What is the latest tools/equipment that has become a staple in your shop?

[Mike Allen1010]

I'm a creature of habit's contents to do things the same way most of the time. However recently, I've added a couple things to the shop that have proven super valuable:

1) cordless leaf blower. When I'm tired at the end of the day much better than plugging in the shop vac and dragging the extension cord around the blowout shavings and sawdust. I like it!

2) Superglue in all forms: I love the liquid for repairing small cracks/splits in delicate edges, particularly essential when carving. Also when I'm too impatient to wait for glue to dry when I need small nonweight bearing components like small interior cabinet shelves I've used superglue for edge gluing with a little bit of Titebond for insurance. 10 minutes between clamps and it's ready to be surfaced. Can't say hundred percent confident but definitely save time.

3) slow speed grinder with cloth wheel. I got this originally to try out the "unicorn" sharpening technique. I'm a huge believer in the power of sharp and willing to invest time and effort to get the best edge I possibly can- full stop. Usually I rely on water stones. However, I particularly like the unicorn method for paring chisels (about a 20° primary bevel grind, honing a wire edge at about 25° on a course stone and remove the burner on buffing wheel with green compound). I also find it use the buffing wheel for touching up carving gouges in small bench chisels with good results.

What about you? Thanks for sharing.

Best, Mike

[Scott Winners]

I am ecstatic with my new block plane. I seem to have been doing it wrong all along. In my geographic isolation I learned to make a knife mark, chisel out some room for the saw, cut as close to the line as possible (without going over, sort of like one of the game shows on TV), and then plane the last of the end grain down to the knife line.

I guess this is much easier with a shooting board and a shooting plane, especially for long stock. I am laughing at myself. Doing this as pictured is a bit of a learning curve but it isn't that hard. With short stock. I have just learned about this use of a shooting board in the last 36 hours or so, never mind what I though they were for.

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[Jim Koepke]

What is the latest tools/equipment that has become a staple in your shop?

Of recent purchase would be a Bevel Monkey.

Bevel Monkey, Gauges, Square & Protractors.jpg

It is in the upper left hand corner. Very handy for setting a bevel gauge.

The other is getting close to a year old.

Sawing the Dog.jpg

A shop made 2" square is handy. I am thinking about adding finger groves.

Others that get used a lot are my various dividers. (no picture)

jtk

[Jim R Edwards]

Makita 18 volt light. I got it for Christmas and I use it all the time. My eyes aren’t what they use to be and it helps immensely

[roger wiegand]

Grammercy Tools shellac brush. Who knew that a brush could make such a difference!

[Jimmy Harris]

Everything! I don't have the room to store stuff I don't use, so I tend not to buy tools until I've been needing them for a while.

My last purchase was a Veritas flush cut saw. I bought it for flush cuts. But I find it's useful for all kinds of odd situations where a small, flexible saw can get into places that a larger saw can't.

[Mark Rainey]

Mike, I also have been using cyanoacrylate glue more frequently - very convenient. Starbond from California caters to woodworker.

[George Yetka]

Recently started my kitchen cabinets so I loaded up
Bora centipede(using the tracksaw makes breaking down ply so much easier)
Bought Bora table tops for the centipede (didnt like them)
MFT - I like the height, the small footprint, and the multiple uses (loaded up on clamping for this as well)
TSO track square and parallel guides
Kreg foreman(huge timesaver over the k5)
Clamping squares(knockoff set of the aluminum Woodpecker but work well)
Upgraded to bessey 600 lb quick clamps from dewalt 300 lb
Got a grabo(saves the back and fingers lifting panels)
Upgraded to Festool CXS12, though its only a slight improvement over the 10.8

[Reed Gray]

Well, everything I get.... Got a couple of Japanese style planes, and am learning to fit the blades into the bodies. A 1000/300 grit diamond plate from Rob Cosman since the Trend ones seem to be junk now. Got a big stash of wood recently from a man who was 2 time president of the international wood collector's society, many I have never heard of. I have a dedicated platform for my slow speed grinder which is set to 25 degrees f9r reshaping old plane blades and getting the primary bevel formed. I did watch one video on You Tube from a master Japanese style plane user who commented that one feature of planed surfaces was it made the surface 'water proof'. He put a drop of water on either side of a line, half was planed, half was sanded. The sanded side drop spread out and had a big wet spot all around it. The planed side, the drop just sat there. Much to my dismay, he also commented that it takes about 5 years to learn how to use a plane..... 4 years left... Thinking about making a Japanese style plane out of Ipe...

robo hippy

[Jimmy Harris]

Well, everything I get.... Got a couple of Japanese style planes, and am learning to fit the blades into the bodies. A 1000/300 grit diamond plate from Rob Cosman since the Trend ones seem to be junk now. Got a big stash of wood recently from a man who was 2 time president of the international wood collector's society, many I have never heard of. I have a dedicated platform for my slow speed grinder which is set to 25 degrees f9r reshaping old plane blades and getting the primary bevel formed. I did watch one video on You Tube from a master Japanese style plane user who commented that one feature of planed surfaces was it made the surface 'water proof'. He put a drop of water on either side of a line, half was planed, half was sanded. The sanded side drop spread out and had a big wet spot all around it. The planed side, the drop just sat there. Much to my dismay, he also commented that it takes about 5 years to learn how to use a plane..... 4 years left... Thinking about making a Japanese style plane out of Ipe...

robo hippy

Yeah, I've definitely noticed that stain sometimes absorbs differently into planed wood than sanded wood. A plane slices through the fibers without opening them up. Whereas sandpaper grinds wood down, and in the process, opens up the fibers. Even fine grit, though less so.

