what tools give you the best return on investment?

[Mike Allen1010]

I became interested in hand tool woodworking in my early 20s when I read James Krenov's books. I was fascinated by the pictures and descriptions of what he was able to accomplish with hand tools. At the time I was starving college student with no tools and no budget. I spent hours pouring over catalogs and books making Wish Lists of tools, "I needed to have" that I dreamed of acquiring. Now 30 years later, I've realized somebody tools I thought I absolutely had to have, I never really use that much and others became fundamental tools I use all the time that really add to my enjoyment of the hobby.

I'm interested with my fellow neanders think are tools that have given them their best "return on investment" -in other words what are some of the tools that have become your MVPs? These could be tools thatare much better than the tool they replaced or a new tool that simply adds a lot of value to your woodworking experience, maybe a tool you wish you would have tried much earlier in your woodworking experience? For me cost is not the most important variable, but certainly a consideration.my thought isthese observations might be of value to those who are in the process of building their toolkit.

For me, here are some that come immediately to mind:
http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w498/mikeallen1010/Taylors%20dresser/Taylors%20dresser%202/DSC_0121_zpsmjbsgcvs.jpg (http://s1078.photobucket.com/user/mikeallen1010/media/Taylors%20dresser/Taylors%20dresser%202/DSC_0121_zpsmjbsgcvs.jpg.html)



1) A vintage number #5 Jack plane because it's a plane I use most often, it works really well and it's affordable.

2) I got my first quality rasp about five years ago and find them invaluable for shaping curves. I wish I would have learned sooner how quickly these tools remove stock and yet still leave a smooth surface.

3) Cranked neck paring chisels are great for smoothing surfaces that a plane won't reach (half blind dovetails on a lip drawer front for example), trimming joints and establishing the shoulder on a marking knife
to get a straight so cut.

4) Cabinet scrapers, particularly those with curved edges are great for final cleanup of moldings and final finishing of frame & panel construction, particularly when you want to clean up the surface of the vertical member working with the grain, right up to, but not over the adjoining, cross grain horizontal member of the frame.

5) Joinery saws. I did include these in the picture but cutting joinery with hand tools is one of my favorite things. Having the right back saw for the job with the appropriate pitch, tooth configuration (crosscut versus rip) and a nice straight platereally makes my woodworking a lot more fun and productive.

6) Parrafin wax; I have a half-dozen blocks of this scattered all over the shop and I'm always surprised how much easier it makes planes and handsaw's slide through the wood.

7) Lasty a good sharpening system you can use to get consistently sharp edge. Sharp tools always make woodworking more fun!
http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w498/mikeallen1010/Taylors%20dresser/Taylors%20dresser%202/DSC_0122_zpstanydrnp.jpg (http://s1078.photobucket.com/user/mikeallen1010/media/Taylors%20dresser/Taylors%20dresser%202/DSC_0122_zpstanydrnp.jpg.html)


For the other side of the coin, a couple tools I can live without our are a router table (I seem to get much more consistent results moving the router of the workpiece, rather than the other way around) and a chisel plane. My chisel plane doesn't have any adjustment mechanism so maybe that's my problem. I can never seem to find the sweet spot setting the blade between digging into the work surface and not taking a shaving at all.

I look forward to hearing what you guys think.

All the best, Mike

[Craig Regan]

https://www.lie-nielsen.com/product/block-planes/adjustable-mouth-block-planes-?node=4072

[Jim Koepke]

A difficult question indeed. It is like asking which is my favorite grandchild.

The OP has possibly the best answer, "the sharpening set up." Behind every sharp blade there is the way it was honed.

Otherwise this is a rotation around my most used planes, chisels and auger bits. Most likely the auger bits were the most economical for the amount of work they perform. Though a few of my chisels and planes came at bargain basement prices and do a lot of work.

If it weren't for a #6, my #5s would get a lot more work.

Then my mind turns to things like molding. A lot of enjoyment is found in making moldings for projects. Complex molding planes, hollows & rounds, Stanley #45, rabbet planes and others all add to the look of the finished project.

Don't forget all the others like spokeshaves and splitting tools when it comes to getting wood off the log for a project.

jtk

[Jim Belair]

A late 1990's Stanley block plane upgraded with a LV iron. I've several other blocks including LN, Veritas and vintage but this plane seems to be my go-to for small jobs for some reason. Maybe it's the size?

[Phil Mueller]

That's a tough one, but I guess I'd have to say a few quality basics; marking gauge(s), marking knife(s), square and straight edge rule. Not to mention the donation to SMC each year; pays off a hundred-fold.

Least amount in returns includes a few garage sale tools I really hoped to bring back to life but they have only contributed to my bucket of parts, and a certain new plane from a well known manufacture that I've finally been able to coerce into a shooting plane...

[Glen Canaday]

A lightbulb and a fan to move air.

Without them I suffer and the work looks like crap.

[Joe A Faulkner]

No 7 plane. This is one of the last planes added to my collection and it has become a favorite.

[Nicholas Lawrence]

A tough one. I am going to go with my saws and sawbench. My ripsaw gets used on almost every project, and I think it cost me about ten bucks. The sawbench about the same. More for the vice and files to maintain the saws, but still well worth it.

