|
I found this very helpful and entertaining thread at SawMillCreek.org on gadget tools. To quote Bill Huber who started the thread "There are a lot if different type gadget tools out there, you know the ones I am talking about. They just are not the tools that you found in a shop a few years ago and they look kind of funny at times...You kind of feel funny when you sucker in and buy one.... but then you find that its a really great thing to have and you like it and use it a lot."
Huber's two favorite gadget tools are:
1. Three Dimensional Square: "I don't use all the features of it but it is so nice to bring lines around a corner and also have the little wing out of the end that helps keep it flat on what ever you are checking."
2. Center Ruler: "I use this little ruler all the the time. Its a good metal ruler for general work but the really nice thing is the centering. Just measure the item and then on the bottom scale go to the same measurement and that is the center, nice and fast."
 And here's the rest of the list:
3. Spring loaded center punch
 4. Transfer Punch Set: If you have ever fiddled around trying to lay out the drilling hole pattern for a bench-mounted vise (or anything else), you know why you need transfer punches. Instead of trying to mark the hole with a pencil (and getting it almost right), you just put one of these hardened punches in the hole and tap it to transfer the exact hole center to the material to be drilled.
5. Incra 3" Tiny T-Rule: Precision-engineered marking tools; between the 3", 6" & 12". Out of the ones I have the 3" gets far more use than the others.
 6. Jim Kountz admitted to: "Well for me its a (gulp) Kreg Master Jig . I would be one to rant and rave about them being cheesy cheater ways of joining wood. I fought gallantly for the Mortise and tenon over pocket screws. Then...........I bought the Kreg Master Kit. Whoo Boy was I ever wrong!! I love this thing, I still go traditional for some things but for face frames on kitchen cabinets and such its the berries man, great tool!"
 7. Brass setup bars: Allow you to accurately set depth of cut, Fence to cutter distance, material thickness and more without using calipers or tape measure.
 8. GripMaster: now called a Z-Vise: You can use it for holding all kinds of things, from small items to, as they said in the infomercials years ago, something as big as a mast. I bought one of these at a garage sale for $10. It is useful at $10 but just plain expensive at $400.
9. Bar Gauges: I have a couple sets of different lengths of bar gauges. Easy to make and they work exactly as advertised. A great way to check square, especially those of us who occasionally mis-read a tape measure, and very useful for getting an inside measurement.  They have two primary purposes, comparing measurements (such as ensuring equal diagonals in drawers or carcasses to guarantee squareness) and transferring measurements. Any time you can transfer a dimension directly, without converting it into numbers, you avoid a primary source of error.
10. Hot Glue Gun: Chip Madeley from MadeleyInteriors.com says, "I use it to stick delicate trim pieces of trim or closet cleatings to a wall. The hot glue holds the piece instantly while the construction adhesive dries."
Newer news items:
Older news items:
Trackback(0)
 |
TrackBack URI for this entry
