How we research and check our guides

Every ToolsLiving guide is built from published sources, then edited and checked by a person before it goes live. This page explains how that works, and what hands-on testing we plan to add.

Where the facts come from

Each guide lists its sources at the end. We use, in this order:

1. Maker documents. Owner's manuals, data sheets, safety data sheets and spec pages.
2. Standards and codes. For example, ANSI standards and NFPA 70 (the National Electrical Code).
3. Safety agencies and universities. For example, OSHA, the Consumer Product Safety Commission and extension services.

Store pages are used only for prices and what's in the box. Forums, reviews and other blogs are not used as a source of fact.

How a guide is checked

1. We read the manuals, data sheets and safety rules for the topic.
2. A person writes and edits the guide and checks each number and safety step against the listed source.
3. Anything the sources don't support is cut.
4. The page shows the date it was last updated and a change log.

There is no reviewer program. We don't have licensed pros who sign off on pages, so no page says it was reviewed by one. Safety pages tell you when to stop and call a licensed pro.

Hands-on tests: planned

We have not published any hands-on test results yet. No guide on this site shows numbers or photos from a ToolsLiving test.

We plan to add simple, repeatable tests a home workshop can run. The first ones we want to do:

• Glue pull tests. Which glue holds on which material, and how much force each joint takes before it fails.
• Drill bit tests. How many holes each bit type drills in tile, hardened steel, concrete and glass before it stops cutting.
• Wall anchor pull tests. How much each drywall anchor holds before it pulls out.
• Battery runtime. How much work one charge does on common 18V and 20V tools.

When a test is done, its page will show all three of these:

1. The method, step by step, so you could repeat it.
2. The numbers, in a table, including the bad results.
3. The photos, of the samples and the setup.

A home workshop isn't a certified lab, and we won't call it one. Pull numbers are not a safe working load. For anything that holds weight overhead, follow the maker's rated load.

How we get products

We buy what we write about at retail, or work from the maker's published documents. If a maker ever lends or gives us a product, the page will say so.

Spotted a problem?

If you think a number or a source is wrong, email [email protected]. See our corrections page for what to include, and our editorial policy for how we work.

Change log: Nov 7, 2026: Renamed and rewritten for launch: how guides are researched and checked. Bench tests are still planned; none published. Nov 6, 2026: First version. Described the planned bench-test program; no results published.