I’m curious, outside of your FWW membership, of course, what is the best money you ever spent in woodworking? What’s the worst? For me:
WORST: The biscuit-cutter attachment for my router. $35. The mechanism was cumbersome and require accurately sliding the router in 2 dimensions. The slots were always sloppy, never snug. And it takes up a big hunk of drawer space! I think I’ll chunk it when I get home.
BEST: My Biesemeyer fence, on clearance from the Biese site ($110) and my 7′ rail on clearance at my local shop ($45). (Me jealous of you $80 guys.) I continue to be amazed at how stable and accurate it is.
What about you?
Danny
Replies
The best: The $25.00 I gave to the Justice of the Peace in Reno, NV 40 years ago.
That got me a loving and understanding wife that allows me take over most of our home for my shop and to store completed projects before I take them to the various galleries that handle my stuff.
The worst: Porter Cable detail sander, doesn't even weigh enough to make a decent anchor.
That PC, if you take it apart and shim out the up and down movement in the platten, (which should not be there) then it becomes a useable tool. Or mine has.
The best has taken many forms, the fee for entry to a show, a book or article, anything which has inspired me to get off my butt and do something.
We are still working on the worst.
The best my Grizzly 1023slx ($975) I always struggled to get reliable cuts till I got that!
Worst some dado gizmo for the router to be able to dial in a perfect dado for undersized plywood. Still have it new in the box ($30).
If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it.
And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
The best... My Lee Valley- Veritas medium shoulder plane. I now know what it's like to have a tool really 'sing in your hand'.
The worst... some piece 'o crap wire stripper from last years woodworking show. Even though it was only $15.00, I could've had a damn good cigar instead of this toy.
Chipsndust
Best: $895 tuition to Lonnie Bird's School of Fine Woodworking. I got a tremendous education and it was fun to boot. Great skill building and a great teacher in Lonnie.
Worst: $150 for a Kreg K2000 pocket screw kit. Great technology, but a bunch of stuff I don't need and don't use. Not Kreg's fault, but mine. Runner up: $175 for a biscuit joiner--I never use the thing.
Great thread.
Tom
Dont know the lonnie bird school in england but money spent to learn is always a good investment.Intresting what you say about the biscut jointer though,I wouldnt be without mine even though I dont use it that much.Anybody else have a tool they love but dont use that often
Best: My dial caliper. Didn't cost that much and I use it all the time. Measures in fractions and that other measurement kind.
Worst: I can't think of anything. I use all my woodworking tools. I do have some, what I call utility chisels that I use to scrape off glue with occasionally.
Oh, I just thought of one. I have a Stanley Odd Job but I haven't use it as I can't think of an odd job to use it for so I guess I can't really call it the worst.
I'm glad it didn't cost me anything!
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Edited 9/20/2007 8:22 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
Edited 9/20/2007 8:23 pm ET by KiddervilleAcres
"Anybody else have a tool they love but dont use that often?"
I got one.. The Beall Wood Threading System. I rarely use it but it so darn neat I've never regretted buying it. I've made a few clamps with it but that's about it.
http://www.bealltool.com/products/threading/threader.php
Best: Craftsman 22124 Table saw, The Beiss fence is awesome and the saw will do whatever I ask. OR possibly my Performax Drum Sander
Worst: I had the biscuit router attachment mentioned and the craftsman dovetail jig and there was a 10" bench top craftsman saw I started out with. I cant believe that I didn't seriously hurt myself with that thing.
I have one of those that I make threaded sticks and nuts for the neighbor children. HOWEVER, I had to modify the oak holder for the plastic? Nylon> Whatever to cut a good thread. Nylon? part WAY .. WAY to loose in the oak holder. Some set screws made it work.. DAMN such a nice tool and they let the Oak hole get to big over time? Geeeeeee!Just like my boss.. I'd tell him we need to fix this or that and he would say We had that tool for years! Why change it NOW?
