Skil's New Benchtop Woodworking Tools: Five Machines Worth a Look

Introduction

Every few years a tool brand goes quiet, and then something happens that pulls it back into the conversation. That is exactly what has happened with Skil. The brand has been around for a very long time, and there is a good chance your father or grandfather had at least one Skil tool in the garage. After a stretch of silence, the company was purchased by Chervon, the same parent company behind Flex and Ego, and the brand has been revived with a genuinely impressive wave of new machines.

What follows is a look at five new benchtop tools from Skil aimed at DIYers, woodworkers, and anyone who likes to tinker in the garage: a belt and disc sander, a bandsaw, a drill press, a 16-inch scroll saw, and a benchtop grinder.

What to Consider Before Buying Into a Tool Brand

Before getting into the individual machines, it is worth thinking about what makes a tool brand worth investing in. Two questions matter most: how many tools the brand offers across its lineup, and how the pricing stacks up against the competition. A deep catalog means your batteries, accessories, and workflow can stay within one ecosystem, and fair pricing decides whether expanding that collection makes sense.

Skil’s recent run of releases addresses both points. The brand is filling out its woodworking lineup quickly, and these machines are positioned for everyday DIYers and hobbyists rather than exclusively for professionals.

Belt and Disc Sander

The first machine is a combination belt and disc sander, and it is a surprisingly capable little shop companion. The belt section includes a back stop for supporting your workpiece, and the belt itself is easy to change: release the tension, slide the old belt off, and fit a new one. If the belt paper drifts to one side during use, a simple adjustment slides it back into track.

On the disc side, the table can be beveled up or down for angled sanding, and Skil includes a miter gauge that can be used on either the belt table or the disc table. There is also a dust port for hooking up extraction, which keeps the mess manageable in a small shop. If you want to shape edges, round over corners, or even sand a giant pencil into existence, this machine handles it without fuss.

Bandsaw

Next up is Skil’s new bandsaw. Blade changes are refreshingly simple: loosen the tension, swap the blade, and you are back to cutting. At the rear of the machine you will find tracking adjustment, and there are locks to keep settings from shifting while you work.

The table can also be adjusted and tilted, which opens up angled cuts. For a compact benchtop machine, it covers the fundamentals well and keeps the setup process friendly for people who do not want to fight with their tools.

Drill Press

The new Skil drill press is built with the DIYer in mind and does not take up much room. The table raises and lowers smoothly, and so does the quill. One detail worth highlighting: the feed does not slap back at you when you release it. It returns upward smoothly instead of snapping, which makes the whole experience feel more controlled.

It also has a built-in work light and a laser that projects onto your workpiece, both handy for accurate positioning. The chuck key is stored right on the machine, so tightening and swapping bits is quick. Operation is quiet, and once the table is set to your desired height, you can get straight to drilling.

16-Inch Scroll Saw

This is the machine that generated the most excitement when the new Skil lineup was first shown, and it is easy to see why. The 16-inch scroll saw is genuinely easy to live with. Blade changes are straightforward: loosen the clamp at the rear, push down, and the blade pops out or a new one goes in. Skil includes two different adapters, so if your preferred blade brand uses a different shaft length or style, you can still fit it.

The standout feature is the foot pedal. There is a safety protection built in so you do not accidentally activate it, and once your foot is in place, pressing the pedal starts the blade. Speed is variable: keep the speed dial low for slow, controlled work, or raise it for faster cutting. The speed can also be adjusted directly on the machine without the pedal.

For interior cuts, the process is simple. Drill a starter hole anywhere in the workpiece, thread the blade down through it, clamp it tight, and start cutting. A small built-in pump blows air across the cut line to keep the dust out of your way. It is the kind of machine that makes holiday decorations, wreaths, and intricate scrollwork feel approachable, even on thicker stock.

Benchtop Grinder

The final tool is a new benchtop grinder. If you sharpen lawnmower blades in spring or need to clean up and shape metal, this is the machine for it. Skil includes two wheels: a coarse grit wheel for removing material and taking off the nasty, and a smoother wheel for getting knives and blades properly sharp.

Safety details are well thought out. There are eye shields over each wheel, including one with a magnifying lens, adjustable guards, and a power switch that is easy to reach. One important rule to follow: never let the tool rest move further than an eighth of an inch away from the wheel. Keep that gap tight and the machine stays safe to use.

Overall Buying Advice

The bigger story here is the brand itself. Skil was a beloved name that went quiet for a while, and under Chervon’s ownership it is reinventing itself with a steady stream of new tools. For a DIYer or woodworker building out a garage shop, that matters: a brand with a growing lineup means you can keep adding machines that work together rather than mixing and matching across ecosystems.

If you buy one of these, think about which job you do most often. Sanding and shaping points to the belt and disc sander, curved cuts point to the bandsaw or the scroll saw, accurate repeat drilling points to the drill press, and sharpening points to the grinder.

Conclusion

Skil’s new benchtop range covers the core of a small woodworking shop with machines that are easy to set up, easy to adjust, and friendly to beginners. The scroll saw with its foot pedal and blade adapters is the clear crowd favorite, but each of the five brings something practical to the bench. For anyone who remembers the brand from an older relative’s garage, this revival is worth paying attention to.