And now in a burst of refreshing honesty we're all going to admit to
the most useless, waste-of-money, unnecessary, white elephant, "why the
hell did I ever buy that" tool in our arsenal.

For me it's a B&D "electric file" - basically a needle-nose belt
sander. It's a something that should be handy as hell but it's just
too damned vicious. Touch it to a piece of wood and you have instant
"**** - too much". I've never been able to get anything done with it.
Next?

FoggyTown
"Cut to shape . . . pound to fit."

On 29 Dec 2004 08:02:38 -0800, "foggytown" wrote:

And now in a burst of refreshing honesty we're all going to admit to
the most useless, waste-of-money, unnecessary, white elephant, "why the
hell did I ever buy that" tool in our arsenal.

For me it's a B&D "electric file" - basically a needle-nose belt
sander. It's a something that should be handy as hell but it's just
too damned vicious. Touch it to a piece of wood and you have instant
"**** - too much". I've never been able to get anything done with it.
Next?

FoggyTown
"Cut to shape . . . pound to fit."

Mastercraft Rotozip kit. Gift.
$150 CDN and the biggest piece of crap I have ever seen.
Even the power cord is made out of such hard wire you can't even stretch it out
in warm weather.
Nothing can be squared, the plunge router attachment is a complete joke.

Complete crap.

On 29 Dec 2004 08:02:38 -0800, "foggytown" wrote:

And now in a burst of refreshing honesty we're all going to admit to
the most useless, waste-of-money, unnecessary, white elephant, "why the
hell did I ever buy that" tool in our arsenal.

The Original Freud Hot-Air Edge Bander.
I salvaged the hot air gun from it, and use it often , but the rest of
it went with the trash.
Truly one of those tools that should work, and sporadically did work,
but was no time saver compared to a regular iron. Just one major source
of frustration, to the point I 'repaired' it one day with some excess
energy and my lunch bucket ended up flying through the shop as a
punctuation mark.
I was told, several hours later, when the rest of the crew dared to come
close enough to me again, that I had uttered previously unknown words as
I was 'adjusting' the tool with a 5 pound ball-peen hammer.
It was very irresponsible and immature behaviour, but dammit, it felt
great.

r

I made the same purchase. It was a waste of money but I don't think it
was quite as bad as you do.

On 3 Jan 2005 16:26:47 -0800, Never Enough Money wrote:
I made the same purchase. It was a waste of money but I don't think it
was quite as bad as you do.

Huh? What? Who?

I was replying to Gino. Sorry for the confusion.

Dremel and all its accessories...especially the...cough cough..."router
table".

Jim

On 29 Dec 2004 08:13:23 -0800, "WoodchuckCanuck"
wrote:

Dremel and all its accessories...especially the...cough cough..."router
table".

I couldn't live without a Dremel.
I even used it to remove the exhaust system from my 3/4 ton pickup.
Router attachment is cool, especially for installing hinges in almost anything.
I've never seen the router table.

Gino wrote:

I couldn't live without a Dremel.
I even used it to remove the exhaust system from my 3/4 ton pickup.

How many cutoff wheels did YOU go through?

The Dremel almost made it onto my list, but it's a useful tool. Just not as
useful as it sounds on the box. Sure, you can do all kinds of things with
it if you're verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry patient. Sometimes it is just the ticket,
but I've never used probably half of the bits I have. Maybe 3/4. The wood
cutting carving shaping stuff is especially useless. I can carve wood
faster with a pair of tweezers.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 21:09:48 -0500, Silvan wrote:

Gino wrote:

I couldn't live without a Dremel.
I even used it to remove the exhaust system from my 3/4 ton pickup.

How many cutoff wheels did YOU go through?

It saved me on a plumbing problem. Had to replace several toilet shutoff
valves and the gorilla who installed the originals crimped the compression
rings into the copper pipe so deep they wouldn't slide off, even with some
knarley pliers. The problem was the new valves and old valves had
different threads, so I couldn't use the old nut on the new valve. The
nifty dremel cutoff wheel ground almost all the way through the
compression ring and a little twist with a flat blade screwdriver popped
it right off. Whew, success!

