Core77

Rounding Up the Best Tools from Holz-Handwerk 2016

By Rain Noe - April 11, 2016

Each day of Holz-Handwerk, I tried to get there early enough to beat the crowds. Rain Noe 1 of 115

But there really is no beating the crowds, because… Rain Noe 2 of 115

…by the end of the show some 110,000 people will have walked these halls. Rain Noe 3 of 115

Speaking of crowds, in the power tool pavilion Festool's massive booth was routinely mobbed. Impossible to shoot in there unless I came back during lulls. Rain Noe 4 of 115

Here's their newest work lamp, the Duo, which offers a 180-degree field of 5000K daylight. Rain Noe 5 of 115

It's not yet available in the 'States. If you're an American fan of Festool, get used to this acronym: NAINA. (Not Availabe In North America) Rain Noe 6 of 115

Here's their demo area, which was usually blocked from view by camera crews and German folks too big for me to see over. Rain Noe 7 of 115

Speaking of things to big to see over, check out this jobsite radio. Rain Noe 8 of 115

I thought it was just a gag, but it's actually in production. Rain Noe 9 of 115

It's called the Sys-Rock and it'll take any of their cordless batteries. Rain Noe 10 of 115

Fancy cases for the tracksaw tracks. Rain Noe 11 of 115

Festool crosses the tracks. Rain Noe 12 of 115

They've got a jobsite tablesaw where you attach a circular saw to the underside of it, and pull it towards you to make a cut, sort of like an upside-down radial arm saw. It's NAINA. Rain Noe 13 of 115

Dictum is a popular tool distributor. They sell a huge assortment of hand tools from low-end to pricey. Here's some of their sweet Japanese chisels. Rain Noe 14 of 115

Pull saws on display in the Dictum booth. Rain Noe 15 of 115

Pull saws on display in the Dictum booth. Rain Noe 16 of 115

Hatchets, hammers, pry-bars and folding saws in the Dictum booth. Rain Noe 17 of 115

Handplanes in a Systainer in the Dictum booth. Looks like a low-angle jack, a smoother and a rabbet block plane. Rain Noe 18 of 115

Bosch's fancy hi-tech levels. Rain Noe 19 of 115

Mafell chain-mortising machine attached to a door and ready to bore. Rain Noe 20 of 115

Business end of a Mafell chain-mortising machine. Rain Noe 21 of 115

Mafell has a jobsite tablesaw similar to Festool's (or is it the other way 'round?) Rain Noe 22 of 115

Mafell chain-mortiser with dust extraction. Rain Noe 23 of 115

Note the parallel edge guide. Rain Noe 24 of 115

Note the parallel edge guide. Rain Noe 25 of 115

Mafell chain-mortising machine. Rain Noe 26 of 115

When you need to drill a really deep hole that's gotta be perfectly plumb, Mafell's got you covered. Rain Noe 27 of 115

Mafell beam saw. Rain Noe 28 of 115

Mafell beam saw. Rain Noe 29 of 115

This is Mafell's self-propelled track saw, we shot video of it here. Rain Noe 30 of 115

This is Mafell's self-propelled track saw, we shot video of it here. Rain Noe 31 of 115

Schwaiger is a family-run carpentry firm in Austria. The owner has invented a series of tools and clamps and sells them under the name IQ Tools. Rain Noe 32 of 115

IQ Tools clamp with spacers. Rain Noe 33 of 115

IQ Tools edge-banding clamp and sheet-carrying handles. Rain Noe 34 of 115

These are designed to clamp and carry sheet goods without marring the faces. Rain Noe 35 of 115

These IQ Tools edge-banding clamps are also designed not to mar the faces. Rain Noe 36 of 115

IQ Tools jig for precisely drilling repeated locations for things like drawer knobs and handle pulls. Rain Noe 37 of 115

IQ Tools jig for precisely drilling repeated locations for things like drawer knobs and handle pulls. Rain Noe 38 of 115

IQ Tools sheet-carrying handles, alternate design. Rain Noe 39 of 115

The show wasn't all German companies. American staples like Milwaukee were there too. Rain Noe 40 of 115

