I have a set of chisels from Harbor Freight that I beat the HELL out of. They hold ridiculously well. On the rare occasion that I Knick one, I don't hesitate to throw it on the bench grinder. I saw the same chisel set for $8 at HF last month. If I ever need to replace one, I won't hesitate to buy another set.

ALL my clamps are cheapos from HF as well. They work GREAT, and by picking them up for next to nothing, I was able to buy lots. I rarely need more clamps than I have.

I'm not quite so enamored of my cheap old Skil plunge router. It was a gift from my wife, so it has sentimental value, and it DOES get the job done, but MAN, I can't wait til I can afford a decent router!

 

Preface: I have nearly total redundancy in my shop of small and large, cheap and better (and in some cases antique). So I have a choice. This list are those choices that are contrary to "quality" and/or even logic.

1. Tape Measure. I have Fastcap and FatMax and Kobalt, but I seem to always grab the 12 ft. Komelon Self Lock. It fits in my pants pocket, is accurate and it has the self lock feature.

2. Router. I have DeWalt trim router, Ryobi plunge router, Triton table mounted and a Craftsman Table Mounted with soft start. I use the Craftsman at least 80% of the time. Router Table. I have a nearly new RT1000 XL from Nova Scotia, then I have a Craftsman on a stand (table height a whopping 45" high). The Craftsman holds the router that gets over 80% of the action.

3. Circular Saw. I have a Skil corded 7 1/4", a Craftsman corded 7 1/4", and two Craftsman C3 5 1/4" (one with a plywood / laminate blade and the other with a combination blade. The C3 with the comb. blade wins.

4. Pad Sander. I have Craftsman corded and C3, Porter Cable corded, and Skil corded. The Craftsman C3 gets 95% of the go to.

5. Belt Sander. I have a Milwaukee corded, then Craftsman corded (2). The Craftsman that is the oldest and without the extended nose (for getting under cabinet toekick overhangs) is the choice (except when I need to get under toekicks).

6. Sawzall. I have a Ridgid corded, a Craftsman corded, and a Craftsman C3. The C3 almost always is the one I grab.

7. Multi-tool. I have the Dremel Multi-Max corded and a Craftsman corded. I go back and forth depending on the blades I have or don't have at the time. However, I consider them equal and usually get Craftsman blades (cost less).

8. Planer. I have Stanley planes (too many), Craftsman corded and Craftsman C3. Craftsman C3 almost 100% of the time.

9. Chisels. I have several Kobalts, a set of Stanley 60's and a set of Neiko's. The Neiko's are keeping the others in the drawer.

10. Jig Saw. I have a Bosch corded, a corded Craftsman with scroll feature, and a Craftsman C3 with laser. The C3 gets 100% of the action.

 

I'm still a woodworker wannabe, but my old Craftsman table saw seems to get it done, it is perfectly true rightout of the box. We'll see what happens when I start working more and bigger hardwoods?

 

David - what you listed was really what I was after…those tools, while supposedly of inferior quality, still are our tried-and-true go to tools … even when whe have the supposedly "better" ones

or those of supposedly of inferior quality that because they "just get the job done" we just don't see the need to buy their "better".

 

Don't know that I can think of 10, but here are a few:

- I have a cheap Japanese style saw from the borg that I reach for a lot of times when I want a quick clean cut and it does a respectable job.

- Also, I use my cheap set of chisels more often than my good set, on things like glue scraping, etc.

- I bought a set of junky machinist style squares for 2.99 that test out dead accurate, and I use them to set-up tools (although they get a lot less play now that I have a Wixey digital angle gauge).

- I have a nice set of hand planes, but the one that I probably use the most is a cheap box store Stanley block plane that performs really well.

- PVC dust collection rather than the far more expensive metal. No, never had a shock.

- I use cheap router bits from MLCS and never had a problem.

- I used a low end junky drill press for over a decade that met my needs fine until I finally upgraded it. It worked fine but I couldn't stand to look at it.

- Before I got into woodworking I bought the cheapest belt sander I could find; Skill 3×18. I have since upgraded to a monster PC, but I still use the skill for tasks that require using it vertically or other situations where the weight of the PC becomes a negative, and the Skill is a light and easy to handle.

