Important non machine tools to have?

wrmiller said:
I currently have in my 'shop':

Air Compressor
Parts Washer
Two 40" Craftsman toolboxes full of hand tools (too many to list here)
A Foredom flex-shaft hand grinder (sturdier version of a Dremel)
A small blast cabinet full of medium glass beads.
A 3-piece Kennedy tool box with measuring stuff (DIs, DTIs, calipers, mics, gauge blocks, pin gauges, etc., etc..) and lathe/mill specific tooling (too many to list here)
A 72" hand work bench
A iMac computer hooked to my WiFi (the one I'm typing on...)
Coffee pot
A 6 1/2 x 10" metal cutting bandsaw (Griz G4030)
Two grinders with various wheels
Two granite plates

Still to get:

Larger blast cabinet
AC/DC TIG welder w/accessories
A small combo sheet metal brake/shear

It's not a lot, but I manage. :)
Click to expand...

:grin big: Sounds like you're barely surviving. :grin big:
 
Aaron, I'll contribute but how about at the end of this thread you compile a summary and see if the mods will make it a sticky. This comes up often enough that it should be one.

Safety Glasses and hearing protection.

Marking out:
  • Magnifiers as required. This is more important than you might realize, even for young guys with young eyes.
  • layout dye (a Sharpie is a good substitute)
  • a sharp scribe (I prefer the Starrett 70A steel scribe so I can sharpen it easily; the 70AX and BX are carbide but harder to sharpen).
  • sharp prick and center punches and know how to use them.
  • Hermaphrodite calipers are useful, as is a dial caliper that you don't mind abusing for layout work.
  • A height guage for more precise layout is useful but for general use a small surface gauge is often handy; I use a beautiful Starrett 56B with a 6" Starrett scale often. Use these tools on a surface plate as they are intended.
  • An optical center punch can be useful but parallax makes it difficult to be accurate; skill with a sharp prick punch is usually just as accurate as an optical punch.
  • You need a small brass hammer to hit punches with - make your own.
  • You should also have a good, hardened combination square and an accurate protractor (I like the old style Starrett C493B).
Lathe
  • Good light - LED is cool, bright. I like the Aurora from Woodturner's Wonders. Light makes you safer and more accurate.
  • Wrenches and hex keys tailored to your lathe. I have these tools dedicated for use with the lathe so I don't have to go find the set they came with when I need them.
  • Dedicated indicator holders for use with the 4 jaw chuck or checking run out. Make these.
  • Lathe tool height gauge - make one that is on the exact center height of your lathe. One of the most used and useful tools in your shop. I also use it to align my threading tools; I butt one end of the gauge to the chuck and the other end to the side of my accurately ground tool and the 60 degree tip is quickly set. I abhor using a fishtail for this job.
  • A small tray to contain all the tools in use at the lathe. Stupid? No, not really.
  • Good turning tools and whatever it takes to keep them sharp - grinders, hones, etc.
  • Calculator - get a solar powered one so the thing works every time you use it, which is often.
  • Thread micrometers or 3-wire set, dial calipers/mics, a stainless or brass brush and compressed air are all needed for thread cutting.
  • A really, really good first aid kit, and know how to use every item in it. Keep this stocked at all times.
Mill
  • Same thing - specific wrenches and stuff you need for the mill, light, etc.
  • Good dial and dial test indicators and holders as required.
  • Small dead blow hammer to position vise and work pieces. I like the Wiha 18oz.
  • Spindle wrench from Luminar if it suits and a drawbar wrench.
  • A good clamping set to lock stuff down to the table, rotary table, etc.
  • A small 1" screwless vise that will hold small work pieces. It goes in your milling vise and can be angled as required. Mine has a V in the jaw to hold small round work.
  • Angle block set - import is fine.
  • Tilting angle table is really useful. I much prefer using this over an angle block set so the work piece is clamped solidly and square in the vise while its surface is cut at an angle. You will botch up fewer jobs with this table. The Sherline tilting table will hold the rotary table and allow you to do stuff that is not usually possible.
  • Square and Hex collet block set - very useful for simple indexing jobs on round stuff.
General
  • Screwdrivers - buy JIS (Japan International Standard) screw drivers and bits - they do not cam out. You can buy good ones from Vessel Tools and others. The tool bit sets from Chapman are good, too.
  • Hex Drivers - I suggest Bondhus - more precise, sized more accurately and tough as hell.
  • Pliers - try the NWS pliers from Lee Valley Tools. You might not think pliers are important but they are.
  • Precision Tweezers - very handy for many jobs, including pulling splinters out of your hands on a near daily basis.
  • Torque wrenches and torque screwdrivers if you don't have them. The best are from Precision Instruments and Sturtevant-Richmont. SR makes a really nice little inch-pound screwdriver torque wrench that is useful.
  • Fire extinguisers
That's what comes off the top of my head and I'm sure I missed a bunch. The most important item is the first aid kit. If you can, keep a cell phone on your person when working in the shop; if you go down or are caught in a machine you need to get help.
 