[Rafael Herrera]

I did watch one video on You Tube from a master Japanese style plane user who commented that one feature of planed surfaces was it made the surface 'water proof'. He put a drop of water on either side of a line, half was planed, half was sanded. The sanded side drop spread out and had a big wet spot all around it. The planed side, the drop just sat there. Much to my dismay, he also commented that it takes about 5 years to learn how to use a plane..... 4 years left...

It does not take that long. That type of planed surface is called "bright". A sharp plane iron and a properly fitted cap iron are the skills you need to produce a surface so smooth that you can see a reflection on it.

I've a couple of pictures that demonstrate the effect. The piece is a block of oak I used to test a smoother. The second picture is the same block, the picture was taken sighting down the planed surface, you can see the reflection of the tools on the peg board.

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The same effect can be achieved with other wood species: maple, pine, etc. Setup the smoother to take fine shavings and set the cap iron close to the edge.

A bright surface can be finished as is, no sanding needed. It will take a stain with possibly less blotching than a sanded surface, but YMMV and you may still need a sealer.

Drop some water on a bright surface and it will bead, it's not waterproof though, it'll just take longer to diffuse into the wood.

This not magic, nor does it take consulting a guru to learn how to do it, just what I mentioned above.

Rafael

[Richard Coers]

I'm a creature of habit's contents to do things the same way most of the time. However recently, I've added a couple things to the shop that have proven super valuable:

1) cordless leaf blower. When I'm tired at the end of the day much better than plugging in the shop vac and dragging the extension cord around the blowout shavings and sawdust. I like it!

2) Superglue in all forms: I love the liquid for repairing small cracks/splits in delicate edges, particularly essential when carving. Also when I'm too impatient to wait for glue to dry when I need small nonweight bearing components like small interior cabinet shelves I've used superglue for edge gluing with a little bit of Titebond for insurance. 10 minutes between clamps and it's ready to be surfaced. Can't say hundred percent confident but definitely save time.

3) slow speed grinder with cloth wheel. I got this originally to try out the "unicorn" sharpening technique. I'm a huge believer in the power of sharp and willing to invest time and effort to get the best edge I possibly can- full stop. Usually I rely on water stones. However, I particularly like the unicorn method for paring chisels (about a 20° primary bevel grind, honing a wire edge at about 25° on a course stone and remove the burner on buffing wheel with green compound). I also find it use the buffing wheel for touching up carving gouges in small bench chisels with good results.

What about you? Thanks for sharing.

Best, Mike

Did you realize your post is on Neanderthal Haven? Odd choices of cordless leaf blower and slow speed grinder for a hand tool sub.

[David Carroll]

Wood is Good urethane carving mallet. Over the years, I've had several different carvers mallets. Chris Schwarz has recently been touting his "Lump Hammer." I used something like that for years, it was (still is) a Sculpture House branded stone carving mallet. It's a full pound and made of malleable iron. It was fine, but I miss-placed it and needed one for a class I was taking at the local Woodcraft, so I grabbed the urethane clad mallet and fell in love with it instantly. For awhile I had a Lignon Vitae one, but you had to keep it waxed, and in a plastic bag to avoid checking, it was a nuisance.

But this one is great! I even use it for dovetailing and chopping mortises. I thought having a cylindrical mallet after using a rectangular one would take some getting used to. It did. It took nearly a minute before I was really comfortable with it. Sometimes I miss the mass of the iron hammer, but I still have it for those times.

DC

[Edward Weber]

Yeah, I've definitely noticed that stain sometimes absorbs differently into planed wood than sanded wood. A plane slices through the fibers without opening them up. Whereas sandpaper grinds wood down, and in the process, opens up the fibers. Even fine grit, though less so.

This is simply not what happens at all, once the fibers are cut, they're cut. There is no slicing vs opening them up
You do not make wood waterproof by planing, this is a parlor trick. As Rafeal said, it just takes a little longer to absorb into the wood.
If you sand up to the burnishing point, you will get the same effect as planing

Planing cuts the fibers cleanly rather than abrades them, leaving a smooth initial surface on the cut. A roughly sanded surface up to 220, will will absorb liquid more readily due to the scratches left by the abrasive. If you continue sanding up to a high grit, diminishing the scratches, you will get the same surface smoothness and chatoyance as planing. It's just two different ways of removing waste and getting to the same point.

[Todd Sebek]

1. Boggs curved bottom spokeshave, paired with a sharp card scraper is a lot of fun.
2. Blackwing 651 pencil with a Blackwing dual stage sharpener or a KUM dual stage sharpener. I think I like the KUM more. Probably my most used tool in the shop. I just enjoy using it with the Blackwing pencil.