Rant: I dropped $400 on a fancy digital angle finder and it's been a total waste

I mean, I saw all the ads and thought it would be a game changer for setting up my miter saw and checking cabinet frames. It's this little magnetic thing with a screen that shows the angle to a tenth of a degree. But in my shop, it's just not practical. The battery dies if I leave it on the metal saw for a few hours, and honestly, my old school bevel gauge and a sharp pencil get me just as close, way faster. I used it on a big built-in job last month and kept second guessing the readout, going back to my manual check. For that kind of money, I could have bought a really nice set of chisels or a stack of ply. Maybe it's just me, but I feel like a lot of these digital tools are solving problems we don't really have. Has anyone else bought a shop gadget that just collects dust?

3 comments

3 Comments

holly_reed5512d ago

Totally get that feeling! It's like the fancy coffee maker with 15 settings when a regular drip pot makes the same cup. My kitchen drawer is full of single-use gadgets that seemed essential online. The avocado slicer is the worst, a knife does it better and you don't have to wash a weird plastic thing. Sometimes the simple way is just the right way.

ray35612d ago

What's the most useless gadget you still keep around just in case?

seth_singh2012d ago

My 1998 Palm Pilot still has my old contacts and notes. It's basically a brick now but I keep it charged because what if I need a phone number from 2003. That weird stylus input was way ahead of its time.