Milwaukee jobsite lamp. Rain Noe 41 of 115

Milwaukee jobsite lamp. Rain Noe 42 of 115

Milwaukee jobsite lamp. Rain Noe 43 of 115

Milwaukee jobsite lamp. Rain Noe 44 of 115

Milwaukee folding miter saw stand. Rain Noe 45 of 115

They say you can never have enough clamps. Bessey makes every variety you can think of. Rain Noe 46 of 115

They say you can never have enough clamps. Bessey makes every variety you can think of. Rain Noe 47 of 115

They say you can never have enough clamps. Bessey makes every variety you can think of. Rain Noe 48 of 115

They say you can never have enough clamps. Bessey makes every variety you can think of. Rain Noe 49 of 115

They say you can never have enough clamps. Bessey makes every variety you can think of. Rain Noe 50 of 115

They say you can never have enough clamps. Bessey makes every variety you can think of. Rain Noe 51 of 115

They say you can never have enough clamps. Bessey makes every variety you can think of. Rain Noe 52 of 115

Metabo is a company that doesn't yet have good brand recognition in the 'States but is well-known in Europe. They target the metalworking and construction industries. Rain Noe 53 of 115

At some point this display was spinning and impossible to get a good shot of, but they eventually turned it off. I guess maybe someone got dizzy. Rain Noe 54 of 115

Metabo's folding miter saw stands. Rain Noe 55 of 115

The Kurvenlinfix system for routing smoother curves. We wrote it up here. Rain Noe 56 of 115

The Kurvenlinfix system for routing smoother curves. We wrote it up here. Rain Noe 57 of 115

The Kurvenlinfix system for routing smoother curves. We wrote it up here. Rain Noe 58 of 115

Lamello was there with their Zeta P2 joiner and P-System joinery method. We wrote it up here. Rain Noe 59 of 115

Lamello was there with their Zeta P2 joiner and P-System joinery method. We wrote it up here: http://www.core77.com/posts/49825/Lamellos-Zeta-P2-and-P-System-Joinery-Method-for-Wood Rain Noe 60 of 115

Lamello was there with their Zeta P2 joiner and P-System joinery method. We wrote it up here. Rain Noe 61 of 115

Lamello was there with their Zeta P2 joiner and P-System joinery method. We wrote it up here. Rain Noe 62 of 115

Lamello was there with their Zeta P2 joiner and P-System joinery method. We wrote it up here. Rain Noe 63 of 115

Lamello was there with their Zeta P2 joiner and P-System joinery method. We wrote it up here. Rain Noe 64 of 115

Lamello was there with their Zeta P2 joiner and P-System joinery method. We wrote it up here. Rain Noe 65 of 115

I tried to stay out of the monster-sized-tool pavilion, because none of you can afford that stuff, but occasionally passed through it. Here's a panel saw that is either self-propelled or only meant to be used by tall folks. Rain Noe 66 of 115

This sliding table saw is so big, I think you have to buy it first and then construct your shop around it. Rain Noe 67 of 115

If you have to ask what this thing is, you probably don't need one. Rain Noe 68 of 115

Fine, I'll tell you. The Panhans Super-Gehrfix is a miter/length-stop for sliding table saws. It is presumably superior in some way to the regular Gehrfix. Rain Noe 69 of 115

The EC Emmerich, a/k/a ECE booth had their beautiful traditional tools on display. We wrote them up here. Rain Noe 70 of 115

The EC Emmerich, a/k/a ECE booth had their beautiful traditional tools on display. We wrote them up here. Rain Noe 71 of 115

This ECE block plane on the right led us to a rather interesting hand tool story. You can read it here Rain Noe 72 of 115

The EC Emmerich, a/k/a ECE booth had their beautiful traditional tools on display. We wrote them up here. Rain Noe 73 of 115

The EC Emmerich, a/k/a ECE booth had their beautiful traditional tools on display. We wrote them up here. Rain Noe 74 of 115

The EC Emmerich, a/k/a ECE booth had their beautiful traditional tools on display. We wrote them up here. Rain Noe 75 of 115

The EC Emmerich, a/k/a ECE booth had their beautiful traditional tools on display. We wrote them up here. Rain Noe 76 of 115

The EC Emmerich, a/k/a ECE booth had their beautiful traditional tools on display. We wrote them up here. Rain Noe 77 of 115

