What tool saves you the most time?

[Matthew Carver]

As a father of four I have limited time in my shop. I was curious what the community's finds to be the biggest time saver on projects.

[Bradley Gray]

refrigerator

[Bill Carey]

my Baleigh mortiser

[Matthew Carver]

Got two ;)

[Tim M Tuttle]

In the shop: domino
Around the house: multitool

[Matthew Carver]

No domino yet, multi-tool yes. :) Thanks!

[John K Jordan]

As a father of four I have limited time in my shop. I was curious what the community's finds to be the biggest time saver on projects.

Depends on the project. My 20-ton hydraulic press runs a close second to the plasma cutter. The milling machine sure beats filing by hand.

Oh, maybe you mean wood projects. Depends on the project.

JKJ

[Matthew Carver]

Fair enough. My father-in-law has the metal shop in front of my wood shop. Milling machine upgrades are kinda where my mind is at.

[Tim M Tuttle]

No domino yet, multi-tool yes. :) Thanks!

I got lucky on a used Domino :D Havent used it a ton but what little I have made it clear how fast it is.

[Darcy Warner]

My forklifts.

[Mo Ghotbi]

Track saw.

[Matt Lau]

Mirka Deros with Festool dust collector

[Patrick Kane]

Hard to argue with the domino. It takes what could potentially be 20ish mins of finessing a joint into a 30-40 second process. After that, a good 6" sander is a nice upgrade/timesaver. An inch doesnt sound like a lot, but is 30% larger, which means you should finish large surfaces 30% faster. Another timesaver is spraying water-bourne finishes. Applying oil finishes by hand is a lot more time consuming, AND the cure times are considerably different. I can easily spray 3 coats of finish in a day and be done with the project. With oil finishes, that process was closer to 4 days. Those are probably my big ones where the investment isnt too extreme and the difference is incredible. Not that ill ever get there, but im imagining a moulder would blow my mind when it comes to milling lumber. Doing all that work at the jointer/planer/table saw is very time consuming. I track all of my commissions religiously, and id say i spend about 2/3rds of my time milling, sanding, and finishing.

[Von Bickley]

Time Saver... I vote for the pocket hole jig. No more waiting for glue and clamps.

[Edward Dyas]

For me I would say the best time saver would be a stroke sander. Kind of too big for the home shop. For assembly I would say a pneumatic corrugated fastener gun is very helpful. Does the job of a pockethole without having to drill holes.

[John TenEyck]

A well developed drawing and cutlist of all the parts, followed by milling parts of the same width, length, etc. at the same time.

John

[Matt Day]

For making furniture? Jointer and planer

Just about everyone’s gonna have a different answer.

[Darcy Warner]

For making furniture? Jointer and planer

Just about everyone’s gonna have a different answer.

I will stick with forklift no matter what.

[Osvaldo Cristo]

As a father of four I have limited time in my shop. I was curious what the community's finds to be the biggest time saver on projects.

1. As some guys called attention previously, it depends of the project. I suppose you refer to "typical woodshop"

2. Also will depend from your baseline. If you are comparing against bare hands, probably hammer and chisels are my answer... if you adopt as baseline handtools, my preference in the workshop is table saw and router.

[Matt Day]

I will stick with forklift no matter what.

How are they at cutting a mortise? Sharpen up those forks for timber framing!

[Prashun Patel]

By far: HVLP spraying water-based finishes. After setting up, it eliminates ALL the headache of finishing. In fact, now that I have the 3m PPS system, it's even faster, because clean up is almost eliminated.

I have a Domino, but it's not appropriate on every project. Spraying applies to far more projects.

[Darcy Warner]

How are they at cutting a mortise? Sharpen up those forks for timber framing!

Easy to haul it to the chain mortiser.

[Adam Herman]

my allis chalmers 5020 with a front loader sure beats shoveling. :D great for moving anything heavy also.

[Mick Simon]

Dust collector.

[Phil Mueller]

A tie between check book and credit card.

[eugene thomas]

My 2305 Johndeere tractor with plenty of attachments...

