Tools I Wish Someone Told Me About When I Started ...

I have a set of the brass set up bars I can’t tell you how much time its saved me in set up not to mention how accurate they are. still need to get the other 2 items.Thanks for posting….....................Schloemoe

-- schloemoe, Oregon , http://www. woodrehab.blogspot.com

I couldn’t agree with you more about using abrasive sticks. I do need to get a set of set up bars myself. I use a set up gauge for the TS and Router, but they can sometimes be difficult if your not paying close attention. Another little item I’ve found very useful and use a lot is my Wixley digital angle gauge. It helps a lot in setting up my angles as well as 90degrees. One other thing I use and is something most woodworkers don’t think about is a good pair of pattern scissors. The ones with the off set allowing you cut with the material laying flat. Got mine at a fabric store. I use them more than the straight ones.

-- I don't make mistakes, I have great learning lessons, Greg

Great idea for a topic. These are some simple tools that I use on nearly every project:

Center Finder
Especially useful for turners.

Center Finding Rule
Sure you can just do the math, but a center finding rule is quicker, easier, always accurate, and saves you from math errors.

Here is the Incra with a built-in protractor

Or a less expensive self-centering straight rule

Don’t forget a Center Punch for marking and starting holes for drilling, or aligning your stock for spindle turning.

Also, if you can fit them into your budget, ALL of the Wixey digital tools are useful and accurate.

Brad point drill bits, One pet peeve of mine is when the drill bit walks just a hair away from where you need/want it to be, brad point bits put a stop to that around here. Also I love my abrasive cleaning stick, picked up my first one a few months back and I agree everybody should invest in one.

-- Praise God in all things, especially the bad things because they make the best learning experiences.

Great topic. There are lots of little things I use in the shop that I consider indispensable.

I would put a thickness gauge close to the top of the list. I prefer digital, but it does not have to be digital.

A good tape measure is essential. I like to have both a small convenient one (10’) and a bigger one (25’).

I good marking knife is quite valuable. More precise than a pencil.

i wouldn’t want to be without a compass.

A flashlight for when the lighting is not ideal.

-- Rich, Cedar Rapids, IA - I'm a woodworker. I don't create beauty, I reveal it.

Just an aside to the center finding ruler.

If you have a sort of 5” wide board, set the ruler at an angle so that two whole numbers (like 10” and 16”) hit the edges. Halfway between 10 and 16 is 13”. There’s your exact center, quicker and with something you already own.

I can’t think of anything else in particular that I could recommend. Seems like all tools have their uses. The problem is in the acqusition of all known tools in the universe.

Well, there is one….some of those flip-down magnifying goggles….the older I get, the smaller things get.

-- arborial reconfiguration specialist

Good Idea, Marking knife, cheep chisels for scraping glue, top pf a folgers coffee container for resting the orbital sander. Saddle square is great, but a butt hinge works almost as well. My better half got me one of those flash lights with legs and a swivel head. hands free infinite positions and small.

-- The expectations of life depend upon diligence; the mechanic that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools. Confucius, 经过艰苦的努力的梦想可以成真

Bevel Box digital angle finder for the table saw etc… I blogged about it here
and maybe Silverglide dry lubricant for all table top surfaces…
check it out here

-- Drink twice... and don't bother to cut... @ larrysworkshop.wordpress.com For lovers of all things timber...

I use my brass set up bars all the time. for less money you can buy key stock and use them too they come in many sizes also.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

This is a good topic, I cant be without my carpenter apron!

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

I agree with degoose. I bought a Wixey digital angle gauge from Woodcraft when they were on sale. It has a magnetic base and sticks to the side of the table saw. It makes for quick and repeatable angles on the saw blade and when finished, brings the blade back to 90 degrees. Works better than the machine square I used to use. It also come in handy on the compound miter saw and jointer.

They make one for height adjustments on the planer but I haven’t tried it yet, still use the calipers. Has anybody used the digital height gauge for the planer?

-- Mike.... West Virginia. "Man is a tool using animal. Without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all.". T Carlyle

Top of my list is my 6” depth gauge. I use it all the time. I also would be lost without my chalk. It’s easy to mark where the dado goes, the order of my boards for a glue up, the order in which the boards come off the bandsaw after resawing, weather I’ve completely sanded the board in my drum sander and the list goes on and on. I even buy colored caulk to give each side or leg of a piece it’s own marking system. What shop would be complete without duct tape? Yes, it has way more uses than just wrapping around duct work. I use duct tape to help in gluing, to keep epoxy off my forms (since epoxy won’t adhere to duct tape) and to tape a board that is way too scary to cut, but cut you must. In that case, I tape that thing to it’s sled or the chop saw and keep my fingers far way from the teeth of those blades!

-- cathyb, Hawaii, www.cathyswoodworking.com

Keyway stock, pairs of aluminum bars for inside measurements, laminate samples for measuring “just a skosh”,
pop cans for machine shim stock, 3/4 foam sheet for cutting on my bench, engineers squares, plastic drafting triangles, the Wixey, Double stick tape.
Just a few things that make shop time more fun.

-- Gene 'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

Great tip on the abrasive stick. A little purchase that goes a long way.

I worked for years without a shop apron, now I don’t know how I got along without it. The accessories in my apron that get the most use are the remote button for the dust collector, the Starrett 6” combination square, a couple of sharp pencils, a 12’ tape measure, a 6” steel rule, and a brass caliper.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"