What tool gets the most workout in your shop?

[Mike Leung]

I was just thinking about this Today. My Jointer seems to be worked the hardest and then the planer.

[Peter Quinn]

Depends on the day and the project. TS is often but not always a strong contender.

[Duane Meadows]

I agree with Peter. Somedays the TS, Somedays the bandsaw, Somedays the planer, Sometimes the shaper. But to pick one, I also go with the TS.

[bobby milam]

I use the table saw on most items but the question is the hardest working so that'd have to be my sanders. My CNC would be first but it isn't on the list and then the table saw. I never use a jointer

[Ed Aumiller]

Dust collector

[Steve Kohn]

Dust collector

Oooh good point. I voted for the table saw but would change my vote in a heartbeat to dust collector.

[Rick Fisher]

Dust collector, then Jointer, bandsaw, Sander..

[glenn bradley]

Yep, dust collector. One of 'em runs anytime I run a machine on the list but, since it is not a choice . . . When milling lumber the jointer and planer would win hands down. Once I start making parts out of that milled lumber the bandsaw and tablesaw would win.

[Aaron Berk]

It's my Table saw.
I plug it in in the morning, and use it all day. Then let it sleep for the night.

All my other tools "might" get plugged in, but the TS ALWAYS gets juiced.


Then as I really thought about the question.... My PC 690 gets beat to snot each time I use it, and never gets any love. So possibly my router is the HARDEST worker, but not the most frequent.

[johnny means]

Unfortunately, me.:-(

[Shawn Pixley]

Excluding the Dust Collector, my table saw is used most of the tailed tools. A hand plane is the most used non-tailed tool. I'll slink back to my cave now...

[Dennis Reardon]

I also chose the TS, because as we all know, it is often just too handy not to use it. But on any given day any of the tools listed could be used almost exclusively for certain portions of production.

[Andrew Jordan]

lathe for me...

[Mike Heidrick]

Router - CNC Router that is. Metal lathes are getting their fair share of use just because of recent projects. 3D printer runs a lot as well - hours nd hours for some prints using 1.75mm filament (tiny). I use all the other tools but as far as time spent these automated ones run the longest.

[Don Morris]

After reading on, a dust collection system, should have been on the list. I always put on a Jet overhead system first, then the 1100cfm standup system for the TS, Bandsaw, jointer, planer, etc. I have a basement shop and promised LOML to keep the dust down as much as possible. The shop is separated from the rest of the basement by double doors that have sweepers that scrape the cement and close on an astragal. The shopvac is the other dust collection system used for the rest of the jobs. To which I added a Dust Deputy.

[Ralph Boumenot]

I use mostly hand tools with power tools coming in a distant second. I would vote that I use my marking knife the most followed by my carcass saw.

[Mike Cutler]

Run time in minutes for any given project?

Planer, Jointer, Tablesaw, and of course the DC. The planer and jointer will be on continuously, and loaded, much longer than the table saw ever will be. The TS is on for just a few minutes ,on and off, at a time.

[pat warner]

Contrarian, indeed.
Drill press (http://patwarner.com/images/old_rock.jpg)first then the router.

[Rian de Bruyn]

Dust collector

[Art Mulder]

Unfortunately, me.:-(

Yeah. My Brain is what gets my vote... ;)

[John Piwaron]

I was gonna say tablesaw. But then I considered how it all goes with projects. I start from rough, so it's jointer/planer/tablesaw/miter saw. Then maybe a router/mortiser. Followed by various sanders. Dust collection is used on all of those too! And that doesn't count the hand tools that get used. Chisels, scrapers, etc.

So is the poll about which tool is used most frequently or the one that works the hardest? The one that really makes it all happen? Well, they all do that. They all play a role.

But the question is "hardest working." That's easy - the planer. My planer puts in more work, project after project after project than any other. I'll put the boards through many times bringing it to the thickness I want. That's followed by the router when I'm making mortises.

Really, they're all important. No project gets completed without all of them playing their part.

[Mark Bolton]

Another tool not on the list but most used I our shop is shaper. Other than the DC it's the most run tool in our shop.

[Frederick Skelly]

Initially, I thought it was my bandsaw. But then I realized that I use my drill press on nearly every project. That and my Stanley block plane.

[Roy Harding]

Dust collector
Bingo - it's just always "there", never think about it - I'd change my vote from Table Saw if I could.