[Steve Jenkins]

Only thing I can think of to save time is an hour glass. ��

[Pat Barry]

Used properly, my brain. Not used properly this also costs me the most!

[Frederick Skelly]

Compound miter saw, tablesaw.

[Thomas Canfield]

A pencil and scratch pad to make plans, work out dimensions, cut lists, work steps, possible need for special jigs or fixtures, tools, and in general do the project mentally before going to material and equipment.

[Mike Cutler]

Lately it's been my track saw due to all the house projects I've been doing.
When I'm in the "shop mode", the biggest time saver for me, that might be considered an extravagance, is my dual drum sander, and my shaper.

I'd really like a fork lift also.:D Might not save time for me ,so much as my back,:(

[Mike Kees]

If Darcy can have his forklift ,then my time savers are air tools. I framed with a hammer when I started out apprenticing,an air nailer was a revelation ,same with roofing nailers,finish nailers and sheathing staplers.

[Kevin Beitz]

Dewalt hand grinder with a 6" cut off wheel... I use around 100 wheels a year...

[Jim Becker]

I honestly cannot pick out any one single tool or accommodation that saves the most time on every project. There is too much variation in what I do. I will say that both my CNC and my Domino have played a big factor in more efficiency overall, but there are always other things that come into play for a given project. One thing that has made me, at least feel, more efficient is my switch to metric. That's controversial for many folks, but it's working for me really, really well.

[Tim McCarthy]

As a father of four I have limited time in my shop. I was curious what the community's finds to be the biggest time saver on projects.

Scrapers, mostly card but cabinet scraper and scraper plane on occasion.

[Tom Bender]

Random Orbit Sander

And after that, a second ROS with coarse paper.

[Pete Staehling]

For me that would definitely be my drum sander. It wins by a mile.

[Rod Sheridan]

Shop time savers

1) good drawings,

2) jointer nd planer

3) shaper

Regards, Rod.

[John Sincerbeaux]

My Martin T45 planer. To be able to set in exactly a thickness I need to perfectly fit with what I made on the slider saves a ton of time. And no snipe!

[Albert Lee]

either my SCM wide belt sander or my Masterwood OMB1V mortiser.

[John K Jordan]

...Milling machine upgrades are kinda where my mind is at.

Then three-axis DROs for sure, if you don't have them.

Heat and air conditioning if you don't have them.
A bathroom in the shop if you don't have that.
More space if you don't have much.

JKJ

[marlin adams]

my bandsaw

[Corey Pelton]

Domino XL. Followed by my FS41 Elite j/p, with honorable mention going to my track saw.

[David Buchhauser]

Electric Drill

[Leo Graywacz]

The most used machines in the shop are the tablesaw, jointer and planer. I can't imagine trying to run a business without those and having to do my sawing with a hand saw, my jointing with a jointing plane and my thickness planing with a hand plane.

Going from an HVLP to a AAA pump sped up the finishing 3 fold and gave a better product.

The Ceros sander compared to my old DeWalt sander is so much more aggressive and you don't have to worry about swirl marks with a Fein dust extractor.

The edge sander for sizing doors, drawer fronts and other items has no real replacement, a hand sander or belt sander I guess.

[George Makra]

The mind is the greatest tool you can ask for.

[Jim Becker]

The mind is the greatest tool you can ask for.

It's also the scariest and most dangerous... :) :D

[scott lipscomb]

In the wood shop, the Domino is pretty impressive for speed. Overall, my best tool purchase yet to date and biggest timesaver is my Cat 247b tracked skid loader. When it comes to moving dirt, I have estimated that it is up to 100x faster than 1 human...and it doesn't complain. It's also very useful for loading logs onto the mill.

[Dave Avery]

Festool Rotex ROS

[Malcolm Schweizer]

My track saw in the home shop saves a lot of time and makes long cuts a breeze. Also in the field it’s a big time saver. In the big shop the sliding table saw is insane how quickly I can rip, joint, and square rough lumber and sheet goods. Making a cabinet is so easy with that thing.

