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Craft & making
Tools, materials and starter setups for making things well.
2 published guidesKitchen & coffee
Useful kitchen equipment with the trade-offs made clear.
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Latest guides
The shortlist,
with the rough edges left on.
01Craft & making
Small rotary rock tumblers
A small rotary rock tumbler runs for about four weeks per batch, so noise, barrel material and the availability of spare parts matter far more than headline capacity. This guide compares four machines you can buy in the UK now, at roughly £90 to £200, and says where the cheap route stops being cheap. It is desk research: The Consumer Library has not owned or run any of these machines.
- Research checked
- 13 Sep 2026
02Craft & making
Beginner chainmaille pliers
The best chainmaille pliers for beginners are two smooth-jaw tools matched to the rings: two Xuron 475s are the safest all-round first buy for jewellery-scale aluminium, while Knipex 35 12 115s make more sense for small stainless rings.
- Research checked
- 13 Sep 2026
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01Craft & making
Small rotary rock tumblers
A small rotary rock tumbler runs for about four weeks per batch, so noise, barrel material and the availability of spare parts matter far more than headline capacity. This guide compares four machines you can buy in the UK now, at roughly £90 to £200, and says where the cheap route stops being cheap. It is desk research: The Consumer Library has not owned or run any of these machines.
Open the guide 02Craft & makingBeginner chainmaille pliers
The best chainmaille pliers for beginners are two smooth-jaw tools matched to the rings: two Xuron 475s are the safest all-round first buy for jewellery-scale aluminium, while Knipex 35 12 115s make more sense for small stainless rings.
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