I agree with you.. the tool does take some fine tuning to get it to work properly.... But by golly it's so neat having to thread your own rods.
Best power tool: 5 hp left tilt 50" Delta with Beismeyer fence, outfeed table.
Best hand tool: Sterett 6" combo square
Worst power tool: Harbor Freight mortising machine
Worst hand tool: off brand parallel wood clamps
Handiest "thing": a freebie clip on shirt reel with a pencil attached.
A bad day woodworking is better than a good day working -- yes, I'm retired!
I have an angle ease router table insert from Woodhaven. I don't use it often, but nothing else does what it does when I do use it.
I posted a Horizontal router table I made in here a few years ago. Just wood and some drawer slides and it WORKS. I do not use it often but I thought it turned out nice. The slides were the key.. I'm not sure how to find the post now.. May not still be available? I looked but got nowhere!Sliding table (X and Y)and you could tilt the router for angle cuts (Z). As NORM would say.. Not Rocket Science....
Edited 9/24/2007 3:29 pm by WillGeorge
Will,I think this is the post you were looking for. It took a couple of tries, but the advanced search finally coughed it up.http://forums.taunton.com/fw-knots/messages?msg=9255.1Congratulations, looks like quite a machine. You may not think so, but I'll bet Mel could find some Rocket Science in it.Dan
HOW STRANGE! I looked for this TODAY and found it as my Grandbaby girl was sleeping on my lap!Must have been my guardian angel! True and no BS here..
Wow! I use my Kreg K2000 all the time! It does have fidely parts for it, but Kreg addressed that with their newer model.
Hey, you should see my use of the K2000 on the entry of my natural gas pipe into the house! Made some boards to exactly fit the pipe, screwed 'em together, then screwed them between two studs.
I love it.
BEST: I'm completely happy with my Delta 8" jointer, the 3 HP General table saw, and the little Delta 13" two-speed planer. Close seconds would be my homemade crosscut sleds and router table and fences.
BEST HAND TOOLS: 1) 6" ruler (from Lee Valley); 2) engineers square (from Lee Valley); 3) my dad's old Record jack plane.
WORST: 1) Mortising attachment for drill press--sold it without using it; 2) "Sander Sitter" --I have to wait until the sander is pretty much stopped before setting it down, so I never use the special "sitter"; 3) centering punch for marking the center of hinge holes--it has so much leeway that I can do better my eye.
When I look in the local paper for second-hand machines and tools, most people are selling Craftsman--which reminds me that I maybe should have listed my old Craftsman contractors saw and its replacement as well--the bearings went in no time at all.
I've enjoyed this thread.
Jim Bell
I don't have anything against Kreg at all. I just bought more than I needed. You know the feeling, you stare at the packaging, see all the gadgets and you are so busy OOOing and AAAing that you don't think, "Do I really need all this?" I've tried since then to control myself a little better.
I use the Kreg mini quite a bit. Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
are u willing to sell ur kreg 2000?
WCI tried emailing you about this, and it bounced back. Yes, I would sell it to you. Email me and let's talk it over. [email protected] Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
Best money spent, furnituremaking education the best deal was $20 for a month long tools and techniques course at College of the Redwoods in Fort Bragg CA
worst, I think most of thes hI've either forgotten or thrown away but I do remember the ryobi detail sander I couldn't away.
Tom
Best? LN dovetail saw.
Worst...mortising attachment for the drill press.
All ,
Besides my FWW subscription and marriage license of course ,,,,
I'd also have to say my first Biesmeyer fence purchased about 25 years ago was long overdue and well worth every cent a thousand times over .
