Gadgets worth buying or avoiding!

[Woodchips2]

Anybody interested in a thread about 'Gadgets worth buying or avoiding'?

I've got one gadget that has been worth buying, a Trend drill guide which is a self-centering drill for the accurate drilling of pilot holes for fittings like hinges or castors. It costs about £8 and saves lots of time which could be useful if you hang doors in your business.

There are cheaper copies than Trend on the market but this gadget is well made and I've used it for hundreds of holes.

Keith

 

[marcros]

Can I nominate the incra rules- marking using pencil may not be appropriate for every job, but for those that it is, these are fantastic.

http://www.incra.com/product_bendrules.htm
http://www.incra.com/product_t-rules.htm
http://www.incra.com/product_markingrules.htm

 

[James C]

Can I nominate the incra rules- marking using pencil may not be appropriate for every job, but for those that it is, these are fantastic.

http://www.incra.com/product_bendrules.htm
http://www.incra.com/product_t-rules.htm
http://www.incra.com/product_markingrules.htm

+1 For This

I have a 300mm T-Rule and it is great for marking lines parallel to a board edge and is more accurate than a pencil through a marking gauge.

I also have the 150mm pocket straight rule and is the one I turn to for most jobs as it gives me accurate measurements sighting through the .25mm holes without having to reach for the calipers.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

For me the Japanese Square & Mitre Marking Saddle
http://www.axminster.co.uk/ice-bear-jap ... rod480187/

And the Japanese Try & Mitre Square
http://www.axminster.co.uk/ice-bear-jap ... prod22301/

Are among my most used tools

 

[Yetty]

AVOID: plastic Stanley Trestles Twin Pack - they collapsed !

Need something quickly to support a 3m length of walnut worktop while oiling. So I nipped-out and bought these at screwfix. First-time used and the folding-tie broke, and trestle collaspsed under the weight.
Very disappointed and nearly damaged the worktop. Now held together with baler twine! These trestles gave me a new meaning to 'distress purchase' !

 

[Stormer1940]

AVOID: plastic Stanley Trestles Twin Pack - they collapsed !

Need something quickly to support a 3m length of walnut worktop while oiling. So I nipped-out and bought these at screwfix. First-time used and the folding-tie broke, and trestle collaspsed under the weight.
Very disappointed and nearly damaged the worktop. Now held together with baler twine! These trestles gave me a new meaning to 'distress purchase' !

These are pretty stable and pack up nicely in the back of the van or in workshop.

Stanley folding metal leg trestles. I must have got lucky because I paid £40 for a pair from Exmouth Power Tools.

http://tinyurl.com/bl9dbv6

 

[Yetty]

Those metal legs give me trestle envy!

 

[jimi43]

These little babies...(click pic to go to link)



...were quite expensive when I bought the metal one as an impulse buy at Axminster one visit.

But since getting a sine bar at a bootfair for a quid....I have found so many uses for it I am seriously wondering how I managed without one!

Mine cost me something silly...like £30 but they are on special now and have even more features!

Things to use them for...

1) Tilt gauge for table saw blade bevel angle.

2) Testing accuracy of plane beds when making them

3) Digital winding stick! ( :idea: )

4) Small spirit level...

And the list goes on into your imagination. Buy a pack of those super cheap (£1 per card) packs of batteries again at a bootfair, and you have power for ages.

Wonderful thing.

Jim

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Sorry, but what's a sine bar please?

 

[jimi43]

Sorry, but what's a sine bar please?

Good video here Phil

CLICKITY CLICK

I didn't know what it was either when I got it and neither did the seller but it has two reference surfaces...the rings and the flat plate which are parallel to some silly tolerance...

All I need now is a set of gauge blocks and I am rocking and rolling! #-o

At the moment I use it for a mount for the magnetic angle gauge...a bit of a waste really but it was cheap as chips!

Jim

 

[Grahamshed]

Things to use them for...

4) Small spirit level...

I have spent years looking for a digital spirit level..... wonder if this would work attached to a longer straight edge????

 

[jimi43]

Things to use them for...

4) Small spirit level...

I have spent years looking for a digital spirit level..... wonder if this would work attached to a longer straight edge????