 

I tend to grab my ryobi 1 1/4 hp, 1/4" collet router. I use it more than my lot nicer PC, and my Freud ( I would assume also nicer, but still in the box) 2+ hp routers with multiple collets and soft start feature. Gonna have to work on that. I also will grab my OEM ridgid miter gauge, even though I have a nicer incra. I tend to use my cheap chisels more often, because I may be a chisel abuser. So I am not scared to bang em around and gunk them up with glue. Almost forgot, my craftsman HC mortiser. Got it on sale, and hey, it makes square holes where I want them. Need some more chisels for it though. As I said, I may be a chisel abuser.

 

1) My $4.99 HF chisels-like Donny says, they are rugged;
2) my $4.00 HF stamped-steel pos block plane. By the time I learned to set it up and sharpen it, I found I didn't need a more expensive one. I can read through the shavings.
3) My 39 year-old American made Craftsman 9" bench saw. It still purrs like a kitten, has never given me a problem, and the cast iron top has such a lovely patina.
4)My HF oscilating spindle sander and my HF 1×30 belt sander. Super cheap, use them on nearly every project, and they work PERFECTLY.
5)A Craftsman try-square I bought 43 years ago for $5.00. Three years ago I decided I HAD to have a Starrett so I bought one. Hate to use it because it's so damned expensive, so I checked the Craftsman against it and the Cman was dead on-still. The Starrett stays in the drawer where it's safe.
6) My HF F-style clamps. DIRT CHEAP, so like Donny I bought a bunch. All work fine. I noticed in several pictures than no less than Michael Fortune use them as well.
7) I have a Bosch evs1617, a old Craftsman commercial, a old (American made) B&D, but for all my small routing chores (which is about 75% of them) I use one of my 3 HF cheap-o pos trim routers. Average cost $17.00 each, Smooth, powerful (for a TRIM router), good visibility, ugly orange color, but the satisfaction of doing the job well and inexpensively; PRICELESS.

I have others, I'm sure, but that's all I can come up with now. Fun topic, Rob. Thanks.

Steve

 

Really try to avoid cheap tools….....but years ago bought a set of cheap gear pullers,figuring to replace which ever of them ** the bed w/higher end stuff.Well,we've beat on'm…..modified them….hit them regularly with big impacts….and they're still here.I'd've bet money they wouldn't last?Also bought a complete POS little air compressor from Chinamart one time…..one of those little barely pump up a bike tyre type,for 50$Only use it once and a while on the job….but gets used almost daily on a air/Hyd vise on a Bridgeport…it hasn't died yet,knock on wood(we have several other big shop AC's).636

 

I have a grungy metal spackle knife that I sharpened on a grinder that works remarkably well for rough glue removal. It's almost embarrassing to have that thing in my tool drawer with other nicer tools, but it gets the job done. I also use a super cheap pair of digital calipers (which is perfectly accurate) as a marking gauge to score lines, even after I bought a nice Veritas wheel gauge.

 

I also have a set of HF chisels, and found that some sizes hold an edge better than others. I do some work outside of my home, and in my portable tool kit I have 2 FastCap folding pocket chisels. They take and hold an awesome edge.
The other tool I use often is a very simple caliper - you can't even read the markings on it, but it is so small and light, I always go to that when I just need to transfer a dimension. 'How big is that? Just about that big!' My father had one and used it often, so when I was putting my own set of tools together, looked in flea markets until I found one just like it.
Most of the stuff I do is on the small side, so my little Driver 8" table saw is just perfect in my tiny shop.

 

- I picked up a cheap 4" belt/disk bench sander from a Homier sale years ago…HMC brand. It still runs, and is convenient enough that I reach for it pretty regularly.

- My 33 year old Craftsman circular saw is still going strong, and used for rough projects.

- My CMS is old and heavy…I only use it when I have to crosscut long boards/molding/etc.

- My Lufkin 25' tape measure is pushing 40 years old….love it.

 

I have a Black and Decker wizard rotary tool that works great for small detail sanding where nothing else can reach. I have better rotary tools, but this is the one that for some reason I always reach for. It finally broke the drive coupling spring (very poor design) and Black and Decker doesn't carry replacements any more, perfect timing, don't carry the parts when they are designed to fail. I was a little suspect of the quality of this tool ever since I bought it, but until very recently it scraped by getting the job done.

