So, what are some of your favorite useful – or useless – tool gimmicks

The marvelous, self-jigging bow-saw.

You guys who don’t use one for cutting joints don’t know what you’re
missing.

I like & use something called Jack Rabbit Deluxe. I saw it on New Yankee Workshop & found it on Norm’s webpage. A very handy item for drilling/driving. I use it all the time. It has a damn good/strong mag ring to magnetize the bit. Works like a charm.

-- bluesmarky..........................................."If you're here & I'm here, doesn't that make it our time?"

I know I’ll set some people off, but for me the worst gimmick tool was the Worksharp.

-- The Wood Nerd -- http://www.workshopaholic.net

How, about chop saw lasers ?

TheWoodNerd, Work Sharp Here
http://lumberjocks.com/topics/25938

-- E J ------- Always Keep a Firm Grip on Your Tool

Not sure this qualifies, but sometimes I use a printers ruler. Every now and then, it’s easier to measure something in ems or pica, compared to inches.
- JJ

Loren; How about a picture?

One of my favorites, is the miter lock over ride button on the mitersaw. Coupled with the laser making scribed pattern cuts easier to setup when doing trim work.

A useless one would be one of those clamp on the drill guides with the dognut shaped foot to try and use if you don’t have a borebuster or other dedicated jig to use for drilling stair baluster holes in the handrails for stairs.

I’m also kinda partial to these 23ga. nailers we have now. Don’t shoot as many 18 ga. brads in my fingers anymore whem doing 90 degree end returns on trim.

-- Darrell, making more sawdust than I know what to do with

I personally think lasers on drill presses are an answer to a question that was never asked. 100% gimmick.

Useful: Not really a gimmick, but relatively new on the scene are the multitools and especially with the wood cutting bit attached. We use it so much for all kinds of things we could never do or dared not do with a sawzall, etc. For example: Wall cabinet to the ceiling that has the room’s crown molding. The wall cabs have their own matching soffit crown. Where the soffit crown turns the corner and runs into the rooms crown, we scribe the soffit profile onto the room crown face next to the cab, then use the “gizmo” (the name my guys have given to the Bosch corded and Dremel lithium multi-tools we have) to accurately cut it out and slide the soffit into the hole. Another example is just all the times a new base cabinet goes in where base molding is in the way. We just draw a vertical line, use the gizmo to slice the line and pull the piece of base off, then finally slide the cabinet into place. Comparing a Sawzall to the gizmo for fine cuts like this is like comparing a chain saw to a razor blade.

Useless: drill bit depth stops. Especially the ones most) that tighten the screw into the bit. Say you need 8 bores the same depth, then after the fifth the depth stop slips even though you tightened it to the max. The side clamping ones are much better.

Exactly 50% Useless: The squares and rules that have all the metric on one side and the fractional on the other. I hate grabbing it and laying it down and then realizing I need to flip it to the fractional side. I try to use a Starrett scaled to inches, tenths and hundredths wherever I can. If only they would make speed squares and framing squares that way !

-- If you're going to stir the pot, think BIG spoon or SMALL boat paddle. David Grimes, Georgia

Harbor Freight foam sanding blocks. All the grit comes off on the first pass…....

-- mike...............

I can’t believe no one has mentioned the highly useful wood chisel/rasp combination. For when you want a rough smooth cut. Or a smooth rough cut. Whatever. http://www.amazon.com/Cooper-Tools-WCSET3CMN-3-Piece-Chisel/dp/B000FTDE0Y

the most useless thing i ever saw was a laser guide on a jigsaw.

One of the most useful things I have bought recently is a Veritas saddle square.
I didn’t get one for a long time, thinking I would never use it, but was I wrong.

-- She thought I hung the moon--now she just thinks I did it wrong

One of the best is the dual laser on my Delta compound miter saw. I could never figure out where the
saw blade was going to end up on a compound angle except by cutting long and creeping up on a
good fit, wasting a lot of wood. With the dual laser, and a better blade than Delta put on the saw,
I can cut right to the mark every time, now if I could just remember which side of the mark I was
supposed to cut on. LOL.

-- As ever, Gus-the 74 yr young apprentice carpenter

Most useful…Digital Calipers
Least accurate…Tape measure [unless you are doing rough framing]

-- Rustfever, Central California

Most usefull? Hmmmmm? My leaf blower. I can hide a lot of mistakes by just blowing away all tthe odd pieces and the dust. Nobody knows that I screwed up.
Bill

-- bill@magraphics.us