This is a stake in the ground and a starting point for a project that will grow over time - ToolCrib.com’s Ultimate Guide to Online DIY Resources.

Here’s what we’ve got right now:
1) DIY Info Sites
2) DIY Blogs
3) DIY Forums
4) DIY Resources from ToolCrib.com

What I imagine this growing into:
Groupings based around actual home remodeling DIY projects - plumbing, wiring, tiling, etcetera. Plus a free how-to video roundup.

If you have a home remodeling blog or DIY site and would like to get on this list then send me an email: GFrench@ToolCrib.com or just comment this post.

Here goes, and I hope you enjoy exploring the DIY world online!

1) DIY Info Sites
Jim’s Home Repair Stuff
AWESOME collection of DIY and home repair links gathered from the alt.home.repair newsgroup. You should start here at the beginning of EVERY project.

The DIY Network
-what can I say? this is a grand-pappy of DIY information. Very well organized and a great place to get started

HomeTips.com
-ask questions of their expert, Don Vandervort. tons of guides and articles.

DIY Defined
-if you’re like me you like to know the roots of words and concepts. this definition comes from Wikipedia

The DIY Section of Lifehacker
-not home remodeling oriented but excellent resource and very fun

Danny Lipford
Video-centric. He’s the official DIY Guy for the Weather Channel and the Early Show.

2) DIY Blogs
I split the blog section into 2 sub sections - how-to oriented and home owner remodeling diaries.

a) DIY Remodeling how-to
Home Improvement Blog
-powered by home improvement professionals. some decent tutorials.

Home Improvement Blog
-dedicated to the basics.

Remodeling Ideas
-neat ideas - great if you’re just getting started

Do It Yourself Disaster Avoidance
-Great advice from a pro who does it himself

Helpful Advice for Home Construction Improvement
-Todd Fratzel shares his experience in structural design and home construction… he’s also building community through his Home Improvement Blogroll.

Elegant Kitchen Cabinets blog
-a guide to bettering your kitchen overall.

The DIY Blog
-home chronicles heavy on the How-To and informational.

Remodeling Q/A
-this remodeling q/a is set in a blog format… good stuff!

Charles and Hudson
-a must read for all DIYers! Frequent updates and quick tips that will make your DIY life easier

Behind the Walls: sharing stories about home renovation
-noise prevention? check. selecting kitchen appliances? check. GREAT DIY BLOG!

Home Improvement Web
-tips for tasks that increase your home’s value. to the point.

Inexpensive Home Building
- a great resource for DIYers seeking to save cash on projects. I was first struck by the story on ancient Egyptian air cooling methods…

Construction Deal Update
-Helping Homeowners navigate the world of Home Improvement

b)DIY Chronicles: Blogs by People Doing Home Remodeling Themselves
House Blogs
-a community-powered home improvement publication… NEAT! Very cool site, kind of a LumberJocks for home improvement.

Green Builder’s blog
-a contributor to the Home Improvement Blog project focused on conscientious remodeling practices

Best of the Web Home Improvement section
-list of mostly individuals chronicling their remodeling efforts

House in Progress
-home owners, good writers. Read!

Remodeling for Geeks
-remodeling bytes. this geek offers hacks for your home!

Brownstoner’s Renovation Blogroll
-Check out the Brownstoner’s list of renovation blogs!

Fixer-Upper: a Victorian Houseblog
-home owners talking shop

The Ramsay Home Blog
-a Canadian family building a home in the city of Calgary.

Pigeon Point Project
-a home remodeling diary set in Seattle

Homefront Insecurity
-fun, personal diary that digs into the realities of home improvement

The Seymour Project
-titled “A Renovation, A Money Pit, A New Home” this blog offers great details that should help any new home owner tear into a huge project

The Money Pit
-this blog’s title quote pretty much sums up the DIY remodeling process: “Here lies Walter Fielding. He bought a house and it killed him.”

