Tech
15 Design-Forward DIY Tools Worth Upgrading to This Year
Something has shifted in the workshop. After years of DIY being sold as a weekend hobby for the mildly bored, home improvement has quietly become a serious cultural force. The global DIY market is forecast to hit nearly a trillion dollars this year. And while a third of you are apparently planning on starting a new DIY project in the next three months, the primary motivator for DIYers is, you guessed it, saving money. Not a bad thing right now, considering how the Iran war is spiking prices.
The tape measure and the drill you inherited from your folks will only take you so far. Fortunately, the tools driving this boom have never been smarter, and better hardware should mean, hopefully, better results. Whether you’re building furniture, finishing a deck, or just finally hanging that TV straight, the tools available right now are genuinely more precise than anything a generation ago could have imagined. From a miniaturized soldering station to a kid-safe desktop cardboard router, these are WIRED’s 15 picks worth making room for in your toolbox this year.
And no matter how good your tools are, never forget: measure twice, cut once.
A Multifunction Power Tool
This intimidation-free power tool is perfect for people looking to conquer the multitude of household tasks that don’t require a massive hammer drill. Dremel’s neatly balanced 12-volt tool is made for fixing, tightening, and assembling. The detachable laser level and clever electronic stud finder hidden in the front of the handle make it ideal for hanging pictures, shelves, and 4K TVs. Comes with nine drivers and three drill bits, covering most household fixes without the need for a complete toolbox overhaul.
A Soldering Station
A compact, open-source soldering workstation that condenses a full electronics bench into a single portable unit. The battery-powered soldering iron offers precise temperature control from 212 to 842 degrees Fahrenheit (100 to 450 Celsius), making it suitable for delicate PCB work as well as more robust tasks. Integrated fume extraction pulls harmful vapors away at the source, while built-in magnification and adjustable LED lighting improve visibility. The clincher is that by being open-source, Soldr positively welcomes hardware tweaks and firmware upgrades, making it as appealing to hobbyists as it is to serious prototypers.
A Sander
Festool
DTSC 200 Basic Cordless Delta Sander
It is well known in the trades that if someone’s workshop is full of Festool gear, you can bet they take their craft seriously. And with its new 18 V cordless sander, the brand has made the possibility of achieving perfection just that bit faster. The triangular pad reaches deep into corners and tight edges, while variable speed control allows for fine-tuning between aggressive stock removal and ultrasmooth finishing. Weighing just over 2.4 lbs without the battery, the sander is designed for controlled, one-handed operation, while the integrated LED casts low-angle illumination across your work surface to highlight even the slightest imperfections. Connect it to a vacuum hose to keep the work table clean, or snap on the included dust collection bag and go fully mobile.
A Smarter Level
Put the trundle wheel down; this modular, stackable touch screen measuring system combines laser distance, level, and rolling scale modules in one, measuring up to 164 feet of distance at a 1/16-inch accuracy. The system captures measurements in real time and syncs instantly to the app, allowing users to generate floor plans or mark up dimensions without manual note-taking. Compact enough to fit in a pocket yet precise enough for professional use, it’s a seriously smart upgrade for anyone still juggling tape measures and spirit levels.
A Premium Sewing Machine
Husqvarna
Viking Designer Sapphire 85 Sewing & Embroidery Machine
While it might be overkill if you’ve not yet mastered the art of sewing buttons back on, this pro-grade smart sewing machine can do seriously impressive things with a needle and thread. It offers more than 680 stitch patterns through an 8-inch color touch screen for intuitive control, alongside automatic thread tension and sensor-based foot adjustments. The extended sewing surface allows for large quilting projects, while the powerful motor ensures consistent stitch quality across thick fabrics. Built-in connectivity and access to the mySewnet Library give you access to a continuously growing collection of embroidery designs, plus the ability to craft and implement your own.
A Box Cutter
Designed by noted knife maker Richard Rogers, the Box Key applies his clean, minimalist approach to a tiny everyday cutter. The 1.24-inch drop point blade is made from Sandvik 12C27 steel with a stone-wash finish, which helps disguise scuffs from daily use while improving corrosion resistance. The stainless steel handle with a hole keeps the profile slim enough to attach to a key ring, and at 1 ounce, it adds barely any weight to your daily carry. A smart, indispensable little tool for opening boxes, trimming cord, and other light-duty jobs.
