What's the most frustrating or most hated tool in your shop?

[Jason Buresh]

Some tools are just poor quality based on good design. This brings to mind a certain smoothing plane from Lowes smeared with blue paint that is more of a hassle than it's worth to get going. But it's based on good design.

Then there are tools that even though are good quality are just poor in design or performance. When thumbing through a Stanley catalog it seems like they had a tool for any problem you could think of, and while they may be made well, the design is just more of a headache than the problem you are trying to solve.

Which brings me to my most hated tool in my shop.

The Yankee screwdriver.
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Now, maybe I just suck at using it, or maybe I don't know how to use it, but when this tool came through my shop threshold I gave it the old college try to make it work.

When using the flat head attachment it came with, I found the thing jumped out of the head or marred up the slot too many times. It doesn't have a lot of torque and if you aren't holding the thing with surgical precision inline with the screw, well, good luck. I spent more time trying to get the thing working than it takes to drive one in with a brace. I was drilling pilot holes but it was still a pain in the neck. The bit and brace or even a good old fashioned screw driver I find to be a much more controlled and better tool.

This may be different is I had an attachment for a Phillips or a torx screw, but mine only has a straight slot attachment.

The Yankee drill on the other hand, is a great fast little drill for making pilot holes on hinges or finish nails.

Does anyone enjoy using this screwdriver, or at least have tips to get one to work? They sold a lot of them, so I am willing to bet maybe I am doing something wrong.

What is the most hated tool, by design, in your shop?

[mike stenson]

I Love my yankees, they're the best ratcheting screwdrivers ever created. The tip that mine came with sucked, I bought a replacement set at lee valley that work much better. If I could get flat ground tips, that'd be even better (although, there's an idea I might just make some). I don't use these for 'fine work', however, I use them for carpentry type work. For screws in furniture, I use fixed gunsmith drivers.

[Richard Hutchings]

I have a no name jack that got from someone on FB marketplace. It was a $10 local pick up thing so I went and got it. I couldn't get it to work for anything but scrubbing and for that, I had to make a new slot in the blade so it would stick through the mouth. As long as that's all I use it for it's OK.

[Scott Brodersen]

Handyman jack plane. It's ok for rough work but it's finicky and I don't feel joy when I pick it up like my others. My antique Stanleys are my best performers so I'm keeping my eyes open for a #7 of that vintage (but, like, I won't pay an outlandish amount)

My dad had one of those ratcheting screwdrivers when I was a kid -- I liked drilling holes in 2x4's with it :)

[Andrew Seemann]

Slotted screws are just plain evil and frustrating. Any kind of power driving on them is nearly impossible, since it is impossible to keep the driver centered, so inevitably the blade works its way out of the slot after a few revolutions. There are clever bits with rings going around them that supposedly keep the bit centered, but they usually just result in you tearing up the screw head. I always get a maniacal smile whenever I find and throw away a jar of old slotted screws.

That Yankee does work fairly nice with Phillips bits though. I think I got my Phillips bits at Lee Valley. They also had an adapter for insert bits, so you could do Torx, Phillips, Pozidriv, etc. I tend to use mine where I want more control than with my impact driver (which actually does have a remarkable amount of torque control in practice), like driving short screws into soft wood, e.g. drawer slide screws.

I don't know if I have "hated tools", but there definitely are tools I don't use or like as much as I thought I would. Top of mind are my low angle block planes. I always hear they are supposed to be the bee's knees and I have a nice tuned up Sargent, but I find I almost always reach for the standard 9 1/2 style block planes. After that, probably marking knives. I have a few nice ones, but I never use them, because I can't see the d@mn knife lines anymore. I figure a pencil line I can see is better than a knife line I can't:)

[Jason Buresh]

Slotted screws are just plain evil and frustrating. Any kind of power driving on them is nearly impossible, since it is impossible to keep the driver centered, so inevitably the blade works its way out of the slot after a few revolutions. There are clever bits with rings going around them that supposedly keep the bit centered, but they usually just result in you tearing up the screw head. I always get a maniacal smile whenever I find and throw away a jar of old slotted screws.

