Ot: Best Tooling Purchase?

A

Andre

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Just out of curiosity, if you had to buy any piece of tooling again what would it be?

My vote goes to parallels, no more hunting around for HSS tool bits and round bar stock to use.
 
Quick change tool post for me. I hated the lantern tool post and wasnt a big fan of the 4 way tool post. Full disclosure I didnt have to buy my toolpost a friend gave me the one he had after he sold his lathe
 
All good answers so far and I agree with all.

The set of square and hex 5C collet blocks that I bought on a whim has become an often used asset to my shop that I would never want to be without. Best $49 I ever spent.
 
I'm with seasicksteve . My quick change tool post for my 1st lathe. Sure helped speed up the learning curve.
Thanks ron
 
For the mill, a DRO
For the lathe, a QCTP
For general shop use, a 1"x42" belt/disc sander, with the disc replaced by a Scotchbrite wheel (6x1x1, 7S or 8S fine, make your own arbor). Seems I use this wheel for every part I make on the mill, lathe, bandsaw, etc. Great for deburring, polishing, general cleanup.
Another handy tool is, of course, the bandsaw. Set it up correctly, and even the 4x6 is an accurate workhorse.
 
Don't know why I got interested in collecting Gilbert Erector sets and other Gilbert toys 16 years ago, but I got hooked. I had probably the nicest 1919 No. C Brik-tor block set anyone in the A. C. Gilbert Heritage Society had seen. Took it to a few shows for display, got a smile from all the oows & ahhs. Then started doing some projects on my non-DRO equipped mill. Sold the Brik-tor set for $600 on eBay and bought a 4-axis DRO from TPAC tools. BEST purchase besides a wedding ring 25 years ago. Don't miss the Brik-tor set at all. Now I get a BIG smile every time I go to the mill.

For the lathe I had mounted a block of steel around 2" x 3" x 4" with a hole drilled through for a bolt to a T-nut for a make shift tool holder. Scribed a center line on the block with a chucked up center drill, milled a slot for mounting a tool. Looked like a 1-way turret style tool holder. Did the same thing for a cut off blade. Finally bought a BXA QCTP from All Industrial Tool; third best purchase in my shop. So nice to throw a lever and change tools.

Inherited a Dremel tool 1" x 30" belt, 4 or 5" disk sander from my father-in-law. Doesn't have a lot of power, but it's so much nicer for knocking burrs off after milling or parting. Fourth best purchase.

Bruce
 
By best tool purchase would have to be all of them. As they where for the job at hand at the time. :encourage:
 
All inclusive answer all of them. However, the bandsaw may be the first one. In my world most of the projects start by cutting something to a workable or planned length. Decisions about projects tended to be influenced by the amount of hacksaw work was involved, not that critical now with a bandsaw in the shop.
Have a good day!
Ray
 
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