What tool made you a better woodworker?

[bob cohen]

I admit, I love buying tools. I want something that is enjoyable to use and that makes certain steps faster or more reliable. In that regard, I like the vast majority I own. But which tool made me a better woodworker? I'm thinking something like my chisels, or calipers, but would like to hear your ideas about what tool made/makes you a better woodworker. I need an excuse to buy a new tool :D:D

[Tom M King]

Not "a" tool, but no question the first good sharpening stones I bought. I found a company called Smith's, in the Whole Earth catalog, and sat down and wrote them a letter-didn't want to pay for a long distance phone call. I opted to include the translucent Black in the order, and if it has to be a single thing, it was that stone.

[Susumu Mori]

Domino was revolutionary. That surely made my furniture look much better (and quicker) and now I can even make chairs!
Well, however, I am not sure if it made me a better "woodworker."

No more handsaws and chisels for tennons and mortises....

I'm not sure other people but I thought tennon was quite difficult to make perfectly with hand tools. More difficult than dovetails, at least for me. Now I completely stop working on it. Have a mixed feeling about quitting it before mastering it....

[Victor Robinson]

I'll echo Tom's sentiment re: good water stones. Once I got idiot-proof sharpening equipment (mainly Veritas honing guide and Japanese water stones), I actually started to be able to use handtools more effectively. Did it make me a better woodworker? Absolutely - it was like adding a whole new skill set to the arsenal.

[Yonak Hawkins]

I'm not sure if my answer follows the spirit of the thread but, far and away, the single tool the propelled me the furthest in woodworking is the computer, especially CAD.

[Ellery Becnel]

Being I am a machinist, it would have to be my precision measuring tools. Using hand or machine tools to perform woodworking tasks, a precision setup
always ensures repeatability. I can not just name one. it is all of my tools. Some bought, some shop made, I love them all!

Ellery Becnel

[Julie Moriarty]

No doubt, building guitars made me a better woodworker. But it was because my heart was really into it. When you love what you do, your skills will become the primary beneficiary.

[Mike Schuch]

I would say my first shaper allowed me to significantly advance my woodworking capabilities. I bought a used 1960's Davis & Wells 3hp geared head shaper for $200 specifically to make lock miter joints. Lock miter joints are now probably my favorite joint once I perfected them. This also led to the capability to do rails and style doors. I had a Porter Cable 690 router in a table at the time and it was not up to handling these big bits.

My first table saw, a Powermatic 65, was also a big leap in productivity and safety for ripping boards over ripping them on my RAS.

My first jointer was a small leap up which became a huge leap up when I picked up my first planer. Project quality and the flexibility to use just about any stock was a huge improvement over pre-surfaced boards once I had jointer / planer capabilities.

I am thinking my next huge leap forwards will probably be a CNC router... if you are looking for something to spend money on!

[pat warner]

Dummy? Maybe.
Took me >30 years to realize that jigs and fixtures are almost always rectangles fastened to rectangles.
Now if I could make them precisely and from Aluminum, Plastic, & Wood I could make most any ordinary woodworking fixture.
My rectangle maker does exactly that.
Expedited my effficiency x a factor of 5.
Not for sale. (http://www.patwarner.com/images/new_router_table1.jpg)

[Robert Engel]

When I decided to start getting rid of my crummy tools and started acquiring better hand tools overall my ww'ing got better.

If I had to point to one tool, strange as it may seem, the first thing that comes to my mind is a marking knife.
Getting away from pencils and learning to scribe lines when laying out joinery improved my ww'ing more than any single thing I can think of.

But I really think its not so much the tools, but the methods of work that make a good ww'er.

So I go back to my first comment - trying to improve your ww'ing skills with inferior tools is not an easy thing.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Narrowed down to one single tool - - - it would be the cheap ($10 on sale) digital caliper I bought at Harbor Freight (Credit given to Glenn Bradley from this thread - http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?46406-Auto-Adjust-Router-Dado-Jig-Pics&highlight=caliper for bringing it to my attention ).

Despite the fact that wood moves and trying to keep things to .001 being nearly impossible......