[Larry Edgerton]

Calculator.

[Tom M King]

My storage system. I do so many things, but can get my hands on anything I need very quickly. It has since grown significantly from when I took this picture in 2010, and it's in a different location now too.
Actually, my biggest timesaver is my helper that knows where everything is.

[Carl Beckett]

For me, by far, the single biggest time saver is the internet/computer. There are few things in this day and age that someone hasnt already done, and either commented on or made a how to video.

(maybe that only works for me because I dont know much to begin with.... ;)

[David Zaret]

for pure time savings, i'm going with:

wide belt sander
CNC
kundig edge sander

[Jared Sankovich]

Really depends on what you are building and what you already have.

My castle pocket hole machine is a lot faster than the kreg manual unit i started with.

Though im currently looking for a 6x108 edge sander since i think thats the next big time saver for my shop.

[Timothy Thorpe Allen]

For me, by far, the single biggest time saver is the internet/computer. There are few things in this day and age that someone hasnt already done, and either commented on or made a how to video.

Of course, the internet can also be a huge time sink, as well!

[rudy de haas]

Clearly it depends entirely on what you're doing - less obviously it depends on what you mean by time savings. For example, time savings on specific tasks and be huge without adding up to much in a week or month. Thus a domino can make some tasks go from around 20 minutes to around 1 for a 20:1 time saving (95% of the original time), but if you only do it once a week, the total is less than the switch a larger hand sander that only produces 15% time savings per use, but does so quite often.

Thus the obvious total time winner for me is the table saw versus hand sawing - but the highest percentage saving comes from two small metal drawer cabinets I got at a garage sale for maybe $5.00. These have 60 small clear plastic drawers each and sorting things like nails, nuts, washers, router heads, etc into has meant that I can find what I need in seconds - hundreds of times faster than pawing through the misc junk box looking for just the right wood screw.,..

[Derek Cohen]

There is really only one area in which I would wish to save time: the preparation of rough boards into usable stock. In years past, I used hand planes - a jack plane followed by a jointer plane. This is now the province of a jointer-thicknesser/planer, in my case a Hammer A3-31. The remainder of the work is not drudgery; it is why I am in the workshop.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Greg R Bradley]

I will stick with forklift no matter what.
I'll have to agree. Next is driving a nice car that is also a pickup truck for typical loads, Honda Ridgeline. A trunk in the bed for straps, padding, stretch wrap, tools, lights, etc so your are always prepared.

[johnny means]

A well developed drawing and cutlist of all the parts, followed by milling parts of the same width, length, etc. at the same time.

John

This. Nothing wastes more time than unexpected issues.

[Alan Lightstone]

It's new to me, but I'm thinking wide belt sander.

Domino is clearly up there.

[Al Launier]

For just about everything - my wife. Bless her heart!

[Mike Kees]

If I could find a surefire way to find my keys quickly every time I misplace them that would save me countless hours.

[Cary Falk]

If I could find a surefire way to find my keys quickly every time I misplace them that would save me countless hours.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=tile&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

[andrew whicker]

Having someone else mow my lawn, getting my house cleaned once a month, and therapy.

Would like to hire a business coach soon too.

Oh, and what is the cost of a personal cook and grocery shopper??

: )

[Greg R Bradley]

If I could find a surefire way to find my keys quickly every time I misplace them that would save me countless hours.
Not losing your main set of keys is easy. Always in your pocket and when the pants go in the laundry basket they go ONE place. I did lose my keys once 30 years ago when I got out of the car and grabbed something to throw away at the same time. You can guess where I finally found them....

[Matthew Carver]

Thanks Patrick, good insight.

[Matthew Carver]

metric isn't a bad idea, but finding tools is challenging. I thought about this to make a regulation kubb set.

[Frederick Skelly]

metric isn't a bad idea, but finding tools is challenging. I thought about this to make a regulation kubb set.

Dude - you've made 2 posts in the last 10 minutes that seem to be have no relation to this thread?

[Matthew Carver]

Thanks for all the responses. I think i need a domino, upgrade sander and planer.

