What's your most critical shop tool?

 Starting over is a mixed blessing...  It's not often that someone sells their entire woodshop. What's that line - lock, stock and barrel? 

Well, I pretty much did that, selling the woodworking school with its entire contents intact - all of the Festool gear (including both Dominos and the track saw), three Sawstops, a kick-ass 12" jointer and the 24" planer, and more. 

MUCH more!

And setting up a new shop is great... I've had five or six shops in my lifetime, and each one allows me to tweak what doesn't work, and add what new features I need. That's where I'm at right now - and let me say - it's pretty damn exciting!

In addition to the two tools I could never live without (a good tablesaw and a quality planer) - I just ordered a new panel saw. This is a luxury that I've learned I can't live without, and for me - it takes the place of a track saw, a radial arm saw, and even a tablesaw, since it rips wood like a dream. When working alone, I've found this tool to be invaluable.

I have a few commissions in the pipeline, and this beast is going to make cutting large panels of wood by myself a breeze.

But honestly - with the high temperatures that we have here in Vegas, a good shop refrigerator is ALL-IMPORTANT! I have my eye on this one, it's ridiculously cute, and frankly - I only need it to hold beer and water, two shop essentials!

What's your most critical shop tool?