Most hatred or useless tool you have/ had/used.

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As from the opposite thread we see that there are hundreds of preferences, all of them to be respected, may be with this new thread we find a more narrow scope or a more general agreement.

I know that there are tools around that shouldn't have seen the light ever:)

As far a I'm concerned I remember throwing away a tool out of desperation but I can't recall which tool it was, our brain has systems of protecting our sanity:D

So bids are open!
 
Some folks may recall my displeasure with a Maikta 3612BR router. :eek:

It served as a doorstopfor many years to remind me... both of how much I hated it, and the childish way I made sure it would never fail me again. :eek:

KC
 
I have a couple that come to mind...

The Chinese-made plunge router I bought in the early days of my woodworking. The collet was so poorly made it wouldn't hold a router bit, and everything about the router screamed "safety hazard".

A Harbor Freight lathe that someone gave me for free. It had a single speed, and the off switch only worked sometimes. It was an accident waiting to happen. I gave up on it shortly after the first time I tried it.

An adjustable square that looked promising at the store, but the markings were nowhere close to being correct, and the settings were not repeatable.

I've had a lot of other cheap tools over the years, but in hindsight, I did pretty much get my money's worth out of them.

I have other tools like a biscuit joiner and pocket hole jig, but have not yet really used them to their full potential, because I've not yet had the need. Nonetheless, they are good tools, and when the need arises, I'll be glad to have them.
 
I had a really crappy jig saw, a "Consumer" grade Ryobi. The blade was held in place by a grub screw, and you needed an allen wrench to change it. The whole thing was so mickey mouse if you cut anything thicker than about 1/4", the whole plastic case, or body of the machine would flex.

Cost me about $50, I had turfed it, and bought the Bosch that I have now, but a buddy came by and saw it in the circular file, and wanted it, I warned him, but he was happy with it.. :dunno:

Total piece of junk, but that was the last cheap poor quality tool I think I've ever bought, I think I might had actually learned that lesson......well maybe :rolleyes:
 
This router, hands down:

marvel60.jpg


Unsafe at any speed. ;)

Bogged down no matter what it was cutting.

And so incredibly difficult to adjust I almost threw up my hands over the whole enterprise. Seriously. I thought "I'll never be able to get this right... I can't even make two pieces of trim that match." Then I had a big argument with myself over wasting money. But one day I was so disgusted, I logged on and ordered the one most people have in their tables. "...and there was much rejoicing..."

As to that awful thing's fate: it was summarily hung from a rafter, where it remains suspended, to remind me of the folly of circular reasoning, and the depths of depravity to which tool marketers are willing to stoop. At least I hope it's fate keeps me from falling in that particular hole again! ;)

Hmmmm... now that I think about it, maybe I should do a Vlad the Impaler number on it! ;) If only I had a wrought iron gate! ;)

Thanks,

Bill
(who's disturbed by his own irrationality on this subject... ;) Somebody hand me a whiskey, quick! ;)

.
 
Hey Bill, do a double check to make sure that sucker is really well attached to the rafter....... I would not want it falling on your head in one final act of injustice.....:doh:
 
my most hated where cheap low quality edge tools..chisels in particular...sharpening is enough of a bugger without trying to sharpen junk.
 
It was a Black and Decker jig saw that I simply could not get to follow a line. Furthermore it could not cut straight up and down. I bought it about 25 years ago, replaced it twice in two week for free, then finally returned it, get a credit from the store, and bought a Makita jig saw that did a find job. In the end, the Black and Decker cost me no money and that is how much it was worth. Come to think of it, it was worth less than nothing because of the time that I took trying to get it to work properly.
 
My most hated tool was a HF lathe LOML gave me for Christmas 6 years ago. Sold it a year later. Couldn't buy attachements to fit it back then and the ways were tube steel that flexed horribly. Talk about a piece of junk!

Another is more frustrating than anything... HF dovetail jig. Works well enough for blind dovetails, but in the time it takes to set up, I could hand cut through dovetails.:huh:

Not bad mouthing HF tools in general. I have a number of HF tools that I like... recip saw, biscuit joiner, powder coat gun, etc. In fact, I wouldn't take $600 for my HF bandsaw and I gave $200 for it.

Another tool that causes me occasional grief is my Craftsman scroll saw, but that may be the blade I've been using. I can't seem to follow a line with it to save my life.
 
