Tools in your shop

[Adrian427]

I thought i would start a interesting thread about tools, there never much talk about tools on here. Without them cars like `40s, Cobras and other such rides would not get built, serviced or repaired.
I have a large selection of Snap On mostly with some BluePoint and other brands thrown in to the mix. But what ever brand they are they all serve a useful purpose! I built up this comprehensive tool box many years ago when i worked in a race and restoration shop building Jaguars with other desirable marques regularly coming through the doors.
So lets all hear about your tool box and what tools you have and like to use!

What brand of tools do you have in your workshops?

What do you feel is the best tool in your box?

Do you prefer using a ratcheting wrench or just a good `old combination wrench?

I know some of you are professional car guys with custom shops and i know alot of us are life long car nuts with a passion to build and repair our own cars.
I have seen friends and neighbours using rusty, old, odd sized wrenches and sockets on there cars, it just makes me shudder when I see this. For a good results the correct tool, size should be used always.

 

[Randy V]

Wow...

That's a tall order actually...

What I have is an eclectic collection of Snap-On, Craftsman, SK, MAC, Proto, Chicago Pnuematic, Ingersol, Custom and Junk.

The best tool in my tool chest is my Hardened steel Pick. It has a 90 degree hook on one end - is about 8" long and a straight point on the other. I use it on darned near every job I do somewhere along the line. If I were to have to save but one tool from my collection of probably thousands of pieces - That Pick would be it.

I have a set of ratcheting wrenches - they're okay and I use them on some jobs but find that they seem to like to reverse direction on me at the oddest times.

While I have a lot of Pneumatic tools - I, many times, will skip using the pneumatics and go about my business using the manual tools. I use my time in my shop as down-time for me. I do a lot of thinking and planning in the peace and solitude of the shop. Nothing does me good like a full day in my shop without a phone ringing or even so much as the radio on. Just leave me alone with my tools and thoughts..

This will be a good thread!

 

[Jack]

I have a simple 2 car garage, well equipped though. A good selection of hand tools (mostly Craftsman) open end and ratchet, sockets both SAE and metric in 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 inch drives. Precision measuring stuff, Additionally, over a few years I have added an 80 gallon 5HP compressor, and pneumatic tools of all kinds. Both SAE and metric tap & die sets. Some very handy toys are:
Floor mount 12 speed drill press
Plasma cutter
Mig welder (can TIG steel with it too)
Band saw
horizontal heavy duty band saw for steel (have built a few frames)
Lincoln AC stick welder (seldom used)
All sorts of electric grinders, floor mount grinding wheels, etc.

My favorite tool is most likely my big bench vice & ball peen hammers. Can make, bend, break or fix anything with these. Recently fabricated a 6 foot sheet metal brake for use on another project. Had the flop hinges machined by a friend. Cost $70.00 total.

 

[Jack]

Forgot to add my 3 foot diameter shop fan for use in the HOT Florida summers.
I like to use shop carts for all of the welding equipment and small tasks (easy to move around) Have 4 of them. Heavy duty steel dolly's with castering wheels were also made up to haul engines, gearboxes and whatever. One is big enough to move around a complete car. They store against a wall when not in use. Need more room though, my SL-C bodywork has to rest outside when doing engine/gearbox install. Can't maneuver the engine hoist around without doing this.

 

[Garry]

I have a two car garage as well with what I call a small assortment of craftsman hand tools and some junk.( my wife would argue that the two full rolling chest of tools is excessive except when something needs repair) Most of the specialty tools that I own are for VW air cooled engines as my brother and I built several Baja race cars using the venerable VW engine. The faster we went, the 'broker' we got if you know what I mean. My next door neighbor is a great friend with a garage full of tools including a lathe. A great guy to know.
Garry

 

[Jack]

My neighbor "shares" garages with me. Should he need to accomplish any metalwork my stuff is at his disposal. Whenever I need to do woodwork, his garage is my home. Itsn't it great to have good neighbors!

 

[Paul Walshe]

Hey guys, this is actually one of the things that I was wondering about.


Besides the obvious wrenches and such, would you not NEED some form of welding equipment, mounted drills, heavy duty saws, engine hoists and maybe even a lathe?


It seems like a large amount of stuff! How many people get by with just a one car garage? In the school workshop we barely even have enough room for this stuff, we don't even have all of it.



