What are your handiest gadgets?

[Michael Ray Smith]

There have been several threads lately discussing which woodworking hand tools are essential for a basic shop. I thought about that today when I was working on a rabbet and reached for a small setup block that I use to make sure the edge of the blade on my rabbet plane is flush with the side of the plane. Specifically, what I thought about was those little tools and gadgets that I use without even thinking about them. I got the setup block a couple of years ago when I bought an old machinist's tool chest. I bought it primarily because it had several sets of calipers and dividers, but it also had some little things that since I've used a lot -- including a couple of small setup blocks and a small straightedge. (The straightedge is sort of interesting because it has an Atkins etch on it.) So I wondered about the sorts of little tools and such that others find handy, things that you might not even think of if you made a list of your essential woodworking tools.

[Mark Dorman]

I have 3 wedges that are scrap from a project that I use all the time. They fit my square dog holes and make great plane stops. I also use one in the Birds Mouth I made. When I made a chair with curved back legs I could trap the leg with the wedges using the dog holes. Use them for straight edges too. There just always on the bench and it's automatic to use them.

[Jim Koepke]

Most likely my small square. It has a 2" blade. It is useful for checking edges of boards being planed. They can even stay in the vise most of the time.

Next would have to be a marking gauge. Most used would be my Tite Mark®. Next would be my Odd Jobs gets used a lot for putting pencil marks on wood that is headed for the band saw to be ripped.

My caliper marked in 1/32" increments gets a lot of use for measuring small items that need a hole drilled or other reason requiring knowing the size.

jtk

[Chris Griggs]

Chip carving knife. I use it for marking, sharpening pencils, putting points on pegs, and other general purpose pocket knife type tasks in the shop (cuttting string, tape, etc.).

[Don Dorn]

Actually, one of my favorites is commercial. It's the Veritas small aluminum planning stop. It stays on the back of the bench and I just drop it in any two dog holes and plane anything from 1/4" up. Wasn't going to buy it and turns out to be used all the time.

[JimT Thompson]

That planing stop just went into my LV basket. For nearly 20 years I've constantly used 2 of these hold downs on my bench: http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/pag...49&cat=1,41637

[Chris Griggs]

Actually, one of my favorites is commercial. It's the Veritas small aluminum planning stop. It stays on the back of the bench and I just drop it in any two dog holes and plane anything from 1/4" up. Wasn't going to buy it and turns out to be used all the time.

+1. I have the 12" and ht 18". I don't use the 18" much since my bench as built in stop running down the length, but the 12" literally never leaves my bench. I actually end up using it as a full length bench dog a lot of the time.

[Jim Matthews]

My Moxxon vise is the most used tool in my shop, but not the most flexible.

I have a cheapo 4" sliding square that I find very useful, in more ways than just marking out.
Its blade fits into lots of the things I cut, and acts as a feeler gauge, depth gauge and angle finder.
(I'm normally looking for 90 degrees, and it's pretty obvious when the rule isn't perpendicular to the adjacent face.)

Some of these basic uses were demonstrated by Phil Lowe, I didn't come up with them independently.

[David Weaver]

big fan of the long straight chip carving knife, too. Wouldn't have thought of it, but since chris brought it up...makes a great marking knife, it's strong, easy to sharpen, and you can use it like a pocket knife to trim.

[Rich Harkrader]

My Swiss army knife. I use the blades for marking and paring, the leather punch like an awl, the can opener for all kinds of prying, and the tweezers for the inevitable splinters.

Rich

[george wilson]

I use my Super Leatherman a lot,and wouldn't be without it. I modified it a little bit: The smallest screwdriver is filed down some. It serves as a screwdriver for tightening my ever loosening eyeglass screws. Very handy. I often use the Leatherman a dozen times a day.

When I first get a Leatherman,I put a knife blade under each rivet head,and drive it in a little,slightly loosening the rivet just a little. It makes the tool much easier to open and use. The Super Leatherman has blades that lock open,which is a simple but great feature. To unlock a blade,you open an adjacent blade 90º,which unlocks the other blade so it can close. A very clever,but as said,simple improvement over the first issued model. I keep 1 knife blade sharp,and use the other for opening cardboard boxes.

The accurately graduated rules are very handy when I am out somewhere,and need to measure something. The whole tool is masterful engineered. I've tried the others,and while they might look nicer in some cases,(The Wenger is cool looking,and highly polished) ,no other tool is as easy to use as the Super Leatherman.

I've been stuck out on the highway with my neck in a cast from surgery(essentially a broken neck). With the useful,strong pliers,I was able to loosen the battery cables in my car,and clean them with the knife,so the battery would start charging again. I'd noticed the battery wasn't charging as I was driving. Not something I welcomed doing,my neck being in its condition,but was accomplished with the Leatherman. I urge everyone to get one.

When we went to England,it was absolutely indispensable. Everything there seems to be broken!! No kidding,having that self sustaining tool there was a MUST!! I noticed one in a shop window for 99.00 POUNDS(Over $162.00 at the time).You can get a Leatherman at Costco,with a little flashlight,for about $52.00,IIRC. Everything is so much more reasonable here in the USA. Italy is very high,too(but a much more enjoyable place to visit).

[Joe Tilson]

I have an old el cheapo 4" vise made in China, for which I made wooden jaw out of 3/4" plywood years ago. It has been a really good third hand for me for just about everything.

[Mike Holbrook]

I just got my LV Planing stops last week. The smaller one I got is 9 3/4" and the other one use to be the large one but is now the medium size one is 17 1/22". The largest is now 25 1/4. I think they changed or added to the sizes fairly recently so I am guessing they are selling well. Since I am working on my benches I plan to build them specifically to use these stops. Maybe some of the guys that use them now have suggestions about bench top and dog holes that will fully utilize these guys?

The other item I just got is a Japanese square. It is interesting by virtue of the fact that the long edge can be bent into a gentle curve to hold it in place against a side or simply lever it against a surface while marking with it. It is light but 10 1/2" x 20 1/2", graduated in Imperial on one side and metric on the other. I have decided that I want to become better acquainted with metric, just bought a retractable tape measure that has both too. I think a square that size should handle just about all my marking. I have a small four inch sliding square and an old engineer's square for when things need to be checked for absolute square.

[Judson Green]

+1 on the shims. It seems I've always got more than a few on the bench. Some for preventing twisted boards from rocking whilst I'm surfacing them and another larger set to use in the vise to counter the racking.

IMG_20131005_105334_884.jpg

And two levels that I use for winding sticks. And shelf liner for a little extra grip in the vise and on top of the bench between dogs.

IMG_20131005_105522_664.jpg

[Jim Koepke]

Judson, your post reminded me of something that is almost always used and often ignored in my shop.

1 - Anti-Rack Spacer Stack.jpg

It is a stack of spacers made to counter vise racking:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...k-Spacer-Stack

jtk