Dumb things that you regret: buying, making, or fixing tools

[Stanley Covington]

Everything related to woodworking (handtools and powertools) I ever bought at Sears, JC Pennys, Harbor Freight, Monkey Wards. All trash.

[Prashun Patel]

I regret buying a halfblind dovetail jig and bad router bits.

As far as handplanes, even though some of my rehabs work horribly, I can't help but feel it's the musician and not the instrument. I still try to take them apart and tweak them to better use. In this way, they've become very good training.

[john zulu]

I don't recall making bad choices in wood working. Just learning from experience.
I did buy one plane which I kind of regret but that was when I used LV BUS plane. So far lucky I guess since I spend 10 times thinking before buying the tool.

[Prashun Patel]

Funny you say that, John. I think that might be the one tool that didn't suit me well too.
pp

[Steve H Graham]

When I started metalworking, I worked hard to get good advice. A bunch of idiots on some forums told me Chinese tools were horrible, and that I needed some "old iron." I bought a beat-up Clausing lathe from a guy in another state who didn't accept credit cards (the idiots told me he was the salt of the earth). He sent me the wrong model with the wrong motor, and then I found out it was nearly impossible to make it cut metric threads. It came with very little tooling, too. Tooling and parts for old American lathes are incredibly expensive, IF you can find it at all.

He refused to do the honorable thing, take it back, and pay for shipping. I ended up selling that hunk of garbage and getting a wonderful new Taiwan lathe.

A lot of the mainland Chinese stuff is very good, and the price is right.

[Andy McKenzie]

I've been fortunate in that I've been pretty happy with most of my purchases. Even the cheap junky stuff has served its purpose, and usually fairly well. I do regret wasting time trying to restore a few inherited tools, since they just weren't worth the effort. They'll be kept as keepsakes, but not used as tools. (Most of what I have from my parents, grandparents, and one great-grandfather is fantastic, though.)

I do regret one Millers Falls hand plane, which was in a lot worse shape than I thought... three years on and I still haven't got it working right. At this point it needs a new tote, further rust removal and lapping, and possibly being fired into the sun where I won't ever have to look at it again.

[Stew Hagerty]

Well when I was first getting into woodworking I bought a lot of weird and poor quality stuff. I was a General Contractor before I became disabled so I was coming from a world of power tools, not to mention every single episode of the New Yankee Workshop, This Old House, and Home Improvement (Tim Taylor: "More Power, Uhhh Uhhh"). So I was figuring I'd be all about woodworking with power tools. Then as I got into it, I started watching videos and joined this forum, so I started buying some hand tools. But I didn't know anything and bought a bunch of cheap chisels, a whole slew of vintage molding planes (nice, but I have only ever used a few), a Harbour Freight Combo Sander w/stand (the sander itself was ok, but the table was JUNK!), etc, etc.
Since then I have slowly been replacing & upgrading to good quality tools as I have the money to do so.

[Daniel Rode]

I have plenty but top of my list today is the woodcraft slow-speed wet grinder. The 1000 grit stone is horizontal and spins slowly (like a vinyl album). I don't know what to do with it. I don't want it, no one would buy it but I can't bring myself to throw it out. So, I just move it from place to place trying to get it out of my way.

[Matt Lau]

Luke,

Thanks for the correction!
One reason why I started this thread, is because I'm well aware of my inexperience and limitations.
Corrections are especially appreciated.

Any tips on splitting wood/hatchet work? For a while, I was copying the Pete Follansby model of keeping the wood between me and the hatchet. However, I was talking with Dr. Phips in Auburn (a boy scout leader), and he recommended being very careful with axes. It's not that I think that splitting wood is a fool's errand--rather that there are some "mishaps" that I can't afford to experience. For the walnut, I was just going to resaw it on my bandsaw to smaller, workable chunks.

Regarding making tools--I'll be making an assortment of finger planes soon, as I bought a bunch of white steel, japanese plane blades on closeout.

-Matt

ps. Regarding the full sheets of plywood, I might recommend getting a tracksaw (haven't used mine yet).
I'd been wrestling with my $100 used Rockwell 9" tablesaw, and decided not to risk losing digits (I've known 6 dentists lose their careers by severing tendons on their palm).

The Paulk workbench + tracksaw is a pretty nice combination.

Cheap tools of all kinds from Lowes, Home Depot, and Harbor Freight. Especially Harbor Freight. I didn't really know any better when I first started woodworking, and kind of assumed that anything sold as a "saw" "chisel" "plane" or "file" were indeed good quality items representative of those labels. I was nearly turned off from hand tools until I discovered that there are much better tools to be found, which make life far more enjoyable. Oh, and sharpening does that for one as well.

So, using dull, poor quality tools would be my answer.

Oh! Also, work holding devices. For the longest time, I didn't know much of anything regarding how to hold my work, and just held it in some way with my body, or up against a wall/corner, or with clamps on a table. A vise - even (especially?) a portable type that clamps on to a table top, along with a few bench hooks, and a saw horse or two, are among the most useful things any new woodworker can have. You can't work effectively or safely if your work is moving on you, or if you can't hold it in such a way that you can work the surfaces you need to work. I'm sad to say that I went far too long without any decent work holding devices/methods!

