Granite Stone

Whatever method of sharpening, a super flat surface always comes in handy. Some folks use plate glass, but granite is affordable and very flat. I used to use this to flatten my water stones and prepare card scrapers. More recently, I use it with PSA abrasive for honing edges. Seems that whatever method I end up using, this flat surface comes in handy for something.

Vertias MKII Honing Guide

The price tag on this honing guide is a little steep, but I found that it is worth the price tag. It takes the guess work out of setting the bevel angle, and has a mechanism for changing the angle slightly to create a micro-bevel, without having to remove the tool. It is also the only honing jig that I know of that can accommodate a #80 cabinet scraper blade.

I also have the optional roller for creating a cambered cutting edge. If you are new to hand tools, you won't need this just yet, but if you are starting to use hand planes to flatten wide surfaces, you will want to camber the cutting edge a bit. The only downside to this honing jig is that it cannot handle spokeshave irons.

Veritas Honing Guide

This one is not as nice or convenient to use as the one above, and does not cost that much less, but I use this one to sharpen spokeshave irons and any other short irons.

Marking and Measuring

Yardstick Compass

These come in handy for drawing large circles and arcs.  I find that they work best on one of those plane old, cheap wooden yard sticks. I have on yardstick that is 3', and another cut to 1' and 2' feet.

Incra Rules

I am a big fan of Incra Rules, and I own several size and the protractor too. The 6" 'T' rule is probably the best choice to start with. The extra length of the 12" can get in the way when you do not need it.

FastCap Measuring Tapes

FastCap measuring tapes have a built-in sharpener and a space for writing notes. My FastCap measuring tape of choice for general work is the "righty/lefty" since you can work from either direction without having to work around a metric scale. For cabinetry, I like the "flatback" with the story strip on one side, on which you can mark off important lengths.  It also comes with a metric scale instead of the story strip, which would come in handy for Euro style (system-32) cabinetry.

Router Depth Gauge

Adjusting the height of a router bit accurately with just a rule can be a pain. There are several solutions, but I find that this gauge can make quick work of the task.

Fractional Dial Caliper

This is the dial caliper I use in the shop.  I used it for checking the thickness of stock while planing and for other tasks that require precision.  It has both a fractional scale and a decimal scale.  I use the fractional scale for the most part, but the decimal scale comes in handy now and then.

Bevel Setting Protractor

In addition to my bevel gauges, I have this handy little protractor. It works great for checking the bevel angle on lathe tools, plane irons, and other tools. It is also useful for making jigs, etc.

Butt Chisels

For some tasks I find that regular bench chisels are too long, and find that these shorter butt chisels give me more control.

Heavy Duty Registered Chisels

I do not like to abuse my set of Hirsch bench chisels by whacking them full force with a heavy mallet. I bought these heavy duty chisels for that purpose. I first bough these to hog out the material when making the legs on my Tatami Style Bed.

Beall Buffing System

I love this buffing system, especially for small to medium turnings, like pens and bowls. For such turned items that will see heavy use, I usually apply a coat or two of boiled linseed oil and buff it out with the Beall. It also works well for buffing out other finishes as well. Note that the instructions indicate that it should not be used with linseed oil, but I believe that the problems the instructions allude to have to do with raw linseed oil. I have used this buffer with many project finished with boiled linseed oil, without a problem.

Center Finder

Perhaps not necessary, but certainly convenient for finding the center on stock.

Sanding Contours

These are great for sanding in tight spaces. I find that I use the round-over the most, then the bevel shaped, and then the coved shaped ones. The flexible flat pads are good for the final sanding.

Lynx Card Scrapes

I personally cannot tell the difference in performance between expensive and cheap card scrapers. I do find it useful to have various sizes, however. I bought this set because the sizes were ideal for the scraper planes I was making, but I like the different sizes, so I bought a second set for card scraping. I used the large on of this set throughout this video.

Saw Blades for Cutting Melamine

If you are going to be doing a lot of work with Melamine, you may want to consider investing in a saw blade for Melamine. The main issue with cutting Melamine is that the plastic Melamine coating chips out very easily. These blades are designed to deal with the brittle Melamine coating. The good news is that many of these blades also work well with veneered hardwood plywood; so, if use plywood in projects as well, the cost may be justified.

Building Workshop Workstations

If you are considering making workstations and shop cabinets using Melamine coated particleboard, Danny's book is a great place to start. Many of my workstations are derivations of workstations from his book, and some are even identical.