What is your favorite inexpensive tool (s) in your shop?

[Bob Feeser]

We all marvel at the big stuff, but we also have a favorite tool, or few tools that didn't hardly cost us anything, but consider it a favorite because of it's utility. What are yours? Post them here. Nothing is more fun that picking up something inexpensive that makes life easier in the shop.

If I had to chose one of my favorites, it would be the Stanley Saw Horses, that have the fold out top, available at Home Depot for only $29. Here is a picture of one, set up as a standard saw horse, with the legs folded out. Notice it has a shelf in the middle for parking things, like cordless drills, or a paint can.
http://inlinethumb35.webshots.com/6882/2923288540100733997S600x600Q85.jpg

Here is a picture showing the other side,where you can see the fold out top, in the down parked, and locked position.
http://inlinethumb12.webshots.com/8267/2254955150100733997S600x600Q85.jpg

They by squeesing the 2 yellow levers you see at the top of the above shot, the top releases, and you swing it out, and lock it into place using the yellow locking levers on each side.
http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/6805/2066264880100733997S600x600Q85.jpg
I purposely left the door open to the compartment, which houses 2 clamps, and stops. You can see how useful they are in the next shot.
http://inlinethumb16.webshots.com/4559/2235593580100733997S600x600Q85.jpg
The vise clamp drops down in the dog in the front, and the stop drops down in any one of the table dogs all along the top. So it can handle a wide range of sizes. The other one is still in the compartment, but is there if you want to double clamp a piece. So it is a portable work bench as well.
Here is a photo of the stand, doubling as a portable Miter Saw Stand, and it's at a nice height for being able to see the work.
http://inlinethumb36.webshots.com/7395/2223215810100733997S600x600Q85.jpg
With 2 of these at $29 apiece, you could use the second one, with a box/support on top, the same height as your miter saw. So it doubles as a portable miter saw stand with a side extension. Of course when not using it for the miter saw, it doubles for all kinds of uses.
So these saw horses completely collapse for easy storage, fold out just like a regular set of horses, plus have a swing out top, that acts like a work bench, or saw/tool stand. You could park a portable contractors table saw on it as well. With a 500 pound capacity, you can park all kinds of stuff on it.
I don't use it all of the time, but every time I do, it makes me smile.

So what is your favorite inexpensive tool in the shop? No matter what size it is. Maybe its a measure, or a small hand tool, worklight, push stick, clamp, or something you made up, or whatever. It makes you smile thinking of how inexpensive it was, and how much utility you get out of it.

[Nancy Laird]

I think my favorite "thing" in the shop that isn't a tool would be my little two-step folding ladder. I'm not that short (5'7"), but my TALL hubby likes to put things up high, and the ladder really helps me to get things. I actually have two of them, one in the laser shop to reach the top shelves, and one in the house to reach the top shelves of the kitchen cabinets (no soffit in my kitchen--cabinets go all the way to the ceiling). First one was my M-I-L's and is probably 20-25 years old; second one is from Lowe's at about $55.00. I couldn't be without them.

Nancy (137 days)

[Jamie Buxton]

A drywall knife. A strong sharp knife is very useful for fine woodworking. A drywall knife requires no fussing to be razor sharp. Also, if you must, you can abuse it without wincing.

[David DeCristoforo]

5 lb. hammer.....

[scott spencer]

Sorry...can't choose just one!

- My grandfather's Stanley 220 was free and is really handy....it's also pretty cool reaching for Grandad's tools! :)
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/41QGMPB5Q6L._AA280_.jpg

- My Wixey was a gift, but even at full retail, it's a fabulous device IMHO.
http://www.wixey.com/anglegauge/images/easy02.jpg

- My German made Leitz/Irwin 24T FTG TK ripper for $10 always brings a smile to my face.
http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/hewood/th_irwin24t.jpg

[Michael Schwartz]

Inexpensive Stanley folding sawhorses bought for 25 bucks at the borg. I load them up with a few hundred pounds of weight all the time. Not really sturdy enough for serious handtool use, but sturdy enough for powertools.

Ryobi drills, When the batteries in my Milwaukee V28 kick, and when my 12 volt Dewalt batteries have run out, I have 3 ryobi drills floating arround and about a half dozen batteries. I can easily combine those with my 2 Dewalts and my Milwaukee to have a grand total of 6 cordless drills, one for each bit I am using :rolleyes: ready at all times.