[John Schtrumpf]

what tools give you the best return on investment?

The tool that cost the least and is used the most: a pencil ?

[Tom Stenzel]

Without a doubt my Yankee push drill. It was given to me over 30 years 'lightly' broken. After a minor repair it's been a go to tool for decades.

My wife needed to drill small holes in plywood for her job and was looking for something to make them. It's the last time I volunteer my Yankee drill- it took over 6 months to get it back!

-Tom

[Jim Koepke]

I forgot one of the forgotten tools, clamps. Along with the bench they are used all the time.

jtk

[James Pallas]

No question for me. My LV la Jack. Small jointer, large smoother, jack, shooter. Probably gets more time than any other tool I own.
Jim

[Frederick Skelly]

MF #9 Smoother
LN 102 block
Home made chamfer plane
DMT Duosharp diamond stone
LV Utilitas rulers
LV 4" double square
Swiss marking knife from Woodcraft
LV marking gauge
Assorted power tools

[Stanley Covington]

Starrett dividers (compass)

[Patrick Chase]

Restricting myself to only 3:

3/8" chisel
#4 plane
Starrett 4-pc combo square set (I know, not really one tool)

In reality I use a fairly wide variety of tools (esp chisels - I always pick the widest one that fits the work), but those 3 get used at least once in almost every session.

[Patrick Chase]

Assorted power tools

Repent, apostate! :)

[Simon MacGowen]

Tough call.

One of these:

Veritas:
LAJ
LA smooth
Non-Veritas:
3/8" chisel

In my book, sharpening stones are not a tool that you can create things with and therefore are excluded.
Simon

[Rich Riddle]

A Mike Allen rebuilt saw that stays sharp. If it doesn't I ship it back to Mike Allen. All of them are still working great and I never lend them out.

[mark kosse]

For me, it's a '60's (blue) 60 1/2. Hardly anything leaves the shop that doesn't get touched by it. I have 5 other 60 1/2's including a lv, but I use it most. It cost 5.00 but I put a Hock blade on it in the late 90's bringing the cost up by 8X, even back then. According to Ron it was when he was still making the irons in his back yard.

[Glen Johnson]

Workbench with vises and holdfasts.

[Frederick Skelly]

Repent, apostate! :)

Yeah, I know. Just couldnt help it! :D

[george wilson]

For several years,when I only made guitars,I did all planing work with just a Stanley block plane. It all depends upon what kind of work you're doing. And,if you just have the skill to do things with the bare minimum.

[Frank Martin]

Definitely a good workbench and my first several Veritas planes that worked well even before I knew exactly how to get the best out of them.

[Pat Barry]

A good pair of bifocals!

[Brian Holcombe]

My combination Jointer/planer. :p

[Andy McKenzie]

A cheap ryoba from Home Depot. It was the first saw I used that was actually sharp, and convinced me that all those other tools I'd hated might be nicer if I learned to sharpen them. (It's also a decent saw, but it had impact way out of proportion to how much work I've done with it.)

[Prashun Patel]

Very thought provoking. Probably my stones. They make everything work.

[Patrick Chase]

My combination Jointer/planer. :p

If I'm being honest the lunchbox (DW735 w/ Shelix head) ranks pretty high. Unfortunately I don't have room for a jointer.

Roughing by hand is great exercise, but sometimes you just want to get on with the fun stuff...

Again if I'm being honest, the drill press (the cheap-o Porter-Cable, which does OK if you replace the belts and take the time to dial it in) is up there as well.

[Matt Lau]

Thanks for starting this thread!

For me, it was my first Japanese chisels (house brand, white steel from Japan Woodworker in the Alameda site).
These were the first tools that held an edge worth anything (although they are far overshadowed by the chisels at Hida tool and FAR, FAR surpassed by the "budget" chisels that Stan got for me).

2. ) The "factory second" LA Jack from LV. This was my first plane that just worked. It got me real joy in how woodworking could be (instead of lots of sandpaper). This is why Lee Valley will always have a sweet spot in my heart.

3.) The George Wilson sharpening combo-- spyderco white, black, and a Japanese natural stone. Get's a wicked edge on all sorts of steel. Thanks, George!
It's also cheaper than my not very effective, "bargain" Kings earlier.

4. Scrapers-- I had some card scrapers, and they were nice (but hurt my thumbs). I like the Carruth scrapers much, much more because I don't need to constantly resharpen them (and much easier on the thumbs).

[Thomas Schneider]

This is a great question, albeit one that will have a different answer for almost everyone. I am very lucky to have an incredible variety of tools, but the one I think that has the most bang per buck is a good solid, flat, work bench! And I don't have one! I'm working on a bench I built before I knew what a bench was supposed to be. All the clamps and fancy vises in the world can't fix a bench that's sagging in the middle. Trying to flatten a board on a concave surface and get good results nearly impossible. Live and learn.

[george wilson]

I don't use a Japanese natural stone. I have a medium diamond plate to remove nicks with if needed for a start.

