Tool that far exceeded your expectations

[Lisa Starr]

Hi all-
Years ago I purchased a little Hitachi 12 Volt cordless drill much to my husband's chagrin. I absolutely hated using his big 18 Volt DeWalts. They were heavy, gone with him to work when I really needed one, and usually full of some variety of sticky roofing goo. At the time, it was for an occasional screw or small hole that I wanted it for. Then we purchased the old house we live in and began a gut remodel. Well, its now 10-11 years old and I've used it now for 7 years for all sorts of things it should never be expected to do. I've driven literally 1000's of 3" & 2" screws, drilled all the holes thru the studs for running wiring and plumbing and a myriad of other tasks. The original batteries still hold a charge and it still does everything I ask. Do you have a tool that has impressed you?

[Bob Cooper]

My first ROS and my first impact driver. Life has never been the same

[Randall J Cox]

My 8" used powermatic jointer (after I replaced all bearings, cutters and really dialed it in). I had an old Craftsman 6" that I thought worked, used it for years (bought used). After getting the Powermatic, I realized that my old Craftsman never really worked at all....

[Joseph Quattro]

I have a Sears NEXTEC 12v 1/4” compact impact that I bought a while ago. Along the way picked up 4-5 batteries for it and a flashlight. It’s great for disassembling things like car dashes and such and have even used it to drive screws while building a fence, but definitely not it’s forte. The smallish lithium batteries hold a charge really well. Great for cramped places.

[Rick Alexander]

adding a digital read out to my Grizzly Planer. Just so much nicer to be able to know for sure the thickness can be repeated if needed. Especially important for those forgotten drawer sides for the dovetail jig or door rails and styles where thickness needs to really be spot on.

[glenn bradley]

adding a digital read out to my Grizzly Planer. Just so much nicer to be able to know for sure the thickness can be repeated if needed. Especially important for those forgotten drawer sides for the dovetail jig or door rails and styles where thickness needs to really be spot on.

I use the DRO on my planer so much I almost forgot that I added it :D. Can't imagine being without it.

I have a zinger. When I bought a previous house the previous owner was a welder, not a woodworker. He had the typical 2x4's for everything workbench,wall "shelves" and so forth. I bought a Harbor Freight 'Sawzall' for $15 and hoped it would last through the demolition. Now I don't have much call for a recip-saw (or I would have had a "real" one, right?) but, almost 15 years later it is still doing all the nasty things I need done. A dollar a year? Everything should give as much value.

[Jim Becker]

My Festool drill/drivers have exceeded expectations...especially the little CSX which is lightweight, maneuverable and surprisingly powerful. I don't baby it at all and it just delivers. There are many other tools that have provided similar experiences...but I'll just keep my post to this one for now.

[Carl Beckett]

I will say my small Makita impact driver. Can not even remember the last time I drove a screw by hand... Will walk all the way out to the shop from the house and back and get it just to drive a 1/2" screw... Electrical plugs, even adapters for impact sockets for driving nuts and bolts. Very few projects these days that does not involve using it in some fashion or another.

[Andrew More]

My first ROS and my first impact driver. Life has never been the same

Total convert to the church of the impact driver, blessed be his name. I preach to anybody who will listen, and urge them to cast out the vile nail, and it's evil servant the hammer. :)

I've also been pleasantly surprised by my Bosch 12V impact driver, use it far more than the DeWalt 18V I have. OTOH, the drill isn't as impressive, though still servicable, and much lighter that it's 18V DeWalt equivalent.

I'd add bandsaws to the list. Didn't know what I was missing until I got one, now I wouldn't part with it.

[Mark Hockenberg]

I'm a big fan of the Woodpeckers 1281 square - I find I reach for this more often than many other measuring/marking tools. The way it's designed it works very well on a variety of materials.

[Earl McLain]

Woodworking Tool--An old 4" Starrett double square i paid $3 for. I've since picked up newer pair of 4" and 6" that i can read the scales on.
Non-woodworking Tool--Weber gas grill. Could not envision paying that much for a grill, but after decades of buying a new grill every 3-4 years...the Weber is turning out to be a much better value (and ready FAST!!)
earl

[Larry Frank]

My Nova Voyager DVR Drill Press has been really nice. The ability to change speeds so easily over a wide range is very useful. The chuck has extremely low run out.

[Jamie Buxton]

A Toshiba DS10DSL drill. I was stuck a hundred miles from my Festool drill, but needed to drill some holes. I went to the local big box and bought an inexpensive drill. The drill, two lithium batteries, and a charger cost me $79. I figured I'd use it once, and never use it after I got home. But the Toshiba has been working for me for ten or fifteen years now. It is lighter and smaller than my big Festool, and just the right thing for smaller uses around the shop.

[Jeff Davies]

My 1888 J. T. Towsley horizontal drill press.
Rescued it from a junk pile in 1973, painted it blue , put a peddle feed on it and drilled probably over a hundred thousand holes. ( I doweled face frames long after other shops gave up )

[Rich Engelhardt]

Kreg R3 pocket hole jig.-----from the era when they came with both a clamp for the jig and the clamp to hold the work together while driving a screw - in the $39.95 Kit.

When Kreg stopped packaging those two clamps, they destroyed the value of the R3.

[Brian Brightwell]

My Jonsered 2260 chainsaw. It has the power of a 70cc saw and handles like a 50cc saw.

[Scott Winners]

The Nicholson 4 in 1 hand file I got as a Christmas gift in 1973 is still on active duty. I love that thing.

Of tools I have purchased I really like my Aluminum speed square. I am still learning about some of the things it can do, but I really like that it can take a pretty firm whack and still be square.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Oneida Dust Deputy. Added to my HEPA filtered vacuum. Have not had to clean my filter in years. When the 5 gal bucket fills up, pop off the cyclone, empty the bucket and back on line. It works on my dust maker, I mean drum sander. Had to test it on actual dust. It works as advertised, may be better than 99% collection of what it's rated at.

[Stan Calow]

Its a pretty humble tool that I picked up at a surplus store for $5. A Pferd file. I seem to use it on just about every project, and it cuts so much cleaner and faster than any new nameless file I've used before.

[Fred Falgiano]

It’s difficult to pick just one “MVP”, but I’m going with my Wood is Good 18 oz mallet.

I use that thing for EVERYTHING! It’s been cleaned and slathered with Boiled Linseed oil countless times and it still looks and works great. I think it was about $20 on Amazon.

[Brian Holcombe]

My Kurt vise.