I have dropped these drills onto concrete, off of ladders and staging, drilled dozens of 1/2" x 6" anchor holes through concrete with the hammer drill, and they refuse to die. I have driven thousands and thousands of screws with the Impact driver, as well as hundreds of lag bolts, and I have used it to assemble and disassemble a great deal of commercial pallet racking.


Ryobi the clutch drill/driver This is a mediocre drill, but it is the only one on the market with a clutch for screw-driving. The chuck is kind of cheap, and it does not have an electric brake, but it does have more than enough power and is nice and lightweight. This drill has saved my butt more than once where all my batteries kicked, or the one good one is nowhere to be found.

Air drill, I got at a flea market for 2 bucks. Singel Speed/Non Reversible, but it is light, compact, and will fit into tight spaces.

[Jim Myers]

I have that same Sawhorse/worktable. Since I share garage space with a thousand other things it is great to put up out of the way.

This is however not my favorite inexpensive tool that honor woul dhave to be my woodworkers pencil (some places sell them as artists pencils). I was always breaking the lead on other pencils when you hit that rough spot in the wood and then having to stop and search for the sharpener (or knife). This way the lead is thick enough not to break. $6 on sale from woodcraft.

[Jim O'Dell]

Probably my Stanley utility knife. No tool blade change, and a compartment that holds 6 extra blades. Always handy. Jim.

[glenn bradley]

There are over a dozen I'm sure but at random . . . my Veritas saddle square -$12. Never knew how much I'd use one till I had it.

[Gary Muto]

My craftsman screwdrivers. They were probably my first tools and I still use them regularly. Many times to (dis)assemble other shop tools, lammowers....

[Chuck Lenz]

I bought a Ryobi QuikStand about 10 or 15 years ago. For some really odd reason they don't make them anymore. I think it's the cats meow. Maybe I should start makeing them.

[Mark Singer]

You will hate this , a pencil! That is where all the ideas get worked out ....I will also say a digital caliper is a key tool for me...a square as well. Proper layout, drawing, measuring is very important

[Scot Ferraro]

I love my six inch rule from Lee Valley -- I think it cost less than $5.00 and I use it on almost all projects to set bit heights, blade heights, etc... I also think my 4 inch double square from Starrett ranks at the top. I also think that razor blades are extremely useful and I would not be without them -- they work great to remove dried glue and clean up glue squeeze-out from corners and I can even use it as a mini-scraper in a pinch for small areas.

Scot

[Brent Dowell]

I have a cheap little buck bro's 3/4 inch chisel.

I keep it razor sharp, and find that I frequently reach for this little cheap chisel to clean up glue drips. I really abuse it sometimes, because if I ding it up, I can always touch it up on the grinder, and a little time on the sharpening stones brings it right back....

I also keep a little wirebound 5"x3" pad of paper and a pen handy to make notes of what things I need, so I can reduce the number of trips I have to make to the hardward store.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

My grandkids gave me a plastic device a few years ago. Viewed from the side it's shaped like a capital "J". The top part has a handle and the bottm portion allows you to slide your hand through the handle and place a sheet of pywood or sheetrock on it and carry it. I'm a sentimental old guy and hung it in the shop for a couple of years ago. Then when I started finishing the interior of my new shop......Wow! Cheap plastic tool.....Worth it's weight in platinum!

[Stan Welborn]

Hands down. Snap-On Telescoping Magnetic Pick-Up Tool. I have a bad back, and bending over to P/U a dropped bolt/screw/hinge isn't feasible.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/objects_lg/34700/34629.JPG

[Raymond Fries]

They are the best for removing glue from corners before it has cured.

[Mike Cutler]

I have two aluminum speed squares that are always in use.
My Incra rulers are at the top of list also, but they aren't that cheap.

I also have those folding saw horses from the 'borg. they're great. The model I have has a telescoping top.

[Scott Thornton]

My squares (Bridge City, but I got them cheap)
My Stiletto finish hammer (it's so light, but such a good feel)

Good topic...