I have to disagree with the OP on a few things, though! In general, I've had wonderful luck making my own tools, and in many cases, I've made higher quality tools that better fit my needs than I can buy (or, at least, than I can afford to buy!). Moreover, working with a hatchet, and splitting green wood is a great skill for any woodworker to have. In fact, I'd say these things constitute some of the most rewarding aspects of woodworking that I've done. Don't let fear stop you from learning, and growing your skillset. Just proceed with due caution, knowledge, and safety. Knowledge really helps the other two points fall into place.

Of course, I have had just as many failures and time-wasting endeavors. Most of them involve crude metal working as opposed to wood though :P Or were conducted when I just needed a tool or device, and didn't work as painstakingly careful as I usually do. Or else got frustrated and kept working - that's always a recipe for disaster.


Edit: One more. This one more recent: buying large, 4x8' sheets of hardwood plywood to work with. $100 worth of the stuff. Now, I'm sure if you have the right space, tools, and physical strength to carry them about, this isn't a problem. But for one who lives in an apartment, works on a 10x10' balcony, and has only hand tools and a (I discovered) useless-for-cutting-straight-lines-cheap-harbor-freight-jigsaw, and chronic tendonitis to boot, this material is a nightmare. Ripping 4-8' of hard plywood to width over and over again with a little Ryoba is not very fun. And rather damaging to the hands/wrists/arms. Also, it sucks, because it's not fun to work with. If it's warped, you can't just plane it flat. If an edge isn't cut square, it's difficult to plane that as well, because you just get dust, and not shavings. So it's hard to tell what you're doing; you don't know if you're consistently taking off the same depth of wood across the whole edge, or if you're heavy on one side or the other. Moreover, the edges aren't really conducive to gluing.

I think I'm going to stick to real wood from here on...

[Matt Lau]

It's funny that you mention that.

I'm technically Chinese (American), and I go out of my way to avoid Chinese made stuff (aside from the Muji planes, and my disposable belt sander). Most of my big tools were old American iron, and I'm pretty happy with most of it. The gem of my workshop is my Walker Turner "lightweight" drill, and my Rockwell bandsaw comes close.

When I started metalworking, I worked hard to get good advice. A bunch of idiots on some forums told me Chinese tools were horrible, and that I needed some "old iron." I bought a beat-up Clausing lathe from a guy in another state who didn't accept credit cards (the idiots told me he was the salt of the earth). He sent me the wrong model with the wrong motor, and then I found out it was nearly impossible to make it cut metric threads. It came with very little tooling, too. Tooling and parts for old American lathes are incredibly expensive, IF you can find it at all.

He refused to do the honorable thing, take it back, and pay for shipping. I ended up selling that hunk of garbage and getting a wonderful new Taiwan lathe.

A lot of the mainland Chinese stuff is very good, and the price is right.

[David Peterson]

Same story with me re: sharpening gadgets before learning to do it by hand with a few stones. Sold most but still have a Tormek, with all its pricey jigs and jags. Hasn't been turned on in years.

No huge errors maybe but plenty of everyday misfires and wasted energies. Recently I decided to turn new handles for a full set of vintage Stanley 750's that I have. Thought that would look nice. I spent a weekend on the lathe with some choice curly maple. Had a thick leather hide to use to make washers for each. Lovingly fit and finished each one and assembled them all on my bench only to realize that I liked the look of the original, old battered red handles better. Put the newly turned handles with the Tormek.

[Rob Luter]

I have too many planes and too many saws. Most were acquired while on a quest to put together a good user set. I'd keep finding better examples and buy them. Not that I have my user set complete, I have a bunch I need to move. Hoping I can find a tool swap meet close to me so I can trade them for things I don't have too many of.

[Javed Akhtar]

When I started out, I acquired as much as I could, as cheaply as I could. Mostly this meant big box stores, since I also avoided used stuff. I bought a table saw from Canadian Tire (for the Americans, maybe barely a step above Harbour Freight), and a whack of saws and planes and chisels from either Home Depot or Canadian Tire. I definitely had the "buy many shiny things" affliction. I struggled with accuracy and quality at every step of my projects.

The only smart purchase out of the bunch was a 6" bench grinder that I still have, and a full set of pipe clamps, which have proven indestructible and are still my workhorse clamps. Most everything else has gradually been tossed/given away/sold and replaced with a smaller, curated collection of tools from reputable makers. The quality of my work has improved as a result, and I enjoy my time in the shop that much more. My tools will probably outlive me.

[Bill McDermott]

I regret cutting off more than I should have.

Every time it has happened it was easily avoidable and was entirely my fault.
Some times it ended up being downright wasteful.
No way around regretting that.

[paul cottingham]

Funny you say that, John. I think that might be the one tool that didn't suit me well too.
pp

Strange. Me, as well. I managed to convince them to take it back, so it was ok in the long run.