Favorite tool Question?

Favorite tool Question? Incra Gauge

Carlos Clarke

>With a mechanical pencil and my Incra Gauge I

can lay out accurate lines. And repeat the settings

when necessary.

Starrett square

Clay Foster

>Without it, none of the other tools could be calibrated. And I never assume that just because a fence or miter gauge was square last time I used it that it is still square next time I use it.

Re: Favorite tool Question?

Jay St. Peter

>Here's a list for me.

Cabinet Saw - I happen to have a Unisaw, but there are many similar. Almost every part passes through the Uni at least once.

LN 60.5R - Don't know how I tuned joints without this thing. While I prefer the adjuster of my LV LA block, if I could only keep one I think it would be this. I just got a shoulder plane so it may see less use, but it still opened my eyes to tighter joints.

LV marking gauge - I needed something around the price range for a gift list, so I threw this on. It sat for at least a year until I decided to try it out. Now it's hard to find as it never gets put away.

Cyclone Dust collector

Festool circular saw and ROS - The circular saw changed the way I process sheet goods and does a lot more than I ever expected. The sander is so smooth I can use it all day without a flareup of wrist pain. The reason I grouped them together is the dust collection. No masks or air filtration system needed when using these guys. Combined with my cyclone DC, I haven't had brown boogers in a long time. No more layers of fine dust in the shop in the morning either. Aaaaah.

DJ-20 jointer

Ed Wozniak--Buffalo, NY

>Before I had my jointer with its long bed machining rough stock into shape was a chore, and sometimes an impossible chore. Now it is a joy. It is the right size, if not a little oversized, for almost all of the projects that I take on. With my previous jointer I was able to make flat boards for only the smallest of projects. Now I am able to effortlessly make flat stock for all of my projects. If it ever had to be replaced the only thing that would keep me from doing so would be a weak bank acount.

LV BU Smoother

Joe in a Cleveland suburb

>That's my favorite because it's fun to use.

OK, I give up.....

Barry Irby

>I have a cheap little General Caliper (?, looks like a wrench with a dial on it.) Reads out in hundredths and sixty fourths. Got it at the borg for $30. Worth evry dime. As the eyesite fades we must compensate. If it went away, I would get a better one.

What is a BU smoother?

This is exactly what I wanted you guys to share. I have a jointer and a TS and a DC, (not a cyclone) but these other tools I don't have and don't know the benefits. Some are not obvious.

And Carlos, what is the Incra gauge? Not a miter guage for a saw I take it.

And the marking gauge, which one is it and what does it do?

Thanks and keep them comming.

Two Choices For Me

Jim Shaver Oakville, Ont.

>Hi,

For a power tool it has to be my bandsaw. I would say it was seldom used the first few years I owned it, but as my work and skills have evolved it is easily my power tool of choice for many cuts.

Hand tool wise it could be a few, but my LN LA block plane get's more use than I can even measure. I could make due with out some of the fancier hand tools I have but if you took away my block plane I would have to buy it again, it's pure fun to use.

Take care,

Jim

LN 4 1/2 Smoother with High Angle Frog

Chet Kloss from Livonia, MI

>I won a planning contest with it!

,,,,,,,,,,Chet

YUP ! 6" & 16 " . . .

s.mackay@worldnet.att.net

>When all else fails you can mark it and cut it with a hand saw but, at least, move forward. Did Clay mention depth gauge, straight edge and level ? Any-who, loose the combo-square and the world stops rotating and we all slam into the east ( west ?) wall of the shop.

Re: Favorite tool Question?

Fred West in West Chester, PA

>Here are my favorites: Minimax 16", Festool ROS and Systainer Vac system, Starett squares, Bridgewood Floor Model Drill Press. Fred

add the 4"

bill tindall, E. TN

>I use it for measuring and checking square edges, plane irons, etc. It stays on the bench. It is the tool I most wish I had owned sooner in life.

Wacky choice, but true

Henry Higginbotham

>It cost about $12, it gets used with virtually everything I do in the shop, and it FAR outperforms what it replaced.

It's a heavy-duty, aluminum dust pan made by Guetle Die & Stamping Co. I've told several people that it's the best thing I ever bought at a woodworking show. (Avoid the cheaper, soft-aluminum imports, often painted black.)

Maybe it's not a tool, as such, but I wish I'd bought a half-dozen of these, rather than SOME of the junk I've bought at shows.

LN 60 1/2 R

Randy Johnson Connersville, IN

>I also get a lot of use out of the beading plane. There are some things that it can do that would be just about if not impossible with a router.

Wow, I couldn't narrow it down to just one

Stephen Kirk in Quakertown, PA

>But I have a Stanley Block plane (a new one) that I tuned up and now cuts very nicely. I use that a lot. A no-name 6" try square is usually in hand, as is a 12" engineers rule.