- Doug

--

To escape criticism--do nothing, say nothing, be nothing." (Elbert Hubbard)

Doug Winterburn wrote:

nifty dremel cutoff wheel ground almost all the way through the
compression ring and a little twist with a flat blade screwdriver popped
it right off. Whew, success!

That's about the only practical thing I use mine for too. That and turning
things that aren't into slotted screws. It's not useless, just mostly
useless.

--
Michael McIntyre ---- Silvan
Linux fanatic, and certified Geek; registered Linux user #243621
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Rue/5407/
http://rosegarden.sourceforge.net/tutorial/

Gino
I couldn't live without a Dremel.
I even used it to remove the exhaust system from my 3/4 ton pickup.

Doug Winterburn
It saved me on a plumbing problem.


And another ditto for the Dremel. Working with old
machinery you'll find that a machine hasn't been used for
quite some time and for quite some time people will store
them in "less optimum" places. God bless the Dremel people
of Racine, Wis.

UA100

Silvan wrote in
:

Gino wrote:

I couldn't live without a Dremel.
I even used it to remove the exhaust system from my 3/4 ton pickup.

How many cutoff wheels did YOU go through?


For about the same price, I bought a DeWalt low angle grinder and a diamond
cutting wheel. You can cut a lot of stuff with that rig, and very quickly.

Dremel stuff is too light duty for my Binford tastes.

Patriarch

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 02:39:20 GMT, Patriarch
wrote:

Silvan wrote in
:

Gino wrote:

I couldn't live without a Dremel.
I even used it to remove the exhaust system from my 3/4 ton pickup.

How many cutoff wheels did YOU go through?


For about the same price, I bought a DeWalt low angle grinder and a diamond
cutting wheel. You can cut a lot of stuff with that rig, and very quickly.

Dremel stuff is too light duty for my Binford tastes.

But the Dremel is tiny.
It was the only tool that I had that could do the job.

"Patriarch" wrote in message
news:rTJAd.825879$8_6.65430@attbi_s04...
Silvan wrote in
:

Gino wrote:

I couldn't live without a Dremel.
I even used it to remove the exhaust system from my 3/4 ton pickup.

How many cutoff wheels did YOU go through?


For about the same price, I bought a DeWalt low angle grinder and a
diamond
cutting wheel. You can cut a lot of stuff with that rig, and very
quickly.

Dremel stuff is too light duty for my Binford tastes.

I had a Dremel go up in flames in my hands when I tried to use it as a dry
wall cut out tool with a 1/8" down spiral bit.... Now that was interesting.
;-)

John

"Silvan" wrote in message
...
Gino wrote:

I couldn't live without a Dremel.
I even used it to remove the exhaust system from my 3/4 ton pickup.

How many cutoff wheels did YOU go through?

Get the larger (1 1/4") fiberglass reinforced cutoff wheels, they work
great.

--
Nahmie
Those on the cutting edge bleed a lot.

On Thu, 30 Dec 2004 08:51:32 -0500, "Norman D. Crow" wrote:





"Silvan" wrote in message
...
Gino wrote:

I couldn't live without a Dremel.
I even used it to remove the exhaust system from my 3/4 ton pickup.

How many cutoff wheels did YOU go through?

Get the larger (1 1/4") fiberglass reinforced cutoff wheels, they work
great.

I love those.
But they are costly little suckers as well.
I bought 3 kits boxed in nice wood cases just to get the 8 cutoff wheels in
each.
The 80 piece kit was cheaper than buying the 8 disks alone.

Norman D. Crow wrote:

"Silvan" wrote in message
...

Gino wrote:

I couldn't live without a Dremel. I even used it to remove
the exhaust system from my 3/4 ton pickup.

How many cutoff wheels did YOU go through?

Get the larger (1 1/4") fiberglass reinforced cutoff wheels,
they work great.

If you like those, you might also like the diamond grit metal
cutoff wheels.