That Yankee does work fairly nice with Phillips bits though. I think I got my Phillips bits at Lee Valley. They also had an adapter for insert bits, so you could do Torx, Phillips, pozidriv, etc. I tend to use mine where I want more control than with my impact driver (which actually does have a remarkable amount of torque control in practice), like driving short screws into soft wood, e.g. drawer slide screws.

I don't know if I have "hated tools", but there definitely are tools I don't use or like as much as I thought I would. Top of mind are my low angle block planes. I always hear they are supposed to be the bee's knees and I have a nice tuned up Sargent, but I find I almost always reach for the standard 9 1/2 style planes. After that, probably marking knives. I have a few nice ones, but I never use them, because I can't see the d@mn knife lines anymore. I figure a pencil line I can see is better than a knife line I can't:)

I still use a marking knife because I get a less ragged edge because the knife cuts the fibers first, but I do take a mechanical pencil and drop it in the knife mark to darken the line

[Andrew More]

After that, probably marking knives. I have a few nice ones, but I never use them, because I can't see the d@mn knife lines anymore. I figure a pencil line I can see is better than a knife line I can't:)

I've got similar issues with marking knives, so why not both? A nice marking knife line to also sever fibers, followed up with a pencil along the scribed line so you can see it.

[Charles Taylor]

The most hated tool in my workshop has a tail, so I'll save it for the other forum.

My most unsatisfying hand tool is the Stanley #4 that I bought new in the early 2000s. For many years that one, a #92, and a couple of block planes (all purchased new) were my only planes. While I managed to get along pretty well with my #92, I could have saved my money and just used a block plane for what I could get the #4 to do.

Maybe it was still true of a lot of woodworkers then, but I didn't know at that time that the best way to reduce tearout was to set the chipbreaker close to the cutting edge of the iron. Any time I tried to use the #4 for anything other than chamfering corners, I was likely to be unhappy with the results and return to my powered sanders to cover up the mess. Most of the time I just stuck with my power tools while the plane stayed in a drawer.

Then came the day when I began to try and set the chipbreaker up close. Steve Voigt wrote in an article for Mortise & Tenon magazine that by the late 20th century, even plane manufacturers no longer understood the double iron. I believe it--I own a Stanley that without aftermarket parts can't be used that way. When the chipbreaker is set close to the cutting edge, the head of the screw that holds them together contacts the wall of the recess for it in the frog. The cutting edge can scarcely touch the wood at that point. The plane won't take a decent cut.

I discovered the Hock chipbreaker's rectangular hole for the depth adjuster is positioned a little differently and will allow the cutting edge to advance far enough to take a decent cut. I bought a lightly used Hock iron and chipbreaker from a fellow Creeker. That helped. The depth adjuster is still near the limit of its travel, but at least I can get a reasonable cut while I take my time looking for this plane's replacement.

...

Otherwise, the most frustrating tool in my workshop is often the one that cuts the groove on the wrong side of the board, or measures and marks an inch too short. The one that's supposed to sweep the floor and keep all of the scraps from taking over.

[Eric Rathhaus]

Every tool that reminds me what a mark I am for clever tool marketers.

[Mike Allen1010]

I have a love-hate relationship with my fenced rabbit plane – both Lee Valley and my shop made version. Love it because I use it all the time and when it set up perfectly, it does an important task extremely well. Hate it because it's always a challenge for me to set up the blade in the correct alignment with the knicker to get a square rabbit with the clean edge. With the blade too wide, it leaves a ragged edge, with the blade too narrow you get an un-square rabbit that climbs towards the edge of the work piece. Also because I have to remove the fence, to remove the blade, sharpening is a hassle.

My approach is to use the fenced rabbit plane only to initially establish the cut and then switch to unfenced rabbit plane to get to final depth. Not really a "solution", just prolongs time between sharpening and getting the correct set up.

Cheers, Mike

[Tom M King]

No hated tools around here. There are a few things under 45 feet of water that were only good for seeing how far you can throw them.

[steven c newman]

Kobalt "Smoothing Plane".....after a week of trying to make it even act like a plane...gave up, and returned it to Lowes.....worse than Harbor Freight's smoothing planes...

