and other types of siding, such as vinyl. This type of siding is tougher than other materials that are used for...

Plastic lumber is a popular choice for outdoor structures, such as fences, decks and pergolas. Plastic lumber doesn't rot; resists stains, mold and mildew; comes in different colors; and has the...

Tools for every conceivable task can be found at your hardware store. The concept of using tools to complete a task started in the cradle of humankind. Beginning with a simple palm-sized rock to...

A cross-cut saw is something you've seen in old photographs of logging camps, and sometimes hanging from the walls of antique shops. They're those long metal saw blades, usually with handles on...

Laying a tile floor or hanging tile on a wall is surprisingly easy--until you get to that first corner or plumbing fixture and you have to make a cut. Because tiles are hard and brittle, cutting...

Foam core board is a handy material that has a variety of uses in the home. Foam core board looks somewhat like oversized sheets of plywood, only they're made out of a dense foam material. This...

Cutting angles in wood -- say, for trimming around corners -- used to be a lot harder than it is today. The advent of the power miter saw takes the guesswork out of it, because the saw is designed...

A surface grinder is a device that is used to accurately and intricately remove unneeded layers from a surface in an effort to smooth the target layer. The reason that a surface grinder is used is...

When cutting ceramic and some other "softer'' kinds of tile, you can use a tile cutter that simply scores and snaps the piece. But the hardness of marble tile makes that cutting method difficult,...

A jig saw is a small but crucial part of any power tool collection. Its reciprocating vertical blade can cut wood, metal, vinyl and other materials in ways that no larger blade can. While a jig...

A trowel looks like a little, short-handled shovel and has uses in many different professions. The professions that rely heavily on the use of trowels are actually referred to as "the trowel...

The purpose of a miter saw is to cut material (generally wood) at a specific angle. Modern miter saws come in a range of styles, defined mostly by how much you can adjust the position of the...

If you have a large tool collection, there's a good chance that several of those tools use rotary blades, those flat round discs of metal with alternating beveled teeth all around. Circular saws,...

Most of us have used a measuring tape. Whether it was measuring that tight spot in your dorm room in college, before buying that nice desk, or measuring for the new counter top, the measuring tape...

Circular saws are one of the most convenient and powerful supplies in any carpenter's arsenal. Convenient and easy to carry, the circular saw quickly becomes the good workman's best friend. A...

Miter-saw blades can be expensive, and once they start getting dull they become hard to use. When a circular blade dulls, it just means the straight, flat edges along the thickness of the metal...

Coroplast is a brand of plastic that is similar in structure to corrugated cardboard. It is often sold in sheets, but most people will not need to use the entire sheet. This means that you will...

A bandsaw blade can snap, especially if it is brittle with age or cold or if it is excessively torqued. But you don't need to buy a new saw; you can weld the blade yourself.

If you want to get a perfectly leveled lawn, then correctly using a box blade is an absolute necessity. Box blades are often used to level golf greens, for example, so imagine how terrific you can...

Bandsaw blades can be stored conveniently by first coiling them into three smaller loops. However, doing this could be a little tricky. You can use the technique in this article to quickly and...

To change a band saw blade, unplug the machine, loosen knobs to remove the cover, unscrew the old blade with a screwdriver and add the new blade by applying the appropriate tension. Tighten the...

Replacing an axe handle requires tapping the new handle into the blade and applying small wooden or metal wedges to hold the axe together. Fix a broken axe after chipping out remains of the old...

Sharpening a plane blade requires sharpening stones of various grits and a little oil. Sharpen a plane blade in a curve or a straight line by sanding down any burrs and listening for just the...

Unless you're trying to break out of prison, cutting steel bars is a very easy process with the right tools. Some say that it's possible to cheaply cut steel bars with a mitre saw and an abrasive...

You've completed your new project or remodel job but notice that some of the cured silicone is not correct. It may have leaked over onto a surface that you didn't want covered. Generally a strong...

When it comes to using tile to cover a wall or a floor or a tabletop, many people are intimidated by the thought of having to cut tiles. However, with a little education you will find that cutting...

A jigsaw is used for cutting out patterns in wood because the blade moves up and down, create a great format for detailed, decorative woodwork. Understand the uses of a jigsaw with instructions...

Constructing a tile floor can add a pleasing dimension to any remodel. It can spruce up a kitchen or add class to a bathroom. If you are installing your own stone tile, you'll eventually run...

There are several different types of saws that can be called reciprocating. These include the jigsaw, the scroll saw and the rotary saw. Reciprocating saws feature short blades attached to a...