ThunderDog said:
QUALITY set of drill bits in increments of 64ths. (I already owned drill bits, but they were butchered from my days working as a plumber and in the construction field.:black eye:)

Bonus:
Calculator (Yes, this is basic and obvious. I now have a couple old cheap ones stuck to my garage cabinets with double sided tape. So handy to know where it is when I need it.)
A good quality printout of a drill chart/tap chart with conversions. (Stuck to the cabinet door beside that calculator.:grin:)
Click to expand...

I purchased a cheap 115 drill bit set. This was a bad decision. Some of the drill bits were not sized correctly. I ended up getting a decent quality 115 drill bit set, so the other now gathers dust.

I also find a calculator very useful in the shop. I purchased an HP 32S "scientific" calculator several decades ago. I now keep this in the shop. I use it often. It is not solar powered, but the battery is going strong after many years. I wonder how many folks can still remember how to operate an HP calculator with RPN (Reverse Polish Notation).

I recently got a drill/tap chart. It is mounted on a door, not next to the calculator, but in easy view.

I would add to a list a good and quiet shop vac. I have a Fein shop vac I purchased at least a decade ago. Fein and Festool make quiet vacs. Sadly my model is no longer made. Fein now only sell a smaller model. I will not be happy if mine dies since I will not be able to replace it.
 
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@mikey ... You mean I shouldn't use a 5lb mini-sledge to hit punches with?!?!? It makes such nice deep punches though!! :D

You guys are making my wallet cry out in terror with all the tools I'm going to be looking for.

I've got a simple scribe, but I think I will make a sharper one as an early project when I get the lathe set up. Maybe like the one ClickSpring shows in one of his videos. Easy, but useful.

For drill presses... Clamps, and vise grips. Having the metal part grab in the bit and start spinning and/or flying randomly around the shop is not a fun experience. Don't do it. Or so I'm told, I wouldn't do that.... *wanders off trying to look innocent*
 
Aron, It would be helpful to know what kind of projects and what size machines you'll be working on? Some of your choices seem a little small, but if you are only going to build small items that may be fine.
 
ttabbal said:
@mikey ... You mean I shouldn't use a 5lb mini-sledge to hit punches with?!?!? It makes such nice deep punches though!! :D

You guys are making my wallet cry out in terror with all the tools I'm going to be looking for.

I've got a simple scribe, but I think I will make a sharper one as an early project when I get the lathe set up. Maybe like the one ClickSpring shows in one of his videos. Easy, but useful.

For drill presses... Clamps, and vise grips. Having the metal part grab in the bit and start spinning and/or flying randomly around the shop is not a fun experience. Don't do it. Or so I'm told, I wouldn't do that.... *wanders off trying to look innocent*
Click to expand...

I have a little brass headed hammer that is only used for punch marks. The head is mounted on a stainless steel shaft that inserts at a 5 degree angle; this allows the head to come down square on the end of the punch so I don't push the point off my lines. It has a beautiful Tiger Koa handle made to fit my right hand. Works good, and certainly gooder than a 5# sledge when marking out!

Have you seen the Kreg Bench Clamps? Pretty nice. They auto-adjust for height and you can adjust the clamping pressure. I made T-nuts to fit them that fit the T-track on my drill press table and the clamps are easily positioned. Having the clamps there means I usually use them, which is safer for me: https://www.kregtool.com/store/c29/bench-clamps/p390/3-bench-clamp/
 
Aaron_W said:
I continue to see misc tools bought up. Since they are general tools and not specific to any machine, they seem to be overlooked.
Click to expand...

I once remarked that my swiss army knife (super tinker, if it matters) was useful, but what I really
wanted was a swiss army stick. All the sizes, shapes, colors, ready to flip out and use...

bamboo chopstick - for probing (whittle end to best shape)
kebab skewer - for fine probing
toothpick -for grease application
Popsicle stick - for epoxy prep and application
slats- yardstick, paint stirrers
shim wedges - singles to steady rounds in vise, pairs for adjustable parallels
shim wedges - scraper
2x4 scrap - soft vise jaw
2x4 scrap - drill press table saver
2x4 scrap - shim stock for coarse work
tongue depressor - shim stock for fine work
4x4 block - customizable pencil/scribe/scale/forcep stand
endgrain butcher block - gasket/shim/pattern cutting substrate
 
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