[Maurice Mcmurry]

475865 any of these (saw not included, it is a favorite)

[James Pallas]

Before battery operated tools or corded reversing tools the yankee was king. It was part of every carpenter’s kit. Fast and powerful. It takes some skill to use. Clean and well oiled is key. I’ve driven thousands of slotted screws with yankees along with phillips and robertsons. Warn out several of them over the years. Still have one and use it along with yankee push drills. Bad tools hit the bin in my shop. Don’t give them away, wouldn’t want anyone to know I was foolish enough to buy it.
Jim

[Luke Dupont]

After that, probably marking knives. I have a few nice ones, but I never use them, because I can't see the d@mn knife lines anymore. I figure a pencil line I can see is better than a knife line I can't:)

The marking knife has to be my favourite tool in the shop. It allows for perfect precision.

You don't have to see it, either. You feel it. I just drag the edge of my chisel until it drops into the knife wall, and now it's in the perfect position.

If sawing, I create a step down by taking a chip or two out of the waste side of the knife wall, deepening it and making it easier to see and feel, and again, allowing the tool (usually a saw) to just drop in.

Second favorite tool would be a marking or, better yet, cutting gauge!

[Luke Dupont]

This is a great idea for a thread, though!

Hmm.... Most hated tool?

For me, maybe an egg beater drill without a horizontal handle for the left hand. If I'm just holding the vertical handle at the end, there's very little to stop the torque of the bit, and it gets really tiring and hard on my tendonitis prone wrists to grip the darned thing tight enough.

Nonetheless, I still find it super useful for drilling really tiny holes with delicate bits that would just get destroyed in a bit brace. In that context, there's far less torque so it's no problem.

The coping saw might be a sorta kinda hated second place tool. It's useful on occasion, but I usually prefer to just go in with saw kerfs and a chisel or spokeshave depending on the radius. It's always a lot of work to clean up after a coping saw, because it's so difficult to keep the cut square and the kerf is always so ragged afterwards.

There are many tools that I hate much more than this, but they're not in my shop :D

[Jim Koepke]

Some folks love the Yankee push drills (Stanley #41). Mine have been used very little in the past decade. At one time as a telephone installer they were used almost daily. The biggest problem with them is the nut holding the top of the handle holding the bits tends to strip out after a while.

Here is something written earlier about them:

My current project (This was an articulated gate project back in 2018) had me installing hinges today which made me think about the "YANKEE" drill. One of mine is a modern late 1960s to early 1970s model. Another one is a Wards Master with a hole in the cap holding the bits. They are released by spinning the top to the position of the desired bit. There are number designations for the bits around the outside. The holder mechanism has a cross instead of the design used on the Yankee/Stanley models.

So today it came back to me why mine are not used very often. In softwood the small bit tends to stick, having resistance when pulling it out. This is my older "YANKEE" in use:

384312

The marking on this one is rather worn, but with the help of a magnifier it wasn't too difficult to read:

"YANKEE"
North Brothers
Patent 97 & 98

I do not recall all of the patent information, just the years.

The chuck is tightened by a threaded shroud instead of the later spring type.

The awl laying on the bench next to where the drill is being used is my preferred tool for small screw holes:

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The shaft on this isn't round, it is more like a flattened ellipse.

It is easy to hold and spin to bore a hole.

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It is also easy to keep the hole fairly well centered:

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It is easy to see the top left hole was done with the drill.

In hardwoods this may be a totally different story. Though when it comes to drilling one of the things an egg beater has going for it is when you want to withdraw the bit you can pull it while turning it or crank it backwards.

(and)

Today by error the Craftsman version of this drill was brought into the house to install some hinges. Ended up using an awl that was brought along.

Upon further inspection the chuck is a two piece version of a four jaw chuck. From the bit storage and the fact that the biggest bit it could hold is 1/8" it seemed logical the eight bit set would have the sizes from 1/16" to 1/8".

