Tools that are much better than you expected

[Victor Robinson]

Agree with the Fein and Rockwell Versacut for remodeling type work. Those two have been indispensable and more useful than I thought. Carbide blades on the Fein was a revelation.

[John TenEyck]

Yep, the $10 HF purple HVLP spray gun has far exceeded all expectations. It sprays anything below about 45 seconds #4 Ford cup beautifully. The HF corded oscillating multi-tool is another great buy - paid for itself the first time I used it to cut some baseboard w/o removing it from the wall. But the machine that has exceeded all expectations I originally had for it is my very own horizontal router mortiser. Mortises of nearly any size are fast, easy, accurately and safely cut, plus it can do so much more.

John

[Ted Reischl]

Wixey Angle gage. No more "tweaking ad nauseam" to set up bevel cuts. Also useful for squaring up other machines. Can be used to set the miter gage on the TS too. Handy little dude for about $30. Saved that in trial cuts and frustration.

[Matt Day]

Lee valley saddle square. I use it on every project. Super handy.

[Steve Demuth]

A couple:

- Starrett English fractional dial caliper (for about $100). Never used a dial caliper and never worried about 1/128" of an inch before. Now I use it constantly. Be a Starrett, I expected quality, of course, but this tool has transformed the way I do many things.

- My "vintage" Stanley 9 1/2 block plane that I bought for $3 at an auction and refurbished. The adjustable mouth makes all the difference.

- My Stanley 113 compass plane. I bought several junkers with broken parts and rebuilt a single good one out of them. I figured it for a shelf-keeper except for some very special purpose jobs, but it is a wonderful tool for making curved patterns in mdf for router reproduction, and has done yeoman's work in cleaning up bent laminations on multiple projects. Properly tuned, it's a marvelous tool.

[Joe Jensen]

Hilti Hammer drill. i have owned several so called hammer drills the Hilti blows them away. I think it is rated 1/2 hole at 18" per minute in concrete.
Bill

Yes, simply amazing. It replaced a Bosch of similar size and there is no comparison

[John TenEyck]

Steve, you are spot on with respect to the Stanley 113 compass plane. I have one, too, and it is THE best tool I've ever used for fairing curves on templates and most curved work. How could I have overlooked it?

John

[John K Jordan]

Boy, that's easy. Too many tools have exceeded my expectations. It helps to buy good tools.

Fein Multimaster for me too. A master at multi things.

The tiny Grex pistol grip pneumatic random orbital sander. So nice for woodturnings and in tight places with 1" and 2" disks.

Festool router.

Dewalt impact wrench for working on vehicles/tractor.

A set of gimlets. Use them almost every day.

Brown & Sharpe 5" Depth Gauge

Bosch Titanium Twist Drill Bits. I've bought several of the 18-bit sets. I drilled numerous 1/2" holes in 1/2" mild steel with one and it was still cutting

Bosch laser distance measure. I can't believe how useful it was when building my shop, especially since I was working by myself.

A set of screwdrivers made for gunsmiths. Parallel ground. All flat bladed screwdrives should be made this way. I bought a set by Grace.

Starrett combination square and double square. I like Starrett in general but the squares are a even a step above what I expected.

I agree with the impact drivers. I bought three after using one a friend had.

Dewalt cordless 4.5" angle grinder and Dewalt reciprocating saw. I can't believe how much I use these around the farm, under things, on ladders.

The Bosch Glide miter saw. Got it for building the shop but it's better than I expected.

The little Kubota diesel RTV truck for the farm. Not a shop tool but a farm tool and better than I expected. I love the hydraulic bed lift.

I don't shop at Harbor Freight but I expect anything I bought there would be better than I expected since I wouldn't expect much...

JKJ

[Robert Chapman]

My SawStop PCS with 1.75 hp motor and the Industrial Base. Not only is this a very safe saw due to SawStop technology - it is also a very high quality table saw with excellent engineering and finish. It was a joy to assemble with excellent instructions. I have been using mine for about 3 years with absolutely no problems.

[Mike Kees]

A couple of years ago I bought a General International 6x89 edge sander from a relative of friend who had just lost her husband. At the time I was just helping her out. Once I started to use it and discovered how useful it truly is ... I use it constantly now even though it started out as the most underrated large power tool in my shop. Mike.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

1. On January 1980 my father gave me his caliper as part of our commemorations because I was starting my Engineering graduation. It was a Czechoslovakia made model he had bought for himself by the end of 1950s. I had no idea then it would be my oldest tool 37 years later. It is extremely precise and handy, I use it frequently for mechanics and woodworking
2. My father had lots of cheap tools and I saw him frequently upset with them. I decided to go for less tools but at the best quality my money could afford limited by the local availability. The 1980s also was the time I purchased most of my screw drivers and wrenches from either French Facon or Brazilian Gedore and Belzer. Despite they were very much used and abused, they are yet my main tools for that application. These pliers and drivers probably will outdated me. The same for my excellent (Portuguese) Ramada hand saws
3. In the Summer 1992 I purchased some clamps at Seven Corners store in Minnesota. They were a few Pony 50 and eight "revolutionary and new" Quick-Grip bar clamps from American Tools... yes, on that time tools were made in the US... believe me or not they are yet my main clamps!
4. At the beginning of 1990s I purchased my first cordless drill. It was a model from Makita I used extensively. It was replaced for a similar model a few years afterwards because my original one was stolen. Eventually I replaced it by Bosch model I bought in Germany and finally for a DeWalt 12-volt model ten years ago. Recently I decided to change some of my power tools, actually, I decided to upgrade most of them. In the specific case of cordless drill, I decided for a combo of two tools, one drill and an impact driver with brushless technology. I looked for Makita but it was difficult to find them in my area and I went to DeWalt. My God, what a difference in torque and mainly life span for the 4Ah 20 volt batteries! What great improvement an impact driver is over traditional drill for screw driving!
5. As part of my upgrade activities I also (finally) purchased an air compressor and a brad nailer: another surprise. I have no idea how I survived all these years without a pneumatic nailer

There are several examples of amazing tool acquisition in my life. Actually only a few tools surprised me negatively... perhaps I am a luck man...

[Nick Decker]

Osvaldo, I just wanted to comment that I always enjoy reading your posts. Your English is better than many that speak it as their first language!

[Mike Cutler]

Groz square set. This set is always out, for every project.

Rolair JC10 air compressor. For a little over $200.00, this is a very difficult deal to beat. It's a joy to use in the house, or in the shop when I don't want to run the big compressor.

Harbor Freight inline air tool oiler. As long as you don't drop it, and break the plastic reservoir, this saves you from having to contaminate an air hose with oil. ( Don't buy their air connection fittings, they're pretty cheesy. Very thin walled.)

[Erik Christensen]

festool router with track & micro adjust - can put a dado anywhere & sneak up on a perfect fit in less time than it takes to setup other tooling - things like tapered sliding dovetails are really simple to do precisely

[Osvaldo Cristo]

Nick, how kind of you to let me know... Thank you.