Jake Mercer
General contractor turned tool reviewer. 14 years in residential construction. Tests every tool before recommending it.
About Jake
Jake spent 14 years as a licensed general contractor in the Pacific Northwest before shifting to full-time tool testing and reviews. He's framed houses, finished basements, and built more decks than he can count -- which means he knows exactly which tools fail on a real jobsite and which ones earn a permanent spot in the truck.
He started ToolShedTested because he was tired of reviews written by people who had never actually used the tools they were recommending. Every tool on this site passes through his hands before it gets a recommendation.
How Jake Tests Tools
Every tool review starts with purchasing the tool at retail -- no sponsored units, no manufacturer loans. Jake tests each tool on real projects: drilling through hardwood and concrete, making production cuts in dimensional lumber, running battery endurance tests, and stress-testing durability under actual job conditions. When a review cites a specific number -- runtime, torque, cut count -- that number was measured, not estimated.
No tool gets a recommendation until Jake is confident he'd put it in his own truck.