Other than sticking a 1/16" bit in the work piece on my first attempt then breaking it on its second try, it seems to have a fatal flaw. The first attempt was foiled when the jaws failed to hold the bit tight enough. The jaws are tightened via a threaded collar. It looked easy to disassemble and it was. The original spring must have gone missing since the one in the jaws looked just like a piece of ball point pen spring. It was a touch weak so it was replaced with a slightly longer piece of spring.

About that fatal flaw... To tighten the jaws enough to hold a bit isn't real difficult even for my old hands. The problem is getting the bit out. When the barrel of the collar is turned it retracts the spring and pulls the lower part of the drill mechanism into its body.

One slip and you could have a drill bit through the palm of your hand or a bit shot across the room.

jtk

[Bruce Mack]

I am the most frustrating tool in this shop - slow, old, and often unable to reach things fallen to the floor; hence the grabber. I'd replace me if i could with the young and enthusiastic tool i was in the 1990s.

[Mark Rainey]

I am the most frustrating tool in this shop - slow, old, and often unable to reach things fallen to the floor; hence the grabber. I'd replace me if i could with the young and enthusiastic tool i was in the 1990s.
Good one Bruce!

[Richard Coers]

None, the last hated tool got sold decades ago.

[Jeff Wittrock]

A Great Neck #4 plane with plastic tote and aluminum frog.
I bought it over 40 years ago without knowing any better. It was horrible when I bought it and it has not improved with age.
Why do I keep it? Well, I would not wish it on anyone else, but I also can't bare to just throw it in the scrap pile.

[Lee Schierer]

I have several that frustrate me. The one I hate the most is my Stanley #75 Bull Nose plane. I find uses for it trimming rabbets, but can never get it to work. The blade either doesn't cut at all or just digs in. If I do get it to cut, the blade slips and I'm back to square one. I usually end up using a hand chisel to get the job done. The same is true for my Stanley #78 and 90 with the same adjustment problem as the 75 only slightly easier to get any work done.

[Kevin Jenness]

I have a project destroyer, aka Yankee screwdriver, hanging on the rack for old times' sake. Next to it is a bit brace which is a safer way to drive screws by hand with excellent torque and sensitivity. Each one has a square drive bit in a magnetic holder. Slot head screws are for the birds. If the oldtimers had ready-mixed glue, plywood and square drives they would have thought they had died and gone to heaven.

[Jim Koepke]

The one I hate the most is my Stanley #75 Bull Nose plane.

Forgot about those. All of mine were such a PITA that they were sold off. A #90 Bull Nose Shoulder plane is much better if one wants a bull nose plane.


I have a project destroyer, aka Yankee screwdriver

One of those in my shop that never gets used.


Slot head screws are for the birds.

Tweet - tweet, they are my preferred screw in brass. Take care and the blade won't cam out.

475925

To me they just look nice when installed with care.

jtk

[Scott Brodersen]

I agree that slotted screws are the most attractive. Robertson screws are the easiest to use. I use Phillips when overtightening should be avoided.

[James Pallas]

I guess I’m a little off or something. I know the secret of the Stanley #75 and it is not a traditional bull nose plane. I like slotted screws, never figured out how to clock a Phillips or a Robertson. Which point goes up or down. 🤫😀
Jim

[Jim Koepke]

I guess I’m a little off or something. I know the secret of the Stanley #75 and it is not a traditional bull nose plane.

Mine could be made to work, they were just a PITA to use. Some was due to the discomfort of holding it. One person here jammed a styrofoam ball on the back of the blade. The other part was the blade was thin causing to chatter.

This one was sold years ago:

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The sole had milled slots to attach a makeshift fence.

jtk

[Lee Schierer]

I know the secret of the Stanley #75 and it is not a traditional bull nose plane.
Jim

Would you mind starting a new thread "Secrets to using the Stanley #75" so the rest of us can make them work? :confused:

[Osvaldo Cristo]

It is easy: a couple of Stanley branded hand planes.

Yes! Some years ago I purchased new from a local construction megashop a couple of cheap Stanley labeled plane from China, a number 4 and a ridiculous block plane. The block plane has its body made from bended steel plate. The stuff was so bad I swear never go again for very cheap tools even to discover how to work with them.

The good part is after that unhappy incident I purchased directly from Lee Nielsen a couple of planes and do not questioned anything more.

