Best cheapest tools / gizmo that you couldn't live without

[DiscoStu]

I thought I'd start a thread that might be revealing and hopefully beneficial but not costly.

The rules are simple, post you best tool / gadget or gizmo (wood working related) that costs under £10 and under £30 and a few words to say why you like it so much.

Under £10
Ruler stop - A small device that goes onto a steel rule. Link here:
http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-pr ... top-102378

Essentially it allows you to draw lines at set depths, transfer depths from one piece to another. I constantly find it saving me from measuring and use it loads.

Under £30

I think my speed square is probably my answer here. Again I use it loads and the base on it makes it so valuable as you can use it outside of an edge rather than having to make it parallel. It also rests in a lot of positions that my engineers square won't.

Oh I'm going to have two under £30's

My Festool tape measure. Love the fact it drawers circles and can measure internal dims without having to bend the tape. Price was around £16 I think which is a lot for a small tape but I love how useful it is.


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[RossJarvis]

Under £30, my PEC Combi Square, 10 x better than my Starrett.

 

[owsnap]

a pack of 20 pencils you can buy at morrisons for £1 , whenever I feel I can't find the stuff to mark with I just scatter them around

 

[Phil Pascoe]

a pack of 20 pencils you can buy at morrisons for £1 , whenever I feel I can't find the stuff to mark with I just scatter them around

And cheap biros. Life is too short.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I have pots on a shelf containing biros, pencils, indelible markers, cotton buds, cable ties, glue sticks, lollipop sticks, tooth picks, Stanley blades, x2 Pozi bits and bamboo kebab skewers. Probably £20 the lot. I cannot be arsssed with hunting about, my life is too short.

 

[owsnap]

Speaking of pencils ,realized I'm short of them again.. went to ebay and what would you know, 30 hb pencils for £0.99 delivered

 

[petermillard]

Small (6") Bahco combi square. So useful for depth setting etc..., I have one in every toolbox, and a few to hand in the workshop. And FWIW whilst I'd generally rather have a cheap tool than no tool, I can't abide cheap pencils, personally - they may only be pennies, but the price of a decent pencil is only a few pennies more...

 

[Roughcut]

Under £10
Festool tape measure as being able to easily take internal measurements is worth it's price alone.

Under £30
Parf dogs
So useful as I can use them for squaring the rail on the mft 3 quickly and easily, and I prefer to use them rather than the mft 3 back fence.

 

[NazNomad]

No words needed.

 

[transatlantic]

This set I picked up from lidl (can't recall the price but it was around £10). I use it everyday. It's really very good quality. I'm a convert from having lots of separate screwdrivers. (the one pictured is from screwfix, but mine looks very similar and was way cheaper)

And these quick clamps from Wilko (£5 each). Again, very good build quality, very solid. What I like about them is the size factor. The other brands you see like the Irwin ones are so big and bulky (with the same capacity) and difficult to use in tight spaces. I'm sure the wilko ones don't apply as much pressure, but they do what I need them to do.

Another Wilko. Adjustable spanner.

 

[MikeJhn]

Digital Caliper off Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/LUJII150mm-ELE ... al+caliper can measure inside, outside and depth, much better than any ruler if your eyesight is like mine, only restriction is the depth of the jaws for i and o measurements.

Mike

 

[bugbear]

(I'll ignore high quality tools bought at car boot bargain prices as outside the intent of the thread)

Plastic vernier caliper (around 99p from a market stall) EDIT LV do them in 6 packs!
Bamboo skewers (99p for a 100 from most supermarkets)
Long (20 feet at least) strip of clamping rubber spiral-cut from a free lorry inner tube
7 foot rule made by marking a strip of cheap moulding with a marker pen - handy in the garden

BugBear

 

[DiscoStu]

All this talk of pencils - I bought a mains power pencil sharpener for about £8 that's been a worthwhile investment.

What are you lot using Bambo skewers for?


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[craigs]

Under £30

I think my speed square is probably my answer here. Again I use it loads and the base on it makes it so valuable as you can use it outside of an edge rather than having to make it parallel. It also rests in a lot of positions that my engineers square won't.

link?

 

[custard]

Bicycle brand playing cards.

They're dead on 0.25mm thick so perfect for shimming. Three all round for a cabinet door, two if I think another cabinet maker will see it!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Bamboo skewers 59p from B&M. Useful for small dowels, sharp enough to pick up small drops of glue, paint etc. Ideal for small stirring and mixing jobs. Nearly as useful as lollipop sticks.

 

[NazNomad]

What are you lot using Bambo skewers for?

I mostly use mine as axles/shafts in small wooden automata.

 

[Bm101]

What are you lot using Bambo skewers for?

Tiny punji stake traps. We have an infestation of gnomes and they are just the ticket. I bait the traps with toffee and honey. The litle blighters can't resist it. Interestingly, this is the origin of the saying 'Gnome, sweet Gnome. '

 

[MattRoberts]

Coffee stirrers nicked from Costa. Perfect for mixing and applying epoxy (snap in half and you get two), and a good excuse to get a coffee.

Also drinking straws - pinch the end and they're great for scraping glue from inside corner edges.

And these : BQLZR A Pack Of 4 Countersink Drill Bit W/ Quick Change Hex Shank #6 #8 #10 #12 Screw Size https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LITNRIO/ ... dyb90MY90Q

So much easier to use when you want to drill pilot holes for countersink screws

 

[DiscoStu]

My speed square is this one:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-premiu ... 0wodknADgw


The counter sink and pilot combo is a good shout as well. I use them and they're great for speed.


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