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Member's Forum What is the most useful tool you ever made?
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  • Replies 62 replies
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  • clever custom tools
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Related

What is the most useful tool you ever made?

dougw
dougw over 2 years ago

There are many great topics that relate to tools, and there are endless numbers of tools to discuss, but inevitably we run into situations where we don't have a good tool for the job and have to cobble a tool together to complete the work.

I make some little tool to do a specific job all the time, but I never stop to think whether it is a remarkable tool. I don't even document that  I made a tool.

I don't think we ever asked the question - what is the best tool you ever made, so I'm asking now. If you are like me it is going to take some time to recall something significant. In fact I am posting this question before I even have my own answer, but give it some thought. I suspect the answers will be interesting.

My most recent tool was just a wooden needle to apply ink to a 3D print - much more precise than a paint brush. I'm sure when I scan through some of my projects, I will come up with something better....

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  • dougw
    dougw over 1 year ago in reply to Mouhamed

    What metal would you like to detect and what range is needed?

    I have made a metal detector:

     Pulse Induction Metal Detector Circuit 

    I will eventually redesign it to add some features, but it is not an immediate project.

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  • beacon_dave
    beacon_dave over 1 year ago in reply to dougw

    Metal detector judging by the previous posts:

    /technologies/sensor-technology/f/forum/55072/thread

    /technologies/sensor-technology/f/forum/55073/thread

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  • dougw
    dougw over 1 year ago in reply to Mouhamed

    What are you trying to detect at long range?

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  • Mouhamed
    Mouhamed over 1 year ago

    I want to make a long-range detector. I ask you for help, professor. May God bless and protect you

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  • Mouhamed
    Mouhamed over 1 year ago

    I want to make a long-range detector. I ask you for help, professor. May God bless and protect you

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  • dougw
    dougw over 1 year ago

    How about an LED and resistor? - used as a logic probe.

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  • Workshopshed
    Workshopshed over 2 years ago

    This post reminded me that I'd created a little test card tool to check if monitors were working. I used that to diagnose what was wrong with the ZxSpectrum portable that Ben Heck had sent me.

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  • me_Cris
    me_Cris over 2 years ago in reply to kmikemoo

    The one about the mechanic is also true, he could also say "I think she needs another tweak here". But in the end the car still smokes. Laughing

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  • genebren
    genebren over 2 years ago in reply to JWx

    True here too! 

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  • JWx
    JWx over 2 years ago in reply to kmikemoo

    I seem to have the opposite problem - I cannot get anything done because I want it the best possible (deadlines are a real helper in those cases :) )  so the planning phase takes forever, despite the fact that doing some quick workaround would be sufficient in the most cases...

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