DIY Insanity
-the ups and downs of building an addition to your house while living a VERY FULL LIFE

Homeowner’s Blog: A homeowner’s trial and tribulations
-a remodeling diary with an eye towards sustainability

Camping With a Mortgage
-sometimes titles really do say it all. this should be an engaging and fun read for home remodelers

Enon Hall: Old House Restoration Journal
-an amazing documentation of a house remodeled. includes forums and the thoughts of some hard working home owners.

House Made
-”Taking a 1922 Pueblo/Spanish Bungalow from Disaster to De-lovely”

Nightmare on Elm ST.
-great humor, great details for those in the throes of remodeling. definitely worth a read!

This Old Crack House
-Norm Abram (#1 most influential wood worker) just did a drive by with his nail gun… it’s This Old Crack House! A great and informational read.

This Decrepit Victorian
-”Follow along as we try to bring life back to a circa 1900 Victorian house in Richmond, Virginia.”

The Kitchen Chronicles
-one family’s story of remodeling the kitchen (sponsored by HGTV)

3) DIY Forums:
DoItYourself.com Community Forums
-with… 75k users you’re sure to find some great information and how-to help here! Those of you who are regular readers know that we participate in many forums… this one’s on our list for asking DIY questions!

DIYnot?
-DIY forum of the UK (53k members)

HouseRepairTalk.com
- a DIY forum, small and cozy. (3k members)

DIY Chatroom - Home Improvement Forum
(8.7k members)

Home Renovation and Building
-AU and NZ forum (2k users)

About: Home Renovations
-About.com’s Home renovation message boards.

This Old House Message Boards

Home Talkers
-they’re just getting started - jump in now!

Generation Renovation
- HGTV message boards

4) DIY Resources from ToolCrib.com
ToolCrib.com’s Ultimate Guide to the Top Ten Most Dangerous Woodworking Power Tools
-your most dangerous power tools + links to safety resources for each and every one.

ToolCrib.com’s Guide to Your Wood Shop’s Essential Woodworking Tools for $1,000 or Less
-Find out what woodworkers think are the most essential tools for $1,000 or less.

Green DIY and Green Carpentry Resources
-links and resources for going green on your remodeling projects!

DIY Table Saw Alternative: EZ Guide + Circular Saw
-there are some incredibly accurate and far less-expensive alternatives to the table saw out there! Learn more in this article!

5) Send us your links!
This is the first stage of our project to document and guide folks to the incredible DIY home remodeling resources out there on the web! If you’ve got links or suggestions let me know: GFrench@ToolCrib.com and I’ll get you on the guide!

We had another “name that tool” question on ToolCrib recently. (Here’s the first “name that tool” we got.) Here goes:

“I saw a TV infomercial promoting an unusual tool designed to ‘lift’ ceramic tiles off of floors and walls. It was like a small electric drill with various blades like scrapers.

“The tool had an “action” like an orbital, vibrating, roto-hammer which chipped away and lifted all sorts of flooring and tiles etc. with apparent ease.

“Do you have any knowledge of such a tool??”

I didn’t. WoodNetter Fred did in the thread I started called Ceramic Tile Removal. Here’s what he said:

That would be the Fein Multimaster.

I’ve heard (can’t put my fingers on a direct link at this instant) that the Fein TV commercial is through a different?? division or something and it’s either NOT the same Fein tool sold elsewhere or is dramatically different in price than what’s available from Fein distributors…

About the Fein, Wbracy said:

“They make a number of attachments for the multimaster and one is dedicated for grout removal. I used it in an area of our bath room and it work nicely. Once the grout was cut out I used a chisel and hammer to break the tiles these were 4″ square tiles and came out rather easily.”

Other tile removal methods:
There’s more out there than the Fein Multimaster.

Geez suggested a $16 air chisel:

“Based upon advice from the Bridge tiling forums, I picked up a cheap ($16) air chisel from the BORG. Comes with assorted chisels and works great. I did have to pick up a couple more chisels though once I figured out which one worked best. And at that price you can consider it disposable but after demoing my tile bathroom, it is still seviceable. Of course this assumes you have an air compressor already.”