--
Morris Dovey
DeSoto Solar
DeSoto, Iowa USA
http://www.iedu.com/DeSoto/solar.html

"Gino" wrote in message
...
On 29 Dec 2004 08:13:23 -0800, "WoodchuckCanuck"

wrote:

Dremel and all its accessories...especially the...cough cough..."router
table".

I couldn't live without a Dremel.
I even used it to remove the exhaust system from my 3/4 ton pickup.

That just ain't right. Exhaust systems are supposed to be taken off with a
combination of cutting torches and 4 inch grinders. It says so right in the
Bible. You are wrong Gino, just plane wrong...
--

-Mike-

WoodchuckCanuck wrote:
Dremel and all its accessories...especially the...cough cough..."router
table".

Jim

Got a cordless Dremel which is a most useless POS. Can't keep a charge
in the battery for more than a few minutes and then it seems to take
hours to recharge. Bought a cheapo Harbor Freight corded thingy so I
could at least use the bits.
whine,
jo4hn

On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 20:40:28 GMT, jo4hn wrote:

Got a cordless Dremel which is a most useless POS. Can't keep a charge
in the battery for more than a few minutes and then it seems to take
hours to recharge. Bought a cheapo Harbor Freight corded thingy so I
could at least use the bits.

Typical with NiCd batteries. If you have a Batteries Plus store near-ish
you, they might be able to fix and/or replace those cells.

Dave Hinz

A rotozip tool. How can they even sell one? Why did I buy one? I thought I
could use it to rough out some sheetrock electrical socket holes, but it was
pretty crappy.

On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 22:02:21 GMT, mark wrote:
A rotozip tool. How can they even sell one? Why did I buy one? I thought I
could use it to rough out some sheetrock electrical socket holes, but it was
pretty crappy.

Oh yeah, got one of those too. Also as a gift. Also from SWMBO...
I used it to cut some round cuts on tile (toilet flange), and the tile
got into the front bearing and it squeals like a pig now. Odd that using
a tool in a manner shown on the box would ruin it.

I hate tools that are broken by design. And don't even get me started about
Christmas presents that are so poorly designed or made that they're broken
out of the box. (DISNEY, I'M TALKING ABOUT YOU PEOPLE).

Dave "Ahem. Sorry." Hinz

"mark" wrote in message
...
A rotozip tool. How can they even sell one? Why did I buy one? I thought
I could use it to rough out some sheetrock electrical socket holes, but it
was pretty crappy.
This one gets my vote. Created so much damn dust, I was back to my drywall
saw in a flash.

PC biscuit joiner. I just don't use it. Mortise and tenon is stronger and
I prefer it to the noise and dust.

--
Ross
www.myoldtools.com
"foggytown" wrote in message
oups.com...
And now in a burst of refreshing honesty we're all going to admit to
the most useless, waste-of-money, unnecessary, white elephant, "why the
hell did I ever buy that" tool in our arsenal.

For me it's a B&D "electric file" - basically a needle-nose belt
sander. It's a something that should be handy as hell but it's just
too damned vicious. Touch it to a piece of wood and you have instant
"**** - too much". I've never been able to get anything done with it.
Next?

FoggyTown
"Cut to shape . . . pound to fit."

My Old Tools wrote:

PC biscuit joiner. I just don't use it. Mortise and tenon is stronger and
I prefer it to the noise and dust.

....
Biscuits work great for aligning edges, etc...

Hi Ross:

Funny, but if someone started a "What's the best tool you've ever
bought" thread, I'd probably rank my PC biscuit joiner in the top 5 of
my tools. It's great for edge-joining and the occasional face frame.
Regards,
John.

On Wed 29 Dec 2004 12:33:04p, "the_tool_man" wrote
in oups.com:

Funny, but if someone started a "What's the best tool you've ever
bought" thread, I'd probably rank my PC biscuit joiner in the top 5 of
my tools. It's great for edge-joining and the occasional face frame.