Yes...it's just a reference line.

As long as the edge is straight and flat and preferably metal....

And it acts as an angle gauge too...just zero it on the first edge lift one end until it reaches the angle you need on the gauge.

Oh...and you need an accurate reference surface that is level to zero the gauge first... :wink:

Jim

 

[mailee]

I can definitely say the Hinge Pro is a gadget not worth buying. http://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/%20H ... Hingepro75 i bought one thinking it would save a lot of time when fitting doors...it didn't, it danced about every time you hit it and just chewed up the door edge. Utter rubbish! :evil:

 

[knappers]

Can I nominate the incra rules- marking using pencil may not be appropriate for every job, but for those that it is, these are fantastic.

http://www.incra.com/product_bendrules.htm
http://www.incra.com/product_t-rules.htm
http://www.incra.com/product_markingrules.htm

Looking at the videos, they do indeed look very useful.

I have just ordered the pack of three (bend rule, T rule and straight rule, each in 300mm) from Rutlands for just under £54 delivered.

Thanks

Si.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Sorry, but what's a sine bar please?

Good video here Phil

CLICKITY CLICK

I didn't know what it was either when I got it and neither did the seller but it has two reference surfaces...the rings and the flat plate which are parallel to some silly tolerance...

All I need now is a set of gauge blocks and I am rocking and rolling! #-o

At the moment I use it for a mount for the magnetic angle gauge...a bit of a waste really but it was cheap as chips!

Jim

Good one!...................I bet you don't get the guage blocks for a quid, though!

Phil

 

[jimi43]

......Good one!...................I bet you don't get the guage blocks for a quid, though!

Phil

Care to put a bet on that Phil?

:mrgreen:

Jim

 

[Stormer1940]

Very handy when hanging doors and also have a lots of other uses.

 

[Woodchips2]

I can definitely say the Hinge Pro is a gadget not worth buying. http://www.ffx.co.uk/tools/product/%20H ... Hingepro75 i bought one thinking it would save a lot of time when fitting doors...it didn't, it danced about every time you hit it and just chewed up the door edge. Utter rubbish! :evil:

I watched the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GodN4djwus4 and it would have convinced me to buy it if I had a lot of doors to hang. Shows you can't beat feedback from experienced users!

Many years ago I went to the Ideal Home Exhibition and watched a demo of an auxiliary chuck for your electric drill to drive slotted screws. This was long before Pozidriv or drill drivers had been invented! At the demo the guy was driving 3" screws into softwood and lightweight concrete blocks with no effort at all so I bought one. I couldn't get it to drive any screw at all and it either slipped or you couldn't get it to release the screw head. In the end it went into the bin and I wondered if the demonstrator had an 'engineered' version and the punters had the 'far-east' version.

Regards Keith

 

[James C]

Can I nominate the incra rules- marking using pencil may not be appropriate for every job, but for those that it is, these are fantastic.

http://www.incra.com/product_bendrules.htm
http://www.incra.com/product_t-rules.htm
http://www.incra.com/product_markingrules.htm

Looking at the videos, they do indeed look very useful.

I have just ordered the pack of three (bend rule, T rule and straight rule, each in 300mm) from Rutlands for just under £54 delivered.

Thanks

Si.

In future if you are looking for other Incra items especially single items I found it much cheaper to order from http://www.woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/ than to buy from Rutlands. They also have a much larger selection of the Incra catalogue.

 

[marcros]

Can I nominate the incra rules- marking using pencil may not be appropriate for every job, but for those that it is, these are fantastic.

http://www.incra.com/product_bendrules.htm
http://www.incra.com/product_t-rules.htm
http://www.incra.com/product_markingrules.htm

Looking at the videos, they do indeed look very useful.

I have just ordered the pack of three (bend rule, T rule and straight rule, each in 300mm) from Rutlands for just under £54 delivered.

Thanks

Si.

In future if you are looking for other Incra items especially single items I found it much cheaper to order from http://www.woodworkersworkshop.co.uk/ than to buy from Rutlands. They also have a much larger selection of the Incra catalogue.

Amazon.com is also worth a look- even with shipping and tax