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Power tool
 
 
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A power tool is a tool
Tool

A broad definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other....
 powered by an electric motor
Electric motor

An electric motor uses electrical energy to produce mechanical energy, nearly always by the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors....
, a compressed air motor, or a gasoline engine. Power tools are classified as either stationary or portable, where portable means handheld. They are used in industry, in construction, and around the house for cutting, shaping, drilling, sanding, painting, grinding, and polishing. Stationary power tools for metalworking are usually called machine tools.






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Encyclopedia


A power tool is a tool
Tool

A broad definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other....
 powered by an electric motor
Electric motor

An electric motor uses electrical energy to produce mechanical energy, nearly always by the interaction of magnetic fields and current-carrying conductors....
, a compressed air motor, or a gasoline engine. Power tools are classified as either stationary or portable, where portable means handheld. They are used in industry, in construction, and around the house for cutting, shaping, drilling, sanding, painting, grinding, and polishing. Stationary power tools for metalworking are usually called machine tools. The term machine tool is not usually applied to stationary power tools for woodworking, although such usage is occasionally heard, and in some cases, such as drill presses
Drill

A drill is a tool with a rotating drill bit used for drilling holes in various materials. Drills are commonly used in woodworking, metalworking, construction and most "Do it yourself" projects....
 and bench grinder
Bench grinder

A bench grinder or pedestal grinder is a machine used to drive an grinding wheel .Depending on the grade of the grinding wheel it may be used for sharpening cutting tools such as Lathe tools or drill bits....
s, the exact same tool is used for both woodworking and metalworking.

The lathe
Lathe

A lathe is a machine tool which spins a block of material to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, or Deformation_ with tools that are applied to the workpiece to create an object which has rotational symmetry about an axis of rotation....
 is the oldest power tool, being known to the ancient Egyptians (albeit in a hand-powered form). Early industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution

The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, production, and transportation had a profound effect on the socioeconomics and cultural conditions in United Kingdom....
-era factories had batteries of power tools driven by belts from overhead shafts. The prime power source was a water wheel or (later) a steam engine. The introduction of the electric motor (and electric distribution networks) in the 1880s made possible the self-powered stationary and portable tools we know today.

Stationary power tools are prized not only for their speed, but for their accuracy. A table saw not only cuts faster than a hand saw, but the cuts are smoother, straighter and more square than even the most skilled man can do with a hand saw. Lathes produce truly round objects that cannot be made in any other way.

An electric motor is the universal choice to power stationary tools. Portable electric tools may be either corded or battery-powered. At present (2007) the limitations of battery life, energy capacity, and cost keep the corded versions on the market. Compressed air
Pneumatics

Pneumatics is the use of pressurized gas to affect mechanical motion.Pneumatic power is used in industry, where factory machines are commonly plumbed for compressed air; other compressed inert gases can also be used....
 is the customary power source for nailers and paint sprayers. A few tools (called powder-actuated tools) are powered by explosive cartridges. Gasoline-powered tools such as chain saws and weed whackers are made for outdoor use.

Common power tools include the drill
Drill

A drill is a tool with a rotating drill bit used for drilling holes in various materials. Drills are commonly used in woodworking, metalworking, construction and most "Do it yourself" projects....
, various types of saw
Saw

A saw is a tool that uses a hard blade or wire with an abrasive wear edge to cut through softer materials. The cutting edge of a saw is either a serrated blade or an abrasive....
s, the router
Wood router

File:Wood router jmc 2005 03 12.jpgFile:Makita plunge router.jpgFile:Makita laminate trimmer.jpgA router is a woodworking tool used to rout out an area in the face of a piece of wood....
, the electric sander
Sander

A sander is a power tool used to smooth wood and automotive or wood Wood finishing. Sanders have a means to attach the sandpaper that does the work....
, and the lathe.

The term power tool is also used in a more general sense, meaning a technique for greatly simplifying a complex or difficult task.

