My favorite tool I own.

[keith micinski]

I dont know how I ever lived without this Wixey height gauge. I used to have setup blocks laying everywhere and made constant test cuts. Everyone should have one of these things. It has cut my setup time by 80 percent and is more accurate to boot.

[David Prince]

I have the Oneway multi gauge and like it a lot.http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/417QQJ7YSHL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Whatever one you get, they do make setups slick!

[keith micinski]

Ya I am not smart enough and am to lazy to read a dial gauge. I love mine the most for router bits. My rails and style's are coming out great and now my dovetails are going to be great with a lot less setup time to.

[Maik Tobin]

One word......Domino

[Bruce Wrenn]

I have the Oneway multi gauge and like it a lot.http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/417QQJ7YSHL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

Whatever one you get, they do make setups slick!I like my shop made version even better. About $70 better. Latest issue of FWW has an article on using height gauge.

[Rick Moyer]

3M 7502 Facemask/respirator. It may not qualify as favorite, but it is certainly the "smartest" thing I bought. I can actually wear it for long periods of time and it works. It's going to do more for my health than the cyclone, easily.
It would be hard to pick one tool that is a favorite, but to follow your "how I ever lived without" theme I will say that my Bosch jigsaw is one that I couldn't believe how much better it was than the old B&D it replaced.

[Ryan Hellmer]

My favorite is the Makita LCT203 10.8v Drill and Impact driver kit I picked up a couple years ago. It's really the little impact driver that is my favorite. It literally changed my life. I reach for it for every single screw on every project (that requires it).

Ryan

[Kevin Gagne]

+1 on the Domino. It has made alignment and assembly of all my projects more accurate, much easier and faster. I haven't touched my biscuit cutter since I bought it.

[keith micinski]

I also love my little impact driver and I would probably agree about the domino if I owned one but that is going to have to be left to dreaming about for a long while yet.

[anthony wall]

$800 for a domino which appears to be a biscuit jointer type tool thats way over the top, you can get a half decent table saw for less than that

[keith micinski]

I build a lot of little end tables. Using a domino to cut the mortice and tenons would take 75 percent of the build time out. I would consider that worth it except for the fact that I dont build enough little end tables to justify that much of an expense. It sure would be nice though.

[eugene thomas]

well as to the domino being over priced. yes it is but i sure am glad paided the money for it cause great tool. use it allllll the time.

[Tom Ewell]

$800 for a domino which appears to be a biscuit jointer type tool thats way over the top, you can get a half decent table saw for less than that

The domino is a quick and dustless loose tenon joiner capable of very precise indexing in two directions and I already have a half decent table saw.

Don't know if I have a favorite tool, it's kinda like picking a favorite child or something but my Kreg router table top and fence with a Jessem lift has made my setup times much more efficient and precise.

[Carl Babel]

Wow, this respirator appears to be well-loved: 5 stars on Amazon with 29 reviews (actually one of the reviewers gave it *only* 4 stars). Not often that you see a product get rated so highly. I do believe that I might have to order one (along with the necessary cartridges...) and maybe it will become my favorite tool.

In lieu of that, I have to say my Bosch PS-20. I bought it fairly early on, and while I have lusted after all of the cooler, more powerful models that have come out since then, my PS20 still works great. Oh yeah, I am still using the original batteries!

[Stephen Cherry]

Wixey digital height gauge!

It's great. And the price is right.

[Dave MacArthur]

I dont know how I ever lived without this Wixey height gauge. I used to have setup blocks laying everywhere and made constant test cuts. Everyone should have one of these things. It has cut my setup time by 80 percent and is more accurate to boot.
Catastrophic Wixey digital readout failure today. (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?161646-Catastrophic-Wixey-digital-readout-failure-today.)


lol ;) Sorry to hear about the mis-cut really though. I thought to myself how bold it was for you to use a digital gauge instead of a block when I read this yesterday. Whew, so glad I didn't throw out my wooden blocks! ;)

[keith micinski]

The height gauge has been performing flawlessly it was my fence readout that let me down. The height gauge is basically a set of calipers there is really no room for error in it as long as you zero it out every time.

[Greg Hines, MD]

My favorite tool is a portable vise that I have had for years, ever since seeing it on an infomercial. I love the versatility.

Doc