BillH mentioned more industrial options: Floor Stripper Model FCS16 Rip-R-Stripper

Splinter suggested the bosch chipping hammer

Wrapping it Up:
In closing I think it highly appropriate that you read Fred’s also outline of the Murphy’s Law of bathroom tile removal:

“If you want tiles to come up/off the substrate… they won’t come off with anything less than a cold chisel and a 3# hammer. If you don’t want them to come off.. they’ll pop off like peanuts..”

Thank you to the WoodNetters who helped out! Be sure to check out the full thread here: Ceramic Tile Removal. If you have other suggestions for tools or techniques for taking tile off of walls or floors please write me at GFrench@ToolCrib.com, comment this blog or leave a comment in the WoodNet forum.

Coping looks like it’s tear-your-hair-out persnickety. Thankfully I can point you to some awesome coping conversations and resources rather than actually have to do it myself ;P

My coping “journey” started with a simple question we got at ToolCrib.com. This one in fact: “is there a jig available to make cope cuts on crown moldings?”

I took that one straight to WoodNet in the thread titled: Crown Molding Cope Cut Jig?

Here are some of their suggestions:
Easy Coper
the Collins Coping Foot
Speed-Cope Jigsaw Coping Jig

Here’s a suggestion from me, an Amazon Associate;):
coping jig search at Amazon

The Collins Coping Foot
In the thread that started there were at least two people who mentioned that Collins Coping Foot… a foot for your hand-held jig saw. One person even linked out to some awesome reviews of the coping foot in use. Here are some resources:

The Collins Coping Foot (review of the Collins Coping Foot)
More Coping: 135° Corners (using the Collins Coping Foot)

More Crown Molding Coping Resources:
Not being well versed in coping I decided to do a little research and put together a little mini resource guide for readers of our newsletter and blog.

First I needed a good definition. I went to Wikipedia: Coping (joinery)

Then I went to town in Google and found some good-looking how-tos:

Multiple cut crown molding
A Woodworking Video: Coping Crown
Step 3: Make a Cutting Jig
Crown Molding Made Easy
crown molding installation links
Tips on installing crown molding in an older home

I hope this post is useful to anyone who’s starting a coping project or looking for new methods. Big thanks to the WoodNetters for their help! Be sure and check out the thread: Crown Molding Cope Cut Jig?

I asked the ToolCrib.com newsletter readers what were their favorite brands - and for what tools and it got me thinking that this might be a good subject for the forums… (thanks for writing in ToolCribbers .

UPDATE: Check out the final results here: BOSCH Places Second in Battle of Power Tool Brands! Guess Who Got First…

Thus Began the Battle of the Brands
I asked our three favorite woodworking forums to tell us what were their top three brands and their favorite tools for each…

It turned out (as it usually does…) that my question is not as simple as it sounds.

Quite a few different debates started, from discussions about a decline in tool quality from major brands to conversations speculating about why ToolCribbers search the way they do.

Here are the Battle of the Brands threads:
WoodNet Battle of the Brands
FamilyWoodworking Battle of the Brands
LumberJocks Battle of the Brands

I’ll be working everyones’ responses into an article for our next newsletter so NOW is the time to put in your 2 cents about your favorite brands!

To get you started here are the top ten most-searched brands at ToolCrib.com:

1) DeWALT 20%
2) Porter Cable 14%
3) Bosch 13%
4) Makita 12%
5) Delta 10%
6) Hitachi 9%
7) Milwaukee 8%
8) Jet 7%
9) Bostitch 5%
10) Panasonic 2%

I look forward to hearing from you - just comment this post, send me an email to GFrench@ToolCrib.com or leave your thoughts in the woodworking forum of your choice.

Over 100 responses came in to answer our most recent question: How Would You Outfit Your Wood Shop from Scratch with ONLY $1000? (Please note that this was not in any way a contest!)