I found that trying to keep things as close to that .001 just made everything go together easier and look a whole lot better when I was done.

Learning to think in terms of being as precise as possible was a game changer for me.

In keeping with that idea, the other tool I'd credit with being a game changer would be my Festool track saw.
That tool showed me that - despite all the good intentions of measuring to the nearest .001 inch - you need a decent quality tool to make that happen.

[Prashun Patel]

Cop out answer alert: my bench. The ability to rely on a flat reference, and hold work comfortably and securely is where it all starts for me. Proper work holding gets short shrift in discussions about hand planing.

(Yonak, That's an interesting answer. I can totally relate. I wish I could get better at Sketchup. Like drywalling, for the life of me I can't get good at it. It completely slows me down. I'd trade my Domino in a day if it meant I could be a whiz @ some CAD program...)

[Jeff Bartley]

Pat, I feel sorry for your inbox! It must be overflowing with requests for you to sell this jig! Kudos to you for taking the time to make something so cool! Do you have any videos of it in action?

[Jeff Bartley]

And to answer the question, I'm gonna have to go with Prashun and say my bench too. Sometimes the simplest things make the biggest impact!

[glenn bradley]

There was no one silver bullet for me. My first high quality router was a leap from the things I was using before I saw the light. Building a bench that was designed for woodworking was another quantum leap. A "real" bandsaw, a jointer and planer to properly prepare stock, there's several moves that resulted in a quantifiable step toward where I am now.

[Rollie Kelly]

The ones I didn't have.
Rollie

[Greg Hines, MD]

Learning how to use a router and make jigs for it is easily the most useful set of tools that I use.

Doc

[John TenEyck]

I'm like Glenn, no one tool made me a better wood worker, they all have. I bought them as I needed them for a new project and learned the skills needed to take advantage of them. The one that was a quantum leap, however, was my vacuum bag system. I built it (bought a pump, but built the bag and control system) when I wanted to start making curved laminations, big ones, and that was a game changer. I started seeing every new project in curves rather than rectangles. It also allowed me to start making my own veneered panels, both flat and curved. Not having to rely on commercial veneer plywood has been a huge benefit.

John

[Yonak Hawkins]

I started seeing every new project in curves rather than rectangles.

John

I can relate.

[Rod Sheridan]

Sharpening stones, and learning how to use them.......................Rod.

[Terry Beadle]

How to think like a good wood worker....ie. videos David Charlesworth videos, especially the ones on sharpening, planes, and chisels made a huge difference in
obtaining non-fire wood results...;-)

Least we never forget Jim Kingshott. He pioneered instructional furniture making that made a huge difference.

[David Nelson1]

This is a cop out answer but its the truth.... a new pair of glasses so that I could see my Stanley combination square was not. You have no idea how many 3' X 3' pieces of plywood I used trying to figure out why everything I did was skewed! I check it against a known good Engineers square and never saw the defect till I got the glasses!

[Mark Blatter]

I suppose for me it was my Japanese hand saw. It made me stop and think about what I was doing (typically cutting dove tails) and to take it slower. It could be that it wasn't the tool itself, but just the time when I was learning more and thinking more precisely about what I was doing.

[Erik Christensen]

hand planes (after I learned how to get them adequately sharp), rail saw (so I can handle 3/4 sheets solo) and domino

[Von Bickley]

Not a tool, but what has helped me the most in my shop is a simple router table, an out-feed table for my miter saw, and an out-feed table / assembly table for my table saw.

[Mike Henderson]

My powered jointer. Prior to buying it, I prepared stock by hand. The powered jointer can do it better and faster. And properly prepared stock makes a better project.

Mike

[Jim Dwight]

Well I will comment on a couple tools. First, my current Ryobi BT3100 table saw. I had a couple table saws before the Ryobi but they wouldn't consistently keep the rip fence parallel to the blade and had other issues affecting accuracy. The Ryobi is not a high end tool but it is capable of good work and helped mine.

