It's been a busy week in the world of makers! Let's dive right in:

Ron Paulk popped up this week with another great tool review, which he's dubbed "The best screwdriver ever made!" I'd previously heard tell that Craftsman's Autoloading Multi-Bit Screwdriver was a keeper, and here he shows you why.

Jimmy DiResta takes an old fireman's axe head that seems well beyond saving, and he not only restores it, but figures out how to fit a new handle into it using some molding skills. Then he crafts and fits the handle and goes the extra mile, banging out a sweet leather sheath.

Jay Bates doesn't just design his pieces, he carefully designs his process. In this video, as he creates a mortise-and-tenon table from scratch, he walks you through the carefully-considered sequence of events and demonstrates a couple of neat tricks along the way (check out the no-dust dado cutting). If Bates wasn't building for a living, he'd have a career as an efficiency expert for sure.

                       Huge DIY CNC

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Who knew that for the past year, Frank Howarth has been secretly building a big-ass CNC mill! Now he's finally revealing it. In Part 1 we see Howarth working with an unfamiliar material—steel, rather than wood—and welding up one burly base. In Part 2 he starts building the rails and gantry. Lots of problem-solving going on here!

What Tools Cost

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This week Matthias Wandel takes trolls to task, specifically the ones who say "If I had $100,000 worth of tools like you do, I could do all that stuff too." (Uh, no you couldn't.) In this video Wandel explains exactly what the tools in his shop cost, and—surprise surprise!—it doesn't take all that much to get started.

Putting a Lid On It 

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April Wilkerson continues building out the extension to house the dust collector for her shop, first figuring out how to roof, then building the doors herself. Mistakes are made and challenges are encountered, but Wilkerson prevails. (She always does!)

Out-of-the-Way Clamp Racks

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Even master contraption inventor Izzy Swan's picked up a CNC mill! Here he uses it to bang out a simple, efficient clamp rack. (Between you and me, I still think Swan could out-perform the CNC.)

Tool Talk

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Marc Spagnuolo and the missus have returned with an episode of The Wood Whisperer Live, which was put on hold last month as the Spagnuolos were busy welcoming a new member of the family. But they're back now, this time talking about FastCap's StileRite clamps, a Fuji five-stage turbine, the Powermatic PM2244 Drum Sander, and the Port-A-Mate Industrial Strength Mobile Base, for those that need to move 1,500-pound tools around the shop.

                       Largesabers

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The new Star Wars movie's a month away, but Bob Clagett ain't waiting around. This week the father and Star Wars enthusiast built two comically huge lightsabers out of materials available at Home Depot. Only question is whether the kids will be allowed to play with them….

One From the Archives: 

Monster Handheld Power Planer

Jesse de Geest shows off a beast of a tool—a handheld power planer with a freaking 12" capacity! I had no idea that Makita made such a thing, let alone that you could push it one-handed.