A better question is what can't you do with a good set of 1-2-3 blocks? These versatile, handy blocks are perfect for a wide variety of tasks around the home or shop, limited only by your imagination and applicable federal law. But first, a quick explainer: 

What are 1-2-3 blocks?

They're blocks, precision-ground to exact lengths - 1, 2, and 3 inches, to be precise.

Exactly 3 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 1 inch high, they usually include a series of holes, some of which are threaded. Metric versions are also available (25 x 50 x 75mm). They're as versatile and useful as your imagination lets them be, so let's dive in. Below we've compiled a thorough, but by no means exhaustive, list of some things you can do with them.

Metalworking

Use them as fixtures or material supports

Screw, stack, or alchemically fuse 1-2-3 blocks together to make jigs, fixtures, and more. Bolt them to your worktable, bolt them together, or use them when laying out parts to be machined. They're especially handy for laying out parts when surface grinding, or quickly mocking up different arrangements.

Use 1-2-3 blocks to quickly mock up layouts. Here, two are clamped to a table to form a right angle.

Use them as parallels

Need to mill something? If your parallel set was stolen by your kleptomaniac coworker Kevin again, grab a set of 1-2-3 blocks. They make helpful stand-ins for parallels in a pinch. Set them on your vise bed, set the workpiece on top, clamp the vise down, and get milling.

Check or calibrate equipment

Check calipers, micrometers, and even tape measures. While not quite as precise as gauge blocks, 1-2-3 blocks suffer very little dimensional fluctuation with temperature, thanks to their hardened-steel construction and precision-ground finish, and are great for quickly checking measurement tools.

Quickly checking a WEN 10764 caliper on a 1-2-3 block.

Woodworking

Use them as stop blocks

Clamp or set a block against your table saw fence to serve as a quick stop when making repeated crosscuts with your miter gauge. Just make sure the block is out of the way during the cut.

Using a 1-2-3 block as a stop block on the WEN TT1015 table saw, along with the WEN WA1401 premium miter gauge.

Alternatively, clamp one to your miter saw fence for a quick and easy way to make repeated crosscuts of the same length.

Check squareness

WEN 1-2-3 blocks are machined to high degrees of accuracy (+/- 0.0002" accuracy, 0.0002" parallelism over their length, and 0.0003" per 1" squareness (0.007mm per 25mm, for metric versions). Therefore, they make great squares, whether for layout, checking a new combi square or carpenter's square, checking that a saw blade is properly set up, or for ensuring that your jointer's fence is perfectly perpendicular to the bed.

Checking a combination square's squareness.

Checking a fence for squareness on the WEN JT1020H 10-inch jointer.

Use them for quick offsets and setup

Need to set your table saw, band saw, or router fence? Reach for a 1-2-3 block. Need a little more height for your router table setup bar? Stack it on top of a 1-2-3 block. Routing a 1-inch dado? Use a block to check the router bit's height from the table.

Use them as material supports for through-drilling

If you need to drill through a workpiece, and don't want to put holes in your workbench, set the workpiece atop some 1-2-3 blocks, with the drill point centered over one of the holes in the blocks. Just make sure your drill bit is smaller than the hole in the block. 

Using a block as a support for a piece of 3/4" plywood, ready to be drilled.

Calibrate fences

On your table saw or band saw, use the precise width of a 1-2-3 block to calibrate the fence scale pointer. Simply set it against the blade, set the fence against the other side, and adjust the pointer as needed.

Using a 1-2-3 block to calibrate the fence scale pointer on a WEN BA1411 14-inch band saw.

Set blade height or drill bit depths

1-2-3 blocks are perfect for setting blade heights on the table saw, or drill bit depth on your drill press. For example, if you need to drill a hole 1/2" deep in a 2x4, which is 1-1/2" thick, simply set your drill bit depth using the 1" dimension of a 1-2-3 block as a stop, and fix the depth on your drill press. 

Use them as material supports with a vise

Need to sand a stubborn small piece that won't stay put, and don't want to sand by hand? Use some blocks as support, and clamp the wood in a bench vise. Make sure to not clamp it too tightly, or use a set of vise jaw pads, to prevent damage to your workpiece.

Other

Use them as avant-garde paperweights

If you're working in your shop from paper plans, and need to blow some sawdust off your bench, put a block on top of the papers to keep them from flying everywhere.

Teach your children the concept of rectangles

After all, Euclid isn't around any more to do it for you. 

Use them as weapons in the zombie apocalypse

Heavy-duty and resilient, yet palm-sized, they're great as both projectile and melee weapons to help you escape the marauding undead.

Quickly make yourself taller

Need to impress your potential new beau on a date? Put a pair in your shoes for an instant height boost. Or, even better, attach them to the soles for a flashy pair of heels that would kill in Milan. 

Summary

Thanks for reading! If you dream up any especially creative new ways to use your WEN 1-2-3 blocks, tag us on Instagram @wenproducts. We'd love to see what you come up with!