Useless tooling? Wasted money?

Investigator

Investigator

H-M Supporter - Gold Member
H-M Supporter Gold Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2016
Messages
603
Just curious about others experiences. I'm in the process of ordering tooling for my new (to me) benchtop mill. Looking through all the catalogs and vendors on line, seeing lots of stuff that makes me think "I might need that".

My question though is this; When you first got your machine(s), what did you spend money on, such as tooling, that you have not used and now realize you didn't need and or wasted your money on?

Kind of the opposite question from "what should I buy", I'm asking you to tell me from your experience "what should I not buy"?
 
I've been limited by my (lack of) income, haven't bought any rotary tables, super spacers, etc.. Wished I had some occasionally, but.....Also, I bought a cheap mill vice, $78, not $4 to 600, its' been quite adequate. I live with its limitations. I built my own power table and head feed, rather than purchasing them, too.
 
It depends a lot on which mill you have and what you plan to make with it. A lot of money can be wasted on tooling that is too stout for the machine to reasonably drive. More money can be wasted on tooling that looks and sounds cool but will be used rarely or never. Specialty items like tramming aids can easily be done without by knowing how to use an indicator so it is easy to read and lightly skims the table, an indicator and the proper type of spindle mount for it will actually do the job better, and will be useful for lots of other work as well. "I might need that someday" and "that just looks or sounds too cool" mean you should probably wait a while and see if there is a real need for it... Start with collets, cutters, something to bore with, a drill chuck, a decent vise, and a hold down set. Add a test indicator, a dial indicator, and a quality stand and spindle mount, and common measuring tools. See where that takes you, and use your imagination to keep more green in your wallet. Or, be like me and many others here, and be on the lookout for used tooling for sale at good prices, preferably where you can check it out before buying it. You will end up with lots of tools with some white elephants thrown in, maybe useful some day, maybe just conversation pieces others are unloading. If the pricing is right, tool lots and vintage tooling can be great deals.
 
I have to agree with Bob, only buy tooling when you have a need for it and keep an eye out for used tooling. When I first got my mill, I wasted a lot of money on tooling that I thought I needed. Some has never been used and maybe never will. On the other hand, I knew I wanted to cut gears and setup a eBay search for dividing heads. It took over 2-years but I finally found a DH made for my mill and the seller accepted my make an offer price. It was over a year before I needed, it but it was there to use and at a price that I could afford.
 
It is better to have and not need, then to not have and need. :idea: Any tool purchase is a good purchase. :einstein:
 
Thanks for the input. I got real lucky buying machines, and was able to resell one lathe which left me with some "free money" to tool up. I was thinking of a rotary table for the mill with dividing plates. I don't need it right now, but I 'think' it would be handy. My thoughts for the moment are a 4" vise, rotary table, fly cutter set, ER32/R8 collet chuck and collets, R8 Drill chuck, clamping set, and to start with the 20 pc set of end mills with both 2 and 4 flutes. I also need indicators for set up and tramming.

I have a 8x28 round column mill, the Enco RF30/31 by the way.
 
I'm with the guys that suggest you buy the basics and add tooling as you need it. I'm going to guess that for most new hobby guys, a rotary table will gather dust for some years before you have the need for it. I'll go so far as to say wait on the clamping set (and the 1-2-3 blocks) until you have the need; a good vise is going to handle the vast majority of your clamping needs in the near future. Instead, buy some good end mills - both roughing and finishing. The cheapy 20 piece end mill sets are fine for learning but I find good cutters are important.

Save yourself some grief and buy or make a decent flycutter; you will need this to square work pieces before starting almost every project. I would suggest an inserted carbide flycutter instead of using brazed carbide or HSS.

Some spotting drills will come in handy. Also buy some good drills. Wire size first, fractional second and letter sized last. You will need them all eventually, just as you will need good taps and reamers that will follow them.

Buy one really good dial test indicator so you can reliably tram your vise; a 0.0005" one is most useful. Don't forget you will need a way to hold the indicator.

Buy a decent dial indicator to tram the column. One that is not as commonly used but that works well is the old Starrett back plunger type that can usually be found cheap on ebay. It has a button tip that slides over T-slots easily, and its 0.001" sensitivity is enough for tramming.

And yes, you need parallels. 1/8" thick is most useful but almost as useful is a thin parallel set. These thin ones go up in height in 1/16" increments and are very useful when positioning a thin workpiece in the vise. They also allow you to support a workpiece and drill it close to an edge.

Speaking of edges, buy a good edge finder. The venerable Starrett 827A works well, for under $30.00. Brown & Sharpe and Mitutoyo also make good ones.

Before you buy a rotary table, I would buy a boring head, a good set of cobalt bars for it, a set of telescoping gauges and micrometers so I could make a decent hole. I would also buy an angle block set, a tilting angle table and a small vise to sit on it before I would buy a rotary table; this will allow you to cut angles on a work piece like, say, a carriage stop for your lathe.

Good luck. I think you will find that if you buy stuff as you need it and buy good stuff, you will save money in the long run.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top