Tool I never knew I needed...join in

[Scott Brandstetter]

It's almost embarrassing to start this thread but I have thick skin so I thought, what the heck. Like many, I have bought a lot of tools in the past, because, I knew I needed them or I wanted to upgrade to a better version. Well, this past week, I simply bought a tool because I wondered what all the noise was about..........a block planer. I know, I know, most of you are saying, hey idiot, this should have been in your arsenal since you first started woodworking. Years ago I was given an old, cheap, planer and never took the time to learn how to use it properly. I gave it away and now regret it.

I recently built a table for the wife that sits between two front porch chairs. I built it with the table top angled on the edges before meeting the slats. This was my way to justify buying the block plane and giving it a go. Wow, I am really embarrassed at my ignorance. I had no idea the usefulness of this simple tool. No motor, no extension cord needed, and quite frankly, much easier to use than my previous go to tools.

To sum it up, a couple things......
do you have a similar story about a tool you bought, powered or not
I only have the block plane and now reading about all of the other type planes, what should be my next plane purchase, and what the heck is it used for? I see why many collect these

Thanks for reading

[Kent A Bathurst]

Scott - if this is about handplanes specifically, you probably should get the Mods to move it to Neader-world.

[Mike Schuch]

I have four of my fathers old Stanley hand planes. I took one off the wall and sharpened it up really nice once then tested it on a 2x4 before returning it to the wall. The only time I actually recall getting any actual use out of one of them was when there was a big hairy on the wall and it was the plane was the closest blunt object. Unfortunately I guess I grew up with power tools and have never come to that moment where it occurs to me that I need a hand plane for this task.

The one tool I bought on a whim and have ended up using the heck out of is one of those Harbor Freight vibrating saws. I haven't really used it for woodworking but I have used the heck out of it for remodeling projects. It is terrific for holes in dry wall.... trimming door casements for hardwood flooring installs... scoring glass tile to snap off where I want it... and a host of other projects some of which have been plumbing. I for the most part would never buy a Harbor Freight tool if I were planning on keeping it and use it frequently.... but the variable speed one I bough from HF has actually held up quite well!

[Larry Edgerton]

Senco micro pinner. Thought they looked useless until I tried one.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Track saw....

I tried real hard to avoid one - - making all sorts of shop made guides and buying a couple of different clamp on guides - - before biting the bullet on a Festool.

18 ga brad nailer is another one.
I bought one at Sears on a whim about 20 years ago and never used it. One day, I dragged it out for something and was like "Wow! Why haven't i been using this all along???!!!"

[Randy Red Bemont]

Air nailers; pin, brad and finish. Once you use one you wonder why you never owned one (or several). My first try with one was back in the early 90's and it was a game changer in my woodworking shop. To me a must have tool.

Red

[Frederick Skelly]

For me, it was also a hand plane. A cheap 2", $5 plane I found in a box of stuff I bought at an estate sale. I was building a drawer box to fit my router table and it just wouldnt slide into place. I was looking around the shop going 'how do I solve THIS' ?, when I spied it and said 'Well, why not?'.

It worked like a charm. Next came a block plane, then I refurbished an MF#9 (smoothing plane) and then I fell down the slippery slope. Planes have been an incredibly useful addition to my power tool based shop.

So have backsaws. You can cut any angle and nearly any joint comprised of straight lines - without a bunch of machine setup - once you learn to saw. (I'm still working on that.)

Fred

[Frederick Skelly]

Air nailers; pin, brad and finish. Once you use one you wonder why you never owned one (or several). My first try with one was back in the early 90's and it was a game changer in my woodworking shop. To me a must have tool.

Red

You're right Red. I dont use mine often, but every time I do, I wonder why I dont use it MORE. Nice tools for sure.

[Jim Dwight]

Track saw. Shoulder plane. Shoulder plane makes getting tenons the right size much easier.

Used my block plane over the weekend. I was changing the base under my RAS to fit on the new bench. I could shave a bit off the outside legs on the table saw but there is a middle 2x4 glued to a top that I couldn't reach. Taking about 1/16 off with the block and regular plane was the best option.

[John McClanahan]

Air nailers; pin, brad and finish. Once you use one you wonder why you never owned one (or several). My first try with one was back in the early 90's and it was a game changer in my woodworking shop. To me a must have tool.

Red

How true! I used to think guys who used air nailers probably hauled plywood on top of their Jaguar. They I picked up on one at a local pawn shop. I guess I owe those guts an apologee!


John

[Matt Krusen]

Track saw and my Roubo workbench. Both were total game changers. And the Domino... totally a luxury tool of course but dang do I love that thing.

