The weather cooperated and I was able to finish my deck project this weekend, but I needed a Sawzall in order to cut some nasty, nail-y beams. My neighbor moved recently and took his Sawzall with him, the bum, so I couldn't borrow his. So I HAD to buy one for myself. Man, is that thing fun! It's almost as fun as my second-favorite tool, my disc grinder. Boy, there's nothing like taking a coarse-grit wheel to my lawnmower blades and watching the sparks fly!
However, my all-time favorite tool has been my chain saw. It took me years to break down and buy one, and it took lots of prodding by my SWMBO, but it's amazing how many times it just comes in handy. It's so fun that after I finish a little cutting job, I look around for something else to cut.
Hm - my ancient Atlas drill press and my LN low-angle block plane come to mind. Both are solid, durable, versatile, and do exactly what they're supposed to without complaining. Also, both will still be around to pass on to future generations. I also really like my Panasonic 12V drill, but it doesn't quite fall into the last category. Andy
Whatever my major purchase becomes my favorite tool for the time. Last year was my hydraulic pipe bender. A few months after that was the Bosch sliding miter saw. Now, on back order, will be the Hilti 14" diamond wet saw with a walk behind attachment - couldn't find a wood blade for that sucker. The chainsaw was a lot of fun but I ran out of trees. I'm looking forward to a band saw but I don't have anymore room left in my shop (all three garage spaces) for my junk.
My favorite two are a cordless drill and a plunge router. Both happen to be from DeWalt but I don't have a particular loyalty to any one brand. Well, there is *one* brand I can't do without: Forrest blades. Buy 'em kids. They're worth the money...
I know you probably didn't mean 'this' kind of tool, but I would have to say my mac. Mostly because it was home to MiniCAD (now Vectorworks) before they ported it to PC. Then because it was home to Strata StudioPro (now Strata 3D-CX5). I came to macs because the software I wanted to use ran on them. For no other, snooty reason. I have built more furniture and discarded more designs than I could have ever afforded in time or materials than to do those projects in real time/materials. I get to paint an adirondak chair in seconds, paint until I like the look. Slats too narrow? No problem. When I like it, out comes the wood.
A study once showed that only 5% of the workforce love their jobs. I'm in that 5%.
Seriously. Each tool is essential (OK, most of the time) for the specific task to which one puts it. So, while I might really like my LN #4 smoothing plane, it's not going to be very helpful when I need to be ripping rails to width or mortising rails and stiles. OTOH, the Unisaw is great for the ripping task, but not too handy when it comes to getting a finish-ready surface on those rails and stiles.
Maybe a better statement would be that my favorite tool is the one I need for the job at hand and that is tuned and capable of achieving that task.
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough
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It's funny, when I noticed the title, I thought "Sawzall" before I even read your post.
There's just something about that tool. I remember the first time I ever saw one used. My sisters' high school was doing some major demolition and remodeling and had asked for dads to show up on a string of Saturdays to help out. I think I was ten or eleven at the time. My dad and I spent most Saturdays working on one or another projects ranging from car repairs to house projects to yard work so this was little more than a change of venue for us.
Anyway, we were a large group of amatuers with various levels of skill and experience with one or two pros in the mix. One of the demolition tasks was proving extremely difficult because of some very large and badly rusted bolts holding together an ancient freestanding walk-in ice box. We couldn't twist, pry or beat the damn walls apart because the frozen bolts wouldn't pull through the not-so-rotted wood. Suddenly, this guy appears with Sawzall. He was wearing well worn coveralls and heavy work boots (also well worn) and his hands looked like leather. Even at the tender age of eleven, I recognized the look of a man (and a tool) that WOULD GET THE JOB DONE. The Sawzall made short work of the situation. My dad commented that this guy probably made his living with those hands. I'm not sure whether I was more impressed with the man or the tool, but I wanted a Sawzall of my own ever since.
I finally bought one from eBay about two years ago (that would be ahhh...thirty-four years later) for no reason other than I wanted it. It has proved invaluable to me several times since. As much as we all like to build, there a deep satisfiaction in demolition/destruction, and that is the Sawzall's domain!
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