drills

In 2005, we came the closest we ever had before to drilling into the mantle: the layer beneath the Earth's crust. Now, with new drilling technology adapted from the oil and gas industry, scientists might finally be ready to reach that holy grail of depth.

Inspired by designs created by his father decades ago, Jared Potter is building an arsenal of ultra-powerful flame-jet drills. As seen in the NatGeo video above, one prototype directs a jet of burning hydrogen at 3200°F against a slab of solid granite.

For all he's done and all he's taught you, you'd think dear old Dad would be honored more than one day out of the year. And if you want to get technical, had he not teamed up with mom on that one long-ago DIY project, you wouldn't be reading this right now. So this Father's Day, pay homage to his tinkering spirit with something he'll use in future acts of glorious creation.

Throughout this guide, you'll find a wide selection of tools from free iPhone apps to a budget-busting hammer drill; an oh-so-convenient cordless glue gun and soldering tool; plus a variety of things to help him amp up his environmentalism, his swing, his gut, and his chances of getting a speeding ticket.

For guys on a job site drilling hundreds of holes a day, power matters—it lets them work faster and blow through knots, nails and other obstructions. That’s why corded tools, with their bigger, stronger motors, still reign for contractors, and why DeWalt challenged its engineers to deliver even more oomph. Their answer: a motor that squeezes in extra copper to deliver 40 percent more power.