This year marks ten years since the original GRS-16 by TSO Products launched. (Hint: Sign up for our emails - form in the footer - just in case there is an anniversary sale!) We pestered TSO to open us up as their first dealer four years later, and the rest is history. But where did it all start?
The Story Behind Precision Woodworking Tools By TSO Products
What began as a simple answer to a frustrating problem has grown into a family of five products backed by four patents. But the story starts much earlier, on a workbench, with a new Festool track saw and a question that seemed obvious once someone finally asked it.
Hans Friedebach, founder of TSO Products, is a longtime Festool customer (his first Festool: a sander). When he got a track saw - more safe, manageable, and better for breaking down sheet goods than a table saw. But his work required square cuts. Lots of square cuts. And the standard approach of a cast speed square and clamps didn't sit right with him.
“I was really put out,” Hans recalls. “What do you mean you have this incredible tool and there’s no out-of-the-box way to square it?”
So he set out to find a better solution. From napkin sketches to a proof of concept to prototypes, the GRS-16 was developed carefully and deliberately with one goal in mind: to make the most trustworthy guide rail accessory.
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TSO Products - Over The Years
Over the last ten years, woodworkers have helped shape every product in the TSO lineup through forum posts, emails, phone calls, support tickets, and tradeshow conversations. The GRS-16 was the right tool for the moment, but the community helped turn it into a standard.
TSO's product catalog has also grown. The GRS-16 itself has grown into a family of five products backed by four patents.
But the guiding idea remains the same: study the tools woodworkers already trust, find the gaps that get in the way of better work, and build simple, accurate solutions that feel obvious once they are in your hands.
Today, TSO-brand products are still proudly made in the USA, just like the first GRS-16 that shipped ten years ago. They promise to listen closely to woodworkers, solve real shop problems, and build tools that make accurate work simpler.
We Tip Our Hats To TSO Products
Here at Ultimate Tools, we applaud what TSO Products has managed to accomplish. 10 years is a significant milestone for a business, and they have managed to find a niche in the market for their innovative products. And, along the way, they have built a loyal customer base that trusts in the name and trusts in the product.
Since we started carrying the line 6 years ago, their GRS-16 has been one of our best-selling products of all time. And that's no surprise. We all get excited for every new TSO Products release, and are excited to see what they come up in their second decade.
