What is in your shop?

[Jeremy_Sawatzky]

Id like to start a discussion regarding what kind of tools you guys use to make your DIY projects. - be it metal, wood, plastic. - what are you using to create your projects.

For my custom camera crane and pan/tilt head i actually used the very basic tools i found in my parents garage

Drill Press
Table saw
Chop Saw
Files
Bench Vise



there were a couple pieces i sent off to get machined but its amazing what you can get done with the most common tools. I was using wood blades on the saws and invested in some titanium and cobalt bits for the drill.

following the general completion of the crane (its never really finished) - i decided il be building the second prototype this summer along with a new pan tilt head. I think its time for me to move up in the tooling world.

So Il likely be investing in some new equipment this month. I be looking to pick up a band saw, - I fried my table saw This will give me much more controllable and straight cuts, It will also eliminate the need for the chop saw. Next is a welder with a spool gun to handle the aluminum. - being able to just tack pieces into place rather than measuring and drilling and tapping for bolt holes will be a heck of alot easier. not to mention weight savings. There are over 150 bolts holding my crane together! - next will be a 3 in 1 end mill. This unit will allow me to machine the precise pieces needed like motor mounts, custom shafts for the pan/tilt, drilling holes larger than 1". Lastly il be adding a powerful bench grinder to the mix.

I would love some opinions on the machines il likely be purchasing - if i can do better or pick something else im all for it.

http://www.kmstools.com/magnum-7-x-12-metal-bandsaw-6141


http://www.kmstools.com/magnum-combination-lathe-milling-drilling-machine-3067


The bench grinder will be easy - and the welder has already been taken care of.


So what do you guys think - id love to see what you guys are rocking in your shops, work areas, garages. - Tell me what you like, dont like about your machines, tools, brands.

 

[Paul F]

I agree about being able to do a lot with simple tools. It just takes persistence and patience. For the type of fabrication you are doing now, a welder is a great addition. I started with a cheap stick welder and then got a MIG welder. The mistake I made is to get a 120V Miller. I got talked into it by a iron fabricator who claimed it could do most anything. Not enough amps. Don't make that mistake. Get one that runs off 220.

Regarding a spool, I've never used one. So I don't know how well they work. Instead, I added a TIG welder to the collection. For the type of stuff you are doing, it might be a better choice. MIG is a great welder that can do a lot of welding quickly. How good MIG is for aluminum welding is unknown to me. TIG is slower, but much more precise and much more versatile. Aluminum welding is tricky to learn. The help on the internet is very poor. I suggest a mentor (hire a welder for an hour) to get started with aluminum.

For cutting bar stock, the horizontal bandsaw is great. I have a vertical bandsaw, which of course, has limits cutting stock.

Buy 3 or 4 4-1/2" grinders from Harbor Freight. They are cheap. Having a grinder on one, a sander on another, and a cutoff wheel on a third saves a lot of time. No, they don't last very long. I also bought a Milwaukee grinder to see if it does any better.

Instead of a bench grinder, get a vertical belt sander/grinder. It is much more versatile. I'm not talking about the small underpowered little ones made for wood. I'm talking about one that is meant to grind metal just like a bench grinder does. But it does it with a belt. These are much more versatile than a grinder. Get the biggest motor you can afford. You want to be able to lean into it and not have it stall. It's one of the most used items in my shop.

This is what I have. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfiMH8NNkaY. It's bloody expensive, but worth it. Here's another one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZwemN7t45g&feature=related

I'd do some real research before buying the mill. Be sure it can hold the tolerances you need. Check with the hobby machine forums to find out what people are using and how well they work. When boring out holes for bearings, I hold tolerances to .001" for a nice snug fit. I bought a drill/mill and it was worthless for milling. It just isn't rigid enough and the table isn't solid enough. I only used it for drilling. I ended up buying an old Bridgeport for milling.

 

[Jeremy_Sawatzky]

haha ive been reading all day and on every forum, bridgeport is coming up as one of the best.

At this stage, space is an issue for me, i really only have a 1 side of a 2 car garage to work with. The main reason im leaning towards the Magnum LH009 is i have a contact who can source one to me for about 1500 after taxes. Brand new that is a very good price. Its either that or i find a different machine for 2 grand and ship it for another $300 dollars. - The shop id pick it up from is very close to me as well.

My friend is going to be picking up a millermatic 200 very soon and il be purchasing the spool gun and other accessories to make aluminum welding possible. I know its a good welder. perhaps il move up to a tig welder in the future.

I 100% agree with you about the bench grinder. i will have to do a bit of research to find one powerful enough and not outrageously expensive.

I would call myself a very very green machinist so extreme tolerances aren't required, yet. But like i said space is my issue. - Oh and if u didnt realize, the band saw is also vertical with a table that is attached once its locked into a vertical postion.

Oh and good call with the grinders - i have to pick up a few. - Im in canada so il have to try and source some cheap grinders out here.

 

[Paul F]

I understand the space issue. Many people are using smaller machines and get a lot of nice work done with them.

