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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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What is the most useful tool you ever made?

dougw
dougw over 1 year 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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Top Replies

  • dwinhold
    dwinhold over 1 year ago +16
    Being a cabinetmaker, I make my own planes (buying them are very expensive). Below is a photo of a router plane I made for my daughter, she uses it daily!!
  • colporteur
    colporteur over 1 year ago +8
    I repurposed a tool. Problem: How to identify which VHF transmitting antenna was bad on a 10X10 platform with over 20 antennas mounted around the edge. VSWR meter readings indicated one antenna had failed…
  • genebren
    genebren over 1 year ago +8
    Good question Doug. The best tool that I have ever made is most likely the light ring that I built for my microscope that I use to assembly PCBs. I built this over 15 years ago and it was gone through…
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  • vmate
    vmate over 1 year ago

    Not quite the type of tool you probably thought of, but I made a PCB mill toolhead for my 3D printer, so I can quickly make adapters and other small boards, without having to wait a week for a proper PCB fab to do it.

    imageimageimage

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  • dang74
    dang74 over 1 year ago in reply to vmate

    Nice.  Although you can get some cheap PCBs these days you still have to wait for them to arrive.  Your modification must come in handy when you need something done the same day.

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  • dang74
    dang74 over 1 year ago in reply to vmate

    Nice.  Although you can get some cheap PCBs these days you still have to wait for them to arrive.  Your modification must come in handy when you need something done the same day.

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