A Toolbox
Japanese-inspired, UK-based Niwaki (translates as “garden tree”) produces seriously desirable and practical tools for home and garden. With the ST-Type Toolbox, however, the brand has created a vintage design that wouldn’t look out of place perched on a girder in the famous “Lunch Atop a Skyscraper” photo. Built from powder-coated steel with a traditional cantilever design, it measures 14.2 inches wide and opens to reveal tiered compartments that keep hand tools organized and visible. The metal dividers in the top trays can be rearranged to hold screws, nails, and bits, or removed entirely to fit even more tools.
Safety Glasses
Pit Viper
Rev-Loc Z87+ Safety Glasses
Pit Viper may be famous for its right-wing-baiting anarchic approach to eyewear, but we bet you didn’t know it also does a fantastic range of equally irreverent-looking, but highly practical safety glasses. (This model will launch on April 13.) Certified to ANSI Z87+ standards, they have impact-resistant lenses, 100 percent UV protection, antifog coatings, plus adjustable arms and nose pieces for a super-secure fit. Available with standard- or high-contrast polarized lenses, the side shields can be removed when not needed.
A Handy Saw
A good value, highly practical camp saw that folds small, but still cuts the mustard. The 12-inch blade is mounted on a four-pivot frame that maximizes usable cutting length and keeps tension consistent through each stroke. Then, when you’re done, it folds flat without disassembly, fully enclosing the blade for safe transport. Weighing 15.3 ounces, it is light enough for any expedition, but still feels reassuringly robust in use. That grippy rubberized textured handle works well in wet conditions, while thankfully, the design accepts standard 12-inch replacement blades.
A 3D Printer
This high-speed 3D printer is built for rapid prototyping, and so is aimed at designers who are tired of overnight prints for simple parts. It spits out building material at speeds of up to 1,200 millimeters per second, driven by a lightweight and accurate delta motion system. The enclosed cylindrical build chamber (12.6 x 16.9 inches) improves temperature stability for materials such as ABS and PETG, while auto-leveling and smart calibration should reduce setup time. A direct-drive extruder with an all-metal nozzle capable of reaching 350 Celsius supports a wide range of filaments. Wi-Fi, an onboard camera, and AI-assisted monitoring all help keep prints on track.
A DIY Stem Project
CircuitMess
NASA Mars Perseverance Rover
The 1972 NASA Moon Buggy is one of only a handful of “products” WIRED has ever awarded a coveted 10/10 score to. It’s a shame you’ll never be able to get your hands on one, but you can always scratch that interstellar itch with this fantastic build-it-yourself Mars Perseverance Rover electronics kit. Designed for STEM learning, it combines more than 200 parts with coding, robotics, and mechanical assembly into a single project. Users can program movement, sensors, and basic autonomy through an included microcontroller, gaining hands-on experience with real-world engineering concepts. As intricate and detailed as it is, the whole model is remarkably smaller than the family cat.
A Leaf Blower
Hoto
20V Cordless Leaf Blower
Bringing some much-needed sci-fi chic to yard work with this cordless 20-volt blower that pushes 720 cubic feet of air per minute at 120 mph from a lightweight body. The compact 3.7-pound design (without battery) makes it easy to use with one hand, even if you’re coping with trees post-leaf-peeping season. A brushless motor improves efficiency and extends the blower’s lifespan, while stepless speed control allows precise adjustment to give you just enough wind to clear light debris all the way up to a full-force clearing. The lithium-ion battery lasts up to 30 minutes, and it’s removable, so you can buy extra batteries to quickly swap in and keep on blowing.
A Charger and Radio
Milwaukee
M18 Packout Radio Charger
Stackable with Milwaukee storage systems, this sound system has a classic rock-ready 10-speaker array capable of blasting The Boss to every corner of a construction site. Built tough and powered either by plugging it in or using the standard M18 battery, it has Bluetooth connectivity and an AM-FM radio. It also doubles as a battery and USB charger for smartphones and power tools. A reinforced housing protects it against drops, dust, and moisture.
An Electric Cutter
A compact, battery-powered cutter designed to remove the effort and improve the precision of a host of cutting tasks. The motorized blade uses SK5 high-carbon steel slicers, delivering clean, controlled cuts through everything from cardboard and fabric to leather and even some plastics. Weighing 10.5 ounces, it is easy to guide with one hand, while the 4V rechargeable lithium battery should let you slice for hours on a single charge. A guarded cutting-edge and trigger activation improve control further, as well as keeping your fingers safe.