Funny how that works. I bought an older Ryobi at a cabinet shop's going out
of business sale for fifty bucks, worried that I was throwing money away on
a tool I'd never use. And it's been real handy. Banded the edge of the
workbench, my panelglueing got better, put shelves in a nightstand door.
It makes aligning a lot easier and faster. I don't use it a LOT but it's
sure not on my list of tools I wish I never bought.

I guess that honor goes to the first "serious" tool I ever bought - a used
direct-drive Craftsman table saw. At least, I *thought* it was serious when
I bought it.

Almost gave up on woodworking till I found out it might be that screaming,
dancing, wobble-bladed monster. Still got the stand around here someplace.

"Dan" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed 29 Dec 2004 12:33:04p, "the_tool_man"
wrote
in oups.com:

Funny, but if someone started a "What's the best tool you've ever
bought" thread, I'd probably rank my PC biscuit joiner in the top 5 of
my tools. It's great for edge-joining and the occasional face frame.

Funny how that works. I bought an older Ryobi at a cabinet shop's going
out
of business sale for fifty bucks, worried that I was throwing money away
on
a tool I'd never use. And it's been real handy. Banded the edge of the
workbench, my panelglueing got better, put shelves in a nightstand door.
It makes aligning a lot easier and faster. I don't use it a LOT but it's
sure not on my list of tools I wish I never bought.

I guess that honor goes to the first "serious" tool I ever bought - a used
direct-drive Craftsman table saw. At least, I *thought* it was serious
when
I bought it.

Almost gave up on woodworking till I found out it might be that screaming,
dancing, wobble-bladed monster. Still got the stand around here someplace.

(1) I use my Freud biscuit joiner with fair regularity. Haven't tried the
135degree thingy with it that PC advertises, but looks like it should do
just fine with the fixed 90deg. fence and the adjustable fence together.

(2)Not all DD saws are screamers. My TS is an early 80's vintage Craftsman
DD, but with an induction motor, not a universal(no, it's not one of the
flex cable driven ones). I would love to replace it, but that's down the
road a ways. With a decent blade & some blade stabilizers it does OK. The
stabilizers were the best investment I made for it, because the original
pressed steel ones were causing way too much runout.

--
Nahmie
Those on the cutting edge bleed a lot.

"My Old Tools" wrote in
:

PC biscuit joiner. I just don't use it. Mortise and tenon is
stronger and I prefer it to the noise and dust.


I agree with you. I don't have a biscuit joiner. Haven't needed one yet.
I use all mortise and tenon or dovetail. Of course it would be different
if I were doing this for a living and not a hobby.

"Nate Perkins" wrote in message
. 125.201...
"My Old Tools" wrote in
:

PC biscuit joiner. I just don't use it. Mortise and tenon is
stronger and I prefer it to the noise and dust.


I agree with you. I don't have a biscuit joiner. Haven't needed one yet.
I use all mortise and tenon or dovetail. Of course it would be different
if I were doing this for a living and not a hobby.

I use mine for some panel glue-ups. How do you do yours? A spline? Dowels?

"mark" wrote in
:


"Nate Perkins" wrote in message
. 125.201...
....
I agree with you. I don't have a biscuit joiner. Haven't needed one
yet. I use all mortise and tenon or dovetail. Of course it would be
different if I were doing this for a living and not a hobby.

I use mine for some panel glue-ups. How do you do yours? A spline?
Dowels?

I glue up right after jointing, lightly clamping only 3-4 boards at most at
one time. I make sure the joints are flat at the ends and middle by feel,
and use a rubber mallet to fine position the boards prior to tight
clamping. I do the (wider) final glueup from the sections in the same way.

Works okay for me ... although I can see your point that on a big glueup it
would be very handy to have a biscuit joiner.

Nate Perkins wrote:

"My Old Tools" wrote in
:

PC biscuit joiner. I just don't use it. Mortise and tenon is
stronger and I prefer it to the noise and dust.


I agree with you. I don't have a biscuit joiner. Haven't needed one yet.
I use all mortise and tenon or dovetail. Of course it would be different
if I were doing this for a living and not a hobby.