[Al Launier]

Compressor with air hose. Use it almost all the time - every time I'm in the shop.
Also, a sink. So handy for many things, Also use this almost every time I'm in the shop.

[Dan Klein]

There have been a few mentions of a track saw now. For sheet goods I've been using my circular saw with a homemade straightedge guide (like this one: http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/making-straight-cuts-with-a-circular-saw/). It's a pretty quick setup and I get clean cuts. Pardon my ignorance, but is a track saw any different than this, or is there more to it that I don't know about since I've never seen it used? I'm legitimately curious since so many people seem to like it.

Also, to answer the original question, when I first started woodworking, i convinced myself that I'd stick with power tools, but I quickly discovered that there are certain tasks that my hand planes do so much better and faster than with a sander. Luckily it didn't take me too long to figure this out.

[Art Mann]

Hey Dan, I think that is a very good question. I think it deserves its on thread. I used a home made saw guide and premium quality circular saw similar to what you mentioned for two decades before I bought a Makita track saw. My opinion is that it is worth the money. I just hate to get this thread too far off course by going into details.

[Paul Wunder]

Ryobi battery powered air brad nailer. I have two compressors and the usual assortment nailers for woodworking and DIY use. However, I often found it a PIA to drag out the compressor, etc. for small jobs.

Now I have the Ryobi Li-on powered nailer always ready to go for cabinet assembly, etc and particularly those times when a few brads are needed. Sure saves my back.

[Brad Schmid]

My 2 most used hand planes: Low angle block plane (trimming end grain on dovetailed drawers), shoulder plane (tenons)
Set of socket handled bench chisels (mine are a very old set of TH Witherby's)
Other unexpected but extremely useful tools as others mentioned: Grex pinner, track saw
And last but not least, SuperMax Combo brush/drum sander. I originally thought I would mostly use the drum, but the brush saves me time sanding mouldings or other profiled surfaces, and allows me to sand veneered plywood without sanding through the veneer.

[Charles Wiggins]

Flush cut saw. I've had one for a few years now, but before I learned of them I had some very frustrating bouts with cutting and sanding dowels, splines, etc. I did 17 frames for a friend having an art show and every single one had 8 screw plugs that had to be sawn off and sanded flush. My old solution to avoid scratching the surface was to tape it off. Time consuming, but better than sanding the plugs down from 1/8" inch. Now, I just lay the saw down on the surface and cut away, a couple swipes with the sandpaper and I'm done.

[Erik Christensen]

domino - got it because i am a tool junkie and I just wanted it - have had it for years now and it is used as often as a drill - it has been an even bigger game changer for me than the discovery of hand planes - to be able to put a loose tenon pretty much anywhere with absolute precision makes previously difficult/impossible designs a snap to build

track saw & matching work table - at 63 I can break down 20 sheets of 3/4" solo in a day with zero scary moments; it cuts a square 90 on the table as quick as a cross-cut sled but more important - if you need to cut to a line it does that just as accurately so fitting inset cabinet doors is almost goof-proof

rail system which controls more than just the track saw but also routers so things like shelf-pin holes & tapered dados/sliding dovetails are not only easy but safe

[Robert Engel]

Router plane.

Followed by benchtop elevated moxon vise (haven't built it yet but know I'll need it :))

[Jim Dwight]

I didn't think back long enough in my first post. I also thought at one time I didn't need a cordless drill. I still have a big yankee driver I used to use to drive screws and I still have bits for my brace to drive screws with. But then I got a cordless drill, then another, etc..

I have a short track saw answer too. I used to use a "shoot board" too - the guide illustrated. But it only works if you push the saw into the guide a little. The base of a track saw goes over a raised rib so it is captured. So you can't wander off the guide. The bearings of the saw also seem to be better, it doesn't chew up the edge of the guide. My wooden guides lost accuracy but that happens much slower if at all with the track saw. And they are readily replaceable. Track saws are also often used with parallel guides (repeat ripping to same size and has scale so you can set it like a stop for a CMS) and workstations with a crosscut setup on them. A shoot board was good for cutting pieces to size for a final cut on the table saw. A track saw makes final size cuts at least as accurately as a table saw.

[Mike Henderson]

Two for me - the Domino and an 8" jointer. I used to do M&T by cutting the tenon and drilling out the mortise. The Domino is so much faster - I use it for almost every project.

The second was an 8" jointer. I used to flatten stock by hand, and while that works fine, a jointer is soooo much faster. I just didn't have the space, or money, for a jointer. But then a miracle happened and I was able to get a deal on a very good jointer. I found space for it and love it.