The worst , was a brand new 4x24 Milwaukee (sp) belt sander 20 years ago I paid well over $300 and it never was worth more than a small anchor . I tried to get the machine serviced but it was never workable . To this day I will not buy that brand of anything .This was a new and improved version of the old bullet proof original models that still run to this day .
if it's not broken don't try and fix it better
dusty
i felt i had to reply to your message. not every manufacturer is going to make the best tool in every category. to refuse to buy milwaukee because they make a crappy belt sander ( which is something i agree with) is kinda silly. milwaukee makes the best drills, drywall guns, recip saws and circular saws. porter cable makes the best routers, the best biscuit joiner for the money and decent cordless drills. hitachi makes the best nailers and staplers i have found. i'm not limiting myself to one manufacturer, they all have different strengths and weaknesses. that's all.
Hiya mytulpa ,
They also used to make a decent router , however when a company will not stand behind or replace defective product within reason (in this case the machine was a few weeks new) I should have been given a new sander or a refund without spending 50 hours on the phone .
The customer service was non existent and 20 years ago $350 plus dollars was then at the top of the price range for belt sanders , if not above .
As with many brands the last time I looked , much of their product is assembled in China .
I know the Hole Hog and Reciprocating saw and Drill motors were notoriously good , but what if you got a lemon like I did ? The belt sander is no longer part of the line to my knowledge , now there must be a darn good reason why they would completely drop a tool that before that time was as good as they got !
If you know more then I do on the subject , please enlighten me / us .
dusty
so the issue you have is not with the tool, but with the company, which is not unreasonable, but i think you should have mentioned that. i've never had to call milwaukee, so i don't know what they're like to deal with. i generally find people very helpful and eager to sort out problems, but once in a while for sure you encounter an idiot. i usually find them at the homeless depot.
mytulpa ,
You asked was the issue with the tool ? or the company ?
Well , the tool was never correct after they came out with this improved version , the belt tracking system was flawed at best . The bearings burnt out immediately , and there was problems with the dust collection bag and location.
The only other belt sander at the time worthy of commercial / industrial use , that I was aware of was the Rockwell freight train belt sander . Heck my old Craftsmen brand sander gave me better service ,Looking back at that time if I knew then what I knew now I would have got the Rockwell , incidentally that's what I use even though they are out of production .
I generally will not single out any brand and rag on them and that was not my intention in my original post . After paying what we all considered good money for a top of the line tool , not a bargain basement tool and price I was and am still upset that the Mother company fully knowing that the new belt sander was junk did not refund mine and any others who complained (maybe there were some good ones , but to this day I have not heard of any) the worst part imo is they continued to sell the faulty machines with no fix in sight , that could be considered very poor business practice if not out right fraudulent and misleading to say the least .
I want my money back or some replacement tools I could at least use , then I would not have issues on this matter .Maybe we could call the customer service desk for a quick fix , wouldn't that be nice , but if they weren't willing to do it then why would they do it now ?
Sorry no more of that brand will be recommended or purchased by me .
regards dusty
Gettin Ther.
No doubt, my 20 inch Grizzly planer has been the best purchase. shove butt ugly dirty grey wood thru it and watch beautiful wood come out the other end.. finding burls fiddleback crotch wood and all sorts of fanatasic character that I never imagined was in the wood..
My worst a dovetail jig which has yet to produce an acceptable dovetail
Best:
Learning how to sharpen and use a hand scraper. A simple rectangle of steel is my favorite tool.
Worst:
Tompson's water seal product. Pure junk!
Best is my Festool saw and rail.
.
Worst was my 5hp Delta shaper that I used maybe 6 times for a total of 3 hours.
"I never met a man who didn't owe somebody something."
BEST: Powermatic spiral cut 16" planer I picked up on closeout for $800. It's belt driven and it's a lot quieter than my 12" portable planer.
WORST: Sanding Sitter for my random orbital sander. Worst $20 I ever spent. Sander won't sit still on it and falls off unless it comes to a complete halt deeming the thing useless.
Edited 9/18/2007 8:22 am ET by mvflaim
Best...Festool 55 saw and rail.. Powermatic 64A saw is close behind.
Worst.. Dewalt 12 1/2 " surface planer.