Regards.

[James Pallas]

[QUOTE=Lee Schierer;3184089]Would you mind starting a new thread "Secrets to using the Stanley #75" so the rest of us can make them work? :confused:[/QUOTE

Lee, Please go to a post of mine from 5/14/2020 and you should find what you need. Post titled Using the #75. It explains about the nose not being co-planer and such.
Jim

[Lee Schierer]

[QUOTE=Lee Schierer;3184089]Would you mind starting a new thread "Secrets to using the Stanley #75" so the rest of us can make them work? :confused:[/QUOTE

Lee, Please go to a post of mine from 5/14/2020 and you should find what you need. Post titled Using the #75. It explains about the nose not being co-planer and such.
Jim

For those not wanting to search here is a link to: Using a #75 (https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?282788-Using-a-75)

[Mike Allen1010]

I have several that frustrate me. The one I hate the most is my Stanley #75 Bull Nose plane. I find uses for it trimming rabbets, but can never get it to work. The blade either doesn't cut at all or just digs in. If I do get it to cut, the blade slips and I'm back to square one. I usually end up using a hand chisel to get the job done. The same is true for my Stanley #78 and 90 with the same adjustment problem as the 75 only slightly easier to get any work done.

+1, I have the same trouble. For me a paring chisel is almost always easier and more accurate.

[James Pallas]

+1, I have the same trouble. For me a paring chisel is almost always easier and more accurate.
I agree with chisel work until the work is far enough from an edge where you would have to work bevel down or where you really don’t want to touch the surrounding surface. Also in the case of thin veneers and working an inlay into it.
Mike I have seen some of your great inlay work and would think you could get something useful from the little misunderstood orphan.
Jim

[Assaf Oppenheimer]

The most hated tool in my workshop has a tail, so I'll save it for the other forum.

can I just take a moment and ask something (as an ESL speaker)?
Why is "Tool" such a derogatory phrase in English? We all love our tools. I have obsessed over which ones to get and can afford. this Forum would be pictures of lumber without the use of them. In Hebrew, we actually have a praise which literally means calling someone a "Tool". it always seemed to make more sense to me as a praise than an insult... sorry, I know it is not exactly in the vein of the topic but this has bothered me for a while...

Interested in what others might think

[Jim Koepke]

Why is "Tool" such a derogatory phrase in English?

A tool is an item made to perform work.

A person who is a tool is willingly doing 'work,' usually dirty or unsavory stab in the back type work, of another. More like a henchman than a helper that would be cherished. Often the 'tool' is one who is easily manipulated and gains little or nothing by their foul deeds other than a perceived acceptance from the one who directs them.

Of course this can apply to kids in a school yard up to the highest positions in society, business or government.

Hopefully this all made sense.

jtk

[Kevin Foley]

Not a hand tool but.. DeWalt cordless drill-driver with a keyless chuck. Very frequently when I take my finger off the trigger the motor stops but the chuck spins open and drops the bit on the floor. It can't be tightened more because it's keyless.

[mike stenson]

Not a hand tool but.. DeWalt cordless drill-driver with a keyless chuck. Very frequently when I take my finger off the trigger the motor stops but the chuck spins open and drops the bit on the floor. It can't be tightened more because it's keyless.

My Milwaukee did that. I replaced it with a Metabo chuck, problem solved.

[James Pallas]

A tool is an item made to perform work.

A person who is a tool is willingly doing 'work,' usually dirty or unsavory stab in the back type work, of another. More like a henchman than a helper that would be cherished. Often the 'tool' is one who is easily manipulated and gains little or nothing by their foul deeds other than a perceived acceptance from the one who directs them.

Of course this can apply to kids in a school yard up to the highest positions in society, business or government.

Hopefully this all made sense.

jtk

I was a tool for a while before I got to use a tool. I was a ruler stop or tape holder, a go get, a string line clip, a stake positioner, and a pilot, you know
“Take this and (pilot) pile it over yonder.”
Jim

[Jim Koepke]

“Take this and (pilot) pile it over yonder.”

I was a Phd on a ranch, Piled it Higher and Deeper.

jtk