Admittedly, I'm writing this immediately after submitting an order for a bunch of german hand-tools from chadstoolbox.com*, but I'd be careful lusting after specialty or production tooling like rotary broaches. Every dollar I've spent on something I've only used once or twice (if at all) was a dollar I should have spent on better quality "every-day tools" (like my lathe!).
Not owning a rotary broach forced me to get creative the few times I've made something that needed a hex-shaped or square hole. So far I've been able to do everything I've needed just by drilling then hand-filing to layout lines. I've also re-purposed sockets from a cheap socket set (everyone has at least one or two cheap socket sets lying around — they seem to breed almost as much as cheap allen wrenches!). It's also amazing how far you can get with normal broaching using an HSS tool held in the quill of your mill or on the cross-slide of your lathe, cutting a few thou of material at a time.
Those techniques are ridiculously slow, of course. If I ever need to make a production run requiring more than one or two hexagonal holes, then I'll think about a rotary broach. As you point out, it's good to know such things exist, but I've finally learned not to purchase tools that I think I might need someday. (For some reason I have a mental image of my wife rolling her eyes as I write this.)
There's nothing like actually making things to tell you exactly which additional tools you really need. It's viscerally satisfying to have exactly the right tool on hand for some task, of course, but it really is just as satisfying to figure out how to do a professional job with just the tools you already own.
Regards,
--
Rex
* I'm still at step 1 when it comes to Wera tools — I admit I have a problem. My advice is never to make that first touch.
Not owning a rotary broach forced me to get creative the few times I've made something that needed a hex-shaped or square hole. So far I've been able to do everything I've needed just by drilling then hand-filing to layout lines. I've also re-purposed sockets from a cheap socket set (everyone has at least one or two cheap socket sets lying around — they seem to breed almost as much as cheap allen wrenches!). It's also amazing how far you can get with normal broaching using an HSS tool held in the quill of your mill or on the cross-slide of your lathe, cutting a few thou of material at a time.
Those techniques are ridiculously slow, of course. If I ever need to make a production run requiring more than one or two hexagonal holes, then I'll think about a rotary broach. As you point out, it's good to know such things exist, but I've finally learned not to purchase tools that I think I might need someday. (For some reason I have a mental image of my wife rolling her eyes as I write this.)
There's nothing like actually making things to tell you exactly which additional tools you really need. It's viscerally satisfying to have exactly the right tool on hand for some task, of course, but it really is just as satisfying to figure out how to do a professional job with just the tools you already own.
Regards,
--
Rex
* I'm still at step 1 when it comes to Wera tools — I admit I have a problem. My advice is never to make that first touch.
