Outer Limits 4x4 Board

What tools do you have that you recommend everyone gets?

My entry after the obvious grinder and welder is.

A sawzall - it kicks ass

Bought a Dewalt Reciprocating Saw on the weekend. Mines the new model but heres a pic of a Reciprocating Saw

I love my air compressor. The amount of tools you can get for it is unreal. From air ratchets, saw, grinders, blowers, rattle gun, and you can even paint with it.

Yep, I'll second the compressor. It's definately the most used tool in my shed.

id have to say the hammer... everyone should have a good one. bashing the crap out of what you cant do always works... and if it doesnt thn theres your reason to stop trying to do it yourself, and buy a new part.

dromana7411 wrote:id have to say the hammer... everyone should have a good one. bashing the crap out of what you cant do always works... and if it doesnt thn theres your reason to stop trying to do it yourself, and buy a new part.

I have broken many a 24oz ball pein hammers, now I own a 16lb sledge

plasma cutter. no single tool raises your level of craftmanship like one of these puppies. you end up doing shit properly - like rather than bodge up an extension to the panhard, you find your self cutting off the old one and making a whole new bracket, in less time too. it gets my 5 stars

The most "used" tool in my workshop is me.

I recently had access to a workshop with air, and over time I learned to appreciate it's usefulness. But the one thing I missed in that workshop was a decent battery drill, for a quick hole or two in places where air line/extension cord were a PITA to drag out. Truly made me appreciate mine even more.

Also, I recently bought a cheap ($47) circular saw for one particular job. In the next couple of weeks it paid for itself many times over. I don't care if it never works again.

Scott

bru21 wrote:plasma cutter. no single tool raises your level of craftmanship like one of these puppies. you end up doing shit properly - like rather than bodge up an extension to the panhard, you find your self cutting off the old one and making a whole new bracket, in less time too. it gets my 5 stars

I will be buying a plasma too soon, but when there is a CNC one at work I dont see the need straight away

My next purchase will be a Pro Tools HD105 Bender

these are handy.

But i'd invest in a drill press first.

bru21 wrote:plasma cutter. no single tool raises your level of craftmanship like one of these puppies. you end up doing shit properly - like rather than bodge up an extension to the panhard, you find your self cutting off the old one and making a whole new bracket, in less time too. it gets my 5 stars

i agree, plasma makes everything so much quicker and easier

a cnc cutter would be the ultimate though, but a lot of times i think it'd be quicker and easier to cut it with the plasma, then programming the cnc to cut a tab out

im not sure what there call it

but at tafe they have a oxy cutter set up on kinda like a cnc set up except it traces a line on a peice of paper with a "magic" eye

it rocks

its good for when you want some thing but duno how to program a cnc machine just draw it up and put it under there

ide love to try my hand at a plasma
how diffrent is a plasma to use to a oxy (the way you use the machine)

cheers
elliot

runnin4life wrote:im not sure what there call it

but at tafe they have a oxy cutter set up on kinda like a cnc set up except it traces a line on a peice of paper with a "magic" eye

it rocks

its good for when you want some thing but duno how to program a cnc machine just draw it up and put it under there

ide love to try my hand at a plasma
how diffrent is a plasma to use to a oxy (the way you use the machine)

cheers
elliot

Its called a profiler, also got one at work

antt wrote:a cnc cutter would be the ultimate though, but a lot of times i think it'd be quicker and easier to cut it with the plasma, then programming the cnc to cut a tab out

Couldn't draw it in AutoCAD and export DXF to CNC? (I only know the AutoCAD end - never been involved in the "DXF to CNC" bit.)

Scott

NJ SWB wrote:

antt wrote:a cnc cutter would be the ultimate though, but a lot of times i think it'd be quicker and easier to cut it with the plasma, then programming the cnc to cut a tab out

Couldn't draw it in AutoCAD and export DXF to CNC? (I only know the AutoCAD end - never been involved in the "DXF to CNC" bit.)

