Tools of the Decade

[Ross K]

There seems to be a trend in this thread to only submit tools which are new to the market in the last 10 years.........and that isn't what I understand to be what Nick asked.....the whole survey just becomes a fashion thing ("what is the best of the current trends in tools?") rather than a practical survey of what people find most useful.

Mike

Mike, the two things aren't mutually exclusive.

I think people have voted for their most useful tools, not their favourite new trendy tools that they may not actually own.

The fact that many of the tools "voted for" are modern inventions (eg Festool Domino) is just an indication that modern design and product development produces very good products.

 

[yetloh]

There have been some steps backwards in the last few years, and one of them is the lack of a planer-thicknesser on which you don't have to move the tables. The Swedish Moretens H410 is rare in that regard, but costs £2430+VAT from Moretens UK (www.moretens.co.uk). I hate having to move the table to change from planing to thicknessing. Instead I use an old Elektra Beckum p-t as a planer, and also have a Delta benchtop thicknesser that can be moved around.

Does anyone have a better solution?

Nick

I agree about moving the tables, but moving the extraction hood is even more of a pain. Neither is required on the Moretens. It is quite expensive but then it isn't a hobbyist/diy level machine.

Jim

 

[Nick Gibbs]

I think people have voted for their most useful tools, not their favourite new trendy tools that they may not actually own.

I couldn't agree more. I've been really impressed by the breadth of suggestions. It's going to make a fascinating feature, and though a couple of items are quite well ahead, there's still scope for more ideas.

I've edited woodworking mags since 1988, but was away from them between 1996 and 2005. I was startled by the many, many developments that happened during that gap, and further innovations since then. Domino, MagSwitch, Abranet and 10.8v Li-Ion drill-drivers are just a few big leaps in the last few years alone.

Cheers

Nick

 

[wizer]

Does anyone have a better solution?

Nick

Have you seen the JET units? Changing from one mode to the other is the simplest of all the hobby/semi trade machines that I have seen. Next time you're at an Axminster store, or if your ever down this way, have a look. 5 seconds to change between modes I recently counted. No need to take anything off of the machine, just unlock the table, flip it up and turn over the duct chute. Done.

 

[Nick Gibbs]

Have you seen the JET units? Changing from one mode to the other is the simplest of all the hobby/semi trade machines that I have seen. Next time you're at an Axminster store, or if your ever down this way, have a look. 5 seconds to change between modes I recently counted. No need to take anything off of the machine, just unlock the table, flip it up and turn over the duct chute. Done.

We've got a Record Power planer-thicknesser in the workshop at the moment, and it too is very quick to change between modes. I guess I was brought up in a furniture business/factory, and have always shied away from any situation that calls for a machine table/fence to be altered unnecessarily. I remember my late colleague at Good Woodworking, Pete Martin advocating that the fences on radial arm saws should never be adjusted, and that you should always add jigs and fixtures to make angled cuts once you had the saw cutting square to the rear fence.

 

[wizer]

money and space no object, I'd agree.

The Jet looks very similar to that Record. However, both tables lift on the Jet. I have wondered if that Record machine is better or worse than the Jet. In any case, the Record only do one size AFAIK.

 

[Nick Gibbs]

No idea if the Record is better, but yes only one table moves.

What's AFAIK?

 

[Doug B]

My vote would go for the Dust Deputy, & cyclone technology in general, which shows in the magazine articles & forum posts dedicated to coming up with diy versions.

The Dust deputy has saved me hours in not have to clean filters when sanding floors,


I`d also say the development of lithium ion batteries has been a boon.

 

[Nick Gibbs]

My vote would go for the Dust Deputy, & cyclone technology in general, which shows in the magazine articles & forum posts dedicated to coming up with diy versions.
The Dust deputy has saved me hours in not have to clean filters when sanding floors,

That's a superb nomination. Hadn't thought of that. We tested one some time back, and returned it, and to this day I regret not buying it off Oneida. We have a workshop vac attached to a tablesaw and bandsaw, and putting a Dust Deputy in between would have saved me tons of time if I was woodworking every day.

Nick

 

[OPJ]

Would you count fluorescent 'daylight' tubes?

They're not tools and I have no idea how 'new' they are but, fitting them has made one heck of a difference to the lighting in my workshop and that is important to most woodworkers; being able to see what you are doing.

 

[FatFreddysCat]

1. Lithium-Ion battery tools and especially the impact driver. The power/weight advantage of these tools makes them a must have for anyone earning a living at it

2. Abranet. Got to be the best new abrasive product for a couple of decades

3. The small portable self-levelling laser cross line/level, such as those made by PLS. These really speed up setting-out for installation

4. deWalt cordless pinners (15, 16 and 18 gauge) which offer portability without the need for sometimes unreliable gas. OK, they're heavy, but with the new Li-Ion batteries they're manageable

I think other some things like the SCMS, guide rail saw, etc are from a previous decade and should be discounted. Sadly can't say about the Domino as I still haven't found the need to "justify" one

 

[Shultzy]

My vote would be for the universal machine. It has transformed my woodworking efforts and occupies a small space. Obviously if I had the space separates would be the order of the day.

 

[DaveL]

What's AFAIK?

As Far As I Know

 

[rkchapman]

What about Sketchup ?

 

[dchallender]

Mine would be;

1) a digital vernier - I have my original which cost me a fortune when I was an apprentice, but now you can get them for £10

2) Air pinner - i can't imagine how much hammer rash and dents / hammer marks in wood this has saved me

3) Mill / Drill - again for those little bits of tooling you need and can't quite get at the shops

4) My metal lathe (Harrison 11") - I'm an engineer what can I say :roll:

Darren

 

[MikeG.]

digital vernier - I have my original which cost me a fortune when I was an apprentice, but now you can get them for £10 I'm an engineer what can I say :roll:
Darren

Darren, as an engineer you know that there is no such thing as a digital Vernier!!!

Call me pedantic if you like, but calipers (or micrometers) are either digital, or they are mechanical and based on the Vernier scale. Not both.

Mike

 

[wizer]

explain yourself Michael

 

[Nick Gibbs]

A Vernier scale, I believe, is a bit like a slide rule, and is based on lining up lines for increasing levels of accuracy. Heaven only knows how it works, though I recall being instructed at school. Quite fun to use, but more time-consuming than a dial or a digital readout.

Can you have a Vernier dial? I suspect not.

Nick

 

[MikeG.]

explain yourself Michael

No, I'll let Wikipedia do that for me.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernier_scale

Mike

 

[matt]

Cheaper versions of the Fein multimaster. I've got the Bosch corded one. It's one of those tools that I don't use often but it's often the only tool for the job on occasion.

And... the digital magnetic angle finder/setters.

And LED torches.