Best tool money you've spent

[handi]

Probably my Ryobi BT3k table saw.  The saw everyone loved to hate.

They had issues with alignment of the sliding miter table, no miter slot, etc.

I fixed that by eliminating the sliding miter table, building a miter slot and a large sled, and aligning the snot out of the saw.

I guess I've had the thing over 20 years now.

I had a BT3000 for a time after I moved back from the Islands. 
I loved that saw. It took some work to get it tuned, but it was surprisingly accurate, and a great saw.

[FS7]

The single tool that has opened up my woodworking ability and range beyond anything else is my planer. I have used it a ton - way, way more than the jointer, which I bought first since that was for some reason my decision process - and it has been worth every penny and then some.

I struggled for years with the cost of a Domino, but I am very glad I bought it. I've used it on some many projects and it has made certain things (crib slats) easy when they would otherwise probably be a nightmare.

[BigD]

My best buy was the $15 I spent for a brand new scroll saw from Montgomery Ward. It was the first power tool I bought and that was in 1958 (61 years ago) when I was 12 years old. I had a route to sell TV guides each week. They sold for 15 cents and I got to keep 4 cents. It took a lot of TV Guides to pay for that saw.
      The $15 price did not include a motor. At that time, my Dad was a furnace repairman and he gave me a 1/3 hp motor he salvaged from an old furnace they were scrapping out. The blowers at that time were all v-belt driven and the saw came with a belt pulley that worked well with that motor.
      But the best part is I still have it in my shop and still use it quite often,

[stav]

My best buy was the $15 I spent for a brand new scroll saw from Montgomery Ward. It was the first power tool I bought and that was in 1958 (61 years ago) when I was 12 years old. I had a route to sell TV guides each week. They sold for 15 cents and I got to keep 4 cents. It took a lot of TV Guides to pay for that saw.
      The $15 price did not include a motor. At that time, my Dad was a furnace repairman and he gave me a 1/3 hp motor he salvaged from an old furnace they were scrapping out. The blowers at that time were all v-belt driven and the saw came with a belt pulley that worked well with that motor.
      But the best part is I still have it in my shop and still use it quite often,

Nice. I wish I had the foresight to think about building things back then.  We did have Industrial Arts class where we had an assembly line going to make a portable shuffle board game that I still have.  I didn't get any tools though.  You should post a pic of that prized old saw.

[®smpr_fi_mac®]

I've been thinking on this since my original response.  I think the best money I've spent so far would be the ~$800 I spent on the Incra TS-LS set up for my table saw and router table wing.  As a hobbyist, I don't need to worry about speed, so I can take incremental cuts to creep up on a perfect fit, which is especially useful for me because my favorite thing to build is small boxes.  I've recently started utilizing the Wonder Fence attachment for router duty and am falling in love with it.  I've had the set up in use for about two years now and can't ever see myself going back to any other fence system unless my style of work changes drastically.

Oddly enough, I spent more on that fence than I've spent on *any* of my stationary tools, and they're all heavy, cast iron pieces.


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My best buy was the $15 I spent for a brand new scroll saw from Montgomery Ward. It was the first power tool I bought and that was in 1958 (61 years ago) when I was 12 years old. I had a route to sell TV guides each week. They sold for 15 cents and I got to keep 4 cents. It took a lot of TV Guides to pay for that saw.
      The $15 price did not include a motor. At that time, my Dad was a furnace repairman and he gave me a 1/3 hp motor he salvaged from an old furnace they were scrapping out. The blowers at that time were all v-belt driven and the saw came with a belt pulley that worked well with that motor.
      But the best part is I still have it in my shop and still use it quite often,

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Man, BigD, that's really impressive.  I hope you have kids (or grandkids!) who will want to continue to use it.

[RKMBrown©]

New.. this craftsman hybrid table saw: https://www.finewoodworking.com/2007/12/...saw-review got it for around 650.
Used: my set of Stanley hand planes that I've accumulated from the Admiral via woodnet swap-n-sell

[tablesawtom]

Mine was a new Shop Smith  Mark 5 for $825 in 1976. It gave me everything I needed to really get me really started. I built some stuff that today I find incredible since I know consider it to be light weight in every category. And do you know what even though I ,sense sold it, and moved on to big stationary tools I still see some uses for one.

Like a disk sander. Dicks can be bought reasonalby on Ebay and it is easier  and cheaper over the long hall to change disks than change sandpaper on the disk. And the other is it is still the only horizontal drill press on the market. Case in point I now have two of them, one for parts. And the drill chuck also doubles in either my lathe head stock or tail stock.

Tom

[Big Dave]

I think the best tool I've ever bought was a Black & Decker WorkMate way back '89. Think I paid $80 back then. I used it religiously until I finished my shop. Still gets brought out occasionally....

Dave

[museumguy]

I think the best tool I've ever bought was a Black & Decker WorkMate way back '89. Think I paid $80 back then. I used it religiously until I finished my shop. Still gets brought out occasionally....

Dave

I love my Workmate. I have to agree with you on this. I was given one way back in the early 80's. A few years ago, I decided that I wanted a second one. Bought a used one the same model number. Turns out, it was a different height. I started a small collection of them before I found one that was the same height. A great buy for sure.

[Hank Knight]

I haven't responded to this thread because I couldn't decide which of my power tools or hand tools was "THE BEST." After thinking about it for a while, a clear winner has emerged. It's my ClearVue cyclone, hands down. I've been woodworking most of my life - over 50 years. A few years ago I started having sinus headaches after spending time in the shop. As time went on, they got worse until a day in the shop would cause 3 or 4 days of pain. I ponyed up the cash had the time and installed a full DC system in my shop, powered by a ClearVue CV 1800 cyclone. I use it on every project - every time I turn on a machine. It has been a game changer. My headaches are gone, I have a (relatively) clean workshop; and, best of all, I have my hobby back.

On the other side of the coin, I can't choose a "worst money spent" item. There have been so many of them, it's hard to pick just one.