For the Kids
This kid-safe router-style cutter is a perfect antidote to the usual screen time. Using a digitally controlled blunt cutting head rather than exposed blades, it lets children (big and small) cut cardboard, card, foam, felt, thin fabrics, and light plastics at either 1,500 rpm for faster cuts or 800 rpm for more controlled work. The standard head can handle materials up to 3 mm thick, but an optional upgrade to a 5 mm “ProCut” head lets you go thicker. The compact 11.8 x 11.8-inch desktop unit comes in pink or green (go pink!) and connects over USB or Wi-Fi to bundled software that can generate cutting templates from simple project designs you upload. The Cutter 2 serves up fun and engaging activities for little ones as young as four.
The Maytag Man is one of the most enduring characters in American advertising, lonely because no one needs his help repairing a Maytag appliance. The Maytag brand, too, has endured—going back to the days when Frederick Maytag’s washers involved wooden tubs and cranks. Maytag was the first company to put an agitator at the bottom of a washing machine, a design still in use today, and it was the first to stack a washer and dryer, and one of the earliest adopters on smart appliances. But mostly, the brand has eschewed novelty and staked its claim on durability and reliability for its heavy-duty dishwashers, washers, dryers, refrigerators, and ovens. This is true even as Maytag folded into ownership by former competitor Whirlpool.
Maytag remains one of the few appliance companies to offer 10-year limited warranties on essential parts. But Maytag promo codes are a bit more ephemeral, offering short-term deals on appliances that will hopefully last a decade. Here’s how to get a Maytag coupon code and Maytag promo codes, and find closeout deals on last season’s Maytag appliances to save even more.
Save Big With Maytag Appliance Closeout Deals
One of the easiest ways to find a deal on Maytag appliances is to look at the overstock and closeout deals, which offer significant markdowns on last season’s items as Maytag looks to clear out space for the new models. These deals do not require a Maytag coupon code, but they do require knowing where to look.
Go to the Maytag outlet site for appliance closeout deals. As of April 2026, this includes a $729 range with a built-in air fryer that used to sell for $1,300, and a $600 deal on a well-reviewed top-load dryer that previously sold for a thousand dollars. These deals generally last only until supplies run out.
Claim Free Delivery on Major Appliances Over $399
From now through April 8, Maytag customers can get free delivery on appliances priced $399 and above. Even better, Maytag will also haul away your old appliance for free. This deal does not require a Maytag discount code and includes standard home delivery for refrigerators, ranges, and laundry units. The discount will be applied automatically in your online shopping cart when you check out. Also, be sure to check the Maytag deals page often for current offers and rotating Maytag discounts and sales.
Select Customers Can Get a Special Maytag Promo Code
Like many big companies, Maytag offers professional discounts for military, first responders, healthcare workers, students, and teachers. To receive up to a 15% discount for active military, veterans, and spouses, you’ll need to create a Maytag account and then verify your military status using the SheerID program. Maytag first responder discounts and healthcare worker discounts also require SheerID verification. There’s also a discount program for both students and teachers, including a teacher savings program and up to 15% off sitewide. Verified students are able to access pricing unique to students, when moving into their first off-campus apartment.
Work Smarter, Not Harder With Maytag Smart Appliances
Maytag is also offering deals on select smart appliances. As of early April, this includes a somewhat unique combination toaster-microwave that’s about $100 off MSRP, and a slide-in electric range with smart connectivity that’s on a steep discount to $1,260—hundreds of dollars less than even other recent sale prices. You can check out the special Maytag deals on connected and smart appliances by scrolling down to the bottom of Maytag’s smart appliance page.
Meta has paused all its work with the data contracting firm Mercor while it investigates a major security breach that impacted the startup, two sources confirmed to WIRED. The pause is indefinite, the sources said. Other major AI labs are also reevaluating their work with Mercor as they assess the scope of the incident, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mercor is one of a few firms that OpenAI, Anthropic, and other AI labs rely on to generate training data for their models. The company hires massive networks of human contractors to generate bespoke, proprietary datasets for these labs, which are typically kept highly secret as they’re a core ingredient in the recipe to generate valuable AI models that power products like ChatGPT and Claude Code. AI labs are sensitive about this data because it can reveal to competitors—including other AI labs in the US and China—key details about the ways they train AI models. It’s unclear at this time whether the data exposed in Mercor’s breach would meaningfully help a competitor.