I wouldn't use it where I would use a heavy tenon, either...

On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 21:51:57 GMT, Nate Perkins wrote:
"My Old Tools" wrote in
:

PC biscuit joiner. I just don't use it. Mortise and tenon is
stronger and I prefer it to the noise and dust.

I agree with you. I don't have a biscuit joiner. Haven't needed one yet.
I use all mortise and tenon or dovetail. Of course it would be different
if I were doing this for a living and not a hobby.

How about for, say, a tabletop? Rather than just edge-gluing?

Dave Hinz

Sears table saw with lots of features instead of a Delta contractor
saw with less features and better quality for same price.

foggytown wrote:
And now in a burst of refreshing honesty we're all going to admit to
the most useless, waste-of-money, unnecessary, white elephant, "why the
hell did I ever buy that" tool in our arsenal.

For me it's a B&D "electric file" - basically a needle-nose belt
sander. It's a something that should be handy as hell but it's just
too damned vicious. Touch it to a piece of wood and you have instant
"**** - too much". I've never been able to get anything done with it.
Next?

FoggyTown
"Cut to shape . . . pound to fit."

"foggytown" wrote in message
oups.com...
And now in a burst of refreshing honesty we're all going to admit to
the most useless, waste-of-money, unnecessary, white elephant, "why the
hell did I ever buy that" tool in our arsenal.

For me it's a B&D "electric file" - basically a needle-nose belt
sander. It's a something that should be handy as hell but it's just
too damned vicious. Touch it to a piece of wood and you have instant
"**** - too much". I've never been able to get anything done with it.
Next?

Those things can actually be quite useful for metal working. Used often
with the small, light gauge tubing for furniture, etc.

Those little Veritas corner rounding planes - the ones bent from a
piece of steel with the little elliptical opening. Woodcraft sells
them for $14 apiece. They either split the grain or require so much
pressure to work that my fingers get sore quite quickly. Easier and
more consistent to use sandpaper or a router.

"the_tool_man" wrote in message
oups.com...
Those little Veritas corner rounding planes - the ones bent from a
piece of steel with the little elliptical opening. Woodcraft sells
them for $14 apiece. They either split the grain or require so much
pressure to work that my fingers get sore quite quickly. Easier and
more consistent to use sandpaper or a router.


Hate to say it but I use one most every day at work. Find is one of the
best tolls available. Course I'm not using it on wood but on plastic which
is still warm from the injection mold. Trims the flash quite well. Never
tried em on wood though.

D. Mo

On 29 Dec 2004 08:45:31 -0800, "the_tool_man"
wrote:

Those little Veritas corner rounding planes - the ones bent from a
piece of steel with the little elliptical opening. Woodcraft sells
them for $14 apiece. They either split the grain or require so much
pressure to work that my fingers get sore quite quickly. Easier and
more consistent to use sandpaper or a router.

Real handy on sheet plastic, though.

--RC

"Sometimes history doesn't repeat itself. It just yells
'can't you remember anything I've told you?' and lets
fly with a club.
-- John W. Cambell Jr.

"the_tool_man" wrote:

Those little Veritas corner rounding planes - the ones bent from a
piece of steel with the little elliptical opening. Woodcraft sells
them for $14 apiece. They either split the grain
Yep. You have to be VERY careful about grain direction, since with no
mouth, this "plane" will split off more than you wanted pretty
quickly. And the grain direction on a corner can be tricky,
particularly when the grain on each adjacent surface is sloping in
opposite directions.

or require so much
pressure to work that my fingers get sore quite quickly.
Never noticed that. But getting the right angle can be somewhat
tricky.

Easier and
more consistent to use sandpaper or a router.

Easier yet, a block plane set for very fine cut, with very tight
mouth. Three or four passes at different angles gives you as rounded
an edge as you could ask for. (At least to these over-40 eyes, an
1/16" octagon is close enough to a 1/16" diameter circle.)
--
Alex -- Replace "nospam" with "mail" to reply by email. Checked infrequently.