What is your favorite inexpensive tool (s) in your shop?

[Bob Feeser]

We all marvel at the big stuff, but we also have a favorite tool, or few tools that didn't hardly cost us anything, but consider it a favorite because of it's utility. What are yours? Post them here. Nothing is more fun that picking up something inexpensive that makes life easier in the shop.

If I had to chose one of my favorites, it would be the Stanley Saw Horses, that have the fold out top, available at Home Depot for only $29. Here is a picture of one, set up as a standard saw horse, with the legs folded out. Notice it has a shelf in the middle for parking things, like cordless drills, or a paint can.


Here is a picture showing the other side,where you can see the fold out top, in the down parked, and locked position.


They by squeesing the 2 yellow levers you see at the top of the above shot, the top releases, and you swing it out, and lock it into place using the yellow locking levers on each side.

I purposely left the door open to the compartment, which houses 2 clamps, and stops. You can see how useful they are in the next shot.

The vise clamp drops down in the dog in the front, and the stop drops down in any one of the table dogs all along the top. So it can handle a wide range of sizes. The other one is still in the compartment, but is there if you want to double clamp a piece. So it is a portable work bench as well.
Here is a photo of the stand, doubling as a portable Miter Saw Stand, and it's at a nice height for being able to see the work.

With 2 of these at $29 apiece, you could use the second one, with a box/support on top, the same height as your miter saw. So it doubles as a portable miter saw stand with a side extension. Of course when not using it for the miter saw, it doubles for all kinds of uses.
So these saw horses completely collapse for easy storage, fold out just like a regular set of horses, plus have a swing out top, that acts like a work bench, or saw/tool stand. You could park a portable contractors table saw on it as well. With a 500 pound capacity, you can park all kinds of stuff on it.
I don't use it all of the time, but every time I do, it makes me smile.

So what is your favorite inexpensive tool in the shop? No matter what size it is. Maybe its a measure, or a small hand tool, worklight, push stick, clamp, or something you made up, or whatever. It makes you smile thinking of how inexpensive it was, and how much utility you get out of it.

[Nancy Laird]

I think my favorite "thing" in the shop that isn't a tool would be my little two-step folding ladder. I'm not that short (5'7"), but my TALL hubby likes to put things up high, and the ladder really helps me to get things. I actually have two of them, one in the laser shop to reach the top shelves, and one in the house to reach the top shelves of the kitchen cabinets (no soffit in my kitchen--cabinets go all the way to the ceiling). First one was my M-I-L's and is probably 20-25 years old; second one is from Lowe's at about $55.00. I couldn't be without them.

Nancy (137 days)

[Jamie Buxton]

A drywall knife. A strong sharp knife is very useful for fine woodworking. A drywall knife requires no fussing to be razor sharp. Also, if you must, you can abuse it without wincing.

[David DeCristoforo]

5 lb. hammer.....

[scott spencer]

Sorry...can't choose just one!

- My grandfather's Stanley 220 was free and is really handy....it's also pretty cool reaching for Grandad's tools!


- My Wixey was a gift, but even at full retail, it's a fabulous device IMHO.


- My German made Leitz/Irwin 24T FTG TK ripper for $10 always brings a smile to my face.

[Michael Schwartz]

Inexpensive Stanley folding sawhorses bought for 25 bucks at the borg. I load them up with a few hundred pounds of weight all the time. Not really sturdy enough for serious handtool use, but sturdy enough for powertools.

Ryobi drills, When the batteries in my Milwaukee V28 kick, and when my 12 volt Dewalt batteries have run out, I have 3 ryobi drills floating arround and about a half dozen batteries. I can easily combine those with my 2 Dewalts and my Milwaukee to have a grand total of 6 cordless drills, one for each bit I am using ready at all times.

I have dropped these drills onto concrete, off of ladders and staging, drilled dozens of 1/2" x 6" anchor holes through concrete with the hammer drill, and they refuse to die. I have driven thousands and thousands of screws with the Impact driver, as well as hundreds of lag bolts, and I have used it to assemble and disassemble a great deal of commercial pallet racking.


Ryobi the clutch drill/driver This is a mediocre drill, but it is the only one on the market with a clutch for screw-driving. The chuck is kind of cheap, and it does not have an electric brake, but it does have more than enough power and is nice and lightweight. This drill has saved my butt more than once where all my batteries kicked, or the one good one is nowhere to be found.

Air drill, I got at a flea market for 2 bucks. Singel Speed/Non Reversible, but it is light, compact, and will fit into tight spaces.

[Jim Myers]

I have that same Sawhorse/worktable. Since I share garage space with a thousand other things it is great to put up out of the way.

This is however not my favorite inexpensive tool that honor woul dhave to be my woodworkers pencil (some places sell them as artists pencils). I was always breaking the lead on other pencils when you hit that rough spot in the wood and then having to stop and search for the sharpener (or knife). This way the lead is thick enough not to break. $6 on sale from woodcraft.

[Jim O'Dell]

Probably my Stanley utility knife. No tool blade change, and a compartment that holds 6 extra blades. Always handy. Jim.

[glenn bradley]

There are over a dozen I'm sure but at random . . . my Veritas saddle square -$12. Never knew how much I'd use one till I had it.

[Gary Muto]

My craftsman screwdrivers. They were probably my first tools and I still use them regularly. Many times to (dis)assemble other shop tools, lammowers....

[Chuck Lenz]

I bought a Ryobi QuikStand about 10 or 15 years ago. For some really odd reason they don't make them anymore. I think it's the cats meow. Maybe I should start makeing them.

[Mark Singer]

You will hate this , a pencil! That is where all the ideas get worked out ....I will also say a digital caliper is a key tool for me...a square as well. Proper layout, drawing, measuring is very important

[Scot Ferraro]

I love my six inch rule from Lee Valley -- I think it cost less than $5.00 and I use it on almost all projects to set bit heights, blade heights, etc... I also think my 4 inch double square from Starrett ranks at the top. I also think that razor blades are extremely useful and I would not be without them -- they work great to remove dried glue and clean up glue squeeze-out from corners and I can even use it as a mini-scraper in a pinch for small areas.

Scot

[Brent Dowell]

I have a cheap little buck bro's 3/4 inch chisel.

I keep it razor sharp, and find that I frequently reach for this little cheap chisel to clean up glue drips. I really abuse it sometimes, because if I ding it up, I can always touch it up on the grinder, and a little time on the sharpening stones brings it right back....

I also keep a little wirebound 5"x3" pad of paper and a pen handy to make notes of what things I need, so I can reduce the number of trips I have to make to the hardward store.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

My grandkids gave me a plastic device a few years ago. Viewed from the side it's shaped like a capital "J". The top part has a handle and the bottm portion allows you to slide your hand through the handle and place a sheet of pywood or sheetrock on it and carry it. I'm a sentimental old guy and hung it in the shop for a couple of years ago. Then when I started finishing the interior of my new shop......Wow! Cheap plastic tool.....Worth it's weight in platinum!