"Worst.. Dewalt 12 1/2 " surface planer."
Oops! I just bought one used . . . the DW734. Same one?
Gettin'I'm not sure of the model #. It was the older 12 1/2". Not the one with the dust blower.
I couldn't get one to last more than a year or so. Tried twice since I had $ invested in 3 sets of blades.. The unit would get warm and shut off if I planed more that 30 min. Now I have the Makita, and like it so far. Though it's not perfect either. At least it runs.
Are you using an extension cord? If so, get a heavier one, like 10-12 AWG.
"I cut this piece four times and it's still too short."
Nope, No extension cord.. Straight to the outlet. I bought 2 of those units.. Both had a short life. I didn't beat them either. I hope other folks have better luck with the Dewalt products. But there won't be one in my shop for a very long time.
I've had my 734 about 6 years now, and I only had one problem. The bearings on the feed rollers are pretty soft, so I had to replace them once so far. Other than that, the thing just keeps going and going. I ran 25 bf of white oak through mine last month w/o any problem, with the thing running over an hour at a shot.
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
best: mahogany, walnut, oak, jatoba, katalox . . .worst: probably that contractors saw, or a house without a detached garage . . .
Best: Tuition I paid (I think it was $25) to take a woodworking class in a local restored village (Old Economy) museum's woodshop. I was 19 or 20 yrs old at the time, and I discovered old hand tools and learned how to use 'em. I ended up teaching in the shop later.
Worst: A mortising attachment for my drill press, now converted to an expensive paperweight.
Mike Hennessy
Pittsburgh, PA
Best power tool: SawStop
Best Hand tool: Marcou S20 smoothing plane
Best money spent not on tools: 5 day course on using hand tools at the Marc Adams Woodworking school
Worst: a Craftsman dovetail jig for around 200 bucks that I've had two years and never used.
Noviceneil
Uh, did the hand tool class (best money) have anything to do with causing your DT jig (worst money) to languish unused?
Mike HennessyPittsburgh, PA
Hmmm, I think I see the connection...yep, that would be the reason...I like the look, feel and sense of accomplishment I get from hand cutting them...plus I've sunk so much money in good chisels I feel like I need to use them ("see honey, I really did need that set of Blue Spruce to make these fine dovetails...you remember how bad those first dovetails were BEFORE you bought me this set of new chisels"
Neil, ever so sly chiseler
Best: $400 for enough Cherry to keep me busy for a year.
Worst: All that money I spent on cheap (new) hand tools before I knew where to find quality hand tools...
Best: Left tilting 3hp Unisaw with a Biesmeyer fence, followed closely by a Performax 37" double drum sander and a line boring machine.
Worst: hmmm... I tend to buy as needed so nothing stands out.
Bruce
My best: Ridgid TablesawMy Worst: Compucarve
"My Worst: Compucarve"
Did you sell it?Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
gillwright, what don't you like about your Compucarve? Are there limitations to it?
mike
Best: Festool 55 saw and rail. Simply amazing.
Worst: Porter Cable circular saw. So out of alignment and such a loose arbor I'm surprised some injury didn't come out of using it. Got rid of it and got the Festool. The first time I used the Festool I never felt better about parting with my money.
Speaking of festool I saw the mortiser were instead of a slot it cuts a full mortise. Has anyone bought or used this. And would it not take the place of two machines.
Best machine tool: Scheppach 10" planer/thicknesser (jointer/planer in American). It turns ugly (but free) scrap stuff into beautiful planks of exotic timber, saving a fortune.
Worst machine tool: as someone else mentioned, the mortising attachment for a drill press. (Although Ray Pine's works).
Best handtool: a case of measuring instruments for only $70: vernier, steel rules, micrometer, engineer's squares and so forth. They enable precision to be got, specially when using handtools (machines are already precise). I use them a hundred times per project.
Worst handtool: those Record, Anant and similar planes (and one or two other tool-types) made down-to-a-price/cost, in the last few decades.
