Good Tools = Great Projects. And Bad Tools Just Suck!

This is my baby. My Bosch jigsaw, the love of my life (in the workshop at least). It allows me to EASILY make curvy cuts - which in my designs, is key!

This POS is my nemesis. The suckiest tool I own, but I keep is as a back-up for just these situations. I think it's an 800-year-old Black and Decker with mice running the motor.

I'm finishing up a kitchen remodel - you've read about it before. And one of the few tools I still have over there is my sweet baby Bosch. Can I tell you how much that has screwed up my day?! I'm starting a custom bench design, it's curved to fit around a round table and mimics the lines of the table. So of course, I need to make curved cuts.

Well, since I had a day off from the kitchen remodel, I decided to start on the bench. I had to make curved cuts with this sucky tool! It went about 1 mm per hour - oh wait, maybe slower. And just basically stinks. My lovely Bosch cuts through Oak like butter. Oh, I miss my Bosch, I'll never be without it this long again...

Well, all this tirade is meant to state this: bad tools do not make bad woodworkers. Bad tools just suck and make life harder. However, if you want to make your life easier as a woodworker, use tools that will help you succeed. We no longer use two rocks to make a fire, do we? Even though it works, it's not the best, most efficient way to get the job done. So, I refreshed my memory in this lesson. I will travel with tools, keep my tools close to me and baby them as they so lovingly deserve.

What sucky tools do you still use even tough you know you should probably upgrade? How much do they piss you off?