Small cheap indispensable tools you have to have

[Philip Johnson]

Has anyone picked up some small tools or accessories that you wondered why you bought and now you wonder how you ever lived without it.

For me I think it would have to be a digital caliper and then a digital read out for the planer. It is so slick to measure everything and go over to the planer and dial in .750 and end up with boards that fit the first time. I thought they might be kind of a gimmick but now it seems like I reach for them 100 times a day. I feel it has brought a whole new level of accuracy to wood working.

[Stephen Tashiro]

Blacksmiths nail cutters. I use them to pull nails , not out of horses hoofs and not to cut them. You can grab nail heads with the cutters that you can't grip with the claws of a hammer or purpose built nail pullers.

[Chris Tsutsui]

For me I never expected to use a nail set as much as I do.

I've used it to fix and adjust other tools not to mention set some nails that needed to go in.

It has worked its way up to the top level of my tool chest, with the least used tools at the bottom tier.

My bottom tier includes french curves, shingle hammer, chalk line, rubber mallet, and a dial caliper and stand. Don't use those much... heh

[Jason Beam]

I have a longer list of stuff i've bought and it just sits ...

But here are a few:

Starrett Pattern Maker's Square (FANTASTICALLY handy)
It's teeny - like maybe 3" long in the blade - very lightweight, can be tilted up to 10 degrees. Dang handy little bugger. Way handier than my 4" double square. By Far.

Cheap aluminum speed square.
Just a crappy speed square. I love the lip that overhangs, i use it for transferring lines around corners when i'm not using a knife (i use the above square for that).

Cheap plastic spring clamps.
I picked up a kit of clamps when i first started out. It had 4 spring clamps in it (two big, two small). I use those buggers all the time. WAY more than I use any of the other clamps in the bunch. A few of the F clamps slipped from day one, the C clamps were either too big or too small (2" and 6"). But those little spring clamps are dang handy. I use 'em as reminders to (un)tension my bandsaws' blades, to just hold a scrap of wood somewhere, an extra hand. All kindsa uses.

Cheap 3-4" C-Clamps
Harbor freight specials at 2-3 bucks a pop on sale. I use 'em constantly. They're fantastic for those tiny clamping jobs or to use as a counter weight. Way tougher than those Quick Grips that Irwin sells. I have a few of those, too, and I use 'em a lot, but not for any serious clamping. If it CAN NOT MOVE, i don't bother with the quick grips and reach for my besseys or my C clamps. depends on how big the clamping job is.

Drywall square.
For rough marking crosscuts on plywood, nothing works faster for me. I don't bother with an edge guide when breaking down sheets for later cleanup on the TS. The drywall square gives me a plenty accurate square reference across a full sheet to draw a line down. Then I just cut the sheet with my skillsaw freehand - following the line.

CHALK
CHALK!!!!! Handy as all get out. Rough stock marking. Parts marking. Face sides, rough joinery positions.

There are tons of other little things we never even think about like sharpie markers, marking knives, mechanical pencils, etc ... i have many uses for all of those, too.

[Matt Meiser]

99 cent plastic vernier calipers. I used to get them at a local hardware chain back when they actually carried hardware. Now Harbor Freight has them.

[Matt Armstrong]

A bench brush. $1 at harbor freight. It's one of my favorite tools to use since I hate clutter

[Robert Chapman]

Drill size guage.

[Greg Hines, MD]

Brass set up bars from Woodcraft. I use them all the time at the router table, and the table saw.

Doc

[Simon Dupay]

Vise-Grips, use all the time.

[Greg Crawford]

Miniature block plane from Lee Valley. It looks like a toy, but a couple of swipes and the super sharp corner of a board is softened just right. I probably use it as often as I use my table saw. Sure beats sanding!

[Steve Rozmiarek]

A dry erase board for the wall, and a magnetic bowl thing that Snap On sells (as does NAPA, and probably a bunch of others). The dry erase board really helps jog the memory when you get into the shop once a week or so. The magnetic bowl ends screws or small parts disappearing.

[Clifford Mescher]

Card scraper, without a doubt. Clifford.

[J.R. Rutter]

Old 1" chisel for doing all the jobs that you don't want to use a clean, honed edge for. Touch mine up on the grinder once a week and take a quick honing swipe on whatever stone is handy. Scrapes glue off clamps, etc.

Good, small pocket knife.

[Jim McFarland]

Machine screw thread checkers -- in metric & SAE! Saved me several trips (back) to the hardware store.

From Lee Valley, of course:
http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=2&p=51784&cat=3,41306

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

Good, small pocket knife
I've gotten fat, lax & lazy in my old age ;).
I find it a lot easier to just slip a new blade into a folding utility knife these days.

Scissors come in handy too around the shop.

Pencil sharpeners, pencil sharpeners, pencil sharpeners, pencil sharpeners, pencil sharpeners and lastly, a mechanical pencil or two or three or four or five..

HF rubber mallet.

A jar of HF bungee cords.

Borg folding plastic protractor. ~ $5.00.

Pencil sharpener - wall mounted.

Young person - one w/a strong back...

Borg/HF plastic drywall carrier. Won't replace the above item however ;).

Thought of another one.
Wal Mart sells a B&D 1/3 sheet sander for under $20.00.
Mine's a real workhorse. It's more aggressive than a ROS, but far less aggressive than a belt sander.

[Matt Meiser]

I thought of another one--A 6-in-1 screwdriver. Specificaly I like the Cobalt one Lowes sells for about $4. Cheap enough that I have one in the shop, one in the garage, one in the house, one in the truck and one in the camper (which doesn't make sense in retrospect since the truck is always there when we are using the camper.)