Best overal tool (price not considered): Marcou planes. They are beautiful, will last forever and work superbly. They also seem the best value of the many handmade high end metal planes now available in the market.
Lataxe
OK if you laugh..
AT the time I had limited money to spend and I got a RIDGID TS and their 6" jointer.
I for one have NOT regretted it. I want a 'true' TS but every time I look or use a 'true' TS (on occasion) I cannot tell the difference in how the cut turns out... OK, I'm not trying to cut something a 5HP motor is needed for.
I hall my saw out onto the driveway over a bump and some brick pavers almost everyday.. Unless it's raining.. The only thing that ever went out of adjustment was the fence and that was when I dropped it!
I never use a dado set on the saw (I always use my routers) so I have no idea if my saw has the dado problem. I have one of the first ones.
OK, so I don't use the jointer everyday.. But it gets sticks flat!
That said.. I'd sure 'LOVE' one of them European BIG BUCKS saws!
Worst Money You Ever Spent? My wife's funeral.. She was my sweetheart and best friend!
As far as tools go.. Worst would have been a craftsman mortise cutter for a drill press! OK I got sooo... many I had to go back to the first BAD purchase! I still remember that and I think it was about 1964!
Worst money: Port-Cable 890 series plunge router. 'really POS; based on internet reviews, mine is not unique. Recently got a DW618 kit, which has a wonderful plunge base, based on the legendary DW621.
I understand PC will be switching over to a DW618-type plunge base (e.g., same ining in gray instead of yellow), but those of us stuck with the old plunge base have been dealing with its sloppy, wobbly performance. Of course PC says on their service FAQ's that "all plunge routers do that", which make you wonder why they change.
Best power tool: Either my Unisaw (5 HP w. Biesemeyr fence), or what the kids call "dad's 1000 lb. thing", my Grizzly G9860ZX 12" spiral-head jointer. I grin when I turn on either of them.
Best hand tool: Buying the very last Record 52 1/2 ED vice that my local retailer had in stock. The made-in-India and made-in-China versions available now just aren't the same.
Edited 9/19/2007 4:58 pm by BarryO
Best: Incra 6 and 12 inch T squares.
Worst: Mortiser for XSD planer-thicknesser not because it doesn't work. It works great,but, because I never use it since I do mostly hand tool work now and don't make a lot of furniture.
Worst: You know the little $89.95, 8 inch table saw Sears sold years ago. It had metal legs and every time I shoved a board into it I had to pick it up of the floor. I left that puppy at my dads house collecting dust.
Best: My new Craftsman 10in cabinet saw. This belt driven 350 pound monster will eat a treated 2X as fast as you can shove it in Also, this was not bought instead built but an dedicated outfeed table WOW waht an investment.
Worst is a tie between PC detail sander and the infamous Wagner Power Painter. Both complete and utter wastes of time, space, money, etc, etc.
Best probably Starrett squares or Hock replacement irons for my hand planes.
-Paul
PaulI know what you mean about the Wagner Power Painter. Before our son was born, I was rebuilding the cradle that was in my wife's family for years. I bought the Wagner to put a nice paint finish on it--after I thinned the paint down enough to the recommendations, the thing froze up, but only after splattering big globs of paint all over the piece. After taking it apart and cleaning it about 5 times, I put it on the shelf, and there it sits to this day. I think I'll put it out with the morning trash! Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
To ctsjr82 and DonC,
I returned the stupid sprayer without cleaning it I was so mad!! They had those old TV commercials that make the thing look like such a pleasure to use. Boy, they were WAY off. The giant blobs of paint that randomly eject from the nozzle were the best.
-Paul
Or worst! Tom"Notice that at no time do my fingers leave my hand"
I was using a Wagner sprayer to apply Thompson's water seal to cyprus house siding and it caught on fire!
By the way, Thompson's water seal is the most overrated product. It only protected for 6 months. I used the same product on my garage floor and it only lasted about 3 months.
