Tools that you can't stand?

[Geoff Simpson]

In every shop there's a tool...No, not the person working in the shop, the actual tool itself.....and that tool, in that shop...is a hated tool. 

 

You see, It doesn't matter how expensive or new that tool is, or how shiny or sharp you keep it.  It doesn't even matter what colour or what brand it is.  You simply just...hate it.

 

For me, it's the Jig Saw.  And not just "A" jigsaw...THE jigsaw.  I've owned several.  From cheapy little black and decker toss-away's to mid-line Ridgid's and Dewalts, to higher end Bosch barrel grips and what have you.  I've spent countless dollars, on countless tools, making countless cuts for countless hours....and i've come to a conclusion.......

 

I hate Jig saws.

[Roy Moses]

Lowell D Sites said:

My favorite tool to hate is a stainless steel Shop Vac, of the best grade. It has great vacum, nice accessories, and does a great jop wet, or dry, and looks great, but, the steering system is suspect. It has three wheels, two large rear stationary wheels, one small front swivel wheel, and a beautiful stainless steel steering handle, that it is inpossable to steer the brute with. It staunchly resists any attempt to be moved in any direction, but up or down, and I have been tempted to test the down direction by throwing it down a flight of stairs, but, I suspect the hose would snag on something on the way down and keep it from going down.

Lowell Sites

[Roy Moses]

I am not familiar with the stainless steel shop vac, but if nothing else you might do on purpose  what  I did by accident on my last move — lose the hoses. It has been two years since I moved to my present residence and I still haven’t used my shop vac because I haven’t four the hose, tools, etc. I figure if I go ahead and buy a replacement the old one will turn up, so that may have  to be my strategy. If all else fails, use a bigger hammer.

Roy Moses said:

Lowell D Sites said:

My favorite tool to hate is a stainless steel Shop Vac, of the best grade. It has great vacum, nice accessories, and does a great jop wet, or dry, and looks great, but, the steering system is suspect. It has three wheels, two large rear stationary wheels, one small front swivel wheel, and a beautiful stainless steel steering handle, that it is inpossable to steer the brute with. It staunchly resists any attempt to be moved in any direction, but up or down, and I have been tempted to test the down direction by throwing it down a flight of stairs, but, I suspect the hose would snag on something on the way down and keep it from going down.

Lowell Sites

[Gregory Stanley]

My least favorite tool was by far the radial arm saw I purchased many years ago and got rid of after a few years in favor of a good table saw.  The saw was used in my unattached, unheated and uncooled garage.  Seems like every time I wanted to use it the wood table had warped and I had to spend and hour or more leveling the table and squaring it with the saw blade. Sometimes the table was as much as .020 or .030 inches out of flat and/or square.  I could never make the over arm square with the fence.  The closest I could get to a square cut was still .010 to .015 inches out of square over 12 inches.  When I complained to the salesman who sold me the saw he asked me how many sixteenths of an inch .015 inches was.  He told me that that was why God created moulding.  Guess a toolmaker accustomed to working in tolerances of 1/1000 or 1/10,000 of an inch really should not get too serious about woodworking.

 

In the fifty years or so since then I have mellowed a little and am really beginning to enjoy working with wood again

 

Greg

[terry halstead]

i am not a big fan of them myself. however my least favorite is the router. craftsman , to be specific. i will not use a craftsman power tool. after ruining another piece with that damn thing, i finally had it, and my desire to kill it overcame me and before i threw it in the trash, i beat it beyond recognition.  childish? damn right. did i feel good? better belive it. 

[Gary Gorsich]

Gregory Stanley said:

My least favorite tool was by far the radial arm saw I purchased many years ago and got rid of after a few years in favor of a good table saw.  The saw was used in my unattached, unheated and uncooled garage.  Seems like every time I wanted to use it the wood table had warped and I had to spend and hour or more leveling the table and squaring it with the saw blade. Sometimes the table was as much as .020 or .030 inches out of flat and/or square.  I could never make the over arm square with the fence.  The closest I could get to a square cut was still .010 to .015 inches out of square over 12 inches.  When I complained to the salesman who sold me the saw he asked me how many sixteenths of an inch .015 inches was.  He told me that that was why God created moulding.  Guess a toolmaker accustomed to working in tolerances of 1/1000 or 1/10,000 of an inch really should not get too serious about woodworking.

 

In the fifty years or so since then I have mellowed a little and am really beginning to enjoy working with wood again

 

Greg

[Gary Gorsich]

Greg,

 

I know where you're coming from.  I had a neighbor that was also a woodworking hobyist, but his day job was as a millwright.  Nothing was ever true (square) enough for him.  He would remove his Rip fence and clamp a pieve of 1" angle Iron to a table saw.  Once when checking his Radial arm saw for square, he wound upgetting a milling attachment and installing it in place of the blade on the radial arm saw and milled the surface true.  That way he knew that it was true.  What a perfectionist.  He's in the hospital right now and things don't look good for him.  I'm going to miss his accuracy!

 

[William Steinfeldt]

Next time you see him, tell him that the Community wish him well and my family will keep him in our prayers. Gary Gorsich said:

Greg,

 

I know where you're coming from.  I had a neighbor that was also a woodworking hobyist, but his day job was as a millwright.  Nothing was ever true (square) enough for him.  He would remove his Rip fence and clamp a pieve of 1" angle Iron to a table saw.  Once when checking his Radial arm saw for square, he wound upgetting a milling attachment and installing it in place of the blade on the radial arm saw and milled the surface true.  That way he knew that it was true.  What a perfectionist.  He's in the hospital right now and things don't look good for him.  I'm going to miss his accuracy!

 

[Johnny D. Rich]

My Kreg pocket hole jig is the one I hate the most. I have better luck making pocket holes using a jigsaw.

 

Seriously though, I like most of my tools except for a very simple and old one. It is the dreaded plain slotted screwdriver. It is useful for opening cans of paint and other finishes as well as general prying operations. However when it comes to being used for its intended purpose, it fails. I think those screws are the worst invention ever.

[William Steinfeldt]

I could not help myself, I have a Japanese friend and in his country they are known as plus (phillips) and minus (standard), it does make sense when you look at the working end.

Johnny D. Rich said:

My Kreg pocket hole jig is the one I hate the most. I have better luck making pocket holes using a jigsaw.

 

Seriously though, I like most of my tools except for a very simple and old one. It is the dreaded plain slotted screwdriver. It is useful for opening cans of paint and other finishes as well as general prying operations. However when it comes to being used for its intended purpose, it fails. I think those screws are the worst invention ever.

[Eariyya]

In every shop, there's a tool that's like that elusive scratch on a pristine glass surface. No matter its make or model, that tool seems to bear a unique curse. For me, it's undoubtedly the Jigsaw—the glass in my toolbox that always manages to cast a fractured shadow on my projects. No matter the precision or finesse, that jigsaw never fails to remind me of its vexing nature. It's fascinating how one small piece of equipment can evoke such complex emotions, much like a shard of glass reflecting both frustration and determination in equal measure.