Useless tooling? Wasted money?

kd4gij said:
It is better to have and not need, then to not have and need.
Click to expand...

Sorta depends on how deep your pockets happen to be. I've found out on several occations that even if don't have a given tool, you can often
find a go around that works. Just fill your p0ckets with ingenuity if you don't have the cash.
 
I'm novice hobbyist, the way I buy tools is , I first choose a project that I find interesting which also helps me learn a few new tricks, then I start researching how many ways are there to do it ,choose the way with the difficulty level that matches my level of experience , then buy the tools to do it right. so for every project I'll need a couple of new tools , my needs are dependent on the projects.
There's the reason why people consider this to be an expensive hobby, by the time you finish a few small projects you'll have acquired a whole bunch of tools, the trick is to buy the type of tools that can be used for multiple projects.
 
As a hobbiest I started out buying the basics. Then as I watched some better YouTube videos I saw where a new piece of tooling, some basic fixture or some basic measuring device would be needed to expand my capabilities. All my life I have looked at tools, fixtures, etc and said to myself 'if I just had that 'thing' on that other job I did life would have been a lot easier'. So if I can afford it I buy it for a possible future job. I have also learned over the years that a tool, fixture, clamp, etc is not sacred. Need a custom offset wrench. That what the cutting torch and welder are for.
 
Being a tool junkie (unless it's a poor quality tool) there is no such thing as a useless tool. Now I do have a ton of tools that I use less than once a year and a feeew duplicates ;-)

Randy
 
Stick with the basics until you need something. I kills me when someone will send twice as much on a vise as they paid for the mill Oh well I really don't know much about this except I gave away a whole set off r-8 collets because of putting the cart ahead of the horse.
Thanks scruffy ron
 
Scruffy said:
....................I gave away a whole set off r-8 collets because of putting the cart ahead of the horse.
Thanks scruffy ron
Click to expand...
Don't feel bad, I've let this happen many times over the past 40 years, too!
 
Investigator said:
R8 Drill chuck
Click to expand...
Especially on a bench top mill, it might be wise to get a drill chuck with a straight arbor rather than a R8 arbor. It takes much less headroom to change out the straight shank chuck, and even less if you cut off the straight arbor to an inch or so long. You will find that useful with the limited headroom of the bench top mill. It will also let the chuck fit on other machines (without R8) as well.
 
The stuff I use the most are a good Kurt vise and parallels, an assortment of bits and collets, a few drill bits, and a bench grinder. Nowadays I usually go to my drill press to drill initial holes. But in some precision hole drilling, a chuck for your mill might be handy- someday.

You will definitely need a bench grinder or two to sharpen your drill bits and prep your raw material, then break sharp edges after milling. I actually also have a separate, small 4" ID bench grinder with very fine stone wheels exclusively for keening up drill and lathe bits. Along with a couple of Arkansas whet stones to manually hone the edges, as needed. Use these for grinding HSS lathe bits as well. I probably go to one of my bench grinders at least twice, sometimes 5 or 6 times, every time I make a part with a mill.

In the beginning, I absolutely had to have a rotary table and dividing head. Found two DH's at pretty good prices. Never used either so far. One day this coming winter I plan to take them out of their shipping crates and figure out a use for them. Used the RT twice. And there it sits with my extra lathe chucks, making rust. I clean it a lot, that's about it. FWIW.

Actually, what you might also use a lot are a bunch of shop made work holding clamps, and maybe a commercially made angle plate or two. These are handy to hold work to the table, sometimes vertically as well as horizontal, if you don't have a GOOD vise.

Everything else is just fun to have. You might need it some day!

Glenn
 
Instead of a rotary table, I have found that collect blocks ( I use er40, but 5c are common) and are more useful to me. You still have a sizeable investment in collects, but they can also be shared with the lathe ( the collect blocks work in the lathe Chuck too).

I put a 6" Chuck in my rotary table, it's gets enough use that I leave it bolted to the table.

Get an awesome set of drill bits
Collects or endmills,( I prefer collets)
I use 1/8"parallels alot
End mills roughers, finishers (get good ones, they are a good investment)
Flycutter
Calipers, mics, tape, ruler

I went thru this some 4 years ago, little money and a crazy desire to own everything, I just could not afford it. Most the above items were what I had. But I made many clamps, hold downs, t nuts. Books, Harold hall has some good ones, he has many great ideas for making tooling.

Everyone's ideas here are pretty spot on.

I just thought of this, it pays to find fleemarkets and such, we have a couple decent ones around here that I visit every couple of weeks, I usually find a trinket or 2. One guy shows up every Sunday with machinist tooling. I usually give him 60-100 when I visit his booth
Hth
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top