Unexpectedly handy tools

[Bob]

I've got one and know how to read it. I hate it because its so hard to read. I got a digital dial caliper on sale at Rockler for $20. I love the

1/2" tall letters.

Bob

[Bob]

Rulers have been mentioned several times. I would add that I love my hook rules. I have a 12" and 24", purchased cheap at hartville tool ($4 and $6 respectively). That little hook makes all the difference in the world for repeated accuracy in measuring.

Hear here on the pentel pencils. The cheap knockoffs are an incredible value. I just bought a 12 pack of 5 mm pencils that had metal tips and erasers for $7 at Office depot. I'll sprinkle them throughtout the shop and hope not to lose all of them in the first month.

Bob

[Steve]

I'm guessing he has a whole jar of pencils handy, and when he can't find the one he was using, he just grabs another one & sticks it into the pencil sharpener. In a few seconds he's good to go again.

How do I know this? Certainly NOT from personal experience. No. Not me. Nope. Just guessin' here. :-)

--Steve

[Steve]

I've got one of those too! I use it (the plastic side) to install frets in guitar fingerboards. Wonderful tool!

--Steve

[Lobby Dosser]

Rockler used to have a T shaped driver where the base of the upright is the pointy end and the cross bar is the handle. The cross bar also holds a selection of bits. They had a special on this for $5 a few years back and one of them sits in a drawer beside me as I type. Another one resides in the truck. Fits in a pocket with room for change and Real Handy. Does forward-fixed-reverse. They don't seem to carry it now.

[kcleere]

I have to chime in. My MOST usefull tool in my shop believe it or not is a Craftsman 15lb. magnetic pick up tool. Spend your time metal/woodwortking in a wheelchair for a while and you'll know why. It allows me retrieve all my other MOST usefull tools when I drop them. Second behind that is the long reach grabber for stuff out of reach.

KC

Lobby Dosser wrote:

[Zz Yzx]

I know where lost socks go. Ther're converted to coat hangers.

-Zz

[Leon]

My second pocket calculator that works and displays actual fractions.

[R. Pierce Butler]

"Woodhead" wrote in news:5c6b0$44a9b500 $438ca9fd$ [e-mail]:

I opted for an old fashioned wall mounted pencil sharpener with a crank. Takes less space, is 100% reliable and can accommodate any size round pencil. I doubt I will use it as I use a mechanical pencil. My favorite pencil is by a company called Autopoint. It is all metal, features an integral pointer and just plain feels good in the hand.

The one thing that I bought and use a lot is a 25ft extension cord. This is a heavy duty 12-3 cord that I bought at Lowes. Just long enough for the shop and not too long as to get all tangled.

[R. Pierce Butler]

"hylourgos" wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I opted to spend big money for a pair of saw horses.

are by far the best saw horses I have owned and seen. Light, strong (2500 lb rating*) and best of all, fully adjustable. I was so impressed that I now own 3 pairs.

I do have to admit I am rather skeptical about the one ton+ rating but it should handle anything I can put on it.

[Leon]

I have often considered getting a digital one but for me it is easier to picture 5/32" as opposed to trying to picture .15625" ;~)

[Leon]

LOL, I actually prefer using the dial stile. I can actually see that there is space between the 64th" markings on the larger dial.

[Steve B]

Adjustable bevel square.

[Frank Boettcher]

Cheap set of Calipers with a dial indicater. I paid about $20 for them and use them almost every day.

Frank

[CW]

[Mark & Juanita]

1. 2" engineer's square. It lives in an apron pocket and is really handy for machine setup and initial check of cuts.
2. Feeler gauge set, lives in the same apron pocket -- great for checking joint gaps and initial cut issues.

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+ If you're gonna be dumb, you better be tough

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

[bridgerfafc]

and breed. they give birth to paper clips...

[lwasserm]

Not a yankee, just a screwdriver with reversible ratchet built into the handle. Most do have storage for bits also built into the handle like a yankee though. I don't have a URL handy but try googling for a Stanley 68-010. The one I use is somewhat shorter than this model.

[mac davis]

Dollar store rubber mallet

plastic Harbor Freight center finder

cheap spring loaded center punch... (wow, 1 hand punching, whataconcept!)

handful of assorted size rare earth magnets

Mac

[Prometheus]

Combination Square. It checks 45* and square, is a 12" ruler, a little level and a marking gauge all in one. I see a lot of folks with speed squares running around, but they're not half as versatile. I've had a Stanley one for about 7 years, and it's still accurate, despite spending most of it's life in a tool belt on construction sites and getting it's fair share of knocking around.

Second best cheap tool that makes life easier is an adjustible drywall square. You can set it to any angle you need, and it's got a 4' straightedge built in. Granted, I got it for cutting drywall, but it's been known to do a little layout work on sheet goods or act as a clamp-on fence for a circular saw more than a couple of times. The important aspect of it is that it is adjustable (which also means the cross bar can be removed to use just the 4' ruler). The regular rigid drywall T-squares are not half as useful, IMO.