Top 10 Underrated Tools

[Greg from K/W]

I can think of one; the biscuit joiner. They don't get much love these days, particularly among the green koolaide drinkers that use the Domino. I won't dispute that the Domino is a great machine, but many of those folks don't realize that they are not intended to serve the same purpose. There are things that biscuits can do that the Domino can't. For joining sheet goods, particularly if they are much thinner than 3/4", is something that biscuits excel at.

Very true but I still don
t think its under rated as much as under valued.

[drzaius]

I don't think there are under rated tools.

I can think of one; the biscuit joiner. They don't get much love these days, particularly among the green koolaide drinkers that use the Domino. I won't dispute that the Domino is a great machine, but many of those folks don't realize that they are not intended to serve the same purpose. There are things that biscuits can do that the Domino can't. For joining sheet goods, particularly if they are much thinner than 3/4", is something that biscuits excel at.

[Greg from K/W]

I don't think there are under rated tools. There are underused. Or seldom used. I value all the tools I have. There are tools that sit there for a year until you need them and then you cannot do that one job until you find it and then it does that one job perfectly. Trying to think of one of those. Ah I bought a tool that will remove nails from lumber. I was doing it by hand which was ok but for production this pneumatic tool did it so much faster it was amazing. I only use it once a year but it paid for its self that first year. The other end of the spectrum I use my Bosch 2 step 6" sander almost every day. Do I rate the other one less? No i just use it less.

[Gary in Waterdown]

Funny. I have my headlamps from my commuting to work / riding in the winter days and I dug around to find the head strap.

I find myself wearing that thing, with the battery cord snaking down my back, a lot lately, especially at the lathe - and every night when dinner is on the grill.

My family laugh at me.

The joys of being a dad.

Maybe they wouldn't laugh so much if they had to make their own dinner.

[Egon]

Funny. I have my headlamps from my commuting to work / riding in the winter days and I dug around to find the head strap.

I find myself wearing that thing, with the battery cord snaking down my back, a lot lately, especially at the lathe - and every night when dinner is on the grill.

My family laugh at me.

The joys of being a dad.

The joys of aging. Lots and lots of concentrated light.

[jim.gilchrist]

Camera phone, so i can remember how i set my jigs up last time


High beam bike headlight, cuz i’m going blind

e

Funny. I have my headlamps from my commuting to work / riding in the winter days and I dug around to find the head strap.

I find myself wearing that thing, with the battery cord snaking down my back, a lot lately, especially at the lathe - and every night when dinner is on the grill.

My family laugh at me.

The joys of being a dad.

[jim.gilchrist]

Sharp pencil
pencil sharpener
4” engineer’s square
white glue
folding rule
wooden plane
sharp pocket knife
broom
dust pan

[Ed in Leaside]

Empty peanut butter containers. <snip> Currently have about 30 of them in the shop

I have more than 100, screwed the lids to the underside of the mezzanine.

[TwoBirds]

a good apron with pockets for all the tools one needs to get one's hand on while holding something(s) in place with the other.
a crappy knife
a good knife
a really good knife
an extra knife

[KeithF]

Empty peanut butter containers. I know my FIL used glass coffee bottles, but I don’t care for the glass as for the breakage factor. The containers hold nails/screws/ parts for specific projects. They can also be used to soak parts in. The lids can be inverted to hold small parts or as mixing trays. Currently have about 30 of them in the shop

[Don Burch]

Pencils. Any pencil. You never give them their due until you cannot find one when you need it, or it needs sharpening, or, if mechanical, has no lead.

[Jerome]

You make a mark on the bad side like this

[Randy in Calgary]

........................avoid such things like the plague.

Ken

At the risk of a hijack and a bad joke, I think we are all getting a crash course on how to avoid the plague. Strange times we live in.

[KenL]

How do you remember which side of the line?

LOL, I wondered the same thing! I use knives and awls for marking wood (cutting gauges and such are knives for these purposes) when it really matters and scribers (and such like) with or without Marking Blue for marking metal. Big, fat Eversharp type lead pencils are not my jam which is why I am so fond of my old Boston pencil sharpener and Lee Valley pencils for shop use. I am not at all keen on disposable anything and avoid such things like the plague.

Ken

[flairwoodworks]

I was taught as a jeweller that you work from the side of the line, not the line itself.

How do you remember which side of the line?