[Bill Bukovec]

A job well planned, is a job half done.

[Matthew Carver]

Dude - you've made 2 posts in the last 10 minutes that seem to be have no relation to this thread?

I've replied to those that have commented. Sorry I didn't use the quote function.

[Darcy Warner]

Not losing your main set of keys is easy. Always in your pocket and when the pants go in the laundry basket they go ONE place. I did lose my keys once 30 years ago when I got out of the car and grabbed something to throw away at the same time. You can guess where I finally found them....

I don't loose them by leaving them in it.

[Mike Kees]

It is literally crazy. I can remember where everything in my shop is,my tool trailer etc. But my keys...arggghh. I have 5 sets made up and my own key tray,will go for two three years and then suddenly lose 2-3 sets and I mean GONE. I look everywhere and never find them again. I once found a set about 8 years after they disappeared when we dug up a bunch of dirt around where my dog was tied up.Cary thanks for that link, I know what I am going to ask for for Christmas.:D

[Derek Meyer]

I don't loose them by leaving them in it.

I visited my parents a few years ago and drove my mom's car to get gas for her. They always leave the keys in the ignition. I always keep my keys in my pocket, so when I got back to their house I pulled the keys and started to put them in my pocket, then realized that this wasn't my car and dropped them in the cup holder.

My mom told me later that she spent 10 minutes looking for the keys because they weren't in the ignition.

[Phillip Gregory]

As a father of four I have limited time in my shop. I was curious what the community's finds to be the biggest time saver on projects.

Having more than one tool to do a specific operation so you don't have to break a setup. I don't have duplicate tools, but having a radial arm saw and shaper in addition to a cabinet saw largely means I do not have to break setups to crosscut something when I am set up for dadoing, ripping, rabbeting, etc. My shaper also has two spindles so I rarely have to break a setup on it either as I can generally use the "other" spindle.

I have a hunch that a HVLP spray setup would probably save me the most time as shooting lacquer would be grossly faster than brushing or wiping on varnish, but unfortunately I don't have such a setup...yet.

[Matthew Carver]

Having more than one tool to do a specific operation so you don't have to break a setup. I don't have duplicate tools, but having a radial arm saw and shaper in addition to a cabinet saw largely means I do not have to break setups to crosscut something when I am set up for dadoing, ripping, rabbeting, etc. My shaper also has two spindles so I rarely have to break a setup on it either as I can generally use the "other" spindle.

I have a hunch that a HVLP spray setup would probably save me the most time as shooting lacquer would be grossly faster than brushing or wiping on varnish, but unfortunately I don't have such a setup...yet.


I like that idea, its why I have two drills. Pilot hole and drive.

[Leo Graywacz]

I like that idea too. That's why I have 8 drills on site when installing cabinets.

[Phillip Gregory]

I like that idea, its why I have two drills. Pilot hole and drive.

I regularly do that, except I try to drill all of the pilots I can with my drill press and use the portable drills only for things I can't use the press on. If I need to use two handheld drills, the 1/2" corded keyed-chuck DeWalt runs the pilot/countersink and the cordless inexpensive (newer, ~10 year old) Porter-Cable keyless drill-driver with the clutch drives the fasteners. I love to hate the Porter-Cable but it is too handy despite its significant limitations to really hate it too much.

[Jim Andrew]

My life involves lots of tasks, as my farm takes a lot of my time, and bigger machinery always helps get the needed task finished quicker than your old machine. So, over the last several years my farm equipment was upgraded, bought a skid steer and attachments, which is the most fun piece of equipment I have, my latest addition is a Hustler Fastrak mower, which really has speeded up mowing at the farm yard.

[Mark Hockenberg]

Jim - I used to pay one guy to mow my sod area around the house and another guy to mow my 5 acres of field grass. The guy that did the field kept doing damage so I replaced both contractors with a Hustler Super Z 60". It's the first mower I've ever owned and it's a blast to mow now!

[Dueane Hicks]

My commercial grade waffle maker................oh, tools.