Keep in mind - this is zero tools, from scratch, bare wood shop and $1,000 for the NEXT YEAR. The question brought out some creative, funny and highly informative responses at the following sites:

The WoodWhisperer
WoodNet.net
FamilyWoodworking.org
LumberJocks.com

I read all the responses and divided some of the answers up into the following categories:

1) the 2 questions you HAVE to ask before spending your $1,000
2) Woodworking Celebrity list
3) Most Notable Answers
4) 5 Essential Tools Lists From Forums

(more…)

Frank Pellow’s a hardworking Canadian woodworker who tirelessly documents his projects so that others can learn little tips and tricks from him. He kindly sent over a selection of woodworking project threads he started in both FamilyWoodworking and SawmillCreek so that I could share them with my ToolCribbers.

In Frank Pellow’s Tool Cabinets Project he documents the two tool cabinets he built for his daughters.

What I find the most useful in reading this thread is that Frank’s so faithful in documenting his process - by showing his mistakes and his solutions to them we get to learn (and relearn…) right along with him.

For example - here’s Frank relearning why haste makes waste:

“Everything about this cabinet is quite straightforward and things would have gone batter if I had paid more attention. I was rushing and, as a result, had to backtrack and redo three different things. For example, here is a photo of a narrow bin stop being glued to the edge of the bottom shelf… and here it is being removed with a chisel:”

In this thread you also get to see Frank wrestle problems of space limitations:

“The second cabinet that I made (for Kathleen) has to fit into a space where the outside doors could not be open wide. In fact there will be only about 2 inches of clearance on both sides of the cabinet. This would not leave sufficient space to open the interior doors. If I tried to fit Kristel’s cabinet into that space, I would only be able to open the interior doors to a 49 degree angle.”

So go enjoy Frank’s Tool Cabinet Project thread at FamilyWoodworking!

And be sure to read The Story of a “Forum Assisted” Woodworking Shop: Frank Pellow’s Shop Build Journal if you’re designing your own shop or looking for ideas to improve your existing wood shop.

There’s not much in the so-called “Green Building” movement that will shock most woodworkers and DIYers…

Ideals like durability, reusing salvaged woods and selecting locally available materials have ALWAYS made sense to craftspeople. If you look through our collection of the 31 most influential woodworkers you’ll find many who were green well before their time.

That said, with the green movement building steam there’s a glut of green materials on the market these days and an increasing demand from home owners for green building practices.

How can you make sure that you’re actually making the “greenest” decisions for your projects while still staying on budget? The answer begins with education

What Does Green Mean?
Our working definition of green at ToolCrib.com is “building practices that emphasize the use of sustainable, environmentally and personally healthy materials.”

What are Green materials?
Green materials are finishes, wood or wood alternatives, veneers, adhesives etc, that have one or more of the following characteristics:

1) recycled content
2) renewable - from sources managed with sustainability in mind
3) efficient manufacturing process - minimal waste
4) locally available to reduce transportation costs
5) salvaged, refurbished, or remanufactured
6) durable

(our definition borrowed largely from the California Integrated Waste Management Board)

Green Carpentry Resources:
There’s not too much out there on green carpentry. There’s green woodworking, but that refers to building with freshly-felled wood.

The best single article I found was from a Woodweb discussion from 2005 about Green Cabinetry: “Green” Cabinetry.

These are more home-owner education oriented:
Getting Great Green Results from a Cabinet Shop - article from a homeowner
Eco-Friendly Kitchen Cabinets - what are “green” cabinets?
How to Select Green Materials for Kitchen Cabinets - instructions, tips and warnings

More Green Building Resources:
The Sustainable Building Sourcebook
Sustainable Building Materials
Suppliers of Alternative Building Materials

This quote from Woodnetter Burt got my attention in a big way:

“I’ve already sold a panel saw because of the EZ and in the next few days, I also plan to sell a unisaw, a Makita 12″ sliding compound and a Shopsmith overarm pin router. All three are being replaced by the EZ equipment.”

The EZ that has Burt selling off his tools is the EurekaZone Smart Guide System, a “multifunction, precision woodworking system.”
(more…)