• Precision tools are a vital component in creating the perfect woodshoptool image by Zbigniew Nowak from Fotolia.com
  
  The woodshop is no place for imprecision whether you are working on building a cabinet to fit into a confined space or looking to create an exact scale replica of the White House from burl walnut. Your woodshop tools need to be capable of giving you precise measurements and then allowing you to make precise cuts along those measurements. Don't make the mistake of keeping an imprecise tool as a spare as this will just bring you more misery than shelling out the cash for a brand new tool.
  
  

Tape Measure

• Measuring lengths and widths can still be accomplished with solidly dependable precision using a tape measure. Buy a retractable tape housed in a rigid case. Things to look for include clearly defined markings on the tape, a reliable locking action that is easy to operate and a hook that facilitates internal and external measuring.
  
  

Squares

• Precise angles are best measured in the woodshop using squares. The try-square is used for checking the accuracy of jointed corners. The combination square is equipped with a calibrated sliding rule in the stock that makes it useful for precise gauging of depths. The head of a combination square has an angled face used for marking miters. This woodshop tool is even capable of checking the level accuracy of both vertical and horizontal surfaces.
  
  

Calipers

• The thickness and diameter of an object to be worked with in your woodshop is most precisely measured using calipers or a Vernier gauge. Outside calipers are useful for working with a lathe when you need to get critical diameters while turning the spindle, according to Robert Lento in his book "Woodworking Tools, Fabrication, Design and Manufacturing." A sliding caliper measures both inside and outside dimensions between a sliding jaw and fixed jaw. The Vernier gauge can measure both the inner and outer diameters of circular objects as well as the widths of a mortise and tenon joint.
  
  

Router

• The router offers precision cutting inside the woodshop that makes it a very good major tool investment for woodworking of many types. The electric router was originally developed to make cutting moldings and profiles easier, but today can be used for making such specific precision cuts as dovetail jigs, dados, rabbets and a variety of groove sizes. Attachments allow this precision woodshop tool to also be used for framing, shaping and even for lathe-style wood turning projects, according to author R.J. De Cristoforo in his book "De Cristoforo's Complete Book of Power Tools: Both Stationary and Portable."
  
  

Chisels

• The chisel is a woodshop tool that is ideally so precise that you should probably have a collection of them. Chisels are available in an array of shapes and sizes because they are best used with utter specificity. The editors of "Do-It-Yourself Workshop: A Guide to Essential Tools and Materials" insist that every woodshop needs a firmer chisel, mortise chisel and bevel-edged chisel. To ensure utter precision when using your chisels, make sure they are always kept sharpened and use them for removing wood only when no other tool can adequately do the same job.