We seem to be out of the cycle of them, but bumper jacks. Bought a lot of them as I bought a lot of cars and each one generally had one or two bumper jacks in them. Accidents waiting to happen.
 
Black and Decker circular saw. Royal junk!

I am not a big fan of routers but thats another story. They have their place.

That when I turned the corner and started buy better tools.
 
PC Detail Sander, hands down. Tried to use it once... tried one more time years later, figuring the WW experience I had aquired over that time surely would make a difference. Never used it again. Worst part, I bought an open box unit and negotiated with the store manager to get it at 20% off. I felt pretty good. Got back to the shop and when I put it on the bench I saw writing on the side in marker I had not seen at the store. It said, "30% off." I was too embarrassed to take it back or ask for that other 10%.
I do still use some of the profiles for hand sanding, so it wasn't a total loss.
 
Yep, I've got one hanging on the wall. Useless and unused. It is a Grizzly cordless mini-router. Well made tool, I can't knock that but still useless. When I bought it, I envisioned using as a sorta scroll saw (on a limited basis), for engraving and doing delicate shaping on small projects. Does none of that. It is advertised as being able to cut up to 1" in wood with spiral cutters. Wrong, up to 1/16", maybe. (BTW similar tools by other brands make the same claims). Awkward and won't do the engraving jobs well either. Just hangs unused. I recharge the battery about once a year just for the 'h' of it.
 
Seems the B&D people are taking their lumps in this thread - sorry, but I must add another.

Some time back I bought (on sale) a B&D multi purpose drill, saw, router combo. One motor, several attachments, one battery. The best part about the entire set up was the nice canvas carry bag it came in. In all other aspects it was less than useless. After fighting with it and putting up with a battery that lasted minutes rather than hours I went back to a different Borg and purchased the Ryobi +One set which I am very happy with and have added tools, batteries, and chargers to.

The fate of the B&D? Nothing so glamorous as impaling it on a spike or hanging it from the rafters. I put it out on a table at a garage sale for $5. The guy who bought it (for $4) told me he wasn't likely to use the tool, but he liked the bag. :rolleyes:

Add to the list a Craftsman jig saw that could not cut a straight or plumb line and a little handheld piece of metal that is supposed to chamfer corners. Looks like this
web564big.jpg


Could never get this to work either. Might work on basswood, but on oak, Lyptus, chestnut, pine...... well, you get the idea. :D
 
Like two posters above, that Porter Cable detail sander.


First one I really tried to work with it, giving it a chance.
It was pitiful, very unsucessful. Pads would not stay on. Paper was horrible.

I gave that one away after about a year.

Couple of years later, WW Grainger had them on a 50% sale.

Yea. I did :rolleyes::huh::dunno:

I figured maybe they were new and improved. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
Not a chance. Same sander. Same problems.

It sits unused, in its case, on a shelf collecting specs of dust for every day it has sat there.

Sometimes I think about, wondering if I should open the case and let it have a fresh breath of air...........................
Naw. It can die in there, and I won't miss it. ;)




I thought I almost had it given away once. The guy found out it wasn't the variable speed model and he renegged on the deal...which of course was FREE. :rofl::rofl:
 
I bought a 'green' brand scroll saw at a ridiculously low price - shudda known better - the darn thing was so poorly built that when you turned it on it would start walking down the bench. I threw a couple of clamps on it and kept trying to make it work. Darn thing was so loud I had to wear ear protection - on a scroll saw:eek:

Sold it to a neighbor at a yard sale. Everytime I saw that guy I expected him to ask for his $25 back.:rofl:
 
When I was very young and had little in the way of finances, I bought a lot of Black & Decker and Craftsman Tools. With the lone exception of a 3/8 corded drill, every one of my Black and Decker tools were junk. ( Not really trying to slam B&D, I got exactly what I paid for).

The craftsman power tools were not much better if any.

Oh yeah, Harbor Freight Dovetail Jig, was a waste of money, I dont think I even got what I paid for on that one.:eek:

You will not find any in my shop Today.
 
Like I said in a similar thread on the OTHER forum:

I hate my cabinet saw. It runs fine and I use it every day. Out of all my tools it is the tool I use most(for woodworking), but I hate it. Every time I look at it, I feel a knot in my stomach, because I hate it so much. Sometimes I just want to walk up to it and kick it, but then my brain kicks in and tells me not to make things worse.

But other than that I am happy with ALL my tool purchases and I plan on staying that way.
 
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