My other revelation was a shoulder plane. I have a benchtop mortiser (Jet) but I could do good mortises with my PC plunge router so it was not that much of a game changer. But I had lots of trouble getting tenons to fit consistently. Cutting them with jigs on the table saw would not work real well because the stock I was starting with varied a little in thickness. So one tenon would be perfect and the next a little loose or tight. Shoulder plane fixed it. I cut slightly big and then trim to fit. This made a big difference in my mortise and tenon joints - a staple for chairs, tables, and beds.

My HF dovetail jig on it's homebuilt stand and with a Grizzly template guide has really helped my drawers. I can make dovetails about as easily as anything other than glue and screw or glue and nail joints. I always could make drawers that work, it is just now they can have dovetails (admittedly half blind obviously machine cut).

[Andrew Hughes]

My 166 oliver jointer improved my work and attitude.That it for me.

[John Lankers]

Most of my tools made me a better woodworker in one way or another, but it was small tools like card scraper, good quality sharpening stones and a 50 deg. Veritas plane blade that come to mind first.

[Steve Beadle]

Although I currently love to work with unpowered hand tools, I would have to say that the one tool that made me a better woodworker, back in 1980, was my Shopsmith. It gave me a whole new set of capabilities.

[Jim Becker]

'Hard to pick just one...



my low angle block plane has added precision
my chisels, kept sharp, allow me to craft and adjust
my sliding table saw has added precision as well as caused me to pace my work, resulting in more accuracy and less mistakes


The best "tool" however, has been educating myself about this and that so I'm a better woodworker/craftsman than I was on the most previous project...so that would be "upgrading the brain". :)

[Martin Wasner]

Latest would be the new widebelt. It's a zillion years ahead of my old one in quality of scratch, and speed. Before that it was my panel saw. Making square cuts quickly and efficiently was a huge leap forward from cutting everything on the tablesaw.

[jack duren]

mechanical pencil....Never lies and saves me frustration... Now if I had a talking tape that said "Over here dummy" I'd be in Disney Land.....

[Alan Schaffter]

The one tool I use all the time and which is needed to operate all others- my brain!

[Adam Tracy]

^^^ Alan Shaffter, i would have to agree, though the brain i'm referring to is more yours, and all the more experienced folks out there on SMC, woodnet, woodcentral, blogs, youboob, even *reddit*.

I guess the point i'm making is that I lean heavily on the vast ocean of experience delivered through my internet connection, which is a very powerful tool. I love just trying stuff in my garage, but sometimes a question or two on the forums really really helps. So thank you all!

I also think my 700, 2000, and 8000 waterstones helped a bit.

[Jim Sevey]

Philosophically- time. I have more time now than when I was younger so I can think and plan and not rush so much.

More to the point- more precise measuring tools. I was bad not to spend money on better quality squares, rules, etc. I especially like my WoodPecker squares. I would never have believed it but 0.002 accuracy really does make me better.

[Art Mann]

Sleds. When I finally made high precision crosscut and miter sleds for my table saw, my woodworking precision took a dramatic turn for the better.

[paul cottingham]

Probably every old woodworking book I've collected, particularly ones focussing on hand tools and chairmaking. Chairmaking books (especially the old ones) changed the way I look at woodworking.

If I had to pick a tool, it would be either a good sharp plane, or a good, sharp chisel! and the tools to get there (to sharp.)

[Moses Yoder]

Badger Pond

317596

[Peter Quinn]

For me there isn't any one "thing" that has changed everything, no big leaps, no eureka moments, no instant gratification. A few small leaps forward felt like big victories at the time. Honestly its time that has had the greatest impact on my wood working. The countless hours spend reading, studying, sharpening, practicing. Studying the grain of wood, learning to read it, learning which boards belong in a door and which make better dunnage. Learning to avoid mistakes by making them so many times you can see them coming and change coarse. Learning to fix mistakes after making them anyway. Which drill bit to use when, how to approach a challenge, how to get small pieces of wood past machines, when to use hand tools, which drill bit to use and at what speed. All the myriad skills that let you approach the craft with confidence, these don't come in a box, you can't order them from Amazon, they aren't made of brass or steel, they do occasionally have to be honed and polished, and they can get rusty!

