Well Ken that is troll type news to us and thousands of people use Studhawk to great sucess. Are you aware that most saw guides work on the guide face principal? The mitre box does, the Emir skirting/ moulding guide does. the Nobex saw guides does, the Faithful Right Cut, and even the humble Bench Hook we used to use in school - they all work on the guide face principle - so are you wrong or all of those manufacturers wrong??? Since the mitre box has been used since Roman times it would seem you have had a frustrating row with yourself and something is fundamentally wrong in how you hold tools and with what pressure you apply to the tool. Have you heard the expression -LET THE TOOL DO THE WORK? Or let the weight of the saw make the cut? sounds like you are forcing the saw or it is blunt? could it be you are not standing behind the work with the right stance? Do you realise that in order to cut straight you need to hold back on the weight of the saw a little ie stroke the saw gently with less force than the weight of the saw and the Studhawk saw guide and gravity will do the rest. So I think you are over thinking how to use a saw instead of feeling how to use a saw and LISTENING TO HOW A SAW SINGS in the right hands. So try using your saw like a feather stroking your cheek and you will get excellent results. As for the feet positioning to use a saw correctly - think and emulate how a snooker player adresses the ball - he stands behind the ball - eyes the shot or cut in this case - the shoulder is in line with the cut line and the saw arm is swung back and forth gently and freely.. Somewhere on our you tube channel there is a bit of film whereby I use 2 fingers to hold the saw - showing that I put no pressure through the saw arm and the weight of the saw really does make the cut. So in that piece of film it is clearly apparent that the weight of the saw does the cutting and NOT by forcing the saw with pressure through the arm. So just relax and try what I say using the saw like a feather to stroke the cut and you will get excellent results that are as good as a chop saw - the proof in what I say is born out by all the beautiful furniture made with hand tools - long before we had chop saws. So it is you having a row with yourself and your frustrations of trying too hard which putsd more force through the saw than required. More force through the saw makes the cut drift due to the bias in your saw arm until the Studhawk saw guide has taught you what is know as 'Muscle Memory'. Thanks for sharing your frustrations so that I can hopefully expound them for others who try too hard with a saw. The tension in your saw arm is what is stopping you from cutting straight or you just don't really like DIY. Hopefully this explanation gets you cutting straight. To use the Studhawk on sheet plywood - use a clamp bar and create a square saddle for the Studhawk 90 to sit on - then simply run the saddle along the clamp bar. So since Studhawk is the only saw guide you can use to cut sheet plywood as well as plastic pipes, electrical conduits, guttering, woodwork joints ans using insitu - then you are wrong and the above proves why!

Wow, thank you!

AHA - well that is the first reaction most attentive people try to point out - HOWEVER the reality is that the guide face abrades a tiny bit until it is 'worn in'. After a few cuts you will notice a slight scallop in the top edge of the guide face. After a few cuts this stops because the teeth skid down the remainder of the guide face and don't abrade it much at all. Nobody has written to us saying they have worn out their Studhawk saw guide yet so it is nothing to worry about. If you are still in doubt - think of all the other devices out there on the market. They all work on the guide-face principle - mitre block, Emir Saw Guide, Nobex saw guide, Faithful Right Cut, Bench- hook, and many more. Also in designing the Studhawk I first thought it would be a problem for wear - but due to the 'Set' on the teeth of a saw being around 0.16mm fatter than the saw blade that is all it can abrade yet it will never abrade 0.16mm down all of the guide-face - so we had to accept as do other manufacturer's that any such guide-face is partially sacrifical. So all you will get in respect to abrasion is a small scallop along the guide face edge - but this does not affect the accuracy of the cut. Eventually the Studhawk saw guide will teach you 'Muscle Memory in your saw arm. Please remember sometimes our initial perceptions of something aren't always correct. Nobody has warn one out yet and we made them too well is the truth of your suggestion. Thanks for your comments and the opportunity to air your myth.

you are right i have used a studhawk and they are useless mitre boxs much better

@@Studhawk your product is useless after two or three times its been used the plastic fades away

Absolutely - so many tradesmen are lost without a chop saw. Studhawk subconciously teaches muscle memory - just like a guitarist knows where to put his fingers - its all muscle memory and how you address the work - stand right - relax the saw hand and stroke those cuts beautifully straight. Use a guide rail to cut deep skirting mitres and a saddle (square piece of 18mm MDF) and the Studhawk is even a guide for cutting sheet materials. No other saw guide does sheet materials, mitres, lap joints, plastic pipes & guttering, architraves and studwork of course. Thanks for watching.

Exactly and if you can't cut straight with a hand saw - you aren't a carpenter but Studhawk will help to make you one.

That is what the bucket is for with 1:5 washing up liquid - so when you flick the tool through the water/liguid the excess silicon falls off the tool and into the bucket. A mist spray helps ensure that there is a little lubrication on the tiles - otherwise as you run your silicon tool it will judder on dry tiles - so I prefer a fine mist spray over the applied silicon and tiles. Hope that gives you reason as to why a mist spray is reccommended?