List of power tools


Power tools include:
  • Air compressor
    Air compressor

    The air compressors seen by the public are of 4 main types:*To supply a high-pressure clean air to fill breathing apparatus cylinders*To supply a moderate-pressure clean air to supply air to a submerged surface supplied diving...
  • Band saw
    Band saw

    A band saw uses a blade consisting of a continuous band of metal with teeth along one edge. Workpieces are fed into the cutting edge on vertical machines....
  • Belt sander
    Belt sander

    A belt sander is a machine used to Sander down wood and other materials for finishing purposes. It consists of an electrical motor that turns a pair of drums on which a seamless loop of sandpaper is mounted....
  • Biscuit joiner
    Biscuit joiner

    A biscuit joiner or sometimes plate joiner is a woodworking tool used to join two pieces of wood together. A biscuit joiner uses a small 100mm diameter tungsten carbide tipped Circular saw to cut a crescent shaped hole in the opposite edges of two pieces of wood or Engineered wood....
  • Ceramic tile cutter
    Ceramic tile cutter

    Ceramic tile cutters are used to cut tiles to a required size or shape. They come in a number of different forms, from basic manual devices to complex attachments for power tools....
     tile saw
  • Chainsaw
    Chainsaw

    A chainsaw is a portable mechanical, motorized saw. It is used in logging activities such as felling, limbing, and Log bucking; by tree surgeons to fell trees and remove branches and foliage; to fell snags and assist in cutting firebreaks in wildland fire suppression, and to harvest Wood fuel#Firewood....
  • Circular saw
    Circular saw

    The circular saw is a metal disk or blade with saw teeth on the edge as well as the machine that causes the disk to spin. It is a tool for cutting wood or other materials and may be hand-held or table-mounted....
  • Concrete saw
    Concrete saw

    A concrete saw is a power tool used for cutting concrete, masonry, brick, asphalt and other solid materials. Concrete saws are powered by gasoline, hydraulic or pneumatic pressure, or electric motors....
  • Cold Metal Cutting Saw
  • Crusher
    Crusher

    A crusher is a machine designed to reduce large solid material objects into a smaller volume, or smaller pieces. Crushers may be used to reduce the size, or change the form, of waste materials so they can be more easily disposed of or recycled, or to reduce the size of a solid mix of raw materials , so that pieces of different composition can...
  • Diamond blade
    Diamond Blade

    File:Diamond blade very macro.jpgA diamond blade may be a circular saw blade used for cutting hard or abrasive materials. They are commonly used in the construction industry for building, remodeling and repairs....
  • Diamond tools
    Diamond tools

    A diamond tool is a cutting tool which contains diamond segments bonded to a base material, for cutting through a wide variety of non-ferrous materials....
  • Disc sander
  • Drill
    Drill

    A drill is a tool with a rotating drill bit used for drilling holes in various materials. Drills are commonly used in woodworking, metalworking, construction and most "Do it yourself" projects....
  • FLIM
    Flim

    Flim may refer to:*FLIM, Fluorescence lifetime imaging*Flim , from Northern Ireland*Flims, a municipality in Switzerland...
  • Floor Sander
  • Heat gun
    Heat gun

    A heat gun is a device used to emit a stream of hot air. They are superficially similar in shape and construction to a hair dryer, though they run at much higher temperatures....
  • Impact Gun
  • Impact wrench
    Impact wrench

    An impact wrench is a socket wrench power tool designed to deliver high torque output with minimal exertion by the user, by storing energy in a rotating mass, then delivering it suddenly to the output shaft....
  • Jointer
    Jointer

    A jointer is a woodworking machine used to produce a flat surface along a boards length.The jointer derives its name from its primary function of producing flat edges on boards prior to joining them edge-to-edge to produce wider boards....
  • Jigsaw
  • Lathe
  • Miter saw
    Miter saw

    A miter saw is a tool used to make accurate crosscuts and miter joint in a workpiece....
  • Nail gun
    Nail gun

    A nail gun, nailgun or nailer is a type of tool used to drive nail into wood or some other kind of material. It is usually driven by electromagnetism, gas compressor air , highly flammable gases such as butane or propane, or, for powder-actuated tools, a small pyrotechnics....
     (Electric and Battery as well as Powder Actuated)
  • Needle Scaler
  • Powder-actuated tools
  • Power Wrench
  • Radial arm saw
    Radial arm saw