[Earl Reid]

My small rawhide mallet more than 50 yrs ago:)
Earl

[Mike Henderson]

My Mitutoyo combination square - accurate, easy to use, and very smooth.

Mike

[Brian Kent]

12" wooden clamps.
They were made in some East European country, sold for $5.99 at HF.

[Jude Kingery]

Jorgensen clamps that distribute even pressure for my turning blank glueups and a speed square. Those are my favorite inexpensive little things I use over and over and over again, very handy! Jude

[Ron Jones near Indy]

My pencil sharpener is second only to my pencil.

[Bill Arnold]

OK, bear with me, please. The cheapest tool in my shop is my brain! Didn't cost me anything. I was born with it! With this tool, I can envision a new project, determine what specific materials I want to use, develop plans using nothing more than pencil and paper or do a detailed CAD plan on my computer. It also enables me to use all the tools in my shop to their best efficiency and, so far, without losing any bodily parts! ;)

[Ed Garrett]

Hunk of aluminum:

A few years ago amidst some junked lab equipment I found (i.e. free) a piece of perfectly machined aluminum about the size and shape of a small desktop computer. It weighs about 45 pounds. I'm not sure what it was for; maybe a heat sink for something like test tubes because one surface is drilled with a hole pattern.

This item is a perfect reference for right angles. You can clamp wooden parts too it to glue or screw, it on the TS sled for aligning boards at difficult angles, set use it as a weight to move the center of gravity of a board toward the saw blade when cross cutting, and last but not least, it functions as a "gravity clamp" during all kinds of assembly situations.

[dan moran]

id say (like mark said) my draftsmans pencil.. also my marking knife, and a folding steel sawhorse that i modified into a table with a piece of leftover 3/4 oak ply and some poplar..

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c290/humongojugomango/IMG_0352.jpg

[Gary Keedwell]

My Mitutoyo combination square - accurate, easy to use, and very smooth.

Mike
Sorry Mike...Unless you got that at a yard sale........Mitutoyo is not cheap. They are the American equivalent of Starrett.:cool: :)

Gary K.

[Denny Rice]

My wooden push stick.........Lots of use and I still have all nine fingers!!! Just kidding :) After 20 yrs of woodworking I still have all 10! Can you believe it!:eek:

[Gary Keedwell]

My 6 inch scale.

Gary K.

[Bill Huber]

Really cheap but I have it in my apron pocket all the time and use it all the time.
It is a 1 3/4 x 1/4 x 8 inches pine strip, it is covered with 3M P400 sticky back sand paper, left over form a auto body project.
I use it all the time, it takes off that little fur that is on the edge of a cut. It doesn't really hurt the edge just take off the very fine stuff that the blade leaves and I am using a Forest blade.

[Jon Lanier]

http://cleancodepot.com/store/images/PPGC9501.JPG
Or anything close to this product.

I'd also put a picture of my boys here: They've been a God send when I need alot of stuff moved around... hauling lumber to the shop, cleaning the shop...etc.

[Jon Shively]

A carpenter's pencil like already mentioned except I turned the wooden barrels on my lathe and built it myself. Oh, and the pencil sharpener is in the cap! So guess that is two tools!

[Justin McCurdy]

I can't choose just one either

A 16" carpenter's square ($10)

A Skil reciprocating saw ($35) that goes through anything

DeWalt ROS for $25

Milwaukee 3x24 Belt Sander ($40)

Columbian clamps

[Stan Thigpen]

Nobex 6" folding square.

[Steven Wilson]

4" Starrett double square along with a marking knife has been the handiest tools in the shop. Second on that list would be a card scraper.

[jason lambert]

Starrett squair but not cheap. Also my tape measure forget the brand but you can write on it and has a built in pencle sharpner. Thought it was silly when I bought it but can't live with out it now.

[Hal Flynt]

3" x 5" Card scraper. ($5 new)
Bridge City speed square ($20 as a special)
An antique Taylor 3/4" bench chisel ($5 at a flea market)
Pencil and paper

A screw diver/bit driver set from Sam's $19 (15 years ago). It has 3 sizes of phillips, 3 flat tips, square drives, torx bits, alllen head bits, 1/4" socket adapter. Metric and Imperial 1/4" sockets. flex extension and reversing driver all in a metal box.

