Single most useful tool in your shop

[Wood&StuffLtd]

Apart from essential dust extraction it must be the Dewalt drill and impact driver for a fixing faceplates for woodturning plates and bowls.

 

[Morag Jones]

I’d like to shout out for my Veritas bench hold downs. Though the shafts are smaller than the holes in my bench, this is easily shimmed out with a split piece of alkathene pipe. I see they are eyewateringly expensive now but I wouldn’t be without them.

 

[COWS]

Shaper Origin. I use it on pretty much every piece I make from leg templates, inlays to dovetails.

 

[Kayen]

The fact that I bought my first one maybe 30 years ago and continue to buy them every 2 or 3 years, it must be my Stanley Powerlock all metric 5M tape - no more 1945mm x 14 3/16" measurements!

 

[Fergie 307]

Having just read Niall's chair thread, and the convesation around holding things in your mouth when you havent enough hands, tempted to nominate my pouched utility belt. Been a godsend on so many jobs. Never been very good at emptying it. I will hunt around for a particular tool and eventually give up. Next time I pick the belt up, there it is because I forgot to take it out after the last job.

 

[Terrytpot]

I seem to reach for this every time I need to mark anything…

 

[Tris]

A square, although to be honest I have 4 different sizes. They seem to get involved in pretty much every job I do. Whether it's checking the drill press table against the bit, marking out, checking frames on assembly, one has a 'backwards' scale I use to set a marking gauge, another lives by the metal lathe. Can't think of a tool that gets used more often

 

[recipio]

My Mitutoyo digital Vernier. Completely reliable unlike the umpteen Chinese verniers that I went through. Mainly for measuring tool size but handy for just about anything.

 

[Ttrees]

A square, although to be honest I have 4 different sizes. They seem to get involved in pretty much every job I do. Whether it's checking the drill press table against the bit, marking out, checking frames on assembly, one has a 'backwards' scale I use to set a marking gauge, another lives by the metal lathe. Can't think of a tool that gets used more often

That method can be double checked with a bit of bent stock.
I find it more reliable on my machine.

And if you've got any left, you can use a bit for tramming other stuff

 

[SimonStevensCanes]

Pencil is the actual answer. It gets used on everything.

I'm tempted to shout out my clip on toolbelt, it's the first thing I do when I walk in the workshop and has resulted in the same pencil in use for 2 years and considerably less time hunting for tools I put down.

I'd also give a shout out to my lathe. I only bought it for making walking sticks, with very little interest in wood turning itself. Now it's turned into the machinery I use the most, by some margin at that.

 

[COWS]

In contrast to my previous entry, these are brilliant. low profile with bevelled edges to get into tight corners. And ergonomic grip for stable hand sanding.

 

[TheUnicorn]

In contrast to my previous entry, these are brilliant. low profile with bevelled edges to get into tight corners. And ergonomic grip for stable hand sanding.
View attachment 151919View attachment 151922

they look really useful for getting right into edges and under lips. I'm assuming homemade? are they velcro backed?

 

[ajs]

Scratch awl.

Not so much for marking out as a general holdy, proddy, denty, hole making thing.

 

[Drifter2406]

Turned a lot of unwanted/ thinned out trees into usable timber for making stuff.

 

[COWS]

they look really useful for getting right into edges and under lips. I'm assuming homemade? are they velcro backed?

Yes, homemade. Not Velcro but double sided tape. Bit of a faff changing paper but has a flat solid surface.

 

[bignik]

I work with pallet wood and I am rotten at mitre cuts, so I gotta say glue and sawdust and my wallpaper scraper

 

[Oakay]

Silly question. Like what is the single most useful part of your body? Nothing works on its own but some things are more essential than others. What is the point to wasting time thinking about this? Time is too precious. Why do I even bother to write this....I must find something more important to do

 

[Chris Hawkins]

Difficult to answer - I need them all! But the one thing that I have in my hand more than anything else is digital callipers - I would do without many things before I gave these up.

 

[Mooose]

For general DYI it would have to be a good level, pencil, and tape measure. In the workshop it would be this tiny T-rule from Incra. Very handy and used on most projects.

 

[stenik]

+1 for tape measure/rule. As the in law always used to tell me, measure umpteen times and cut once. Still get it wrong though . They put the little marks so close together