    A radial arm saw is a cutting machine consisting of a circular saw mounted on a sliding horizontal arm. Invented in 1923, the radial arm saw was the primary tool used for cutting long pieces of stock to length until the introduction of the miter saw in the 1970s....
  • Random orbital sander
    Random orbital sander

    Random orbit sanders, also called Dual-Action or D.A. sanders are hand-held power tools sanders where the action is a random orbit. They were first introduced in the early 1990s and quickly became tremendously popular....
  • Reciprocating Saw
    Reciprocating saw

    A reciprocating saw is a type of saw in which the cutting action is achieved through a push and pull reciprocating motion of the blade....
  • Rotary Reciprocating saw
    Rotary Reciprocating saw

    Rotary reciprocating saws are a class of saw that oscillates a cutting implement around a rotary axis, instead of the traditional linear, 'plunging' fashion....
  • Rotary tool
    Rotary tool

    A rotary tool is a hand held power tool with a variety of rotating accessory bits and attachments that can be used for cutting, carving, sanding, polishing and many other applications....
     (such as Dremel
    Dremel

    Dremel is a brand of power tools known primarily for their rotary tools. The tools were originally developed by Albert J. Dremel, who founded the Dremel Company in 1932 in Racine, Wisconsin, Wisconsin....
    )
  • Side Grinder
  • Sabre Saw
    Sabre Saw

    The powered sabre saw is typically a larger more powerful jigsaw and is usually referred to generically as a reciprocating saw. The main distinction between the sabre/reciprocating saw and the jigsaw is that its overall appearance is somewhat reminiscent of a sabre sword....
  • Sander
    Sander

    A sander is a power tool used to smooth wood and automotive or wood Wood finishing. Sanders have a means to attach the sandpaper that does the work....
  • Scrollsaw
  • Steel cut off saw
  • Table saw
    Table saw

    A table saw or sawbench is the most common piece of large woodworking equipment. Because of its versatility, when only one piece of large woodworking machinery is owned, it will often be a table saw....
  • Thickness planer
  • Wall Chaser
    Wall Chaser

    A Wall Chaser is a Power Tool used for cutting narrow grooves in walls.Wall chasers are usually powered by an electric motor, which in turn drives two abrasive discs like those found in an angle grinder....
  • Wood router
    Wood router

    File:Wood router jmc 2005 03 12.jpgFile:Makita plunge router.jpgFile:Makita laminate trimmer.jpgA router is a woodworking tool used to rout out an area in the face of a piece of wood....
  • grinder
    Grinding machine

    A grinding machine is a machine tool used for Grinding operations, which is a type of machining using an grinding wheel as the Cutting tool . Each grain of abrasive on the wheel's surface cuts a small chip from the workpiece via shear deformation....
  • Trimmer
    Trimmer

    In light-frame construction, a trimmer is a timber or metal beam that is installed perpendicular to floor or ceiling joists in order to allow an opening, such as a stairwell or dormer, to be formed....


See also

  • Antique tool
  • Cutting tool
    Cutting tool

    In the context of metalworking, a cutting tool is any tool that is used to remove metal from the workpiece by means of shear deformation. Archetypal examples are tool bits, drill bits, and milling cutters....
  • Diamond tool
  • Garden tool
    Garden tool

    A garden tool is any one of many tools made for gardens and gardening and overlaps with the range of tools made for agriculture and horticulture....
  • Hand tool
    Hand tool

    A hand tool is a device for performing work on a material or a physical system using only hands. The hand tools can be manually used employing mechanical force, or electrically powered, using electrical current....
  • Powder actuated tools
  • Metalworking
    Metalworking

    Metalworking is the process of working with metals to create individual parts, assemblies, or large scale structures. The term covers a wide range of work from large ships, bridges and oil refineries to delicate jewellery....
  • Tool
    Tool

    A broad definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other....
  • Woodworking
    Woodworking

    Woodworking is the process of building, making or carving something using wood....


External links

  • - Practical information on all the power tools you'll use in and around the house
  • Easy to read guide on Power Tools.