Menu

Know How / Tools

News and reviews for farmers of useful farm workshop power tools. We have a range tests including grease guns, welders, impact drivers, timber processing kit and electric chainsaws. See our roundup of 20 handy workshop tools and gadgets which take the stress out of the most frustrating farm tasks.

Advice and tips

TOOLS

Top tips for chainsaw chain and guide bar maintenance

When a chainsaw is running on point, it will effortlessly buzz through a piece of timber while the operator gently guides it in the desired direction. This is very pleasing…

FARM MAINTENANCE

How to get a chainsaw's tired two-stroke engine to run

Two-stroke engines like regular use, so after a summer of languishing at the back of the workshop it should be no surprise if the old chainsaw is reluctant to start.…

MACHINERY

Tips for choosing the right SDS drill

No workshop is complete without a drill – but what sort of drill should it be? Andy Collings takes a look at SDS-drills to see what they can do and…

See all

Community

WORKSHOP SKILLS

Inventions Comp 2021: Stan Roberts’ ladder levelling device

Simple category third place Inventor Stan Roberts, who counts a clever tractor quick hitch among his list of creations, returns to this year’s Inventions Competition with his Stayball ladder levelling…

WORKSHOP SKILLS

FW Inventions Competition 2021: Simon Eckley’s chick tray wash

Intermediate category runner-up Simon Eckley’s chick tray wash Poultry farmer Simon Eckley from Herefordshire designed and built a chick tray wash and disinfector to comply with tighter rules as a…

See all

Insights

TOOLS

Latest tools and workwear for the farm workshop

However well stocked a farm workshop becomes, there’s always space for a couple more tools. We look at some of the latest goodies on offer. See also: Video: On test –…

TOOLS

Safest options for changing wheels and jacking machinery

Perching bottle jacks on timber blocks or using loader pallet tines to lift farm machinery ready for wheel removal may have been the standard practice of yesteryear, but today’s heavy…

See all

News

TOOLS

Lightweight Echo DCS-2500 chainsaw promises easy handling

One of the most recent additions to Echo’s growing arsenal of cordless equipment is the DCS-2500 X-Series chainsaw. Running the Japanese firm’s 2.5Ah, 50V lithium-ion battery packs, the pro-spec model…

TOOLS

New Milwaukee M18 blower gets more power and less noise

Milwaukee has ramped up the power and cut the motor din of its latest M18 Fuel Blower. It now delivers an air volume of 14.2cu m/min – up about 10%…

TOOLS

Makita 40V pressure washer allows cordless cleaning

Cleaning needn’t be confined to the yard with the latest HW001G cordless pressure washer from Makita. Power is provided by a single 40V XGT battery, but there are slots to…

TOOLS

Makita 40V brush cutter matches 35cc petrol output

Running on the firm’s most powerful 40V XGT battery packs, Makita’s UR013G cordless brush cutter promises to blitz through undergrowth as quickly as a 35cc petrol machine. Delivering this output…

See all

Test and reviews

TOOLS

On test: We rate the latest battery-powered grease guns

No gadget is fancy enough to make greasing machinery a pleasurable pastime, but a battery-powered dispensing gun can go some way to easing operator ire. Many will argue they’re purely…

TOOLS

On test: Five top-spec electric chainsaws compared

They might sound more like an electric carving knife than a serious piece of timber-felling equipment, but don’t be fooled… battery powered chainsaws mean business. In fact, such has been…

TOOLS

Makita v Milwaukee: Impact wrenches and combi drills tested

The latest generation of brushless combi drills and impact wrenches offer punchy power output in a compact package. Oliver Mark and James Andrews put high-spec 18V models from two of…

TOOLS

On test: Cold water pressure washers – which is best?

Having a decent, easily portable pressure washer about the farm is always handy but, increasingly, it seems that what you buy doesn't always measure up to expectations. We put five…

See all

Video

TOOLS

Video: 20 handy workshop tools, gadgets and knick-knacks

Having the right tool, gadget or knick-knack at hand can take some stress out of the most frustrating farm tasks. Here the Farmers Weekly Machinery team presents 20 potential gems…

MACHINERY

Video: Electric chainsaws on test

The test Bosch Husqvarna Makita Oregon Stihl Verdict All the main players in the world of woodcraft are now offering cordless, battery-powered chainsaws. But what’s wrong with a good two-stroke…

MACHINERY

Video: Farm torches on test

Torch technology has come on in leaps and bounds in the past few years. Emily Padfield and David Cousins gathered 15 torches on a snowy February evening in Warwickshire to…

MACHINERY

Video: 15 tools we wouldn't be without - part 3

Intro 12-240-Volt inverter Hole-saws Bearing fitting kit Auto-ranging multimeter We’ve been asking a few of our machinery-minded contributors to nominate their favourite get-out-of-a-fix bits of workshop kit. In part one,…

See all