Favorite tools

[Mark Singer]

I had an idea to post some of my favorite tools with pics....I will post the pics soon now I just wanted to get the idea down...The favorite tools can be anything....a cheap mallet, I have a plastic Stanley that is covered with glue...especially the handle. The weight is perfect and it is always on my bench or work table...I'd be lost without it. Another is my digital caliper...inexpensive and dead on accurate...It transfers dimensions from a piece to the bandsaw or other tool and again, I could not live without them.
My Panasonic 12 volt cordless...perfect weight, great torque...the best chuck...wonderful... My other drills don't get the call that often

Same is true of my double square...that and my 12" combination Starrett are always used...I trust them

Then I have a bunch of colored Prisma pencils...just great to mark on lumber..."Top" ..."Cut Here"...."No I Meant here Dummy!"

Sometimes you can't put a value on these tools...even if they are cheap or pricey they are worth their weight in gold...
I have these little Insta Bits that drill and countersink at the same time

I have a great ratchiting screw driver from LV that is wonderful for hardware
I can go on and on...now where are the pics you say? well I am going out with friends for dinner and by the time I get back I hope to see some nice pics....from all of you....of your favorites ...and I will get around to my pics too

[Corey Hallagan]

No pics but one of my favorites... my little 6 inch metal rule I keep in my overalls or shirt pocket when I am working. Cost about 3.00 at local Menards and has metric conversion stuff on the back. Constantly using it and while I can easily replace it.... everybody knows don't take my rule from it's storage space! Probably a close second... My Incra Guaranteed 6 inch square... I love it! Good thread Mark!

Corey

[Roy McQuay]

I seem to make a lot of outdoor furniture, and I like to use a 3/8 round over bit on most edges. Though I have 3 routers and a shaper, I always reach for my PC laminate trimmer that I keep a round over bit in. It just feels like I have more control with it. I also can't imagine life without my Starret 12" combo square.

[Gary Keedwell]

I seem to make a lot of outdoor furniture, and I like to use a 3/8 round over bit on most edges. Though I have 3 routers and a shaper, I always reach for my PC laminate trimmer that I keep a round over bit in. It just feels like I have more control with it. I also can't imagine life without my Starret 12" combo square.

I second the Starrett square. It is in my hands....only second to a pencil.

Gary K.

[John Schreiber]

A 3/4 inch chisel. I really feel at one with that tool and when I work wood with it, I feel at one with the wood.

It's also the one tool which with I could do the most if I had to give up all the others.

[Peter Pedisich]

Dixon Ticonderoga #2 pencil!

Still made in the U.S. of A.

Pete

[Terry Fogarty]

Easy one for me. My Domino and Frontline engineering bandsaw jig. As individual items they are awsom, but as a combination they give me woodworking wet dreams

[Tom Majewski]

The ones my dad gave me. Some were top rate, some not the most accurate or smoothest, they've been, and will be suplimented, but not replaced.

[Dennis O'Leary]

Easy one for me. My Domino and Frontline engineering bandsaw jig. As individual items they are awsom, but as a combination they give me woodworking wet dreams

Terry

I spoke to that bloke, but never found out if the kit includes roller guides for the saw?

Also, how efficient is the setup for straight cuts?

[Don Bullock]

Mine is most likely a little strange for most of you. One of my favorite tools is my Craftsman sander that my dad bought back in the '60s. I can't begin to remember how many hours I have spent with it in my hand sanding wood. It has truly been a workhorse and it's still going strong. I was using it on Sunday (see picture below) to sand some cherry I'm using for a trophy base for our basset hound club. Yes, it has a metal casing. The only plastic is the knob on the side. And, that is an original B & D Workmate I'm using as a "bench."

[Philip Duffy]

A travisher made by a friend of mine who is a toolmaker in another era. It is the finest tool I have ever used for any purpose. It will take the wood out of a Windsor seat blank with such little effort and with such precision that I need no other tool. He made me promise that I would never reveal his name, nor tell anyone else that he would make them a tool since his real love is gunmaking.

[Per Swenson]

Collins Bunny plane.

Available from collins tools.

Per

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,
While it's uses for woodworking are pretty limited, my favorite tool is a set of Vice Grips - the real thing, not the cheap copies.

[scott spencer]

Isn't this kinda like choosing your favorite child?!

1. My Grampa's Stanley 220 6" block plane. Useful, nice... very cool.
   
2. One of my other favorites is the DC remote that Tom Pritchard made for me!
   
3. Last, but not least, is a maple mallet that I made...use it all the time.

p.s. Kreg pocket Rocket! ..and my Grr-Ripper (more gifts from a friend!) , and my shop made router table, and my shopbuilt workbench, and my laze susan for the DP, mortiser, and sander, and my cordless drill, and my engineers square, and my.... ... guess I just miss being out there!

Between family, friend's, and God given interest, I'm all set!

Gripper review

[David Cramer]

Mark,

As silly as this is going to sound, my favorite tool is my humble shop. Everything in it is a bi-product of the shop itself. The joy of opening up my shop doors and walking in will still be a "joy" to me for a long, long time. I wish I had one favorite of an actual tool, but I honestly don't. For me, it's my shop. Nothing trumps it!

Dave