# Apprentice or New to the trade machinist . What should I have to start ?



## mmcmdl

Over and over the same question . Lets do the thread and be done with it . These tools would be what would be expected walking in the door or after a years time . This list is NOT for a shop owner or someone owning their own equipment , but for an employee starting out in the trade .

You will need some mathematical ability . If you don't have this , take up a different trade . Period . That's not to discourage anyone , it's a fact . Fractions , decimals , millimeters , angles , geometry , trigonometry , etc  , it goes with the trade .

This thread won't be hijacked to lead you astray , I leave that to the moderators . Feel free to add comments but lets not confuse our newer members and possible future machinists .

I'm in the process of packing up a box for work , doing basic machining , thus I have this stuff out . Just thought it would be a good time to post this .


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## mmcmdl

6 " scale . Comes with many different graduations . You'll end up with 5-10 of these .


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## mmcmdl

Calipers . 6" to start . Get bigger as you progress . 

Call them Vernier , dial or digital . They do the same thing . As to what's the best and what do I need ? That's up to you and what you feel comfortable using . Each has advantages .


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## mmcmdl

0-3" micrometers . You can buy a set , or purchase singles off Ebay . Once again , there is no best . No need for carbide or ratchet / friction stops starting out . Those who think they're measuring accurately to the tenth are only fooling themselves . Buy what you can afford . This would show myself and a supervisor that " Hey , I'm a player " .


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## mmcmdl

A calculator . This is a must have . Trig functions are necessary . This is a TI-83 plus . It's totally useless to myself . I don't need to graph and play games . I grew up with a TI and it lasted until last year ( 30+years) and it finally literally fell apart . 

A TI-30 solar powered calc is currently $2.50 at Walmart . At that price , my TI-30 cost me ……………………………………..well , it wasn't much .


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## mmcmdl

Caffeine holder . Your favorite of course . Most likely you'll be working the off shifts starting out . Some companies require plastic with lids on them .


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## mmcmdl

Hex keys . Commonly called Allen wrenches . All sorts of different makers and styles . L shaped , straight , T handled long and short etc . The one you need is never in the pack . You'll end up with all of them . Standard and metric . Metric is a PITA but is very common these days . Gotta live with it .


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## mmcmdl

Deburring tool . If you're new in the trade , trust me , you'll be using this .  Multiple angled blades included in the handle for removing machining burrs and skin from fingers .


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## mmcmdl

Open end box wrench set. From Pittsburgh (HF) to Armstrong and Snap-on . Once again , they do the same thing . 6 pt or 12 pt depending on what angles you have to work with . Never seen a wrench fail to this day , so buy what you want . ( ratchet wrenches and sockets don't apply to previous statement . That cheap $hit will bust your knuckles in a heartbeat ) But anyway , that's a ways off in the thread . Pics to follow , but I have to sleep . Work comes early ……………..or late actually .


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## forhire

I setup my student workstations with the tools I'd expect them to provide entry level. There are a few items like the calculator, and various keys and drivers that have been added since these photos were take. The top three drawers are all the same across the shop and the lower drawers are more machine specific. I've replaced the 25' tape for a 16', as my drawers are not very deep. I also have a small 12' flexible tape and 6" and 12" tap handles. I was shocked to learn how expensive apprentice tools run these days.


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## mmcmdl

Thanks forhire . That is the perfect set for starting out .  Some of those tools are pretty inexpensive these days off the bay but your better tools will cost you indeed .


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## rbailey

I find my self using these quite a bit.


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## Tony Pisano

There may have been one in one of the photos, but I didn't notice an edge finder or combination square. . Way back, the shop I really started in let workers order tools and pay them off for so much a week. I started off spending $200 for the basics (1973 prices) and had to pay $5/week. They also told me to buy empty drill indexes and let me fill them as needed


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## chewietwo

Two Pieces of paper taped to the lid of you tool box. mark them A, B. If you borrow something write it down on list A. if you borrow something twice you move it to the b list.  B list are tools you need to buy, When list B is empty buy of list A. best advice my first toolmaker ever gave me. i didn't waist money on tools i didn't need!


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## MrWhoopee

In* *forhire's pictures, but not identified: 
scribe with magnet 
thread pitch gages (metric and imperial)
dial test indicator .0005 reading

Not previously shown or mentioned
Indicol indicator holder


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## Lo-Fi

I have a couple of little Zeus books which I use often, along with the 6" calipers already mentioned. 

_Good_ safety glasses! Ones that fit comfortably and won't scratch up too easily so you end up taking them off to see stuff clearly or they're irritating.


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## Aaron_W

This is a great thread. There have been similar ones but they tend to turn into huge lists of tools that become far less useful (I can look in a catalog for that).


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## fleetsailor1981

This is an excellent resource, thank you for taking the time to compile it


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## DavidR8

Question for @forhire (or anyone else) in post #10 above what kind of foam is that?


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## derf

That's referred to as closed cell foam. You can get it in different thicknesses, commonly found at Hobby Lobby.


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## Supergleep

DavidR8 said:


> Question for @forhire (or anyone else) in post #10 above what kind of foam is that?



You could also look for Kaizen foam on your favorite search engine.


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## mac1911

forhire said:


> I setup my student workstations with the tools I'd expect them to provide entry level. There are a few items like the calculator, and various keys and drivers that have been added since these photos were take. The top three drawers are all the same across the shop and the lower drawers are more machine specific. I've replaced the 25' tape for a 16', as my drawers are not very deep. I also have a small 12' flexible tape and 6" and 12" tap handles. I was shocked to learn how expensive apprentice tools run these days.
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Half decent tools are expensive and the pay scale to the cost of tools is a little off. Im in the auto repair trade … i can no longer afford to buy tools. Im at the point of just maintaining what I have.


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