Sounds like an Excellent tip that I have never tried before in 40 years of doing this! If your screws drift slightly or the plate isnt held square the lock mortice can end up being marked out and twisted in the hole. I would say if one is very careful with pinpoint accuracy in using 2 screws and you use a Reiser or Cutter's screw it could well be a very good tip to speed up marking out - WELL SAID MATE I am going to try this - thanks for commenting.

I wish I was paid what he is!!

Glad you enjoyed it

Thanks 👍

American or english spelling both are the same - being pedantic about an e on the end is of no use applying silicon well.

@@Studhawk not true! Silicon is a chemical element, Silicone is a polymeric oil, they are entirely different.

Yes -or an under eaves storage room door.

When you spread the adhesive you need to listen to the scrath sound - this ensures you have trowelled through any dust coat on the walls. The final stroke is a leveling stroke with a very light pressure to level off the adhesive.

YES - its best to use clear washing up liquid. - green Fairy can stain a bit until a few washes have removed the residue.

When you open the lock do it gently to ensure the spring doesn't flip out. On noticing how the spring keeps the latch in place - what you need to do is remove it then put the pieces back in the right order after reversing the latch (flip it over) then set the spring against the spring retaining lug. And then gently replace the case and fix the screw. Do it gently because the spring wants to eject the bits under tension. Appy a little logic and you will work it out. Make sure you remove the case plate gently in a horizontal position so it does not explode the pieces outwards when you open the lock or latch case.

You have to overfill in order to cut the silicon back to the profile of the silicon tool. Waste is an accepted part of professional siliconing. Those who use sticks leave fine drag marks in the silicon and a finger is too soft to get an even profile - so for professional results use a silicon tool on an over-filled joint.

Studhawk saw guides are designed to teach muscle memory in the arm otherwise it takes years to feel what 90 degrees is perpendicularly at the same time in 3d. Square in 2 planes.

No its an accepted part of doing silicon and its importans to work fast so that the silicon does not'SKIN' so gunning in more than you need at speed is best and when you need to fil a void it is neccessary to waste quite a bit of silicon. Top tip is to NEVER try to gun in a finish - it must be tooled up to a finish.

I never wet behind the silicon - once the silicon is gunned in with force the MIST SPRAY will not affect it because it cant get behind the silicon. You just have to get your worrying head around that point and you are up and running in silicon beautifully with a proper silicon tool wetted. Try it dry on silicon and you will se it makes a mess then you will believe me and revert to the tips I have given - a mist spray and a wetted tool with a washing up liquid mix of 1:5 - you can listen or find out the hard way and then try it my way - i know which is best and as a tiling contractor for 25 years plus we all do it this way - those that don't dont get such a neat finish. So gun it in quick as you can but not the whole room at once. Leave a wet silicon edge spray the bit you gunned in and then you should have a wet silicon edge to continue gunning in from for the next wall of your bathroom.

@@Studhawk it may not get behind the silicone that's already laid but after it's tooled there a bit that would get under the edges of the silicone. Water won't get past this and into the joint but it will be an area where water will sit and mildew and mold will grow a lot faster causing the potential need to replace the caulking way sooner

Happy to help

Self tapper screws such as 'Reisser' brand or 'Cutters' brand don't split the wood as they are a drill bit and screw all in one. The shank of such screws have a groove on the shank- which act the same as a pilot bit. If using ordinary screws - yes use a pilot bit to stop wood splitting. With a Reisser or Cutter don't screw it all the way in - screw it in 2/3 the lenght then unscrew it a bit then screw it up all the way. This little in and out will ensure (especially on hardwood) that your screw has piloted the hole - so sometimes depending on the density of the wood we screw in then out and back in again - it is comparative to using a pilot bit but since the screw has a flute on the shank it acts like a drill bit - so think of using it slightly like a drill bit for best results. Above all feel the screw going in and feel the density of the wood.

Yes that is exactly the old way and I still use it as a rule - but on that little door it looked better to evenly space the hinges.

Yes but it will not wear so well as a grout with an additive improver in the mix - this makes grout elastic to a small extent. When we do access panels we use a whole tile as the access panel and NEVER grout the joints but use matching silicon - which is why I reccommend Mapei or Ardex make as they do matching grouts and silicons. So access panels are made to the tile size and siliconed in so that when the bath blocks with hairs you can remove the access panel by cutting through the silicon grout joint.

Cold water and washing up liquid - clear antibacterial liquid soap is best.

No I disagree - anyone can do perfect silicon if they follow the video - the washing-up liquid mix and the silicon tool do the rest. All you have to do is make sure the silicon tool is wetted in water/wash-up liquid and you are as good as any professional. Cutting the nozzle of the tube to the right size for your joint is all you need to do - but remember to overfill the joint and cut it back to an 8mm profile with the silicon tool. To do that use the corner of the silicon tool that is about 8mm round. Any finer and it doesn't last years.