A gift from my 7y.o.
Pen, flat/philips screwdriver, spirit level and even has a touchscreen compatible cap very handy for the lowrider control tablet
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can never have enough of them , in my ute i have 2 18v impacts 1 drill, 2 12v impacts and 1 drill
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For my parents, the 18V Ryobi tire inflator I bought them would seem to fit that billā¦ Maybe the same with the 18V chainsaw, actually. In both cases they had other tools that do the job ābetterā so I donāt think the usefulness was immediately apparent, but the convenience of the battery tools has won out.
In my case I donāt know that itās necessarily a single tool so much as an approach to commonly used tools. Getting extras and having them available wherever you need it. A set of earmuffs and safety glasses within arms reach of each place that needs it. Digital calipers at each workbench. Tape measures and steel rules stashed away everywhere.
Suggestion for the next question: Whatās the opposite? What are the tools you thought youād need but never use 
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Do you have a āstandardā you match them to? Iāve seen recent examples of measuring tools where an inch on one didnāt match an inch on another. It would stink to have a mismatched ruler somewhere so anything made on that tool would be out of dimension compared to all the others.
Reminds me of the saying āA man that owns one watch always knows what time it is. A man that owns two watches is never certain.ā
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Yeah, I do! I went down a whole rabbit hole on this a while back and got every tape measure and steel rule I own together and laid them out on my workbench and found quite a bit of variability.
I then bought an EC class 1 tape measure as well as 300mm, 600mm and 1m steel rules from Axminster Tools in the UK. These are specified to +/- 1.1mm over 10m.
Those all agree with each other to within my ability to measure them so theyāre now my references. I also have a Parf Guide Mk2 and the precision rules from that system agree with them.
Iāve gone through and tested every measurement I have against those references and Iāve marked the expected precision on the body of the tape or rule. A couple of cheap 300mm steel rules Iāve just put crosses on as in ādonāt bother, this is now just a straight edge or cutting guideā. Iāve also got a tape measure that lives in the car where the hook was sloppy so itās annoying to use.
The rest are marked with things like +1 +2/m which is my shorthand for the measurement being 1mm off initially and then another +2mm per meter of measurement. All of those are over the first meter but in general Iāve never seen one where the ratio changes partway down. If itās off by 1mm/m over the first meter then itās off by the same amount for 1-2m and 2-3m etc. If it werenāt, Iād probably mark it with an X.
In my head I thought Iād use the calibration marks to know that if I measured it as say 996mm on the tape measure, I could math it out to work out what the real calibrated measurement was. In reality, if I need it to be accurate Iāll just grab the fancy tape measure or a good steel rule and use those. For the inaccurate tape measures, the markings just serve as a reminder of what the precision is and which direction itās out.
I donāt really like the recommendation Iāve seen of ājust make sure you use the same measuring device for everythingā because that doesnāt work when your measurement device has an offset and you need to make 2 of one piece match another, etc. Tons of ways around that, of course, but Iād rather know how accurate my measurements are and plan accordingly than assume.
We say that all the time at work. Iāll be measuring something in 2 ways and mutter āoh no, a 2nd watchā. Thankfully with electrical equipment itās usually obvious which is the more accurate measurement but not always. A multimeter is very precise and can be very accurate while an oscilloscope isnāt very precise and is usually inaccurate. With measuring the right signal, though, those situations can easily flip.
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Not really a tool but noise reducing headphones. I turn on a podcast or some music and its much easier to stay on task. Productivity goes way up as soon as the tunes come on.
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And when your desk is near the big dust collector, those 
are a godsend
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Decent wire strippers and dedicated crimpers. For the longest time I made due with whatever cheap combo ones I had in the toolbox. A few years ago my BIL gave me a set of Klein strippers. Now I have two of them to cover the full wire gauge range and Iāve replaced the crimpers with a set of Klein ratcheting ones. They work so much better than the āsqueeze until you dieā crimpers.
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I agree with noise canceling headphones for sure. But the thing I hesitated to buy then found invaluable is a dumb pencil. Specifically:
Pica Fine Dry
I put it in my pocket at the beginning of the shop day use the heck out of it. I knowā¦ its just a pencil.
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Oh yeah. I discovered these recently too. Great for deep holes - I tried the chalk firing markers for a bit but I prefer these. 
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Late to this party. But my go to tool is a heat gun! https://www.harborfreight.com/1600-watt-12-amp-14-temperature-dual-speed-heat-gun-73175.html
I leave it plugged in a ready. Mostly for quick drying finishes but also great for heat shrinking. I was about to say I have use for de-icing locks but that ages me. Seriously I just realized we donāt put keys in car locks so often. 
Hairdryer on steroids.
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Just remember that noise canceling headphones are different than noise protection headphones. I use the 3M ones. They work really well.
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I tried earbuds under hearing protection, but it hurt my ears.
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HEAT GUN! I cannot get over how often I use it, how many uses there are for it, how nice it is to have it handy.
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Personally donāt trust active noise canceling headphones.
After observing several friends/extended-family develop hearing issues over the years, finally invested in $60 3M WorkTunes BT Wireless Hearing Protector, not cheap, but way cheaper than a single doctor visit. Smug healthcareās free responses from EU folks, in 3, 2, 1ā¦ 
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I do it the other way around - earplugs with my over ear headphones on (in noise cancelling mode, mostly because they generally sound better that way). Seems to work OK, and plenty comfy. My music is better loud anyway 
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A smallish bag with essential items like ointments and lotions, some treats and water. Maybe aromatherapy stuff. Basic aftercare suppliesā¦
Wait, wrong forum. Never mindā¦
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As soon as your Lemure pops up I know Iām going to be in for a treat.
Nah, thatās actually not covered by healthcare in most cases. It might if you really need it, but Iād have to google that. I have something like those: Alpine MusicSafe Individualhƶrschutz | KIND but from a different brand, my mom made me get them for playing the drums when I was 15 or 16. Work great in the shop, filter the annoying sounds but let me hear enough to know when the sounds of the CNC change. 
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I think heās talking about the doctor visit, not the hearing protectionā¦
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