July 16, 2007

Fine Homebuilding No. 189 - Review

The new Fine Homebuilding just arrived and, after a read-through, we can happily report that it’s a solid, above-average effort from our friends at Taunton. As usual, there are a few articles geared more for idea-generation, as opposed to actual execution. This time around they’re good ones and display a lot of options for consideration. The cover story, “Signature Details for Kitchen Cabinets,” is a fine example, giving eight different ideas and scenarios for sprucing up the kitchen.

The more practical articles, “Insulating a Rim Joist,” “Trimming a Basement Window,” and one on the use of a basement curtain drain,” are all well-written, and easy to understand. Also, there is a good one on how to install a garbage disposal.

Read on to see what tools are covered in this issue of Fine Homebuilding.

As far as tools are concerned, this issue has one great article on Miter Saw Stands. We liked the article so much, we already ran out a bought one of the stands mentioned. The article rates all the major brands and comes to some interesting conclusions. The Trojan, the Delta, and the Bosch all rate well, but it’s the Sawhelper that is the editor’s favorite. This comes as no surprise to us, as we saw the Sawhelper in action at this years JLC Live show and couldn’t get over how cool it was. But the article’s big upset is the Ryobi Saw Stand, which the editors applaud for its price (a hair under $100), it’s functionality, and it’s quick setup. We’ve got a brand new one in the workshop right now.

So, like we said, this is an issue worth having on the coffee table.

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