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.