The most recent surprise favorites are the ~Woodpeckers Rip Flip~

I keep eying the Rip Flip and trying to figure out other uses than just dados and resetting to an almost exact previous cut. My Biesemeyer fence on a Unisaw is pretty darn accurate. So my question is how are you using the Rip Flip?

Digital angle gauge for sure. I have used the very "old school" sliding bevel gauge for years and its fine. But all it can really do it transfer the angle. It does not tell you what the angle really is, at least directly. Since I got a digital one, I have used it way more than I ever thought.
Superglue and activator
Cordless laminate trimmers
I also really like the retractable extension cord. So nice to just let it roll itself up.
A cheap little Japanese style saddle square. It sits on a shelf of my back-bench and I use it a lot.

My most favorite tools:

Power -- SawStop, DF500 and Kapex 120
Power-tool Accessories -- JessEM clear-cut table saw stock guides; and Fastcap 10 million-dollar stick



Hand -- Veritas small BU smooth plane, and LAJ; 3/8" chisels; Japanese Dozuki; and Stanley 10-049 folding knife used as a marking knife
Hand-tool Accessories -- Gramercy holdfasts and Veritas planing stop

Supplies -- Magnets, magnets, magnets (all kinds & sizes)

Quote from: Birdhunter on April 25, 2022, 05:57 PM

The most recent surprise favorites are the ~Woodpeckers Rip Flip~

I keep eying the Rip Flip and trying to figure out other uses than just dados and resetting to an almost exact previous cut. My Biesemeyer fence on a Unisaw is pretty darn accurate. So my question is how are you using the Rip Flip?

I use the Rip-Flip on my Unisaw all the time. My fence is accurate too but it is so much easier to set a stop to a measure you might need to return to later in a project then try to bump your fence to the exact same spot by hand. Or you need to set a project aside for a while and work on something else. Stick a critical fence setting into memory so to speak using a Flip-Stop so you can come back to it whenever. you don't have to remember 5 days from now that the fence setting you want is 3-5/16 plus a whisker.

You say "almost exact previous cut", I would say that's an assumption and not my experience. I can not think of how you could return to a previous fence setting as precisely or quickly other than using the Rip-Flip.

It also makes it quick and easy to do quick, single blade dados when you just need one or two and don't want to swap out the blade for a dado stack. Or you can use the Rip-Flip with a dado stack to set the boundaries of a wider cut.

How many times have you set your fence and it was exactly on 2 inches right where you intended it to be so not an accuracy issue, but you need just a couple thou more (or less). Slide the Flip-Stop over and use the screw to nudge the fence over much easier than you can by bumping it with your hand (cause that always works the first time right?). A quarter turn on the fine thread screw is only a couple thousandth's of an inch. Works for me all the time.

I want to get a couple more stops, that's how useful I think they are.

The Rip-Flip is probably the most frequently used Woodpeckers tool I have in the shop surpassed maybe only by the tiny Mini Square that I keep in my apron and use to check square for tool setups. I have lots of other Woodpeckers tools; if I could only keep two those would be my choices.

The yellow push stick also presents another type of danger in use with a narrow piece (e.g., 3" to 5" wide) when the user unknowingly or incorrectly pushes the stock (front end) away from the fence, potentially causing a kickback to happen.

For feeding stock, I always use a push shoe, focusing the feeding force towards the fence.

Rubbing alcohol solves the problem on the pads. Gripper has a YouTube video about the maintenance tip.

For me two tools stand out above the rest…

-Knipex pliers-wrench (used mainly for non- woodworking tasks)
-Bluetooth remote for my DE

There are others, but these exceeded my expectations


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I purchased this inexpensive mallet 10+ years ago from the Container Store to assemble some storage frames. Thought it would be a one time tool. Wrong. It has become an unexpectedly prized possession.

https://www.containerstore.com/s/elfa/components/hardware-tools/medium_weight-mallet/123d?productId=11007853

To me, it is perfect. I momentarily panic when I can’t find it. Partly because it has been back ordered this whole year and I’m afraid I’ll never be able to get another one.

im going off "surprise" favorites. I have plenty of smaller tools but most I already knew I would like.  The one that sticks out to me that I purchased not knowing what to expect was the Festool carbide scraper for doing edgbanding.  I use it all the time and it does a really good job and surprised I liked it as much as I did.

I have considered buying one of those for years, but always chicken out at the last minute. I assume the whole point of the lanyard is to wrap it around your wrist while working with it? One drop to the floor and $70 gone.