Replies

1. 
   rez | Mar 17, 2004 02:26am | #1

   I'm kinda partial to the nippers.

   Eased my workload many a time.

    
2. 
   JeffBuck | Mar 17, 2004 02:36am | #2

   egyptians, I think.

   Jeff

   Buck Construction   Pittsburgh,PA

        Artistry in Carpentry                

3. 
   Sphere | Mar 17, 2004 03:41am | #3

   Toothbrush..oh, you mean tools..

   The circular saw blade..invented by a Sister Anne..(or so the lore goes) a Shaker woman..saw the gear on a loom and ..BINGO..the rest is history..

   And it counter cousin..the ubiquitous SAWZALL..or for the politically correct crowd the Reciprocating-cut through any thing vibrate yer (now clean) teeth out saw.

   those are some choppers I don't want to be with out..thank god the good old days are gone..

   View Image

   Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks

   Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations. 

4. 
   Shoeman | Mar 17, 2004 04:02am | #4

   haven't actually tried one, but, the jig saws with the LED lights seem like a pretty good idea.  Supprised Bosch didn't include that feature on their newest offering

5. 
   RW | Mar 17, 2004 05:08am | #5

   Bosch angle finder, collins clamps and miter clamps, Mirado pencils, stainless coffee mugs. What would life be without them?

   "If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain

6. 
   mrhodes | Mar 17, 2004 05:30am | #6

   CLAMPS.  Imagine trying to get that laborer to hold stuff together until the glue dried.

1. 
   Sancho | Mar 17, 2004 05:45am | #7

   collins clamps

   dove tail jigs

   pocket hole jigs

   nose hair trimmers 

   Darkworksite4:

   Gancho agarrador izquierdo americano pasado que la bandera antes de usted sale

1. 
   Lateapex911 | Mar 17, 2004 06:46am | #8

   Best tool EVER invented?

   Well it wasn't invented per se, more accurately "harnessed"

   Electricity. Without it, most tools wouldn't exist.

   Jake Gulick

   [email protected]

   CarriageHouse Design

   Black Rock, CT

1. 
   Fingrs | Mar 17, 2004 07:13am | #9

   The thermos.  Hot?  Cold? How do it know?

   Seriously, I like my air nailers..

2. 
   4Lorn2 | Mar 17, 2004 08:21am | #11

   Had a professor point out that everything that electricity does, at least power wise, could be done with steam, internal combustion engines, tightly wound springs or hydraulic, or pneumatic, accumulators.

   One plan: Get to work. Start the fire in the boiler on the back of your truck. Snake out the hoses as you wait for the boiler to come up to steam. The steam drives a compressor to drive your tools. Lighting would be by kerosine lantern or carbide lamp.

   of course you could use a gasoline or diesel engine instead of steam. The steam would be nice so you could burn scraps, keep a pot of coffee always hot and easily make lunch. There was even a car at one time that had a high efficiency steam engine. Not a clunky Stanley Steamed. Why not a truck?

   Greatest invention? Hmmm.

   Writing would get my vote. Writing makes the collective wisdom and stories of all humanity through all time since its invention available to so many. We can share our ideas across time and space. Fanciful and practical. Good idea and bad. Right, or right for then, and wrong, or wrong for now. Slowly we perceive a way forward and learn the dead ends.

   No longer does a person need to start always from scratch. Writing allows us to stand on the shoulders of our ancestors. Ground shaking advances of a hundred years ago are understood by grade school children who will go on to advance the arts and sciences even farther.

   A lot of what electronics and information sciences does is an abstraction of and speeding up of writing. Nothing a computer does cannot be done with a stubby pencil, a lot of paper and a very long time.

7. 
   mudman | Mar 17, 2004 07:15am | #10

   Tape measure. Imagine carrying around a 25' stick!

   HE He,

   Mike