[Bob Childress]

The rare earth magnet on a telescoping rod. Great for locating the screw that falls into "nowhere" and the occasional TS arbor nut that falls into the cabinet. :o

[Bob Noles]

My Dremel :D

[Chris Konikowski]

The rare earth magnet on a telescoping rod. Great for locating the screw that falls into "nowhere" and the occasional TS arbor nut that falls into the cabinet. :o

Even better than that, I have the one with the retractable spring loaded shroud around the magnet so you don't get stuck on everything else on the way down.

[Matt Meiser]

Chris, where did you find that? I broke mine when it caught as you describe and need to get a new one.

[Paul Ryan]

Matt,

Snap On sells them, but the cost for their tools is high. Usually your 1st born.

[phil harold]

sheet rock knife

I feel naked if I dont have one with me

[Prashun Patel]

- Kreg pocketscrew jig
- Ebay-bought 12" F-clamps. Pack of 6 for $30 del.

[Chris Konikowski]

Chris, where did you find that? I broke mine when it caught as you describe and need to get a new one.

I got mine from snap on when I owned an auto shop years ago. That was the only place I had seen them. Now I see them all over. I am pretty sure that sears has them, even walmart/stanley. I can't tell you for sure, but I know I notice them all over now just in passing... one of my favorite tools ever.

[Vince Shriver]

An awl (or ice pick)

[Sean Nagle]

Here's a freebie. Those promotional plastic credit cards you get in the mail make the best glue-squeeze-out scrapers for inside edges and corners.

[Jacob Mac]

My speed square. I use it for all kinds of applications.

[Paul Steiner]

Speed square, combination square, Old 1" chisel, and a dewalt impact driver.

[Dan Scott]

Mine is a silly little thing: A good quality 15' extension cord. Long enough to 95% of the tasks, short enough to not get in the way.

[Ben Hatcher]

I'll second the plastic sheet goods carrier. That sucker comes in handy. So does the cheap-o speed square and drywall t-square. I bought a spring hammer at the tool show a few years ago. It is basically a spring with a weight on one end and a tool steel tip on the other. It is perfect for when your nail gun leaves the head a little proud. Lastly, the grab-it easy out is wonderful to have. I don't use it all the time, but let's just say that little sucker has done more to clean up my language than a year of church.

[Rick Potter]

Zip ties. Use them all the time. Tie parts together so you don't lose them, bundle stuff like dowel rods, tie up extension cords, bundle wiring behind computer desk, etc.

Never hardly use my drywall knife anymore. Everyday, I use the razor knife with the snap off blades. They cut most things easier than the drywall knife. I have a half dozen of them I got at the 99 cent store. Keep them everywhere.

Rick Potter

[Jim Rimmer]

I have a stack of gimme mouse pads (the soft surface, not vinyl). They are great on the bench when you need to turn something upside down and don't want to risk a scratch.

[Jason White]

The 1HP Delta dust collector that I found on clearance at Lowe's a few months ago for $49. I've since put a shaker felt bag on it from Highland Hardware for another $15, which filters down to 1 micron (if you believe the label).

Best $49 I ever spent!

Jason

[Philip Johnson]

Lots of good ideas I am gonna have to make a shopping list....I don't know why I never thought about getting a pencil sharpener and mounting it on the wall and buying a case of pencils. I can never find a pencil and if I do it is broken and I sharpen it on what ever is handy be it a razor knife, a chisel, the grinder or a sander.

[Gary Breckenridge]

Antique ice pick; have one within reach of your workbench.:cool:

[Chris Gombola]

Used 9 oz baby bottles that are no longer in service for baby. They are great for smaller finishing jobs where you can cap them and come back the next day for more coats. They are also good for collecting small parts temporarily.

[Jason Hallowell]

+1 on the speed square and bench brush, I'm always using both of those items. Also I'm not sure if these count, and not even sure what to call them, but I can't imagine how I ever assembled a carcass before I made these corner holders.

[Brian Penning]

Hello,


Young person - one w/a strong back...




Huh?? When did they become cheap??
That something new on the market? ;)

[Billy Chambless]

Huh?? When did they become cheap??
That something new on the market? ;)


They're cheap to make -- it's the maintenance that's a killer!

[Frank Trinkle]

From Harbor Freight Tools for CHEAP! (local store here)
- C-Clamps
- Wood Clamps
- Ratchet Clamps
- $.99 2-part epoxy tubes
- D-Rings
- Clear Packing Tape (for box making)
- T-Handle Hex Key Sets
- Hobby Knives/blades

Others:

- Incra Marking Rules (not that cheap, but awesome!)
- Wixey Digital Angle (Magnetic)
- Grizzly 4" Hose Clamps (used for both DC and my dryer hose!)
- Johnson's Paste Wax (from the Borg)

[John Schreiber]

They're cheap to make -- it's the maintenance that's a killer!
I just finished washing my face after blowing milk bubbles through my nose. That humor is so true.

[Jim Heffner]

A previous poster said it and I agree....an old ice pick, have two handy at all times, seems to be dozens of uses around the shop all the time!

[Curt Harms]

The lead is thick enough not be break easily but makes a line thin enough for non-dovetail type applications and it's always the same width. Ditto digital calipers, Swanson 6" combination square from the blue borg. I've checked this against a drafting triangle and don't see any error at all.

[Philip Duffy]

A pair of steel pics about 5 in long, one straight and one with a 90d. turn at the end. The straight one holds a live center from spinning when I attach a cone, and a the crooked one will do a thousand jobs, from opening a can of finish, to picking out a piece of lint. Both are attached to my PM with a magnet and at my fingertips 24/7. Phil

[kevin loftus]

My safety glasses, i put them on when entering
the shop and take them off only when leaving. :)