My one true marvel tool that I now have trouble living without is a bench hook/shooting board made from some MDF. Boy have I ever found a lot of uses for that thing.

Re: Favorite tool Question?

JL

>Favorites would be my Lee Valley spokeshaves - all of them.

The Big Three....

Scott in Eastern Iowa

>I would certainly be lost without any of these three GRAY machines:

Delta Unisaw... huge improvement over the Crapsman I still have.

Delta DJ20.....squaring rough stock couldnt have been easier.

Delta 15" Planer....planing all rough wood to see the grain not easily seen on rough stock surfaces.

Hmm...I gotta add another Delta machine here, that being the dust collector. (insert model # here) Whatever mess the above three make, this thing eats it up all day.

Yup, without any of these, my shop would not be the same.

Scott

My Top Three

Keith Weber

>If I had to pick my top 3 indispensable tools, the awards would go to...

3. My Porter Cable Palm Nailer.

It's something that I don't use every day. In fact, it is very seldomly used. But, when the time comes to stick a nail into a hard-to-reach spot with no room to swing a hammer, this tool is my best friend. Definitely one of the best $100 I've ever spent.

2. Quick Grip Clamps.

IMO, one of the handiest tools to have around the shop. When there's no one around to say "Hey, hold this!" to, I don't know what I'd do without them.

1. Kreg Jig.

The first prize has to go to my Kreg Jig. I've lost count of how many times that it has solved a problem around the house. Quick, easy-to-use, and strong -- anyone who has ever used one of these knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Of course, I couldn't post a top three without giving an apologetic honorable mention to the following tools that make my life sooooo much easier at times:

Incra Ultra Fence

Exactor Sliding Table

PLS-360 Laser Level

Bosch Colt Trim Router

Rotozip

Starrett Square

Keith

Re: Favorite tool Question?

Joe Piotrowski - Chicago Burb's

>since you said favorite, I will have to saw My Japanese hand saw(s).

Re: Favorite tool Question?

doug f, san clemente, ca

>but the piece I use on EVERY project, and could not do without is the workbench I built two years ago. Maple and walnut top, 3" thick, heavy walnut trestle base, two woodworking vices and a whole raft of drawers underneath. It�s very flat and extremely heavy and is indispensable in everything I do in the shop.

Doug

My LN planes

Todd from San Jose

>These things are fantastic. I tried and tried with wooden planes, but just got my butt wooped- too hard to tune and maintain. I know there are lots of woodie fans out there, but count me out.

Then I invested in a LN #4 smoother, it was a life-changing moment! (Okay, I poured it on a little thick, but you get the point). Since then, I've invested in a #5, and my favorite, the #8 jointer. Unbelievable how well that jointer works, on edges and flattening faces as my "medium" plane.

Re: Favorite tool Question?

Guy Kroll

>I suppose it would be my shop full of Crapsman tools ( seems to be the name for them on here ). They all work great and serve the purpose for which they were ment. But if I have to single out one, two or three it would be my Craftsman Hybrid table saw, 14" Bandsaw and my Incra 1000 SE miter ( would be lost with out this one ).

Guy

Re: Favorite tool Question?

David Yoho

>My favorite tool that I use most is a Starrett 4-inch square. I keep one in the pocket of my shop apron and have a second hanging on the wall. Handy little buggers and can do so many things.

My favorite tool I'd be lost without but only sees use when smoothing glued-up panels is my Stanley #80 cabinet scraper. In fact, I have two of them always ready to go. I was given these many years before I began woodworking and really didn't know what they were or what they did. After I started working wood, I asked a friend who was a hand-tool guy. He explained what they were and showed me how to set them up. Been using them ever since and absolutely love it.

David

Re: Favorite tool Question?

George@Colonel's Workshop-Havertown PA

>Good Evening Barry,

Its true that I am unable to match LN planes, Unisaws, and all the other magnificent tools. But I like to compare some that I used to have against what I use and enjoy now. Historic non-favorites include a 10" Craftsman Radial Arm Saw, a Craftsman Tilt-top 12" bandsaw, a Buck Bros bench plane (lousey gift), and a Black & Decker jigsaw. I do like their replacements, and especially favor the LV LA Block plane, and an ancient Bailey #3C smoother.

George

Re: Favorite tool Question?

Mike Rubes, Apex, NC

>Hi Barry,

If we get to cover the entire shop, then hands down it is the lathe for me. For those that turn, you know that the lathe is just the central part of a nefarious money sucking system! Then there are chisels, chucks, grinders, face plates, etc, etc, etc! If I get a day to spend doing what I want to do in the shop, I'm turning :) It's a Jet Mini, so while nothing special in the world of lathes, I really love it and it has given me years of trouble free service.

On the non-lathe side, my LN low angle block plane is essential to my happiness in the shop :) Especially when it comes time to start putting furniture together and fitting pieces. That tool is just a joy to use, time and time again.