Don
Worst: rotary laser.
Best: CAD package
Pardon my spelling,
Mike
Make sure that your next project is beyond your skill and requires tools you don't have. You won't regret it.
Best money spent: Minimax MM16 Bandsaw, can't imagine life before it came along...what's blade drift?
Worst money spent? The old Grizzly 14" bandsaw and all the crap I bought to try and make it work!
Jeff
Best purchase - my General table saw. Switching from my noisy, vibrating contractors saw to this cabinet saw was like switching from an old noisy WW II plane to a modern, quiet jet.Worst Purchase - scroll saw. When I first got into woodworking I decided I needed something to make quick, short cuts but I couldn’t afford a band saw. - Scroll saws are lousy for cutting anything but thin wood. I guess we all live and learn and waste money along the way.
Regarding Scrollsaws...
I was buying a bandsaw at a wood show last year, while I was waiting to pick it up I got talking to another guy. The guy was clearly brand new to woodworking, just wanted to build something but didn't know what. "Maybe a kitchen table..." When his order came out it was a brand new Dewalt Scrollsaw, as he left he said "Best deal at the show..."
A year later I wonder if the guy still thinks it was the 'best deal'.
I suspect a lot of woodworking rookies have made the mistake of thinking a scroll saw is a versatile tool, when in fact just the opposite is true. I bought mine years ago because it was cheap and I thought it would cut everything.
Scroll saws are lousy for cutting anything but thin wood ..Damn! And here I thought that was what they were made for?
Live and learn is my motto!
Best: The money I kept in my pocket passing by all the Wood-o-matic products seen at the Woodworking Shows (Wonder vices, tile cutters, drills that drill through files and brake rotors, gizmo sharpeners, etc. They slice, they dice, they make cole slaw by the bushel)
Worst: Any cheap tool that did not work well, wasn't sharp, can't be adjusted right and ended up either breaking or getting tossed into a drawer and never used again. When I was 20 (1971), a mechanic at the place I had a summer job took me under his wing and told me to don't buy cheap tools -- they don't work right. Buy good tools and you'll never have to replace them. Every one of the handful of times I've neglected this advice, I am reminded just how right he was.
Best: The money I kept in my pocket passing by all the Wood-o-matic products .. LOL.. GREAT POST FOR ME!I thought of the 'Bass O' Matic' as seen on Saturday Night Live long ago....
Best: Every time I buy a new box of 'vinyl examination gloves' I smile. I never liked finishing because of the clean up. But now, I glaze, stain and dye with impunity. (Big word!) No mess on my hands - just throw the gloves away.
Worst: Lee Valley dovetail thingamabob with a magnet to hold the saw at the right angle. It is far simpler to practice and learn the right way to cut them.
Frosty
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." And what if the Early worm was a BIG SNAKE!
The best purchase Iv'e made has been the investment of wood/time to make a work bench that's flat square and solid!
The worst a craftsman dial wobble dado that broke the second time I used it! (wont buy sears stuff no more if I can help it!!!)
Wow. Tough question. I love almost all of my tools as I put a lot of thought into purchasing each of them. Favorites: can't pick one. Will pick a few: domino is fabulous; fractional/digital caliper; pin nailer.
Worst tool purchase: after at least 10 minutes of thought, can't name one purchase which I really regret. Of course I have replaced starter tools with professional grade tools, but I don't regret the starters I purchased at the time or the better tools I now have.
What do I really want? am waiting to upgrade my Jet contractor saw, probably with a grizzly 1023. The damn jet works great but I hate the fence.
PMM
Worst tool purchase: after at least 10 minutes of thought, can't name one purchase which I really regret. Of course I have replaced starter tools with professional grade tools, but I don't regret the starters I purchased at the time or the better tools I now have.
Don't worry we wont tell your family... Or is this like saying "I don't regret anything I've done because it's made me who I am?" :)
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