Game Changing Tools

[marcros]

Interesting video from @petermillard today about game changing tools.

I have the track saw and would say that it alone has made a huge difference to my woodworking- particularly DIY tasks (which form most of my tasks).

Of all the tools that you have, what are your "game changers"?

The track saw having already been nominated, I would add the rail square to the list. MK2 Rail Square - Festool / Makita / Triton / Evolution - MK2 - SHIPS JANUARY 2021 I have only had mine a couple of months but it is brilliant!!

 

[paulrbarnard]

3D printer. I’m forever making repair parts or special adaptors or gubbins with it.

 

[Spectric]

Hi

That rail square is £100 cheaper than the Fc one at Hybrid MF Rail Square | Fits All Major Plunge Saw Rails | karpenter.co.uk I would say the tracksaw is great for sitework and the small home woodworker with limited space, but people have been using circular saws and guides for many years, I use an 8ft length of angle iron and a Bosch saw, yes it is not going to be as quick to setup and use like the tracksaw but still delivers the end result. If I was running a business and had space I would want a table saw setup but I suppose that is not the market the tracksaw is aimed at. I am looking at buying a Makita corded tracksaw in the new year simply because I am getting older and want accuracy without it being so dependant on myself. The Domino machine is clever and allows the lesser skilled like myself to make mortices quick and easy although I think it is as much an oblong dowler as a loose tenon machine and because of my familiarity with the Dowelmax I have now got a 700XL because to me it is just a very fast dowelmax which in itself could also be classed as a gamechanger, probably the most accurate device for the money to place dowel holes.

 

[Sandyn]

My Band Saw. I didn't bother getting one for years (fear of doing damage to myself), but once I did, I wonder how I managed without it.

 

[harryc]

For the home diyer like myself I would say a thicknesser, the ability to buy relatively cheap rough sawn timber makes a huge difference in the projects I have been able to undertake.

 

[custard]

It's an interesting question.

Personally I'd argue that routers and better abrasives have revolutionised post war woodworking. But I certainly see how track saws and better adhesives could also make a claim.

i used to do quite a lot off work in the US and came across a type of hobbyist woodworker that I don't really see so often in the UK. This was someone who made a conscious decision to work primarily in sheet goods. A track saw and a bit of care was the great equaliser, it made them pretty much as accurate as the guy with a multi thousand £ panel saw.

And wow, for hobbyists, these guys could be super productive. Fitted furniture projects galore, often of such excellent quality that they genuinely added value to their homes and gained the enthusiastic support of their spouses. I suspect the high price of decent sheet goods material puts off lots of UK woodworkers from following their lead.

 

[marcros]

It's an interesting question.

Personally I'd argue that routers and better abrasives have revolutionised post war woodworking. But I certainly see how track saws and better adhesives could also make a claim.

i used to do quite a lot off work in the US and came across a type of hobbyist woodworker that I don't really see so often in the UK. This was someone who made a conscious decision to work primarily in sheet goods. A track saw and a bit of care was the great equaliser, it made them pretty much as accurate as the guy with a multi thousand £ panel saw.

And wow, for hobbyists, these guys could be super productive. Fitted furniture projects galore, often of such excellent quality that they genuinely added value to their homes and gained the enthusiastic support of their spouses. I suspect the high price of decent sheet goods material puts off lots of UK woodworkers from following their lead.

ah yes. Many people use vintage tools and claim that they are superior to modern. Nobody searched out NOS sandpaper!

 

[Jameshow]

Sharp tools for me! So diamond stones!!

Also accurate measuring / angle devices.
Bahco for me!

Finally affordable planes either new or s/h.

Happy Christmas everyone!

Cheers James

 

[doctor Bob]

Battery driver.

As commercial enterprise, 4 sider and wide belt sander

 

[petermillard]

Interesting video from @petermillard today about game changing tools.

Thanks for the shout @marcros! The video is here if anyone’s interested. My game-changers were about moving from doing handyman type work to cabinetry, and the tools along that timeline that enabled me to compete at a higher level, yet still be a one-man-band maker/installer working from a garage-sized commercial workspace.

 

[artie]

The track saw as always, but aside from that lithium ion batteries.

Not really a tool I suppose but definitely game changer.

 

[billw]

Anything that needs electricity.

 

[Rorschach]

Track Saw for wood working, lathe for metal working.

 

[nickds1]

Track saw (Festool), decent table saw & band saw, MFT table (made with Parf 2 and Valchomat).

If I could justify it, a Shaper Origin (owned by Festool now) would be a wonderful tool to have.

 

[Jacob]

Spindle. It came on a AEG Maxi 26 Combi machine. Cheapo machine but did loads of work. Got into making my own cutters and hardly used a router for many years.
Moved on to SCM T110 with power feed which was another game changer really.

Going the other way (backwards technologically) I bought an old lathe with a 12" sanding disc and table attachments. Really useful. Hadn't realised how good they are, wood and metal. Got rid of my Sorby Proedge - the disc does a far better job, faster and cooler.

 

[billw]

Spindle. It came on a AEG Maxi 26 Combi machine. Cheapo machine but did loads of work. Got into making my own cutters and hardly used a router for many years.
Moved on to SCM T110 with power feed which was another game changer really.

The spindle moulder at Leeds College scared the bejesus out of me, it's definitely not a tool for the home woodworker!

 

[Peter Sefton]

Oh so many but I would say battery drill, biscuit jointer, router table, scalpel and scary sharp and I love all my machines especially the power feed.

 

[Sideways]

I second Custard's votes for the handheld router and modern abrasives (in my case Mirka DEROS and Abranet, but more widely abrasives for finishing glass, plastics, solid surface materials and even car engine parts).
A game changer for me personally is a quality spraying setup. A tiny Iwata LPH-80 + near silent compressor + 3M Paint Preparation System makes for excellent painting of projects upto the size of a fridge and remarkably quick, easy clean up.

 

[Just4Fun]

Let me go against the grain here. I have a variety of (hand) tools that I enjoy using to a greater or lesser degree, but I would not describe any of them as game changers. Rather, game changers for me have been steping stones in my skills or understanding. When I finally "get" something that has previously caused me problems, that is a game changer. For example (and it is only an example) understanding what is needed to reliably produce decent dovetails. That sort of understanding has been more of a game changer for me than any tool.

 

[marcros]

Let me go against the grain here. I have a variety of (hand) tools that I enjoy using to a greater or lesser degree, but I would not describe any of them as game changers. Rather, game changers for me have been steping stones in my skills or understanding. When I finally "get" something that has previously caused me problems, that is a game changer. For example (and it is only an example) understanding what is needed to reliably produce decent dovetails. That sort of understanding has been more of a game changer for me than any tool.

Ah, that is an interesting twist to the discussion. I like your thoughts.