What are some less-obvious items that you must have in your shop?
I'm very new to woodworking and I'm focusing on learning how to use hand tools. I'm slowly acquiring more tools and setting up my workshop, but I just know that there will be something super useful that I haven't thought about, and won't realise that I need it until I actually need it.
What items can you just not live without in your shop?
I find myself using a chunk of beeswax way more than I expected. It's handy for little spots where you need some quick lubrication, in addition to its usefulness as a finish.
I definitely need more clamps! I think just work holding in general (and a decent bench to hold the work to) is something that I need to invest in.
A rasp is definitely on my list. Are there any particular types you recommend? I've got a shinto rasp on my wishlist, but I suspect that's not quite what you're talking about.
Diamond stones for me. I tried the sandpaper on glass method for quite a while and had no idea what I was missing until I got a set of quality diamond stones. Along with it I strop using a strip of denim with green compound.
To be honest I’ve never used a leather strop. I discovered this site when I was learning to sharpen knives. The guy behind the site had access to an electron microscope and used it to test different methods. He found that a loose strip of denim (fixed on one end and held in the hand with the other) with stropping compound worked better than a leather strop. I think for straight razors he added a step after with either dry denim or diamond spray. I figured if it was good enough for this guy it’s good enough for me.
I can say the denim works better than stropping compound on a flat wood board.
This is a reassuring list as I've already got the first three. First thing I made was a shooting board, and for a plane stop, well, I just screwed a thin strip of wood into my worktop. It's not great, but it does the job for now. Thanks for the input!
I use dial calipers all the time even though it's woodworking, not metalworking. Specifically fractional dial calipers. I have digital calipers but they can be a pain to interpret since they show to the nearest 1/64" and I usually need 32nds or 16ths. With an analog dial you can just glance at it and get the measurement you want.
They're great for measuring bolts and screws for pilot holes and measuring for joinery.