Along the lines of the previous discussion, let’s try this. Out of all your tools what is the tool you would have the hardest time doing without, and yes you can get sentimental.
Probably one of the best decisions i ever made was to get the Portable Sawhelper Ultrafence chopsaw stand that is advertised in FHB all the time. After building a couple of my own and struggling with jobsite quickies it is actually a pleasure to set this system up. I have it with a DeWalt 12″ slider and it is rock solid. The setup is very fast and the adjustibility to rough terrain makes life so easy. And they will give you whatever lengths you want for the left and right tables. I have mine with an 8′ left of the blade and a 4′ to the right. It doesn’t look like much in the ad but it is of very high quality.
Replies
My utility knife. Was GrandPa's......every now and then I "lose" it and the world comes to a screeching halt as I tear up the job site and the van looking for it.......usually find it on a window sill or some place equally obvious.
Just feels right...and comes with good karma. On a bad day....I can use all the help GrandPa can send!
One time.......a helper dude from another crew tried to walk off with my tool belt........which was holding the knife........aside from being packed with lotsa other hand tools.........I never ran so fast and threw such a big guy against a wall in my life......all I could see was that knife walking away. It was the begining of a big job...so I couldn't kill him right on the spot.....but the message got thru and he didn't get within a floor of me and GrandPa's knife for thr rest of the job!
About 20 yrs and counting! Jeff
"That's like hypnotizing chickens........."
funny about the utility knife...is yours a knife knife Jeff or a utility/retractable-blade knife. recently I've had a couple of Stanley quick-change super-transformer knives but I keep reaching for the orange Lutz.
funny about the Lutz too. I'd have to say that and my flat bar are among my indispensable tools. the hair raises on the back of my neck when I don't have that flat bar in sight. most knives don't have the weight of the Lutz.
...and BOTH knife and flat bar came from my first, shady, take-the-money-and-run boss!
I got the good tools though...
chrs, GO
yeh the flat bar is up there among the greats. But I start sweating it when I can't find my old nippers with the chipped worn orange paint. Never thought much about the tool till I started using it to pull and snip nails and such and now it gets used on about every job.With its tension and leverage no nail is safe.
Knife's a fixed blade. Only way to fly.
I have a few retractable's in the van...but those only get used on jobs where I think I'll be sticking the knife back into my pocket.
Jeff "That's like hypnotizing chickens........."
my mind is my most indispensable tool
I can use it to figure out workarounds and solve problems.
It's subject to abuse though because the guys are fetting to where they just save the hard ones for me to solve.
LOL
my mind is my most indispensable tool
me too....unfortunately,it has been dulled from too many years of abuse...what the heck was I thinking?
my mind is my most indispensable tool
and it took too many years to realize it!Excellence is its own reward!
I have to agree .........after that my hands .......... still have all my digits- some of that is luck; wasn't always safety minded in my youth. The good days I can work with anyone; the bad days and the blasted #!&* arthritis kicks in, I think an 80 yr old could run rings around me. The mind and some school have kept me working when the ole' body wasn't willing.
In order of importance <G>;
Fork
Sledgehammer
Calculator
Computer
Porta-Toilet
Dumpster
Bookeeper/Accountant
Telephone
Gangbox full of tools
Truckbox full of tools
Garage full of tools
Bottle Opener
Cooler
Nail bags
6" scale
Try square
Level (24", 48" and torpedo) Darkworksite4: When the job is to small for everyone else, Its just about right for me"
Tri-sguare that belonged to my grandfather. It doesn't leave the shop anymore, and if I misplace it there, the world stops turning untill I find it. I can fust barely see the lines on it, and absolutley no name. It has consistantly checked square agianst a machinest squre for the 30 plus years I have had it. The squaring head rides in a slot in the middle of the blade. Loosen the head and pivot it aound the end for short or long sribes or square use.
Now if I ever find the guy that stole the 12 oz. Bluegrass trim hammer that was also given to me by my grandfather, his world will stop turning.
Dave
HAMMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Because if you guys where next to me I could have all your tools.
Good answer Piffin! Your years of experience are showing here... Second to the mind would be my hands which include, yes, all ten of my digits because my first tool is still working quite well...
Well, you're absolutely right about the mind, which of course is also the most important sex organ...........And then the ol' fingers, which have become even more important for me since the loss of my eye. I need to touch things more since I can't rely as much on my eyesight.
Got to thinkin' about tools and realized that I use this Swiss Army Tinker throughout each day.
Ken Hill
When I saw you talking about the mind and fingers being sex organs, I had to look again to see if you were a woman! LOL
A couple of my digits have been sewed back on but not my Bobbit, it's still intact.
Excellence is its own reward!
I like MY favorite tool so much I'm buildin" a shed over it!
TLayers
Onions
Have
Layers,
Carpenters
Have
Layers
Besides thos God gave me, My Swiss Army knife. At the end of the day it has a bottle opener and corkscrew.
Will
The old Delta Unisaw -- versatile, precise, and a lot more powerful than you'd expect from the 1 HP indicated on the motor. My grandfather bought it, probably before WWII.
-- J.S.