While OpenAI has not stopped its current projects with Mercor, it is investigating the startup’s security incident to see how its proprietary training data may have been exposed, a spokesperson for the company confirmed to WIRED. The spokesperson says that the incident in no way affects OpenAI user data, however. Anthropic did not immediately respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
Mercor confirmed the attack in an email to staff on March 31. “There was a recent security incident that affected our systems along with thousands of other organizations worldwide,” the company wrote.
A Mercor employee echoed these points in a message to contractors on Thursday, WIRED has learned. Contractors who were staffed on Meta projects cannot log hours until—and if—the project resumes, meaning they could functionally be out of work, a source familiar claims. The company is working to find additional projects for those impacted, according to internal conversations viewed by WIRED.
Mercor contractors were not told exactly why their Meta projects were being paused. In a Slack channel related to the Chordus initiative—a Meta-specific project to teach AI models to use multiple internet sources to verify their responses to user queries—a project lead told staff that Mercor was “currently reassessing the project scope.”
An attacker known as TeamPCP appears to have recently compromised two versions of the AI API tool LiteLLM. The breach exposed companies and services that incorporate LiteLLM and installed the tainted updates. There could be thousands of victims, including other major AI companies, but the breach at Mercor illustrates the sensitivity of the compromised data.
Mercor and its competitors—such as Surge, Handshake, Turing, Labelbox, and Scale AI—have developed a reputation for being incredibly secretive about the services they offer to major AI labs. It’s rare to see the CEOs of these firms speaking publicly about the specific work they offer, and they internally use codenames to describe their projects.
Adding to the confusion around the hack, a group going by the well-known name Lapsus$ claimed this week that it had breached Mercor. In a Telegram account and on a BreachForums clone, the actor offered to sell an array of alleged Mercor data, including a 200-plus GB database, nearly 1 TB of source code, and 3 TBs of video and other information. But researchers say that many cybercriminal groups now periodically take up the Lapsus$ name and that Mercor’s confirmation of the LiteLLM connection means that the attacker is likely TeamPCP or an actor connected to the group.
TeamPCP appears to have compromised the two LiteLLM updates as part of an even larger supply chain hacking spree in recent months that has been gaining momentum, catapulting TeamPCP to prominence. And while launching data extortion attacks and working with ransomware groups, such as the group known as Vect, TeamPCP has also strayed into political territory, spreading a data wiping worm known as “CanisterWorm” through vulnerable cloud instances with Farsi as their default language or clocks set to Iran’s time zone.
“TeamPCP is definitely financially motivated,” says Allan Liska, an analyst for the security firm Recorded Future who specializes in ransomware. “There might be some geopolitical stuff as well, but it’s hard to determine what’s real and what’s bluster, especially with a group this new.”
Looking at the dark-web posts of the alleged Mercor data, Liska adds, “There is absolutely nothing that connects this to the original Lapsus$.”
Need a new tablet for your casual couch surfing sessions? There are a variety of options out there, but we think most people will be happy with the standard 11-inch model from 2025. You can grab it right now at Amazon for just $300, a $50 discount from its usual price.
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Photograph: Brenda Stolyar
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Photograph: Brenda Stolyar
The outside of the iPad hasn’t changed all that much in the few years since it was updated last, with the screen growing a barely noticeable 0.1 inches and the standard USB-C port and selfie camera, plus Touch ID built into the power button. Most of the changes affect the inside of the tablet, including a major processor upgrade to the A16 chip and storage that mean this tablet is much snappier and more responsive than the 2022 version. There’s twice as much storage, with 128 GB as a baseline and up to 512GB on the upgraded model, so you won’t need to keep deleting apps to make room for more movies.
While it does have the A16 processor, which is also found in the iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 15, and iPhone 15 Plus, the reduced RAM means there’s no support for Apple Intelligence. Whether that’s a benefit or a drawback will depend on how much you like or dislike AI. Beyond the lack of Apple Intelligence, you’re really only making a compromise when it comes to the screen, which isn’t laminated, so the Apple Pencil doesn’t feel quite as sharp as it does on other iPads, and it isn’t nano-textured, so glare and bright rooms may be more of an issue.
For most folks, the 2025 A16 iPad will be more than enough tablet for streaming, web browsing, and even some light gaming. You can head over to Amazon to pick up the iPad in either Silver or Blue at the discounted $300 price, with similar discounts on the 256GB and 512GB models too, but availability by color varies as you climb up the storage ladder. If you’re interested in what the other, more premium iPads offer, make sure to check out our guide that covers the entire lineup.
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