What tool(s) would you buy for £200?

[Essex Barn Workshop]

I rercently bought a cheapish tracksaw, and can't belive how much I use it. My table saw is almost redundant most days. If I had a spare £200, I'd put it towards a better tracksaw.
But as others have said, that's because i have a use for it and would use it almost daily.

 

[John Brown]

Buy some asbestos pocket liners.

 

[Ttrees]

Three or four hand planes is nice to have in the workshop, so I'd go on ebay if you don't have enough.
Some sharpening gear if cheap enough, Ultex diamond plates do be on an half price sale often, so one or two of those plates...
Maybe a look at axminster tools for some stuff like a nice cheap 150mm engineers square for a tenner, or a flush cutting wheel gauge.
That should cover all that and whatever else.

 

[thetyreman]

I thought this was good, I have managed to find some bargains but you have to be patient with using ebay, if you're after some vintage chisels, planes or tools worth a watch

 

[--Tom--]

Buy £50 worth of nice wood and start making something. You’ll soon realise what you need.

If it’s just something nice that you want, id go with a hand tool as you’ll have it for years vs something cordless that will be outdated in 10yrs time. People have already mentioned planes, so I’d suggest a decent set of Wera screwdrivers will always come in useful, and compared to making do with something nearly right, will save frustration.

 

[Lonsdale73]

Buy some asbestos pocket liners.

Ooh! I need some of those.

When I first set up my workshop it was with a view to making picture frames and became somewhat obsessed with getting things perfectly square. It wasn't a birthday or special occasion (not mine anyway) but I was gifted some cash with an instruction to 'buy something nice with it!' So I bought one of these. I'd have needed a lottery win of multi-week rollover magnitude to have ever considered shelling out this much money for a single tool. Particularly when I was setting up the workshop it proved invaluable, especially when breaking down larger sheets for all the cabinets and workstations I was building. I don't use it anywhere near as often but because it was a gift and it is great to have when needed I know I'll never part with it and just glimpsing it reminds me of a very special person and a lovely day.

 

[billw]

The best advice has definitely been to NOT spend it and wait for a need to arise.

 

[--Tom--]

The best advice has definitely been to NOT spend it and wait for a need to arise.

I think best advice is to buy materials and start making! On a slightly more serious note, if you don’t know then hold fast, sooner or later you will need a tool

 

[Bristol_Rob]

A quality straight edge.

 

[mr rusty]

Wait until the next project, discover what would be a "nice to have" and buy a good one to treat yourself.

 

[Doug B]

I don’t necessarily agree with not buying until you need something, there are lots of times I’ve bought a tool with no specific job in mind, a good example is my tracksaw.
I had for years been happy with my previous set up for breaking down boards, it was only at a show when a good friend said how useful they were that I bought one, my god do I not regret that purchase to say it blew my previous set up out of the water is an under statement.

Similarly I bought a dedicated shooting board plane on a whim simply because I was at the right place at the right time & the price was right, again it proved to be a great purchase & I wouldn’t want to be without it.

 

[ScaredyCat]

A good, accurate engineer's square, ruler, depth gauge.

The number of times stuff came back to bite me when I started just because I didn't have accurate basic tools.

 

[Noggsy]

Ooh! I need some of those.

When I first set up my workshop it was with a view to making picture frames and became somewhat obsessed with getting things perfectly square. It wasn't a birthday or special occasion (not mine anyway) but I was gifted some cash with an instruction to 'buy something nice with it!' So I bought one of these. I'd have needed a lottery win of multi-week rollover magnitude to have ever considered shelling out this much money for a single tool. Particularly when I was setting up the workshop it proved invaluable, especially when breaking down larger sheets for all the cabinets and workstations I was building. I don't use it anywhere near as often but because it was a gift and it is great to have when needed I know I'll never part with it and just glimpsing it reminds me of a very special person and a lovely day.

I’ve never heard of that website and it looks great. And that square looks fantastic. Thankyou.

 

[ScaredyCat]

I’ve never heard of that website and it looks great. And that square looks fantastic. Thankyou.

@Peter Sefton is a member here, he runs it and a woodworking school too...

 

[Jameshow]

I'd buy some extra skills anyone know where to buy some?!!

Seriously anyone know of any improver courses?

I.e. not the basics of sharpening cutting etc.

But something to push my technical skills and accuracy...

Post covid obviously!

Cheers James

 

[Ttrees]

If you can afford to buy skills then have a look at David Charlesworth's DVD's.

 

[Peter Sefton]

I’ve never heard of that website and it looks great. And that square looks fantastic. Thankyou.

The T-600 is one of Woodpeckers highest rated tools but I love the new Stainless Steel squares.

 

[Lonsdale73]

I’ve never heard of that website and it looks great. And that square looks fantastic. Thankyou.

There are times when I wish I'd never heard of it, I've spent a small fortune there!

 

[Peter Sefton]

There are times when I wish I'd never heard of it, I've spent a small fortune there!

I can only apologize.

 

[Doug B]

There are times when I wish I'd never heard of it, I've spent a small fortune there!

Yebbut there’s a lot worse shops I have to spent my money in