Workshop tools
Tools
Nine planning calculators, specified and tested before they are styled. Each takes a real measurement, returns a defensible plan, and shows its working — inputs, constants, rounding rules and a worked example.
- Workbench Height Planner
Find a starting bench height for the way you work, from a measured elbow height or an estimate from stature.
Returns a height band per work style — planing, joinery, power-tool or detail work — with a starting point to mock up.
stature mm → band mm
- Dowel & Peg Fit Planner
Match a drill to a dowel, peg or axle you have actually measured, for a glued, removable or rotating fit.
Works in a metric and imperial drill table and reports the clearance of every candidate, not just the pick.
dia mm → drill mm / in
- Sanding Disc Estimator
Estimate a grit progression and how many discs to buy before the job starts, from panel sizes or a total area.
Carries HSE-sourced dust-control notes; it deliberately never sizes extraction from generic assumptions.
area m² → grits × discs
- FasTrack Length Calculator
Fill a Lionel FasTrack gap with the fewest straight sections, solved in 1/8-inch steps from 1 3/8 in to 100 in.
Combinations are computed independently and shown with their working; section lengths are credited to the LCCA.
target in → sections × n
- Bird Box Planner
Turn one board into a nest-box cutting list: panel sizes, roof angle, strip layout and the board length to buy.
Material guidance is the RSPB’s, with references; hole-size species choices stay yours.
internal mm → cutting list mm
- Cutting Tool Selector
Answer four questions — cut, material, quantity, tooling — and get a straight recommendation for which saw to use.
Every recommendation states its reasoning; tooth counts are labelled as typical published ranges, not test data.
task × power → saw
- Bench Dog-Hole Layout Planner
Lay out a fixed-pitch bench-dog grid with centred end margins and an exact front-row offset.
Optionally remove holes around a vice or no-drill zone, then mark every centre from one datum corner.
bench mm × pitch → hole coordinates
- Router Guide-Bush Offset Calculator
Calculate the one-side router guide-bush offset from the measured guide and cutter diameters.
Then size a template for an opening or for an outside piece, with the direction of compensation made explicit.
guide − bit → offset → template
- Router Circle-Jig Pivot Calculator
Set a router circle jig from the finished diameter and actual cutter size, not a centreline guess.
The calculation adds bit radius for a kept disc and subtracts it for an opening.
finished dia × bit dia → pivot radius
All nine calculators are live. Every specification — inputs, constants, rounding rules and worked examples — is written down and covered by tests before the page that renders it, so what ships is what is specified. Planning aids, not certification — every tool says so on its own page.