Scott

how longs that gonna take still? 1 min with the plasma, a couple on the linisher and they come up trumps. obviously if ya making multiple items a cnc cutter will be the tool for the job

antt wrote:

bru21 wrote:plasma cutter. no single tool raises your level of craftmanship like one of these puppies. you end up doing shit properly - like rather than bodge up an extension to the panhard, you find your self cutting off the old one and making a whole new bracket, in less time too. it gets my 5 stars

i agree, plasma makes everything so much quicker and easier

a cnc cutter would be the ultimate though, but a lot of times i think it'd be quicker and easier to cut it with the plasma, then programming the cnc to cut a tab out

Wouldnt you find it a little dificult to fit the CNC machine under your rig to cut the old brackets off?

RUFF wrote:

antt wrote:

bru21 wrote:plasma cutter. no single tool raises your level of craftmanship like one of these puppies. you end up doing shit properly - like rather than bodge up an extension to the panhard, you find your self cutting off the old one and making a whole new bracket, in less time too. it gets my 5 stars

i agree, plasma makes everything so much quicker and easier

a cnc cutter would be the ultimate though, but a lot of times i think it'd be quicker and easier to cut it with the plasma, then programming the cnc to cut a tab out

Wouldnt you find it a little dificult to fit the CNC machine under your rig to cut the old brackets off?

true tony, another point to the plasma

plamsa cutter uses electricy to "cut" or "blow through" and the compressed air to plow the "slag"/"waste" away right????

runnin4life wrote:plamsa cutter uses electricy to "cut" or "blow through" and the compressed air to plow the "slag"/"waste" away right????

Not really, the plasma cutter uses air and electrucity (and sometimes injected water) to generate a stream of plasma (superheated gas) that is about 15000 degrees or even hotter. This stream of plasma does the cutting and removes the metal.

And I thought I was pro with a new oxy set

beebee wrote:And I thought I was pro with a new oxy set

20 years ago you'd have made GOD status



Answer to the threads question .......


my LATHE



When I first bought it I doubted I'd use it much but it would come in handy from time to time.
It paid for itself in the first month I had it and I use it every day..... I'd rather loose my left testicle than my lathe.

Kingy

Oxy acetylene kit it the most used tool when im fabbing stuff in my workshop..... extremely handy for such a large amount of stuff its not funny....

the next one im investing in is a small 100 tonne press

Ratchet spanners, best tool ive ever bought, i dont know how i managed without them before.

The best tool is a combination of two. 9" grinder and 5" grinder. They each complement each other. Use to grind, cut, mill, notch and make noise - what more do you need?

compressor + airtools soooo much less skin sacrificed
Mig can weld zook body up to 6mm easy
Good Drill no f%$#%@ cheap chinese junk lasts
Drill Bit sharpener saved me 000's in buying new bits
Grinder hand and bench cause files and hack saw teh suxxor

cnc plasma, take a 9 meterx4m sheet, and the cnc press, can do up to 36mm sheets, rather large press , and of corse the lathe, can nock most things up for ur truck, and my personal favorite, in my shed two post hoist

Plate shear, no blades required, just pull the leaver, cuts 8mm plate. and cost me $140 second hand.

bubs wrote:
My next purchase will be a Pro Tools HD105 Bender

and where do you get one of these in aus?

My 3/4" electric rattle gun is about to get alot of use now that I have bought a set of 3/4" sockets and a 3/4"-1/2" adaptor.

4" grinder gets an equal work out with the cordless and spanners/sockets I would say. I don't seem to need the hammer anywhere near as much as anyone else, some times doing things right works better

I'd have to go with my 15amp mig ..... gotta love it

next on the list i think is a metal lathe

mmm plasma, will be my next tool for sure.

V8Patrol wrote: .... I'd rather loose my left testicle than my lathe.
Kingy

That can be arranged.