Dunnemann makes these cool Klemmsia wooden-jawed bar clamps. A cam lever locks them down and the jaws are cork-covered. These are used for restoring musical instruments, clamping delicate veneers, or any kind of work where the thing-to-be-clamped is precious and you can't afford to mar it. Rain Noe 78 of 115

A bunch of Hauptschule chartered buses to bring their kids to the show. These buses pulled up pretty regularly. I thought that was pretty cool. Rain Noe 80 of 115

Here are the kids posing for a group photo. Rain Noe 81 of 115

Stabila was there with their pretty levels. Rain Noe 82 of 115

BMI and their beautiful levels. We wrote them up here. Rain Noe 83 of 115

BMI and their beautiful levels. We wrote them up here. Rain Noe 84 of 115

BMI and their beautiful levels. We wrote them up here. Rain Noe 85 of 115

I loved this BMI level made out of hardwood. It's for when you don't want to mar a delicate surface. Rain Noe 86 of 115

I loved this BMI level made out of hardwood. It's for when you don't want to mar a delicate surface. Rain Noe 87 of 115

I loved this BMI level made out of hardwood. It's for when you don't want to mar a delicate surface. Rain Noe 88 of 115

Leigh is actually not German, but a Canadian company. They make these fancy router jigs that let you cut unusual joints. Rain Noe 89 of 115

Leigh's unusual joints. Rain Noe 90 of 115

Leigh's unusual joints. Rain Noe 91 of 115

Leigh's unusual joints. Rain Noe 92 of 115

I regret I couldn't get photos of the demo machine (it was too crowded). Fischler makes these stone wheels that you use to sand profiles into trim, handrails and the like. Rain Noe 93 of 115

Bermaro sells a hand sanding block with a dust extraction option. Rain Noe 94 of 115

This is the Braun Handburstmaschine. Rain Noe 95 of 115

You definitely want to keep your hands away from the business end. Rain Noe 96 of 115

It lets you cut these cool textures into wood. Rain Noe 97 of 115

It lets you cut these cool textures into wood. Rain Noe 98 of 115

I was surprised to see it's not solid wood at all, but extremely thick-veneered plywood. Rain Noe 99 of 115

Swiss manufacturer Rali makes these lightweight block planes. There are no irons to sharpen. Instead the company has designed these to take disposable razor-blade-like cutters. Rain Noe 100 of 115

Swiss manufacturer Rali makes these lightweight block planes. There are no irons to sharpen. Instead the company has designed these to take disposable razor-blade-like cutters. Rain Noe 101 of 115

Swiss manufacturer Rali makes these lightweight block planes. There are no irons to sharpen. Instead the company has designed these to take disposable razor-blade-like cutters. Rain Noe 102 of 115

Swiss manufacturer Rali makes these lightweight block planes. There are no irons to sharpen. Instead the company has designed these to take disposable razor-blade-like cutters. Rain Noe 103 of 115

The soles are striated to reduce friction (and thus fatigue). Rain Noe 104 of 115

The soles are striated to reduce friction (and thus fatigue). Rain Noe 105 of 115

The soles are striated to reduce friction (and thus fatigue). Rain Noe 106 of 115

Rali also makes a line of chisels that use disposable blades. Rain Noe 107 of 115

This is the "Fritz und Franz" table saw safety device. We wrote it up here. Rain Noe 108 of 115

The CNC pavilion seemed to regularly be the most crowded at the show. Rain Noe 109 of 115

I dunno if you can tell by this photo, but it was like friggin' E3 in there. Rain Noe 110 of 115

If you came back late, you could actually see the machines. Not sure what this one does, but it's larger and has more windows than your average Manhattan apartment. Rain Noe 111 of 115

This is a critical component used in the manufacture of time machines. Rain Noe 112 of 115

Oh wait a sec, no it's not, it's a tool changer for a CNC machine. I always get those mixed up. Rain Noe 113 of 115

This looks like you display cakes on it in a bakery, but is actually a tool-changing rack for a CNC machine. Rain Noe 114 of 115

That's a lot of rollers. After a long day on the trade show floor, I just wanted to lie down on this thing and sleep. Rain Noe 115 of 115

Held every two years in Germany, Holz-Handwerk is a massive European trade show for woodworking and wood processing. Focusing on all kinds of tools, technology and techniques related to wood crafts, you'll find everything there from the most primitive hand tool all the way to the NASA-level CNC machines. Here is a glimpse of what was on show.