 

When we moved I got a Lowes gift card for $25. I bought a Skil jig saw. Thought it would be a tool for scrap cuts but it must have inherited some of its Bosch ancestry because it keeps my Makita in the case. I'm curious which Harbor Freight chisel set a couple of you are referring to?

 

Interesting forum topic. Strange, but interesting.

 

HF chisels, there are two kinds right now, the yellow plastic handled ones, and the wood ones. I have a few of each.
An OLD Craftsman 6" dual wheel grinder, traded some shelving for it years ago, still in use.

Craftsman 13" Scrollsaw, $10 @ a garage sale.

B&D Dragster beltsander, still going strong

Have a few of the HF F clamps, and a few pipe clamps

Spent $3 on a B&D all metal "Industrial" 1/4" router, and hung it from a Skil router table, which sit atop a homemade bench.

And, last but not least, a HF Windsor #33 handplane. POS as a smoother, but, grind the edge into a 3" radius, and it is one hungry, mean, #3 sized scrub plane

Just used it again lastweek, have sharpened it twice in three years, tough little guy.

 

All the new Stanley block and bench planes I have that everyone says suck - the old ones I found required just as much tuning, and I can't tell them apart when using.

Cheap set of HF chisels (set of 5, wood handles)
Cheap set of HF turning tools (maroon handles)
new 151 Stanley spokeshave
HF screwdrivers
Shop Fox japanese saw
Bunch of HF clamps, bar, wood, and edge styles - one of great deals there
Lots of cheap end wrenches and sockets (the ratchets suck) - I crank on 'em hard and beat 'em with hammers but they never break

I'll see some others tonight

 

Push stick. I made it less than a month after i bought my TS back in Spring 2000. Every time the "hook" on the end gets cut/chewed off, I cut off another 1/4", creating a new hook. I've made new ones since, but I'm always reaching for the old one, right up to this day, only a few hours ago.
No-name F-clamps. Bought 2 out of a bargain bin at a hardware store 8 years ago. Bought 2 Bessey clamps of the same type 3 yrs. later, and use them like they are all the same.
Stanley 16' Tape Ruler. Definitely has that Beat Up look. As much as I like my new 30' Fat Max, I'm often using my old 16'.
That's all I can think of now.

 

Every now and then I need to pull out this POS Craftsman belt sander I inherited from my Dad. I detest Craftsman power tools, refuse to buy any of them and once thought about buying a high end belt sander. Now not so much. I've got a few other Sears power tools from my Dad, really can't stand any of them, but they were Dad's and that means something to me.

 

I have a harbor freight tape measure I still use even after buying a nicer one. The metal edge is held in by two cheap rivets that allow to to move back and forth, adding about 1/8 of an inch if I don't lock the tape measure and push it forward. I have the technique down it's really hard to start using another tape measure.

 

Knex, That slop in the end of the tape is to make up for the thickness of that metal tab when you do an inside measure and an outside measure.

Bob

 

Knex, That slop in the end of the tape is to make up for the thickness of that metal tab when you do an inside measure and an outside measure.

Bob

- BurlyBob

Lol what? That makes sense but I never had a tape measure do this before. Or maybe I didn't notice it, the second tape measure I bought doesn't do it. So maybe the "cheap" tool is the better tool and my technique is simply that of a newb that doesn't know any better. Lol

 

I have an Oneida SDG that I consider the biggest POS ever made. But it still does the job and get used more than any other tool in the shop (if running time equates to "use").

 

1. 2" spring clamps for a buck a piece at home depot and use them constantly.
2. A couple of really cheep wheeled marking gauges
3. Super cheap brass setup blocks.
4. Blue painter's masking tape
5. I use painters triangles that came with a lazy susan to do everything from bucking boards to routing,
6. A block of wood, imagine that, that I used to throw at the wall when I make a mistake.

All very useful low cost tools.

 

I have a bunch of those plastic razor knives with the clip off blades to move up a new one. Cheap, flex too much, but I use them all the time.

 

-I bought a miter saw at an auction that came with a bunch of spring clamps stuck all over it. I use those clamps all the time.

- An old Foley-Belsaw 8" planer/jointer/moulder. I really only use it for thicknessing. It's underpowered and louder than any tool I've ever heard, but it's all I have and it hasn't failed me yet.

- One of those Shark pull-saws that you can order from Amazon for ~ $10. It'll cut through anything that I can't haul onto the miter stand.