Jobsite Tools
Rockwell Jawhorse
“Getting set up and in position with your work piece and your tools is half the battle,” says Mason Lord, who recently went back into the field. He has found Jawhorse handy for a wide range of applications.
Mounted on sturdy legs that fold up, Jawhorse is vise and sawhorse in one. It has a foot pedal with a quick-clamp and quick-release mechanism. “This has a holding power that outdoes a regular vise, which you have to clamp to a sawhorse,” Lord says. “It can hold big things and small things. You can use it to hold a door for planing; you can mount a miter box on it; let’s say you have a 6-inch piece of wood you have to do some kind of tooling on—you could use it as a carving vice,” Lord says. “And it folds up like a suitcase, so it’s easy to carry.”
Mason Lord, managing partner
Hudson Valley Preservation
Sherman, Conn.
Rockwell Sonicrafter
Before they found Sonicrafter, a small oscillating cutting tool, Mike DuKate’s building crews would get frustrated by tight places in which they couldn’t easily cut. But no longer.
The Sonicrafter has an offset toothed blade—with other interchangeable blade options—and can connect with other tools as well. It “allows us to cut material in tight spaces and allows it to be done efficiently,” DuKate says. “We don’t have to pull a whole piece of material off and [move] it to a saw. It can even be used to clean off caulk on masonry. Tight, hard-to-get-to cuts that were darn near impossible before are now easy.
“My field employees say [the Sonicrafter has] been the greatest innovation for us,” DuKate says. “I’m just waiting for a laser light to cut things one day. Until then, we have this.”
Mike DuKate, owner
DuKate Fine Remodeling
Indianapolis