Tools we should all have.

VonHart wrote:Is it true you can't carry locking blades in england? How do any of you have any fingers left?

Unfortunately it is true. For everyday carrying, the knife must have a blade under 3", not lock, not flick open, not open by gravity...

The thought of a sharp bit of metal guillotining the ends of one fingers off makes one careful where one puts the blade.

(The beloved has just got himself a new custom folder which is truly scary to close - it is very stiff so you need to have a finger where the blade will eventually fold into to start the closing, then move it out the way before the blade gets to the last bit where it more-or-less snaps shut!)

JingleJoe wrote:
Also I strongly advise several pairs of pliers! A crappy pair you dont mind getting ruined, a pair with a pointy precision end and a needle nose pair.

if you're going to be handling hot metal with pliers, keep a pair aside for that purpose - it would probably be best if it were another crappy old pair.

Ooh, let's see- handtools:

• Scalpel handles with various blades
  
• Needle and large files
  
• Clamps- 'G' and 'Quick' types
  
• Glass Syringe-for Dichloromethane and other chemicals
  
• Razor saws
  
• Fret saw
  
• Coping saw
  
• Woodsaw
  
• Tenonsaw
  
• Pin vices and drills in 0.1mm increments
  
• Pliers in various styles
  
• Sculpting tools, some purchased, some made
  
• Tweezers
  
• Spanners and allen keys
  
• Screwdrivers
  
• Steel rulers- 6", 1' and 2'
  
• Stanley knife
  
• Leatherman WAVE (Indispensable!)
  
• Hammer
  
• Chisels
  
• Vice

Powered tools:

• Rechargable drill
  
• Mains drill
  
• Dremel
  
• Skill saw
  
• Jigsaw
  
• Reciprocating saw
  
• Heat gun
  
• Soldering iron
  
• Blowtorch
  
• Lathe
  
• Pillar drill
  
• Bandsaw
  
• Disc sander

Optional:

• Bubbling vats
  
• Test tubes
  
• Jacobs ladder
  
• Glass tubes with coloured liquids
  
• Van Der Graff Generator
  
• Wimshurst machine
  
• Lightning conductor

Oh, and good lighting, that's a very impotant thing, I've got two Ikea desk lamps with 60 watt bulbs, I find them better than a single 100 watt lamp, not so harsh.

And really, really important: a good workbench- I made my own from 2x2 and 18mm MDF- very satisfying!

Tools is good.

Thats very true.

But don't forget the invisible, intangible toolkit that you carry round inside your head.

You could have access to the best equiped workshop in the world, but without knowledge and skilled application, you wouldn't get very far.

Build slowly to build quality.

Take the time to master the kit that you have to hand before you dash off to buy something new.

Practice, practice, practice,

Dr. Q.

All due respect to Victorinox, Gerber, et al., but "that's not a multi-tool... THIS is a multitool...











No, I don't have any idea who made it - it says "Germany" on the parts, but no maker. No, I don't know where to find another, this belonged to my Great-Great-Grandfather.

I was so glad when I found it again - I had seen it in the house, and remembered it, but it wasn't until I was clearing out the workshop prior to sale that I discovered that it had not been lost.


Chas.

Aye, a vice is something I need as well, tsk tsk... A pity, I had at least four back at my old house....shame on me....

TehZorch wrote:

Woah, woah, you mean there are people who don't have clamps/vices!?

Your posting with one! Its difficult to get away with installing a vice when you are renting and dont have a workshop lol

That's why I purchased an articulated vacuum vise from Harbor Freight. Suction mount can stick to any smooth counter without leaving a mark.

If you intend to do much metal working, there's a few items you will find useful.

A bench grinder with a grinding and a wire wheel,
an angle grinder with grinding, sanding, and cutting wheels,
channel locks, vice grips, cutting dikes, and needle nose pliers,
a hand drill and bits for those hard to reach places,
hammers and an anvil (a rail road rail makes a good one),
a chop saw will make a lot of things easier,
and the biggest, meanest drill press you can find.

Then there's welding equipment...

TehZorch wrote:Your posting with one! Its difficult to get away with installing a vice when you are renting and dont have a workshop lol

For the first few years, I made do with a piece of pine board, to which I screwed a long beech batten about two-thirds of its length along one edge.

On top of that, I screwed another, two-thirds the length of the first.

This gave me a sort of two-height bench stop to press work against.

Then I added a removable vice at one end, that clamped to the board whenever I needed it.

The whole was laid on a rubber mat that I rolled out on the kitchen counter, to stop it from sliding around.

That was my workshop, along with an Axminster mini milling machine on a board mounted on braked wheels, that I could roll under another counter. I ran wiring under the board to power two "goose-neck" mounted work lamps.

K.

TehZorch wrote:

Woah, woah, you mean there are people who don't have clamps/vices!?

Your posting with one! Its difficult to get away with installing a vice when you are renting and dont have a workshop lol

A g-clamp I find is quite useful, and obviously preferable in your situation.

Captain Lyerly wrote:All due respect to Victorinox, Gerber, et al., but "that's not a multi-tool... THIS is a multitool...


Chas.

Nice...

"Look, an obvious distraction"

Well, it was worth a try.

Z.

A.G.Morgan wrote:and the biggest, meanest drill press you can find.

In my opinion, you do not have a decent workshop if you do not have a drill press. I got one for Christmas a couple years ago (when I still rented) I kept it in a little outdoor storage box, and took it out when I needed it. And let my say, it is the difference between the shitacular and the awesome. (I could never have done my goggles nor my sword without it.)

TehZorch wrote:I've found that clamps or a vice of some sort can be the difference between a nice clean attempt at drilling a hole/cutting something and a project wrecking disaster

I am of the opinion that one can never have too many clamps. The availability of clamps of every different size strength and variety can make or break a project.

Rev. R. Farrier

Clamps are all well and gppd, but I would never be without a crystal lift, or a staking set..

Cheers
Harold

It's really quite an open ended question and really depends on exactly what you're intending to do, however I'd suggest that the following would be a good starting point for most things.

Basic toolbox.

-3/4" drive metric socket set
-Set of metric spanners
-Set of screwdrivers
-Set of micro screwdrivers
-Allen keys
-Torx drivers
-2lb and 1/2lb engineers ball pein hammers
-Steel retractable tape measure
-Engineers pliers
-Long nose pliers
-Side cutters
-Knife
-Assorted G-clamps
-Cordless drill
-Dremel type tool
-Mole grips
-Electric multi-meter
-Soldering iron

Metalwork

-Steel ruler
-Scriber
-Center punch
-Engineers square
-Set of assorted good quality files
-Set of needle files
-Set of Cobalt HSS drills
-Assorted G-clamps
-Rolls of emery paper
-Set of small EDM type oilstones
-Angle grinder


Workshop

-Pillar drill
-Bench grinder/polisher
-Sturdy workbench
-Engineer's vise
-Stick welder