Surprise Favorites

[Birdhunter]

I’ve bought a lot of tools that I knew I would use often. Most of these see every day use.

There are tools that I have bought in the midst of my love for tools. Many (most) never get used. Some are surprise favorites.

The most recent surprise favorites are the TID18, Woodpeckers Rip Flip, Starrett double square, set of center punches, tons of blue tape, digital angle gauge, and Lie Nielsen jointer-plane. Inherited my dad’s snap punch.

Unlike golf, woodworking allows justification for acquiring the “perfect” set of tools.

 

[Peter_C]

The most recent surprise favorites are the ~Woodpeckers Rip Flip~

I keep eying the Rip Flip and trying to figure out other uses than just dados and resetting to an almost exact previous cut. My Biesemeyer fence on a Unisaw is pretty darn accurate. So my question is how are you using the Rip Flip?

 

[Birdhunter]

At present, I’m building a dresser. My first. I use the Rip Flip to return to rip setting that I need to repeat.  So far, it has been super accurate.

I think I will order a couple of extra stops. I label the stops so to remember what piece they are set for.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Digital angle gauge for sure. I have used the very "old school" sliding bevel gauge for years and its fine. But all it can really do it transfer the angle. It does not tell you what the angle really is, at least directly. Since I got a digital one, I have used it way more than I ever thought.
Superglue and activator
Cordless laminate trimmers
I also really like the retractable extension cord. So nice to just let it roll itself up.
A cheap little Japanese style saddle square. It sits on a shelf of my back-bench and I use it a lot.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

At present, I’m building a dresser. My first. I use the Rip Flip to return to rip setting that I need to repeat.  So far, it has been super accurate.

I think I will order a couple of extra stops. I label the stops so to remember what piece they are set for.

I very much like the concept of those, but I am in a shared shop. If I had my own tablesaw, I would look into them.

 

[ChuckM]

My most favorite tools:

Power -- SawStop, DF500 and Kapex 120
Power-tool Accessories -- JessEM clear-cut table saw stock guides; and Fastcap 10 million-dollar stick

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Hand -- Veritas small BU smooth plane, and LAJ; 3/8" chisels; Japanese Dozuki; and Stanley 10-049 folding knife used as a marking knife
Hand-tool Accessories -- Gramercy holdfasts and Veritas planing stop

Supplies -- Magnets, magnets, magnets (all kinds & sizes)

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[notenoughcash]

the starret miter finder.  absoulutly amazing for external miter's on skirting boards

 

[Bob D.]

The most recent surprise favorites are the ~Woodpeckers Rip Flip~

I keep eying the Rip Flip and trying to figure out other uses than just dados and resetting to an almost exact previous cut. My Biesemeyer fence on a Unisaw is pretty darn accurate. So my question is how are you using the Rip Flip?

I use the Rip-Flip on my Unisaw all the time. My fence is accurate too but it is so much easier to set a stop to a measure you might need to return to later in a project then try to bump your fence to the exact same spot by hand. Or you need to set a project aside for a while and work on something else. Stick a critical fence setting into memory so to speak using a Flip-Stop so you can come back to it whenever. you don't have to remember 5 days from now that the fence setting you want is 3-5/16 plus a whisker.

You say "almost exact previous cut", I would say that's an assumption and not my experience. I can not think of how you could return to a previous fence setting as precisely or quickly other than using the Rip-Flip.

It also makes it quick and easy to do quick, single blade dados when you just need one or two and don't want to swap out the blade for a dado stack. Or you can use the Rip-Flip with a dado stack to set the boundaries of a wider cut.

How many times have you set your fence and it was exactly on 2 inches right where you intended it to be so not an accuracy issue, but you need just a couple thou more (or less). Slide the Flip-Stop over and use the screw to nudge the fence over much easier than you can by bumping it with your hand (cause that always works the first time right?). A quarter turn on the fine thread screw is only a couple thousandth's of an inch. Works for me all the time.

I want to get a couple more stops, that's how useful I think they are.

The Rip-Flip is probably the most frequently used Woodpeckers tool I have in the shop surpassed maybe only by the tiny Mini Square that I keep in my apron and use to check square for tool setups. I have lots of other Woodpeckers tools; if I could only keep two those would be my choices.

 

[Packard]

It used to be that I almost never used a featherboard.  Now I rarely skip using the featherboard.  An excellent investment.

On the other hand,  I have this "sophisticated" Gripper stock pusher which I have given up on.  The rubber pads get covered with sawdust and looses friction.  I am constantly having to wipe down the surface with a damp rag.

And these I steer away from completely as I consider them dangerous.  If you accidently make contact with the spinning blade, the stick will catch on the  blade, bend--absorbing energy and then explode in you hand.  The identical shape made from wood, plywood or mdf will simply have a slot cut in it.  Make your own.