[Brian Holcombe]

If I'm being honest the lunchbox (DW735 w/ Shelix head) ranks pretty high. Unfortunately I don't have room for a jointer.

Roughing by hand is great exercise, but sometimes you just want to get on with the fun stuff...

Again if I'm being honest, the drill press (the cheap-o Porter-Cable, which does OK if you replace the belts and take the time to dial it in) is up there as well.

Roughing by hand can be one of the fun things, but I don't begrudge those who prefer machine.

[Reinis Kanders]

What belts did you use? I have the same drill press, it is adequate for my needs, but front pully is noisy and kind of jumpy.


If I'm being honest the lunchbox (DW735 w/ Shelix head) ranks pretty high. Unfortunately I don't have room for a jointer.

Roughing by hand is great exercise, but sometimes you just want to get on with the fun stuff...

Again if I'm being honest, the drill press (the cheap-o Porter-Cable, which does OK if you replace the belts and take the time to dial it in) is up there as well.

[Patrick Chase]

What belts did you use? I have the same drill press, it is adequate for my needs, but front pully is noisy and kind of jumpy.

It's been a few years, but I measured the original belts, figured out that they were a standard cross-section, and got ones in the same cross-section and appropriate lengths from one of the usual suspects (probably McMaster-Carr). I'll see if I can find my notes and/or receipts later.

Some folks recommend replacing the arbor as well, but I was able to get within <2 mils total runout with the one that came with the press. That's good enough for what I do.

[Stew Denton]

Hi All,

I look at the question a bit differently than most. I look at it as what tools have paid me back in actually dollars saved or earned.
Thus, for me it has to be the carpenters tools that I have used over the years to remodel the two houses we have owned, and which I use to help my son in law and daughter with their house, and to help others as well.

I had these when I had almost no money, and bought some at garage sales, auctions, a few from my meager pay checks, and some my folks gave me for Christmas, etc. Most were used when I got them, but now all.

I am sure I will miss some, but they do include:

Two cheap Stanley homeowner chisels, 1/2" and 1 1/4"
Three hand saws: 7 pt rip, 8 pt crosscut, and 12 pt crosscut finish saw
Two true temper hammers, 16 oz claw, and 20 oz framing hammer
A very old Millers Falls Langdon miter box and Disston back saw
A 30" and 6' levels
A 16' Stanley tape measure
Various small tools: nail sets, center punch, scribing tool, various utility knives, combination square, a gents saw, chalk line, cheap stud finder, plumb line
Brace and auger bit set
Black and Decker drill, twist drill bits, and screw driver bits
My dads 1950s 9" Delta Rockwell table saw
Old Craftsman circular saw
My old #5 jack plane, the only one I had for years, and a non-adjustable mouth block plane (an old Winchester)
Old framing square, possibly one my Grandfather owned
Various crow bars, blue bars, and nail pullers
Needle nosed pliars, diagonal cutters, slip joint pliars, etc., for running electrical circuits, repairs and replacements, etc.

I am sure I've missed something, but I've done a lot of remodeling with these tools, and they have paid themselves off more than 50 to 1 at least, and maybe 100 to 1 or more. Just the remodeling of two baths, as dressing room, and the kitchen in our current house saved on the order of $40,000, or more, and I completely remodeled our former house, which was an extremely extensive job. (That doesn't include rebuilding our fence, building a stick built high quality 120 sq foot shed, etc., etc., etc.

What I am saying is that you can do a lot of carpentry with these few simple hand tools, they will give you a huge pay back, and if you buy them at flea markets, etc., like I did, they will quikly pay for themselves.

Stew

[Ray Selinger]

Without a doubt, card scrapers.they are truly magic on epoxy and cedar strip canoes.

A Swedish made Sandvik black handled 1 1/4 chisel picked out of a clearance bin at K-Mart. The thin blade and hollow handle made me think they were just a cheap chisel.Wrong. The balance was so much better than either the Stanley # 60s or the English Stanley #5002, a Stanley version of the blue chip. It awakened me to a chisel as an extension of your hand.

[Mike Allen1010]

Repent, apostate! :)

Classic Patrick! My only regret is I blew good single barrel bourbon out my nose laughing at your comment:D!

Cheers, Mike

[Glen Canaday]

I still stick with the lowly lightbulb. Without it, nothing gets done.

[Mike Allen1010]

Thanks to all for some really interesting replies. I have to agree some of the basics like good lighting, a bench and a fan to cool off the workshop are essential for me too.

The flipside might also be interesting; are there any tools you bought that that didn't turn out to be as fun/useful as you expected? Not looking for any criticisms of specific tool makers, more interested in tools that "look good on paper", but once in your shop didn't really deliver what you're hoping for. Thanks to all for your experience.

All the best, Mike

[Mike Cherry]

Interesting discussion.
Best return was my Stanley #5 and a starret combination square. Those two tools literally touch 95%of the work I do if not more.

Worst return on investment is even harder. I hate to be "that guy" but I'd have to say the Lie Nielsen #8 that I bought new. I thought it would be a game changer, but I realized my roundside #7 flattened by tablesawtom was just as good for a third the price. Hard lesson learned.