Rate your Tools

[Jens]

"Good sized, not much taper, and straight, and I'm sure they're pretty tight-grained."

are you talking about the logs, or the lump of meat  between his ears?

I would have to say that motivation is my least expendable tool.

[rick91351]

My Little Giant Ladder.  Only ladder I ever had that I feel safe on.

[glenn kangiser]

Good sized, not much taper, and straight, and I'm sure they're pretty tight-grained.  My woodlots are mostly Doug fir, with some Ponderosa pine, larch,  red cedar and red alder, with occasional Oregon ash. My son laughed after we got the mill, saying he's never looked at trees the same way anymore...Just go Hmmmm.... How many 2x's in that one??

They are pretty tight and pretty wet for the most part so they cut well. 

My buddy told me the same thng... once you own a sawmill you will never look at trees the same way.

Fortunately I have a pretty tight leather hat to keep that lump of meat together, Jens.

It is really hard to rate your tools as most valuable when there is so much interdependence - all of mine seem to be most valuable at one time or another -

[glenn kangiser]

hmm couldn't do without.... I don't think I have that one yet as I usually try to keep two or three ways to do things.

This week it was the Bobcat to move the logs as the trailer was on the truck and it was too muddy for the forklift.  I need 'em all.   

[Jens]

on second thought, I think my sense of humor is the one tool I could not do without.

[NM_Shooter]

I've seen this here before, but as with any tool thread it is good to get our terminology and use straight:


TOOL DICTIONARY

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal
bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings
your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had
carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the
workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned
calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh sh --'

SKILL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of
blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor
touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board
principle... It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable
motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal
your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads.
If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense
welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting on fire various
flammable objects in your shop. Also handy for igniting the grease inside
the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood
projectiles for testing wall integrity.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after
you have installed your new brake shoes, trapping the jack handle firmly
under the bumper.

BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut
good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash
can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of
everything you forgot to disconnect.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or
for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your
shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips
screw heads.

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans. Sometimes used to
convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your
palms.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket
you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short.

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used
as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard
cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents
such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector
magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for
slicing work clothes, but only while in use.

Son of a bitch TOOL: Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the
garage while yelling 'Son of a bitch' at the top of your lungs. It is also,
most often, the next tool that you will need.

[MushCreek]

I've had a number of good tools for many years- Milwaukee corded drills, Bosch jigsaw, Milwaukee SawzAll. I fairly recently bought a Ridgid table saw, and a Ridgid 12" sliding miter saw. So far, they are excellent. I need a few more pieces before I start my house. I need a decent circular saw, and some nail guns. Probably a cordless drill and a driver to match. Any recommendations? I have a Milwaukee cordless, but the batteries go permanently dead in a year or so. Now I'm thinking Li-Ion. From what I've read, I'm leaning towards a top-of-the-line Makita.

[rwanders]

Circular saw---SKIL Model 77 worm drive. The "Mag" model is also good and a little lighter. (unless you prefer "sidewinders") Ryobi cordless tools come highly recommended by many---some previous posts in this thread have specific makes and models noted.

[glenn kangiser]

I've had a number of good tools for many years- Milwaukee corded drills, Bosch jigsaw, Milwaukee SawzAll. I fairly recently bought a Ridgid table saw, and a Ridgid 12" sliding miter saw. So far, they are excellent. I need a few more pieces before I start my house. I need a decent circular saw, and some nail guns. Probably a cordless drill and a driver to match. Any recommendations? I have a Milwaukee cordless, but the batteries go permanently dead in a year or so. Now I'm thinking Li-Ion. From what I've read, I'm leaning towards a top-of-the-line Makita.

I am sure I put 10 years of use on my Makita 18v XLTs this year drilling thousands of 5/8 holes 6 inches deep in doug-fir and 3/4 hammer drill holes in 1"thick hard  stucco.  I used two of the 325 foot lb xlt 1/2 inch impacts without failure to install the 3/4 x 6 lags in the appx 2000 holes.  I burned up one drill but abused it so bad I felt bad about them giving me free warrenty replacement on it.  They also replaced a jammed drill chuck with a free new drill during the first few months.

The XLTs with the 3 amp hour batteries will last long enough to do real work that I would normally have had to use corded tools and a 3hp compressor for.  I saved enough in labor over the last year to pay for the tools in full and then some due to no set up and tear down as well as no need for a generator and power cords.  I have 8 batteries and 3 chargers keeping them charging off of a larger inverter on the truck. 

The cheapest way to get batteries and chargers is in a spare kit with extra tools, or online.  Get genuine Makita.  The Chinese import replacement batteries die in a short time.  No Makita battery failures yet.

Frank - I have quite a few of the SOB tools and some #$%$&XXX&!%$% tools also. 

[Sassy]

    Frank, that was really funny!  I thought of another use for the utility knife - cutting through skin!  Seen a lot of that in the ER 

[Yonderosa]

"These are a few of my favorite things"

Skil 5-1/2" trim saw.  I've used it for framing since 1992.  Light, rugged (will last about 6 houses if not subjected to lots of rain or dropped...) and runs well off even a small generator.  It won't do the 45 degree compound rafter cuts but for everything else it works just fine.  For I joists and 6x beam stock I use a larger 8-1/4" Skil worm drive.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00912700000P?vName=Tools&cName=Portable+Power+Tools&sName=All+Corded+Power+Tools

I also like Speed Squares, big 12" size and the smaller pouch side.  Great saw guides.  Stanley makes one with an adjustable angle I like for rafters.

Hart Decker hammer.  On my 3rd or 4th handle now.  Still have two in reserve.  Use it for finish, demo and framing.

Honda EU2000 generator.  Overachiever, quiet and easy on fuel.

Stanley Measuring tapes.  Longest lasting tape I've found. 

Hitachi framing gun.  Had mine for nearly 20 years now.  Framed dozens of homes with it.  Still going strong.

I like the Stanley utility knives best.  Seem to open easier with cold hands.  I like changing blades without tools too.

Misc in my bags are nail sets, pencils, sharpie, quality pliers, cats paw, quality 1" chisel and quality 4x screw driver.  Add a good quality extension cord and a quality cordless drill (I've had best luck with Milwaukee and Makita products) and I can tackle a majority of what I need to do.