Its easy to give the tools credit, and its shameful to give them the blame, they are in an enviable position. But its really the craftsperson that deserves the credit or the blame, and to me once I stopped focusing on acquiring stuff and started really focusing on making stuff, thats when my wood working grew, slowly and over time.

[Jon Grider]

The Tool of Lean Manufacturing and 5 S. My daytime employer implemented Lean Manufacturing initiatives based on Toyota Production System eight years ago. It was a painful transition with many changes that I won't hijack this thread with, but changes that were necessary to keep the corporation viable. One of the big "tools" of Lean is the 5 S system: Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain. Lean gave me a different way to look at my home shop space , equipment , work flow , and habits. I love old tools but like many have limited shop space. I sorted out the tools that I did not need and did not earn their keep by actually being used. How many Bailey 4's did I really need? Two jointers? And those boxes of cut offs that maybe I'll use someday? You get the idea. Selling excess and unused tools created more room. I then worked at setting things in order, placing things to create a logical workflow with a place for everything and everything in it's place. The shine aspect of 5 s for me meant cleaning up my mess at the end of each work session, and after completing a project, dusting, deep cleaning and maintenance on the equipment. Standardizing the shop was not really an issue for me as a one horse show. I don't have multiple workstations set up for the same tasks like a mass production factory, but I did try to eliminate time waste by placing needed tools near the area where they would be needed. Example:no more walking across the room to get a wrench out of the tool box to change a SCMS blade, I got one to hang near the SCMS. Sustaining is not slipping into former non productive habits and maintaining the order in my shop diligently. I try to look for better ways to accomplish tasks and improve processes. One example was selling the hollow chisel mortiser and TS tenon jig and going Domino. Less space taken and far faster. My shop, equipment and work habits are a work in progress, the intent is that my shop and workflow will be improved next week, next month, next year, etc. by seeking better ways of doing things and incremental changes for the good. Lean has given me a much different perspective and a continually changing view of how I produce the things I make.

[michael langman]

Sawmill Creek has been the biggest contributor to improving my wood working skills. Though not technically a tool I do use it to help me in improving my skills. The experience, helpfullness, and can do attitude of its members is the primary reason why.

[paul cottingham]

THow many Bailey 4's did I really need?

Did you really ask that?

[Jon Grider]

Did you really ask that?



Yeah, really. I hadfive 4's at one point. I had to transition from the "collector" mindset to one of what's taking up valuable space and not making the job easier. For me, less "stuff" has helped me to
focus more on the job at hand and that is to produce a part time income from doing what I love, wood working. Not saying collecting isn't cool, and some may not find redundancy in tools counter productive, but for the space I have, I had to change my way of thinking and producing to be effective. Not trying to step on anyone's toes. I love seeing and using old hand tools and machinery, but my first priority was woodworking, not collecting. I like old RAS, DeWalt and Rockwell/Delta turrets. I sold off 3, and kept one in my shop, one in the garage for rough sizing and a small mbc I can travel with. This aids my workflow, instead of hindering it. excess eggbeaters, braces,chisels,etc were sold at garage sales as well as wood cut offs. I needed space and selling stuff was the only feasible way I could gain it.

[Andrew Joiner]

Carbide tipped table saw blades revolutionized my woodworking business around 1970, not just for holding an edge. The blades we had up till then would leave a rough cut. I had to run all my solid stock edges over the jointer to edge glue solid stock or edge band with solid wood strips for years. Even sharp jointers will chip out an edge occasionally, so more waste and re-working. I found carbide blades that cut so smooth we could eliminate jointing entirely with no chip out. No one could tell the difference between jointed and sawn glue lines. We bought S3S stock so no more pushing long heavy stock down to jointer tables! Time, effort and money was saved.

Now days in my hobby woodworking it's planers sleds. I got a bunch of heavy rough exotic wood slabs for a bargain price that I needed to flatten. My sled is almost as fast as a jointer and you have power feed! I spent a lot of time in my life at a jointer getting real tired pushing down on long heavy stock. Sleds eliminate this and they get stock just as flat.