 

[ChuckM]

The yellow push stick also presents another type of danger in use with a narrow piece (e.g., 3" to 5" wide) when the user unknowingly or incorrectly pushes the stock (front end) away from the fence, potentially causing a kickback to happen.

For feeding stock, I always use a push shoe, focusing the feeding force towards the fence.

 

[Rick Herrick]

On the other hand,  I have this "sophisticated" Gripper stock pusher which I have given up on.  The rubber pads get covered with sawdust and looses friction.  I am constantly having to wipe down the surface with a damp rag.

I wish I had a metal top tablesaw, I would love to use those magnet tools.

But regarding the gripper, I used the heck out mine for making edging.  Every couple of passes, I just run it across my pant leg and it removed most of the dust hence making it work a little better on the next pass.  This gripper makes creating edging very stress free.

 

[ChuckM]

Rubbing alcohol solves the problem on the pads. Gripper has a YouTube video about the maintenance tip.

 

[FestitaMakool]

The Starrett small 10cm/4” double square. It’s with me in my Blaklader trousers all-the-time.
Thanks Cheese!

Also, a private label version of a Kapro square to less than half the price of the Kapro branded one. I find that when I want a traditional square, this is what I reach for.

GRRipper block.

Festool:
The HKC..
The Precisio CS 50 with slider.. the SCM saw gets much less use.
Festool dust collection - at the tools.
The RTSC - excels at freehand sanding small pieces and edge/chamfer sanding compared to the ETSC.

The Makita cordless trim router.
The Makita 12V Max tools, the drills are on every little thing I do, and the small circular saw I thought was a toy, is not. Plunging manually to have straight cuts and only the Carvex for the curves for mid cuts.

 

[rubber_ducky]

For me two tools stand out above the rest…

-Knipex pliers-wrench (used mainly for non- woodworking tasks)
-Bluetooth remote for my DE

There are others, but these exceeded my expectations

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[afish]

im going off "surprise" favorites. I have plenty of smaller tools but most I already knew I would like.  The one that sticks out to me that I purchased not knowing what to expect was the Festool carbide scraper for doing edgbanding.  I use it all the time and it does a really good job and surprised I liked it as much as I did. 

 

[batmanimal]

I purchased this inexpensive mallet 10+ years ago from the Container Store to assemble some storage frames. Thought it would be a one time tool. Wrong. It has become an unexpectedly prized possession.
https://www.containerstore.com/s/el.../medium_weight-mallet/123d?productId=11007853

To me, it is perfect. I momentarily panic when I can’t find it. Partly because it has been back ordered this whole year and I’m afraid I’ll never be able to get another one.

 

[Rutabagared]

ArtMinds pop-up magnifier with LED light.  I use it every day in the shop.  Tucks nicely in apron and pouch pocket, very durable (I've dropped it many times), original batteries after several years.

Hose garage on my CT Midi.  I had a CT22 without one for years before recently replacing it with the Midi and never realized the convenience of the hose garage.  Worth adding if your existing vac doesn't have one IMHO.

PEC 100mm double square (add the 4" blade or a second square).  Most settings I use fall within its range, easier to maneuver and manage when doing layout along edges and small pieces, love the convenience of storing it in my apron pocket.  I actually bought two of the PEC 150mm/6" double squares (a new and blem) and plan on adding a second 100/4" square to avoid switching out the blades.  It's just worth the convenience to have multiples for various settings when doing layout.  Another advantage of having multiples is that you can save them at their locked settings, using the other one in case you overlook a piece or need to remake a part.  Plus I wanted an excuse to add a weird tool holder to my tool cabinet [big grin].

Pica-Dry mechanical pencil with colored accessory leads.  It just works so well.  Colored leads are great for darker woods.

Iwasaki flat extreme-fine cut file.  It leaves a surface finer than 220 grit.  Quite useful when a hand plane or abrasive won't do.

Not a tool, but taking my apron to a local seamstress to have the pockets reconfigured, extra material in the front removed and pockets added.  No apron I found has enough dividers in the top pocket.  Best money I spent in the shop this year.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

im going off "surprise" favorites. I have plenty of smaller tools but most I already knew I would like.  The one that sticks out to me that I purchased not knowing what to expect was the Festool carbide scraper for doing edgbanding.  I use it all the time and it does a really good job and surprised I liked it as much as I did.

I have considered buying one of those for years, but always chicken out at the last minute. I assume the whole point of the lanyard is to wrap it around your wrist while working with it? One drop to the floor and $70 gone.

 

[afish]

I took the string off.  I found it was more dangerous with than without.  It was always snagging on stuff and almost got pulled out of my hands a couple times.  You missed out when I had first posted it was on sale on amazon for 50 something.  I went to go check and its back up to 76 now.