What's Your Personal Favorite Tool...?

[Craig Sjoquist]

My brushes & I keep buying more

 

[James Burke]

I doubt it is saving you what you could make selling it.

Still not buyin' it. I've spent 30 years in manufacturing, and I'll be the first to say that a lot of good ideas stay under wraps.

The tools allow me to be run ahead of the dogs in my pack, and they allow me to compete toe to toe against the bigger dogs of another pack.

On one hand, they are a competitive advantage and on the other hand they are a great equalizer. In my book, that's worth more. Even though I'm a one-man show, I probably outspend the R&D budgets of bigger shops, comparatively speaking. We've had our share of flops along the way, but we've certainly had some awesome success stories.


JB

 

[Fred Weiss]

My Premier paper cutter allows me to trim out labels, decals and text readings quickly and on the square. And as a supplement to that, we keep a low profile fluorescent light to the right of the blade to easily see between lines for accurate cutting.

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

My Premier paper cutter allows me to trim out labels, decals and text readings quickly and on the square. And as a supplement to that, we keep a low profile fluorescent light to the right of the blade to easily see between lines for accurate cutting.

Nothing worse then cutting on a shadow.

 

[Fred Weiss]

Nothing worse then cutting on a shadow.

I wouldn't term it a shadow. The light shines up through the release liner and shows a very clear line of where the edge of the lower blade is at. Been doing it that way for over 20 years now with near perfect results.

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

I wouldn't term it a shadow. The light shines up through the release liner and shows a very clear line of where the edge of the lower blade is at. Been doing it that way for over 20 years now with near perfect results.

I meant when the light isn't correct and the finger protector projects a shadow so you can't quite see the cut line and you just cut a shadow. I have a light hood that I move lower to the table so I can see clearly. I like the idea of seeing the bottom. Next time I'm gonna try to flip the light over and use this technique.

 

[niksagkram]

In our shop this is everybody's favorite tool...... as I'm sure it is across Canada!!

 

[Fred Weiss]

I meant when the light isn't correct and the finger protector projects a shadow so you can't quite see the cut line and you just cut a shadow. I have a light hood that I move lower to the table so I can see clearly. I like the idea of seeing the bottom. Next time I'm gonna try to flip the light over and use this technique.

Actually I cheated and just grabbed a pic off the internet. I'm also a bad, bad boy and removed the finger guard years ago. Here's a shot of my trimmer with the light.

 

[Suz]

My old 18" Fairgate T-Square. Been using it 34 years now. LOL!

 

[signed off]

Safety rulers? Way too much parallax and way too rigid. 4', 6', and 8' aluminum rules, available at any drywall supply, with a thin non-skid backing applied put the edge a lot closer to the work. And the conform to a less than dead flat surface. Safety? Learn how to cut something and not cut yourself. Otherwise their very existence merely confirms that Darwin was correct.

The handiest toolin my shop are my four architect's paper weights. Leather bags filled with shot. Like having a 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th hand.

Where do you get the thin non skid, ours are just about worn off ( came on the ruler) and I have tried a few places to get some and no luck

 

[BIG EASY DOES IT]

Where do you get the thin non skid, ours are just about worn off ( came on the ruler) and I have tried a few places to get some and no luck

Why not use the no-skid for the inside of drawers or rugs? Super cheap and all you have to do is double sided tape. Banner tape would be perfect.

 

[bob]

Where do you get the thin non skid, ours are just about worn off ( came on the ruler) and I have tried a few places to get some and no luck

I used some non-skid carpet pad that my wife had laying around. It's a very thin perforated rubber. I cut some strips of it and used banner tape to attach it. It's still there and functional after at least 10-15 years.

While you're at the drywall supply pick up a 4' drywall T-square. Very handy.

 

[Jester1167]

I prefer to use 2" masking tape on the back of the aluminum ruler. Keeps the aluminum ruler from marking white vinyl and it's the perfect balance between non-skid and still being able to slide the ruler with some force.

Like Bob, I hate safety rulers because they don't work unless you have a perfectly flat table.

Favorite tool is the cell phone and apps. Gone are the days where I had to take polaroid's and write measurements on them. With "photo measure" app I can take a photo and put measurement directly on the photo then email the survey. Or, I can take images of the installation and use my "document scanner" app to photograph, straighten and crop sign off sheets and then email them before I move on to the next. And a whole host of other apps

Navigation
Email
Dropbox/Onedrive
GoPayment
An MS Office app to view PDF proofs
Weather Bug
Navigation
...

 

[player]

the one i keep in my pants..................my pocket knife))))))

a rusty blade...

I was referring to the other tool in your pants being rusty)))))))