[Roger Fitzsimonds]

I would have to say my speed square first and my school house pencil sharpener second. Last but not least my 4 in dual square from Lee Valley.

[Mike Null]

My HF dead blow hammer.

[glenn bradley]

Sorry Mike...Unless you got that at a yard sale........Mitutoyo is not cheap. They are the American equivalent of Starrett.:cool: :)

Gary K.

American equivalent? Ah-so. :D

[Gary Keedwell]

American equivalent? Ah-so. :D
:confused: :confused: :confused: :)

Gary K.

[Bill Wyko]

HF Clamps by the dozens:D

[Tom Cowie]

:o tweezers and a magnifying glass

Tom

[David Tiell]

Guess I can claim it's cheap (ok, cheaper than buying it at normal price) because I got it on a blem tool discount from Bridge City. AS-3 adjustable square from Bridge City. Nice size for the pocket/apron pouch, great feel in the hand, and with vertical measurements on the outside of the blade, perfect for setting up router bit or table saw blade height.

[rocky brown]

does hand-built count? if so it would have to be my deadblow hammer. i made it out of scrap maple and mahogany and i look for reasons to use it.

rb

[Doug Shepard]

I've never seen anyone but Hartville selling the 3" Incra T-rule
http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/10841
I use that one a lot.

[Chuck E Cobb]

My dead blow hammer, bought it too late to save me from having surgery on my hands (carpel tunnel) the doc said using my hand as a hammer help it along.

http://www.estwing.com/images/h1000.jpg

I use it everyday now.

Chuck

[Al Willits]

Wasn't quite sure what cheap was, so I'll go with anything that if it got lost, wouldn't send me into a frenzy.
Gotta go with the magnifying glass with the light on it for one, along with the tweezers have helped these old eyes find more than a few slivers.

Maybe add a measuring tape and utility knife also, probably a few more but these come to mind at first glance.

Al

[Ed Labadie]

I have become really fond of this little gem of a scraper.
Carbide blade and you can index it 3 times. It works really good for scraping glue joints clean. Skew it slightly when you are pulling it and it will roll up a nice shaving. I works really well for smoothing up small rough areas too.
There are different profile blades available.
$15.00 at Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Bahco-Premium-Ergonomic-Carbide-Scraper/dp/B000288LOW/ref=sr_1_11/103-8398828-0542217?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1186578096&sr=1-11

Ed

[Nathan Conner]

Gotta say, I picked up a carpetbaggers bag full of weird old carving tools from Craigslist - 1/2 the stuff I can't even identify - for maybe $50.

Among them was a triad of 5-6" x 1/2" Japanese marking knives.

One day, after 6 months of letting that stuff sit in a drawer, I tried them out. I now have my favorite, and it sits in the top pocket of my apron constantly.

I used to use a carpenter's pencil, or for really fine, detailed work like marking dovetails, I'd use a sharp carpenter's pencil.

I can't emphasize this enough. STOP USING A PENCIL!

These little knives, when used in place of a pencil, leave no doubt whatsoever where you're cutting. Before, I usually burned the line, or tried to split the line, but when you're trying for accurate cuts, all the fancy Italian powertools in the world won't help you figure out WHERE to cut.

I thought...THOUGHT, that is...that I was being accurate. But the few projects I've done since I started using this little marking knife have...just worked. No more mallet to force pieces together, no more reefing on a clamp to get things square and flat. Stuff just turns out better. No pencil lines to sand off, nothing like that. And I didn't have to spend a fortune on new tools. (That's how I convince myself I don't need the new Minimax TS, you see)

Granted, a pencil has its place in the shop. You need something to clean your ears out with, I expect. But show me the sharpest, most accurate pencil line you can give me, and I'll show you a line that wanders with the grain, is hard to see, and then I'll split the line into 16 parts with my marking knife. You choose which one to cut on. :) :)

Can you tell I'm a little excited about this "discovery" I've made? Yeah, I'm a dork.

[Al Lupone]

This is my goto tool. Japanese combo square from Woodcraft.
Al

[Paul B. Cresti]

............Me

[Vernon Taylor]

5 foot ruler,about 12 bucks,use it for 90% of my measuring. I hate retractable tapes.Very useful on the tablesaw ans sliding table for setting stops.