[Brian Henderson]

My brain. Tools don't make you a better woodworker, developing the skills and desire to use those tools properly does.

[Brian Holcombe]

A tool can be the impetus for further discovery. For me it was the first hand plane.

[Mark Wooden]

A Bigger Freakin' Hammer

[michael langman]

Although not technically a tool, Sawmill Creek has been a big help in improving my wood working.

The knowledge and help put out by the by the experienced and most helpful people of this site has made that possible.

[Peter Kelly]

AutoCAD & Cutlist Plus (http://cutlistplus.com/?go2g&gclid=CM6Cksq458YCFdCRHwodG_8M-g). I'm on the road a lot and away from the shop for extended periods so having everything drawn up and printed out before going into the shop helps tremendously. One of these days I'll learn Sketchup...

Also this forum. I've learned a lot here.

[Steve Peterson]

My PM66 tablesaw. Before that, all of my tools were cheap Craftsman or Ryobi specials and I hadn't paid more than $100 for any tool. I found the PM66 at a barn sale and quickly realized that I needed to upgrade every tool in my shop. It was the first tool I purchased that made me realize the difference between quality tools and cheap tools.

Steve

[Doug Ladendorf]

My 166 oliver jointer improved my work and attitude.That it for me.


Stealth gloat!

For me I think the table saw, although moving to a jointer/planer for stock prep made a big difference. I'm still a few tools from greatness though...

[Andrew Hughes]

Thanks Doug,waking around my shop is a machine tour around the world.These ones arefrom Asia one from Italy these are from Japan.The goal is to be all oliver green.👍

[Bill Orbine]

My elders and my colleagues......... they were my tools...... watch, learn and inspire!

[Jerry Olexa]

My first router and bits opened up a new world of possibilities!!!!

[Kent A Bathurst]

A tool can be the impetus for further discovery. For me it was the first hand plane.

First [good quality] block plane, for me.

Holy Cow !! look what ...............

[Frank Martin]

For me first it was a good workbench. Then Woodrat (since upgraded to Router Boss) which made lots of joinery far easier.

[Frederick Skelly]

A tool can be the impetus for further discovery. For me it was the first hand plane.

+1. Planes and all the related journeys - sharpening, tuning them, making them, learning and using other types, learning and using other bladed tools, etc.

[Justin Ludwig]

Technology.

Cabinet Vision. It made me better for a few reasons: 1) no more rebuilds because of mistakes on the drafting table. 2) I can experiment in designs and explore new build methods, still knowing it will fit perfectly.

Sketchup - for allowing me to render and design things I can't in CV that then gets imported to CV and sent to clients for approval.

[David Spurr]

Fine Woodworking magazine. Showed me what furniture is supposed to look like.

[Darcy Schaffer]

For me....YouTube. If I want to know how to do something and don't know how, there's a video out there that will show me.

[John C Bush]

My assortment of erasers!!

[Martin Wasner]

Technology.

Cabinet Vision. It made me better for a few reasons: 1) no more rebuilds because of mistakes on the drafting table. 2) I can experiment in designs and explore new build methods, still knowing it will fit perfectly.

Sketchup - for allowing me to render and design things I can't in CV that then gets imported to CV and sent to clients for approval.

I'm thinking about switching from cabnetware to Mozaik. Planit Solutions wanted $6500 to bring my version current with cut lists, and almost $15k to bring me up to a cnc version. Plus a thousand bucks a year in maintenance fees. Mozaik is subscription based, and the full CNC version is $125 a month.

[Jim Broestler]

My push block that straddles the Bessy-type fence on my table saw. Made it in about 15 minutes, shortly after nearly losing a finger with a "free hand" push stick, and it has made using my saw 100% safer.

[David Zaret]

i think that tools absolutely can make you a better woodworker. for me, the standouts are:

* sketchup
* domino
* sliding table saw
* vacuum pump/bags
* wide belt

and of course, time, maturity, experience and observation

[Justin Ludwig]

I'm thinking about switching from cabnetware to Mozaik. Planit Solutions wanted $6500 to bring my version current with cut lists, and almost $15k to bring me up to a cnc version. Plus a thousand bucks a year in maintenance fees. Mozaik is subscription based, and the full CNC version is $125 a month.

