Explosive-actuated power tools use an explosive cartridge or gas discharge to fire a fastener into hard materials such as concrete, mild steel and masonry.

A power tool is a tool that is actuated by an additional power source and mechanism other than the solely manual labor used with hand tools. The most common types of power tools use electric motors. Internal combustion engines and compressed air are also commonly used.

In 1895, 16 years after Thomas Edison invented the incandescent electric lamp, the German engineering company C&E Fein combined the power of an electric motor with a manual drill to develop the world's very first power tool.