On Sunday, July 12, 2020 at 9:05:51 PM UTC-5, Puckdropper wrote:
Bob D wrote in
:
This may be an old topic but I am too lazy to search for it.

Do you have an item that has been a game changer for you in pursuit of
woodworking excellence. It can be something you purchased or built or
found in the trash. It can cost anywhere from free to $1000's. Please
refrain from value judgement comments like "too expensive; not worth
it; etc". To someone its worth it. I am just looking for inspiration
and ideas. Please expand on how or what you accomplished that caused
you to say "Wow, this is a real game changer".

I will start it off with some game changers for me.

1. self centering drill bit - I was trying to mount a piano hinge and
each screw seemed to try to pull it out of alignment. I bought the bit
and re-drilled all the holes. the installation was perfectly aligned
and all the screws centered and flush. 2. Sawstop industrial saw - I
cannot even begin to express the magic of a great tablesaw. 3. Festool
RO sander with dust extractor - sanding without dust. I didn't even
know this was possible. Prompted by Leon "Bob, you gotta buy one of
these" 4. Veritas saddle square - easy transfer of marks around the
sides of a piece.

Bob
I have a grinder tool rest that clamps the tool in place then you can
slide it along the rest. This produces a very consistent hollow ground
edge. A few passes on a stone and you get an edge that's sharp and easy
to take care of.

The Work Sharp is very nice, but some good stones and the grinder tool
rest (and grinder, of course) is what I'd invest in if I was starting
over.

Puckdropper
I think I have one of those tool rests (made by Veritas). I used it with a hand turned grinder for sharpening and it worked well, but I got tired of turning the crank and manipulating the blade to be sharpened. I've thought about getting a Jet variable frequency control grinder. What kind of grinder are you using with your setup? My current 3600 RPM grinder is too fast for sharpening. I have a worksharp but its painstakingly slow for initial shaping of a blade.

Bob