I'll look into Mozaik when I need to upgrade. I wish I could go CNC, but I'm still trying to establish myself in this area. Planit is very proud of their product.

[Martin Wasner]

I'll look into Mozaik when I need to upgrade. I wish I could go CNC, but I'm still trying to establish myself in this area. Planit is very proud of their product.

It takes a while. I've been in business eleven years, I'm just now starting to feel like things are going the way I intended them to. I need a new building, more space, and a handful of things like better compressed air, better dust collection, before I can pull the trigger on a CNC. The prospect of blowing a least $100k to save myself about 200 hrs a year of cutout is daunting at best. I know it's the right move, but yikes, that's a lot of cash.

Planit is extremely proud of their product, and while it works, it's also a giant headache. I don't know how long you've been using it, but it's basically muscle memory for me now to constantly hit control+S every few minutes since it likes to randomly crash for no reason.

[Joe Jensen]

I grew up with a table saw and jointer as primary machines. We would start with surfaced stock and use the jointer to straighten edges. We needed glue joint cutters or dowels, or biscuits and tons of clamps to get panels reasonably flat. Then a ton of time with a belt sander to level them out. When I had my own shop I added a planer (a new Powermatic model 100 $2600 in 1990). WOW, this completely transformed the quality of my work. Now I only buy rough lumber, rough out the parts I need oversize and then I use the jointer and planer to flatten and thickness boards With all parts are flat, consistent thickness, and straight, work is a joy. I basically never use more than an orbital sander any more and I need few clamps to glue things up.

[Mark Patoka]

For me it was probably PBS/New Yankee Workshop & Norm Abrams (and a few other wood shows) in the pre-internet and YouTube days. Also the local library and any woodworking magazines and books I could get my hands on. I had learned limited woodworking skills as a youth in 4-H and Jr High shop class but it wasn't until I was a young adult and NYW was relatively new and coincided with my re-entry into woodworking. I would tape the shows and watch Norm's techniques over and over while developing my skills and increasing my project complexity. Watching and reading allowed me to develop my interest and keep it going.

[Al Launier]

Although not a "tool" per se, the Internet was the most useful as it provided me with a lot of information from experienced woodworkers on woodworking forums such as Sawmillcreek, etc.

[Bryan Cramer]

The biggest group of tools would be my hand tools. Planes chisels and saw were so much of a help I didn't know why purchased some power tools first. Of course proper sharpening and a good bench are essential to effectively using these tools.

[David Helm]

I had been using woodworking tools for forty years as a professional carpenter. The one thing that helped me to transition from carpenter to woodworker was my brain, locked in to "learning mode"! With this mode in operation I was able to pick up skills through friends, magazines, wood working guild and right here.

[John Sincerbeaux]

I could list several machines that I have purchased over the years that have helped with my accuracy and effiency, but in the end what made/makes me a better woodworker is entering juried woodshows and also selling my work in galleries or for commission. Those things alone cause me to raise the bar on myself as an artist and a craftsman.
I would also include taking a week long Marquetry course with Paul Schurch several years ago changed my woodworking and my life.

[Robert Engel]

My 166 oliver jointer improved my work and attitude.That it for me.


Yeah, you just HAD to post a pic, didn't you.......nice machine!

[Andrew Hughes]

I had to since my desert turtle is named oliver also.🐢

[Doug Ladendorf]

I had to since my desert turtle is named oliver also.

And has he helped your woodworking?

I know what you mean about green. I have one Oliver green and several Powermatic green. They have helped my attitude...

[Shawn Crane Davies]

The tool that made me a better craftsman was the mallet, it also paved my way to my career.

At 17, my first full time job I was doing antique furniture restoration/custom build pieces (learning to build). Banging apart (mallet) and reassembling furniture gave me an inside look at all the different jointery and how pieces are put together. I saw how to get to the end product and the different ways I could get there.

Ive been obsessed with the craft ever since.