Still waiting......

 

To expand a bit on my comment....

I was always taught a bad worker always blames his tools, so thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it.:|

But also, a good worker can make good work with bad tools, so any work made is as good as the worker, even if he has had to overcome rubbish equipment to produce it.

Good tools merely make the job easier.

 

Hey, they were all good tools, even the cheap ones. Every tool that I got allowed me to expand my abilities. If I have to pin it down, then I bought a small B&D router (used) for $10 that allowed me to do things that I wasn't able to do before.

I still have the router and it has been in my stable for somewhere around 45 years.

 

My 1st good tool was my brain. Unfortunately it is broken and does not work any more :crying:

 

Delta Unisaw. My old crapsman contractor saw (early '70s vintage) shook like a scared dog and it was pretty much impossible to make a cut with any accuracy at all. It was the thin sheet metal that attached the saw to the base, not anything specific to the saw itself. For framing a house it was fine, anything beyond that, forget about it.

 

I respectfully disagree with that Scott, I bought my first 10" Craftsman from a 2nd hand store in 1956 and used it until 2012 when I replaced it in 2012 with another a 12" that I have now.

I mean used it too, I was a carpenter and a cabinet maker for 45 years and another 15 years as a retired woodworker in my shop. it did everything I asked of it.

As for the definition of the "good" tool, is that good as in quality? or "good" as in useful? or "good" as to aesthetics? or "good" as to bargain? So many goods out there.....hmmmmmmmm

Herb

 

I'd consider my Makita plunge router connected to my Craftsman circle jig the biggest improvement in my tools way back in the day .
I was amazed at how accurately I could make holes for sub woofers and ports , and never used a jigsaw after that . And the best part was I kept the plugs that were made after the hole was cut out which have me a perfect template to do an exact setup for that same woofer or port size in the future

 

My first table saw, a $500 Craftsman 10". Not exactly a finely crafted piece of equipment but it got the job done for about 20 years until I upgraded to a Unisaw which is a finely crafted tool. It still runs. I sold it a year ago to a young kid for $10. Without that saw I'm not sure I would have pursued woodworking.

 

For me it was quality that marked the first really good tool. And that was definitely a table saw. First was a Delta 10 inch direct drive table saw, combined with a Wixey angle finder. Once I learned to set the blade, projects started to get much better. Gave it away to my son in law 3-4 years ago and replaced it with a Laguna Fusion 10 inch saw, which has more power and even greater accuracy. I'd have to add that discovering the woodworking section of YouTube was also a line of demarcation for me. Being able to watch someone with skills do something has made me more comfortable with taking on something new.

The changes adding new, good quality tools continues. For example, buying and learning to use hand planes has allowed me to add a touch of artfulness and finesse that was impossible before.

 

When I was a kid, the only place to buy tools we knew of was Sears.

Hammer, hand saw, circular saw was about all we had to work with.
But those tools built several buildings. Not exactly fine woodworking.

Yeah, I grew up in the sticks!

 

What was your very first GOOD tool?

What did it allow you to make you couldn't make before?

Estwing leather grip hammer circa summer '55/56 and a 5pc set of Williams timber chisels at the same time...
and every two weeks something was added... (that never stopped)
having my own meant I kept my grubby hands off of my father's....
still using them BTW....

 

at least the guy in the picture is in his right mind...

 

First good tool was the first tool I owned. A Skill handheld router which I still have a will still occasionally use. Bronze tail bushing that needs a drop of oil before each use, but it still will spin any quarter-inch shaft router bit I put in it.

4D

 

I much appreciate my new 23 guage brad nailer along wih the compressor.

 

It has been so long ago I can't remember. At first some used tools and some hand downs then I started to buy good brand new tools. When I buy something today it has to be what I consider to be the best for me. I don't buy power tools from HF although I do have some of their clamps.

 

I ended up with far too few of my father's old tools (long story), but my favorites are the awl and putty knife. I remember using them as a kid and still use them a lot.

 

I have to agree with all that have said table saw. I haven't been wood working very long but after the first cut on my new to me direct drive craftsman table saw I said to myself "I can do this!".
A good table saw blade holds a close second.
Rob

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

 

Not necessarily "woodworking tools", but I remember the sense of pride I got from my first quality calipers and micrometer. I admit that I don't use them as much today because dials are so much easier to read than the old vernier scales, but they are proudly displayed in my shop.

 

Ain't nothing better than an older pair of Starrett vernier calipers is there? They just scream craftsmanship. Wish I had bought some but I always went dial or digital. I still have a pair of 12" Fowlers and an 8" metric pair of Mitutoyo verniers and while good they just don't compare.

 

Too far back; can't remember.
I started reno-ing my mom's house back in '64, so I must have bought decent tools, even then. I remember my first builder's saw had a black plastic housing...Skil maybe?

 

I think the Skils were red and silver, Black and Decker maybe?

Black Decker 2HP Corded Circular SAW 7 1 4" Blade NO 7358 Type 1 10 Amps | eBay

 

My first good power tool was my Bosch 1617. My first good hand tool was a Sargent jointer plane.

 

I first thought of my Triton router (2011 or so) but the realized it was the 30 gallon 5hp Sears air compressor I bought in 1989 for my glass etching.
Before I was using a too small compressor and a tank. It took a few minutes to get up to pressure over and over again.

 

A Black & Decker 1/2 sheet dual action (Orbital or Inline) sander. Sanding has never been my favorite part of woodworking so this tool did not let me make thing that I could not before I bought it. What it did do for me was let me get the finishing done so I could make something else. I have since bought or made many tools that allow me to do things I could not. That sander allowed me sell more items so that I might purchase more tools and wood. I bought that sander in 1971 and it just died last year.

Regards Bob

 

Looking at the 1st image, the chappy is using a Tape Measure for a left handed person. It made a great difference to me the day I bought one for a right handed person, my measurements were much more accurate.

 

Like others I up graded to a 3 hp Unisaw from a 1 hp Craftsman. The Craftsman was good and I still use it but the Unisaw is in a whole other class. The Craftsman was from the early 1970's and the Uni saw is from the early 80's. I would say that I would buy either saw today used over a new saw.

 

I love all of my power tools but they are useless without a good measuring device, so my 1st "good" tool would have to be my old faithful folding rule. In the shop environment I defer to a 24" steel rule or a tape measure. "If you can't size it you probably can't make it."

 

I bought a Skil about fifteen years later than that that was labeled a Classic Edition that was black and gold. I bought a B&D befre that that was all silver. Both are still going.

 

My tools were acquired over a long period of time and the first batch could be characterized as "reasonable" or "useful." These included a circular saw, a jigsaw (that I just discarded in favor of a new Bosch), a power miter box and an old Craftsman flex-drive table saw. These allowed me to do "reasonable" and "useful" work.

My first "good" tool was actually several upgrades for the table saw that included a zero-clearance insert, an after-market fence, a carbide-tipped blade, a stacked dado set, an after-market miter gauge and an analog dial indicator for machine setups. These really upgraded my capabilities and allowed me to make really straight, square, repeatable and accurate cuts.

But maybe the "best" tool in my stable was my TV that allowed me to watch 20 years of Norm Abram. I learned a LOT from Norm...as I'm sure did many woodworkers.