Handheld power tools are small portable tools powered by electricity and operated by one or both hands. They are widely used in carpentry, metalworking, construction, renovation, maintenance, and other fields.
Whether you are a woodworking hobbyist or a professional woodworker, handheld power tools are essential for your daily work. They are suitable for various DIY projects and home repairs and greatly improve efficiency, precision, portability, and safety.
This post will focus on the 7 main types of handheld power tools. You can consider it a reference if you want to acquire some handy woodworking tools. The main text section covers the application, features, and uses of each tool. Just read on to gain some information.
Electric Hand Planer
An electric hand planer is a tool used to plane and trim the surface of wood. It is much more efficient than a traditional hand plane and is suitable for quickly removing a thin layer from a surface, flattening and squaring boards, or dimensioning wood. It also comes in handy when quickly smoothing the wood surface or making decorative edges such as chamfers.
When using an electric hand planer, first adjust the depth of cut. Do not remove too much material at one time to avoid harming the surface of the wood. Keep it stable during operation, and do not apply too much pressure to avoid scratching or damaging the wood.
Advantages
- High efficiency: It enables fast finishing of the surface and adjustment of the thickness of the wood.
- High accuracy: It is suitable for jobs requiring a flat surface or fine edge finishing.
- Less laborious: It is quicker and less laborious than traditional hand planes, suitable for fast handling of large surfaces.
Disadvantages
- Heavy weight: You may feel tired if using it for long periods.
- Skill required: Beginners need more skill to operate the tool. Uneven application of force can lead to scratches or unevenness in the wood.
- Noisy: It generates a lot of noise and vibration when in use.
Handheld Router
A handheld router is a precise power tool for fine grooving, trimming, and carving wood. You can adjust the routing depth by adjusting the height of the base plate. It is suitable for making decorative lines and joints like mortise and tenon. And it can create chamfers, roundovers, and carving patterns on the edges of the cabinet door.
When using it, you need to change the routing depth according to your project needs. And with the wide variety of router bits, you need to choose bits with the right shape and size for different cutting tasks.
Advantages
- High precision: It is capable of very fine edge trimming, slotting, engraving, etc.
- Flexibility: The depth is adjustable. And it applies to a wide range of router bits.
- Versatility: It can realize different complex shapes with different router bits.
Disadvantages
- Skills required: The operation is complicated, and you require certain skills and experience, especially for fine engraving.
- Unfriendly to beginners: It is easy to make mistakes for novice woodworkers, resulting in inaccurate cuts.
Saw
Saws are the most commonly used cutting tools in woodworking. Handheld power saws come in a variety of forms: jigsaw, circular saw, track saw, oscillating saw, and reciprocating saw. They can make straight cuts as well as curved cuts in wood, metal, and plastic.
When using them, the cutting speed needs to be adjusted for different materials and saws. If very precise straight cuts are required, guides or a range of accessories are necessary.
Advantages
- Versatility: They can cut various types of materials such as wood, plastic, metal, etc.
- Efficient: Electric saws can complete cutting tasks more quickly compared to hand saws.
- Diversity: There is a wide range of options to suit different cutting requirements, depending on the task.
Disadvantages
- Noisy and strong vibration: Prolonged use may cause tiredness and discomfort.
- Dangerous: Improper operation may result in injury. Protective goggles and earplugs are required.
Drill
An electric drill is a basic and common handheld power tool. It can be used for drilling holes, screwing screws, and even for driving in nails (electric drills with an impact function).
There are generally two types of electric drills: an ordinary drill and an impact drill. The former is suitable for drilling holes with drill bits. The latter has an impact function to deal with harder materials, such as concrete or brick walls.
Advantages
- Versatility: It can be used for drilling and for screwing, ideal for a wide range of home and industrial work.
- Easy to operate: It is easy to use, especially for beginners.
- Portability: It’s lightweight and ideal for long periods of operation without fatigue.
Disadvantages
- Limited material applicability: For certain hard materials (e.g., concrete, metal), specific accessories or stronger impacts are required.
- Easy to heat up: For long time use, it is prone to heat up and might reduce the battery life of the cordless drill.
Sander
A sander is a tool used to sand and smooth the surface of wood to help remove burrs, scratches or old paint from the wood. There are several types of common sanders: orbital sander, belt sander, and angle sander.
When sanding, you should choose the right sandpaper. Different grits of sandpaper are suitable for different works (rough sanding or fine sanding). Do not apply too much pressure as this can easily damage the material.
Advantages
- Efficiency: Compared to hand sanding, the sander can greatly improve the working efficiency and is suitable for sanding large areas.
- Great fineness: The surface to be sanded is very smooth and flat.
- Easy to operate: Put it on the surface of the material, and the tool works automatically.
Disadvantages
- Noisy: When it is running, the noise might affect the hearing.
- Dusty: The sanding process generates a lot of wood chips and dust. You need to wear a mask.
- Not suitable for delicate work: It may not be flexible enough for sanding that requires extremely high precision.
Brad Nailer
A brad nailer, also known as a nail gun, is a tool used to drive nails into materials quickly and accurately. It is widely used in carpentry, construction, furniture making, and other fields. Compared with the traditional hand-hammered nails, the nailer can greatly improve efficiency and reduce labor intensity.
Advantages
- Efficient: It’s able to quickly drive nails into the material, greatly improving the efficiency of the work.
- Accurate: The nailer ensures that nails are driven in accurately, which does not easily cause skewing and reduces wood damage.
- Labor-saving: It reduces labor intensity, no need to use a hammer.
Disadvantages
- Safety hazards: There are certain safety risks when using it. You must be careful to avoid accidentally injuring yourself or others.
- Complicated maintenance: Regular maintenance and inspection are required to keep the nailer running normally.
Screw Gun
A screw gun (electric screwdriver) is a tool specially designed for screwing, which is lighter and is better ideal for delicate work than a power drill. It has many different torque settings for screws of various sizes and hardness. It is common in assembling furniture, installing doors and windows, and repairing home appliances.
Advantages
- Lightweight: It is lighter than an electric drill for effortless operation.
- Precise control: The torque setting can help to better control the strength of screwing and prevent over-tightening.
- Fast and efficient: It can greatly improve the efficiency of screwing, especially suitable for a large number of assembly tasks.
Disadvantages
- Limited application: It is mainly suitable for screwing, not for drilling holes or handling other types of tasks.
- Short battery life: The batteries have a short lifespan and need to be recharged regularly, which may interrupt work when used for long periods.
Related Article: Wrench vs Screwdriver: What's the Difference?
FAQ About Handheld Power Tools
#1. What is a handheld power tool?
A handheld power tool is a small portable tool powered by electricity and operated by one or both hands. It is widely used in carpentry, metalworking, construction, renovation, maintenance, and other fields.
#2. What is the difference between a hand tool and a power tool?
Compared with traditional hand tools, power tools can dramatically improve efficiency, precision, and repeatability, and are suitable for a wide range of tasks such as cutting, sanding, drilling, and engraving.
Also Read: Top 6 Types of Hand Tools for Woodworking Projects
