If there is one tool I could not live without, it would be...

[Dan Mages]

As a new woodoworker, my tool collection is still growning. I want to know what tools you find indispensable. So, If you have one tool that you could not live without, what is it and why?

Dan

[Dave Sweeney]

Difficult question but I'd have to say that I'd be lost without a tape measure.

[Tyler Howell]

14v Cordless drill, CMS a close second.;)

[Donnie Raines]

Bock plane....it can joint(well.......)smooth, flatten...and if you make lots of passes you can cut a board in half(but it does take lots of passes.... :rolleyes: )

[Mac McAtee]

To take Donnie one step further - sandpaper (or mutations there of).

[Steven Wilson]

Credit Card

[Kurt Aebi]

I would have to say - My Brain!

lol

Actually though, I would say my Table Saw. You can do just about anything you need with the right jig or fixture (if you work safely!)

[Michael McCoy]

Hello folks - long time lurker but this is one of those I had to answer. :) I'm more of a renovator than a wood worker so I'd have to say my reciprocating saw.

[Hal Flynt]

Kurt got the Brain right.

My hands.

[Frank Pellow]

An eraser - for revising my plans.

[Chris Padilla]

Money to pay for the credit card.... :)

[Travis Lanman]

If I were to choose a power tool it would be tied between my tablesaw and my cordless drill. Hand tools I would have to say my tape measure or combination square.
Travis

[Tyler Howell]

Hello folks - long time lurker but this is one of those I had to answer. :) I'm more of a renovator than a wood worker so I'd have to say my reciprocating saw.Welcome Michael, You try to slip in like this, most will miss you. Good to have you in the Creek, and renovators are valued here as well.;)

[Keith Outten]

Dan,

It has to be the table saw, the one tool that is used on almost 98% of the jobs in my shop. No other tool comes close.

[David Wilson]

I would also say my brain, although I sometimes seem to misplace it.

[Brian Hale]

It's a tie between....... Pencil and tapemeasure

[Ken Salisbury]

An opener for this:http://www.oldrebelworkshop.com/bud.gif

http://www.oldrebelworkshop.com/smiley2.gif

[scott spencer]

There's two: pencil and coffee mug

[Bart Leetch]

My shop. Without it I would have no place to store & use the tools I have.

[Tom Brown]

My Swiss Army Knife...

[Jim Becker]

Umm....Credit Card?? :eek: :D

[Pat Salter]

my wifes permission...... :D

[David R Buckingham]

Table saw, hands down. Additional ones in order would be cordless drill/driver, planer, biscuit joiner, band saw, drum sander, and jointer.

[Kelly C. Hanna]

I would have to say my tape measure...without that, there would be very sloppy work going on and my livelihood would disappear.

[Jerry Olexa]

Table saw without question.

[David Klink]

Cordless drill, because I use it for multiple purposes beyond woodworking, with my table saw running second.

[David Rose]

No one said the router? What's the matter with you people? :D You can slice and dice and make little mice (where did that come from?) with the router. Anyway, as a beginner who only had a CMS, I learned to make the router do about everything before I could afford and acquire the proper tools. Of course, I still don't have all the tools I need. :D

David

[Mark Singer]

The tool that is the most important is our minds. The human mind is innovative: if you don't have a hammer...you pick up a rock. All of the great designs and execution comes from our brain. It is hard to think of making anything with just one of the tools mentioned above, but without our mind, you could have all the tools in the world and you still could't make anything. The great crafstmen design projects based on what tools they have in their shops. You don't really need a "widget" for every new task....you just have to think!

[Byron Trantham]

Putty, lot's of putty! :D

[Glenn Clabo]

I just spent a long time without any tools...cell phone...or computers. The only tool I couldn't live without...a pen. The bar tab kept it real busy.

[Waymon Campbell]

Its a tie between my trusty table saw and SMC. SMC you say! Yep, the wealth of information, ideas, fellowship and good humor I get here is a valuable tool indeed.

[Kevin Hewitt]

My hands do more work than anything else. My mind quite often is somewhere else.

[Dale Thompson]

The first is the full-length mirror which I have in my shop. EVERYONE on this forum should understand that without further explanation.

I agree with all of the above on table saws, pencils, tape measures, routers, etc.. Personally, I would not WANT a shop without a lathe.

On the other hand, I have an OLD small to medium-sized rubber mallet which ALWAYS seems to be on my workbench instead of on the wall where it belongs. I use it for "tapping" dovetails together and apart, aligning joints with either light or hard "taps", lining up jigs and fixtures, placing lathe work on the headstock, loosening drill bits and router bits when the chuck doesn't want to cooperate, etc.. This one is VERY old and has so many glue stains, filler spots and other defects that it doesn't seem to leave those irritating black marks on the wood like the "new" ones do. ;) :) :)

Lastly, EVERY tool is critically important - when you NEED it! :)

Dale T.