Mike

[paul cottingham]

Jack plane. Bought it cause I kept hearing that "serious woodworkers need one." Use the crap out of it, on every project. I also use my shave horse for all kinds of stuff, it's great for clamping objects to work on quickly, effieciently, and close to my eyes so it's easy to see. The other two thing thing I use way more than I thought I would are a stool for sitting at my bench, and a bench hook for everything from cutting to shooting.

[Kevin Bourque]

Scraper plane & card scrapers

So much faster than hand sanding.

[John Sanford]

Good rasps. The difference between a good rasp (Microplane / Auriou / Liogier) and the junk rasps available at hardware stores is night and day.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Good rasps. The difference between a good rasp (Microplane / Auriou / Liogier) and the junk rasps available at hardware stores is night and day.

I was gonna say:

Auriou rasps
LN Face and cheek floats.

Those two changed a lot of what I was doing...............

[Tom Deutsch]

Compact impact driver. Just seemed like a noisy drill until I tried one.

[Justin Ludwig]

Pneumatic face frame and clamping table. Building cabinets since '08 without one until I found a steal of deal on an auction site. I dove in against the wife's advice. MAN! Wish I had it from the get go. Ritter R-275 Mini Framer. I have a long list, but that one tops the most recent.

[Thomas Canfield]

Battery operated circular saw. Great for breaking down material on truck before unloading and handy to grab and not need power/extension cord.

[Rich Engelhardt]

There have been a few mentions of a track saw now. For sheet goods I've been using my circular saw with a homemade straightedge guide (like this one:http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/ma...-circular-saw/ (http://www.woodworkersjournal.com/making-straight-cuts-with-a-circular-saw/)). It's a pretty quick setup and I get clean cuts. Pardon my ignorance, but is a track saw any different than this, or is there more to it that I don't know about since I've never seen it used? I'm legitimately curious since so many people seem to like it.I could clamp a 2x4 to my table saw and say it's the same thing as putting a Biesemeyer fence on it ;)....

Seriously, a top quality track saw, like a DeWalt, Makita, Festool or the EZ system is about the same thing as comparing a 2x4 to a top quality table saw fence.
However - - be that as it may, a track saw is just one part of the larger system. Festool for instance, integrates all their tools into that larger system. While it functions just fine as a standalone, the Festool TS55/75 really shines when it's coup[led with the MFT (Multifunction table), the Festool router(s), the Festool dust collection, etc,etc.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Compact impact driver. Just seemed like a noisy drill until I tried one.

Oh yeah, completely agree!

[Bernie Kopfer]

Might not be a tool, but putting a Fastcap remote switch on my shop vac hose still ranks as the most used and most appreciated thirty bucks I ever spent.

[Keith Pleas]

Also, a sink. So handy for many things, Also use this almost every time I'm in the shop.
I don't have one in my (garage) shop, but I think this would be a high priority to my wife who regularly digs me about shop stuff in and around the laundry room sink!

[Max Neu]

I think one of the handiest things I got recently was a veritas edge iron.It's great for cleaning up saw marks on the edges of boards. It saves a lot of hassle of starting up machinery for those little tasks.

[Richard Hash]

Vix bits. I wish I had a dollar for every time I had eyeballed a hinge hole and thought "oh yeah sure I can center that perfectly by hand" !!

[paul cottingham]

I totally forgot. One of my favorite, and most used things is a switch that fires up my dust collector any time I turn on a tool. Use it with my drill press, mortiser, jointer, and planer. Just flop open the gate and fir up the tool.

[David Nelson1]

Oh yeah, completely agree!

Agree as well!!

[Peter Kelly]

Lamello Top 21. Would never have purchased this but was able to to acquire one with my Amex points from HD online. Unbelieveably nice tool if you use a lot of bisciuts for box assembly, alignment, etc.

[Kent A Bathurst]

I don't have one in my (garage) shop, but I think this would be a high priority to my wife who regularly digs me about shop stuff in and around the laundry room sink!

You've got it all backwards - our laundry room is adjacent to the shop, and nothing goes in my woodshop sink!! I've gotta have access for washing out brushes, etc.

[BOB OLINGER]

Drill Presss

I went for like 30 yrs+ without one. Sure glad I have one when needed, now.

[mike mcilroy]

Dewalt 18v impact driver. 23 gauge pin nailer.

[Chris Parks]

Where do I start as there have been a number of epiphanies..

My first 7 volt cordless drill back in 1980 or thereabouts
The first bandsaw
My sliding table TS
The Incra rule I bought and wondered if I had wasted my money
Digital fence readout, repeatability is no longer a problem even weeks later
Air nailer, whatever did I do without it?

and all my grandfather had was a box of hand tools he took from job to job.