What was Your Favourite inexpensive workshop item of 2024

[Welsh_Whittler]

Hey all,

2025 will be here any second.

Let's quickly tell eachother what our favourite inexpensive workshop item was in 2024.

Mine where these small sanding sticks i found at a hardware shop in my local market. £2.50 for 150. Really nice for getting into those awkward little detail areas when carving.

 

[Bingy man]

I purchased a pair of lifting arms - not the super expensive ones but a set from banggood, I wasn’t expecting them to be much good given the £40 approx for the pair when the same thing by Stanley is more than twice the price but they lift everything from cookers to washing machines, and even a twin jacuzzi bath .saves damage to my back that’s for sure.
Edit - forgot the pics

 

[Bumble]

My local DIY superstore (similar to the big orange store in the UK) was clearing some quick release clamps for GBP 2 to replace with the more expensive blue brand.

I thought GBP 2 was too good to be true but picked up two 450mm as a gamble.

They work fine; top easily screws off so you can use as a separator or put though your workbench. I went back the next day to get the 600mm and more but alas, all stock gone.
Boo hoo

 

[Cozzer]

An old card scraper, picked up for 10p at a car boot sale.
Ticked and burnished at home for a few minutes, it knocks the socks off any of the others I already own.
Old steel?

 

[Sideways]

Bessey were my hit of 2024. Maybe not inexpensive but certainly good value. I bought a pair of their extra heavy duty squeeze clamps which are so much more powerful than the normal ones, and a pair of those extending floor to ceiling poles. Both have been used a lot.
The telescopic props have minimal footprint so they can be squeezed in almost anywhere and one you have a rigid upright, you can clamp lights and lasers to it. This is surprisingly useful.

 

[Doug B]

Certainly the cheapest & best buy was these carbide router cutters

They have 3 cutting edges 12mm shank 6mm x 22mm long cutter, all 3 just under £10 obviously from China but absolutely superb.

The other thing was these mitre clamps & application tool

I can’t remember the exact price on these but they were very cheap, a friend who buys gear from China sorts the buying side of things for me but I’m really surprised how inexpensive the gear he buys from China is.

 

[The_Yellow_Ardvark]

free.

 

[RobNichols]

Definitely my Bangy bang stick made from scraps. Still using it regularly.

 

[Jester129]

@Doug B - YOU'RE surprised, have a look at this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...order_list.order_list_main.105.ada81802awmI0c

And this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100....order_list.order_list_main.34.ada81802awmI0c

Absolutely crazy!!!

 

[Fergie 307]

Hey all,

2025 will be here any second.

Let's quickly tell eachother what our favourite inexpensive workshop item was in 2024.

Mine where these small sanding sticks i found at a hardware shop in my local market. £2.50 for 150. Really nice for getting into those awkward little detail areas when carving.

These are quite handy, can be bought from various jewellery tool places, or make your own. Just pop a suitable strip of your chosen grade of wet and dry in the slot. Or a piece of rod smeared with araldite and then rolled in fine sand or aluminium oxide. Last surprisingly well.

 

[Steliz]

@Doug B - YOU'RE surprised, have a look at this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100...order_list.order_list_main.105.ada81802awmI0c

And this:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/100....order_list.order_list_main.34.ada81802awmI0c

Absolutely crazy!!!

In the Q&A it tells you that it is a scam.

 

[Orraloon]

For something quite cheap that still works well I picked up this flush cut saw.
IRWIN Tools Dovetail/Detail Pull Saw, 7 1/4-Inch (213104) : Amazon.com.au: Home Improvement
As a flush cut it works well. Not sure I would use it for dovetails however. I prefer something with a back for that. Almost flush just a couple of swipes with a block plane and done.

Regards
John

 

[Essex Barn Workshop]

Oh I might win this one!
This 500mm perfectly square T sq with moveable drill guides, and 6 bushings of different sizes. Love it, and enjoy using it.

So go on, guess how much I paid, brand new from T%mu?
Accepting that I had to buy some other consumable items that I wanted to make it up to £15 minimum spend for free shipping, this cost me ....
99p

 

[kinverkid]

Certainly the cheapest & best buy was these carbide router cutters

View attachment 195262
They have 3 cutting edges 12mm shank 6mm x 22mm long cutter, all 3 just under £10 obviously from China but absolutely superb.

The other thing was these mitre clamps & application tool

View attachment 195261

I can’t remember the exact price on these but they were very cheap, a friend who buys gear from China sorts the buying side of things for me but I’m really surprised how inexpensive the gear he buys from China is.

Got my frame clamps on order.

 

[Sachakins]

 

[chestnut]

Carbide tipped 200mm (or was it 210mm ?) with 30mm mounting circular saw blades from LIDL for about 10€ if I remember rightly. Some with big ripping teeth, some with finer teeth for cross cutting. None of them up to the standard of full price blades of course but just what I needed for the moments when I want to cut chipboard or MDF on the table saw and dont want to compromise a decent blade.

 

[Chubber]

These are quite handy, can be bought from various jewellery tool places, or make your own. Just pop a suitable strip of your chosen grade of wet and dry in the slot. Or a piece of rod smeared with araldite and then rolled in fine sand or aluminium oxide. Last surprisingly well.

I have a 6mm x 100mm split pin I push a strip of abrasive paper in before squeezing the open end in my drill chuck. Not a precision tool but it's great on slow internal curves.

 

[benitod]

I found a pawnshop just by chance that is used to sell second hand tools at affordable prices. I have bought several tools and I visit them very often, but my cheapest item for the last year was ten agglomerated boards salvaged from the dumpster. The thicknesses are 3/4 and 5/8 inches and the width ranges from 49 to 42 inches. The length varies between 90 and 50 inches. Those were for free!