Game Changing Tools

[Ollie78]

Just4fun has touched on a great point here. Skills and understanding.

Easy access to educational and instructional resources is probably the number one change in the last 10 years or so. Youtube is a goldmine of information on techniques, how to maintain tools etc. Forums such as this are also a great tool in the quest for knowledge and skills.

Other than that I love my Domino and Ts55 though my latest favourite is the HKC 55 with cross cut rail, it is genuinely a fantastic thing.
Also an oscillating edge sander, I use it all the time now and not sure why I didn`t buy one years ago !
CNC machine is fun too.

Ollie

 

[Doug71]

Cordless drills, the Makita 60954 with stick battery that came in a metal case, proper old school.

Festool TS55, how did I manage without it?

The internet, the knowledge I have gained from forums like this and Youtube etc is priceless.

 

[Roberto Flintofski]

Can I add, becoming older and wiser ( i have often been called a tool ) so think i qualify !
Years ago i just couldn't manage to sort a hand plane and get it to actually cut with any success, unable to sharpen it or set it up. I think with age we gain the personal skills we need to progress and not to get as frustrated as we would when younger!

 

[Lons]

I'd echo all that's been said as each for me has been invaluable at times though I don't own any Festool however going way back to the late eighties the real game changer for me having just moved into a large wreck of house was the purchase of a humble little Kity K5 combination machine. Limited in capacity but with a bit of planning saved me a huge amount of time for refurbishment where using hand tools just wouldn't have been possible.
I still own it despite having larger machines.

 

[Deadeye]

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!!

Interesting game. How far are you going back?

I agree re. abrasives. I inherited a great stack of my father-in-law's glasspaper...and was using it diligently as I started woodworking. Using a decent modern abrasive was a revelation.

Has anyone mentioned modern glues? They seem to have more or less done screws out of a job.

 

[Felix]

Norm Abraham.....
If I'd never watched the New Yankee Workshop I would not be doing what I'm doing now....I sold my beloved zx7r and bought a table saw.....that was a game changer for me...

 

[memzey]

Given that I mainly work in solid, it would have to be a reliable, solid and accurate planer thicknesser and an equally solid bench. The P/T takes much of the drudgery out of stock prep and the bench, well, that just makes everything easier and more enjoyable.

 

[Jelly]

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

I disagree, it's not a tool to be used by someone who is unfamiliar with the risks associated with its use.

If a hobbyist is committed enough to spend he cash, and take the time to learn to use it safely there's no reason they shouldn't get one.

Hobbyists (especially in the US) routinely do what I'd consider to be inappropriate and even unsafe things with table-saws to get round not having access to a moulding machine which would be both quicker and safer.

 

[Doug B]

I spent my apprenticeship & early working life with hand tools so the advent of battery powered tools has been a massive game changer particularly when I think of the hours spent putting screws in with a Yankee screwdrive.

As has been said the track saw made a huge difference as did the domino when they came alone. Another big breakthrough was the first dust deputy cyclone, it must be 11 or 12 years since I got my first one & it really did change my view on dust collection.

The latest game changer for me at least has been the spiral carbide tipped planer block, it really is a time saver leaving a planed surface so much better than any traditional planer block I’ve used.

Finally I really love Veritas’s PMV11 not a huge game changer but I wouldn’t want to go back to ordinary chisel & plane blades.

 

[novocaine]

Tracksaw yes, but also a multitool/oscillating saw. Perhaps not in the shop but on site they are a god send, quick trim of a skirt or cabinet to fit round something, hole in the back of something, fitting sockets or switches, cutting floor boards it gets used way to much.

Brother in law asked which mitre saw he should buy, i told him to buy a tracksaw. That says why its a game changer.

 

[toolsntat]

Superglue and activator.
5min pu glue
Makita 9404 belt sander
Ditto 18v circular saw
Ditto 18v multitool cutter

Back in a workshop before self-employed one of the biggest improvements we had was when sheet laminate bonding using contact adhesive spreaders then a rep came in with the "STARSTUCK" web spray system.... nuffsaid

Cheers Andy

 

[Doug71]

Tracksaw yes, but also a multitool/oscillating saw. Perhaps not in the shop but on site they are a god send, quick trim of a skirt or cabinet to fit round something, hole in the back of something, fitting sockets or switches, cutting floor boards it gets used way to much.

Forgot about multitools. For years I saw the Fein multimaster (when only Fein made them) demonstrated at shows and exhibitions, I thought it looked like a bit of a gimmick but eventually caved in and bought one after seeing other people using them and yes game changer for me, especially when I got a cordless version

 

[Mooose]

TSLS from Incra - fitted so that it serves as a fence for both my table saw and router table (my router is in the table saw wing)

This old video was the one that got me thinking about it 6 years ago:

 

[stuckinthemud]

The internet, not for videos, but for forums like this one. Being able to say "help I'm stuck," or, "wow, how did you do that? " or to be able to chat with like-minded people and top-level crafts-people has broadened my horizons, raised my standards, transformed my woodwork.

 

[t8hants]

The battery drill so versatile, coming from a steel work background I remember the days of the cast alloy bodied 'gut buster' or was it wrist breaker drills.

 

[Roland]

A lot of tools have made a difference at certain points in my life. An electric hammer drill made life a lot easier in the early days. Before that I used a hand drill when I attached anything to a wall. However making something easier doesn’t always change the way you do it. Sanders and abrasives have also made jobs easier. There are jobs I wouldn’t have tackled without them because it would have been too much hard work.

Then there are the enablers. It’s difficult to turn bowls without a lathe.

The real game changer for me has been a router

 

[Nelsun]

If I had to pick one thing from this past year it would be a diddy cordless drill: the Bosch 12v FlexiClick and it's interchangable chucks. The offset and right angle chucks have gotten me in to so many tight spaces I'd never have managed otherwise. Other diddy drivers are available.

 

[Bristol_Rob]

For me it's my sharpening method.

Understanding what sharp is and being able to quickly produce it with repeatable results.

Nothing has moved my results forward more.

 

[Sandyn]

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

Which one?

 

[Auldfart2010]

The Japanese Ryoba saw. The first precise, clean joint I ever made. All my push saws are at the bottom of the drawer.