[Rick Hubbard]

In terms of the number of times used per day I'd say it is probably my miter saw is first, followed by my table saw then my planer. Again, as most people report, my DC is on any time one of the aforementioned tools are used.

[Tom Bussey]

It was not given as a choice but I use my bench to most.

Tom

[Rod Sheridan]

Dust collector

Agreed, it's the machine used the most.................Rod.

[Chris Hachet]

I agree with Peter. Somedays the TS, Somedays the bandsaw, Somedays the planer, Sometimes the shaper. But to pick one, I also go with the TS.
I would also say the table saw when it comes to power tools, but I use my hand planes, chisels, marking tools, and hand saws more than my table saw. Hollow chisel Morticer and drill press would be next on the list for power tools, compound miter saw would be last for power tools.

[Dan Masshardt]

Lathe is the tool that I use the most. It's not pushed hard though. The bandsaw is the tool I push often.

[Mike Wilkins]

My response was not listed. The tool I am referring to does not have a power plug, on/off switch, not made in a Pacific rim country, nor is it portable. It is my workbench. Each and every project starts and ends on this surface. But if it has to be a power tool, I will say my sliding tablesaw.

[Will Boulware]

Table saw. It's large and flat and makes a wonderful assembly surface! :D

All kidding aside, my workbench gets more use than anything time-wise. In terms of machinery, my bandsaw probably spends the most time running.

[Gus Dundon]

My band saw is the busiest machine of the shop.

[Paul McGaha]

I voted for planer but it's really the dust collector.

Will Boulware - That dog of yours needs to calm down. :):)

PHM

[Charles Wiggins]

Depends on the day and the project. TS is often but not always a strong contender.

I agree. Lately it's been a tie between the TS and the SCMS, which is not a poll option.

[joseph dake]

Not on the list but my dewalt radio is the first on last off in my shop.

[paul dyar]

I will second what Charles said.

[Eric Shapin]

Easy - my shop vac. Whether I use a power tool attached to my dust collector, or even a hand tool, the shop vac gets used at the end of each stint in my wood shop.

[Troy Turner]

The most worked out tool is my t/s...until I saw someone mention dust collector :D Working with rough lumber and scraps, I don't think there's much that I don't turn to my t/s for. Ripping, cross cutting, and daddos.

[Mike Circo]

That's easy, but it's not on your list.

My Radial Arm Saw gets used for every project, multiple times. Cross cuts, half laps, short dadoes, miters (never for ripping however)
I've never understood the fading of the RAS from popularity.

[Robert Delhommer Sr]

Dust Collector 1st, then Table Saw 2nd. :)

[johnny means]

I think questions like this need to specifically omit certain accessory tools. Things like dust collectors would always be at the top of the list, which doesn't tell you much about how the rest of the community works. I would bet that the true number one tool in almost every shop is actually the lowly tape measure. But whose really looking to discuss why my tape measure my most used toll.

[Jason White]

+1 on the dust collector! :D


Dust collector

[Jason White]

Love that router jig with the built-in dust collection!!



It's my Table saw.
I plug it in in the morning, and use it all day. Then let it sleep for the night.

All my other tools "might" get plugged in, but the TS ALWAYS gets juiced.


Then as I really thought about the question.... My PC 690 gets beat to snot each time I use it, and never gets any love. So possibly my router is the HARDEST worker, but not the most frequent.

[Mike Leung]

It appears it is the dust collector followed by the table saw. I should have added the DC to the list. TS won by a landslide. I thought the results would have been more mixed. Thanks for contributing everyone. That was fun.

[Phillip Gregory]

The power tool I use the most is definitely the sander. It seems like I spend more time sanding and finishing than doing everything else combined.

[Peter P. Brown]

I appear to be in the majority.

Though my number two would be the Lathe.

[Adam Diethrich]

Well...

I don't believe I saw this option or response in any of the posts, but I vote for one or all of my rules and or tape measure.
That's where it all starts folks, or the rest is simply making sawdust :)

A.W.D.

[Kerry Wright]

Electric powered tool - Dust collector/vacuum otherwise Table or Miter Saw.

Manual powered - My brain, always overworked! ;)

[Phil Hansen]

Yeah. My Brain is what gets my vote... ;)

+1 for my brain

[Steve Grazier]

I'm a scroller, so my scroll saw gets top billing. although i have a huge pile of lumber that is waiting to be planed/jointed/resawn...