I'd like to hear how the spool gun works for the aluminum welding. Be patient. It is really tricky. The one thing to know is that the aluminum must be clean and free of oxide. Wipe it down with alcohol. Sand it down or use a clean stainless steel brush to scrape through the oxide. You may not see it, but it is there. Aluminum forms an oxide very quickly. You can't weld through it.

You should see a nice clean pool of liquid aluminum form. If not, stop and clean the surface. If you see a skin form with liquid metal underneath, that is the oxide.

 

[Paul Hudson]

The tools I use in the order of importance to me:

Drill Press
Spool Feed Welder
Bench Grinder
Hand Grinder
Table Saw
Chop Saw
Sliding Compound Miter Saw
Everything Else

 

[c3hammer]

I'm cheating as this is my work also, but I've got all the toys anyone could want



http://vimeo.com/33387227
http://vimeo.com/10732161
http://vimeo.com/10584426

 

[Paul F]

Life is good.

 

[treynolds]

even a deer head. the perfect workshop

 

[Jeremy_Sawatzky]

Ohhhh i want that shop. Il hopefully be pickin up a milling machine within the next couple weeks!

 

[Jeremy_Sawatzky]

ok ive decided against the 3in1 machine because after alot of research, the general conclusion is its better to buy them separately because separately they do their jobs much better.

Im pretty well set on this machine right here. Very excited to pick it up within the next couple weeks. Il be holding off on the lathe till i 100% need it.

http://kbctoolsandmachinery.ca/product/show/6-125-035

 

[Paul F]

You've made a wise decision to get a separate mill and lathe.

 

[scottmd80]

I have been collecting metal working tools for many years. Here are some of the current machines I have.

 

[Jeremy_Sawatzky]

i finally got my mill yesterday!


I also picked up a boring head and small set of end mills. - getting the vise next week!

 

[Paul F]

Great start. For milling on angle, get one of these http://www.shars.com/products/view/114/Precision_Toolmakers_Vise_4quot

and a set of these http://www.ebay.com/itm/Precision-1...693?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19ce3da475.

Put the workpiece into the above vise. The put the above vise into the vise you already have. Use the angles to set the angle of the vise to the cutting angle. You can stack angles to get the angle you need.

The vise in a vise is very handy.

You'll also want these to set your stock to the right height in the vise http://www.ebay.com/itm/MHC-1-8-x-6...ultDomain_0&hash=item3372584d23#ht_500wt_1067.

i'm not recommending any of these particular brands. They are just examples.
Hope you're having fun.

 

[Jeremy_Sawatzky]

thanks for all the suggestions paul.

i picked up my vise and a few other tools since i received the mill.

I was very fortunate when i went to pick up my vise, because it was already late coming in (i had been pestering them about it) we discovered that they had ordered the wrong vise. The 4in vise i had inicially ordered was $109 new and the vise we recieved was $260 - a much better taiwan made unit. - so because of the late and wrong order, they took over $100 off the vise and i walked away with the taiwan unit. - it was well worth it.







I also found a 29 piece set of walter drill bits (originally $265) on sale for $100 so i snagged a set of those as well. They are designed for cutting stainless steel in a production environment so im sure i will never wear them out!

And for milling on angle i discovered my mill can rotate the entire head unit! - super useful. - today i was facing some rectangular tube to an exact 89 degrees. - building camera crane 3.0 :evil:

 

[Paul F]

The head adjustment is nice. It probably works very well with that unit. The reason the method I mentioned is used on larger mills is that the head is very heavy and it takes a bit of work to get the head exactly square to the table. So once it is square, they don't want to change the head angle. That is one of the advantages you have with the smaller mill.

There are some nice videos on youtube to learn and get machining ideas. I like these from M.I.T. http://techtv.mit.edu/videos/143-machine-shop-6

 

[Jeremy_Sawatzky]

yea those vids from Mit are great, i watched every one before i bought my mill, and im still trying to find more training material online.

yea i would estimate the head unit on my mill weighs about 50-70lbs so its somewhat easy to tilt.

Today i bought some v-blocks for holding round material, ordered some parallels, some zip disks for cutting stainless (i annihilated my bandsaw blade on a piece of 1/2 in stock and bought a carbide end mill to face that stainless steel.

buying tools is a terrible addiction

 

[Tim Joy]

Yes, I think you've caught the sickness.
...It only gets worse, as the tooling is never ending. But i'm sure you're having loads of fun, learning a lot, and now you have proper tools to make precise parts. Check Craigslist, sometimes people pass away/ retire and all their good old american made tooling and accessories sell for cheap.

 

[Paul F]

Let me know how you do with that carbide bit. I've not had a lot of luck with them. I'm always breaking them. They are apparently meant to be used with very high spindle speeds. So I mainly use HSS.

 

[Jeremy_Sawatzky]

i tried the carbide bit a couple times the last few days. first i ran it through a pile of aluminum which it worked extremely well for. then i ran it through a bit of stainless steel which it did no problem as well. - i was only facing off a piece of 3/4in stainless tubing and my cut depth was about half the diameter of the bit. i didnt notice any issues, cut it all like butter.

il be doing some more with it in the future and il let u know if i run into any issues.

some more pics from working!

here is the carbide bit facing some aluminum



put up some new lights in the shop - so so much better!