If you don't mind, anyone want to give a rough estimate of the amount spent on tools alone?

 

[Jack]

Paul, with a little thought and ingenuity, almost anything can be done with simple hand tools. The big stuff simply makes it easier. Had I not built several steel tube chassis, I wouldn't NEED most of it, but it sure is handy. My first Locost Seven chassis was made in a one car garage using a hacksaw, hand drill, files, electric grinder, vice and hammers. Borrowed a stick welder from a friend. Took awhile, but it worked. Made a portable welding table out of plywood & clamped the tubes in position.

 

[Randy V]

If we're to add more than just hand tools...

I'll toss in some I can think of off the top:
Hobart BetaMig-251 MIG Welder (Can probably weld F16's as well but I've not tried)
Two OxyAcetylene gas welder setups
(TIG welder to be added soon)
Mill / Lathe
2 drill presses (floor standing) 1 - 12 speed the other a 16 speed
1 - 1HP Grinder (Floor standing) Grinder on one side - wire wheel or polishing wheel on the other.
A couple of Motorcycle lifts (one large one that has my GT40 on it)
Engine Hoist and a few Engine stands & cradles
1 - 1/4" thick 2' x 4' adjustable height welding table (on locking casters) made by my Dad.

Other electric / Pnuematic hand tools;
Various hand held Die Grinders, Angle Grinders, Sawzall, maybe 10 drills ranging from from 1/4" to 1/2".
2 - 7-1/2" Skill Saws
2 - Jig Saws
1 - Right Angle drill
Countless rubber drill bits (they call them titaium coated but I swear they are rubber - why do people keep giving me these as gifts?)
1 - Drill Doctor (for the rubber drill bits)
Maybe 100 good carbide and HS Steel bits.


Battery Operated stuff;
1 Dewalt cordless drill
1 Ryobi Cordless drill
1 Bosch Cordless drill
1 Ryobi Cordless 5" panel saw
1 HopSing Cordless Sawzall wannabe (POS from Harbor Freight - was a gift?)

Gas Powered
1 - 16" McCullogh Chain Saw (made in the USA)

okay - back to work for me...

 

[Jack]

The Chinese made Harbor Freight titanium drill bits are made from rubber! Have two complete sets by 64ths to 1/2 inch (gifts as well). Too bad they are virtually useless.

 

[Adrian427]

I hope this to be a good informative thread, makes a change to the usual engine, transmission types questions.
My best tool and a simple one at that is a telescopic magnet pick up tool, its really useful for when you have dropped that small nut, washer or split pin in a tight space or down behind the engine or dash. And its used often!!
I have some electric and air operated tools but they aint had use for some time now.
But you can never have enough tools even if they are dupicated many times over.

 

[Cliff Beer]

I'm fortunate enough to have just about every possible tool a fella can have - large tools and small hand tools. Welders, cutters, drill presses, presses, pneumatics, every possible hand tool (most all Craftsman), electronic instruments, pretty much anything and everything you find in an entire Sears tool center plus a bunch more heavy tools. The two "tools" I really, really like using and find very helpful are my lathe and my milling machine. You can make darn near anything with a lathe and a milling machine (and all the tooling for them, of course) and some study and practice. It's so nice not to have to go find some machine shop and explain what it is you're seeking - generally doesn't get made correctly on the first or second or even third try.

If you're mechanically inclined, have a creative streak, have a little time on your hands and don't mind studying the art of metal work, you might just find that lathe and mill work is incredibly enjoyable and satisfying. Just be sure to watch out for your fingers...

 

[Scott Calabro]

My brain.

:thumbsup:

 

Besides all the tools you guys have and the all the body shop tools, the tools I have in my hands everyday and all day, is a paint brush, a special fiberglass roller, a quart cup of resin and a mixing stick. I guess you could call all my moulds tools also. I make all my own sanding blocks for all the odd shapes I work on. Simple tools for complex shapes!

 

Scott, Keep that tool sharp!

 

[Paul Walshe]

I love using the lathe!!! Sometimes I spend hours after school working on it. Mostly if I've got something that needs filing then I'll stick it in the lathe and face it off.

Never used a mill though because ours broke years ago but I've still had to study them and find out what they do.

 

[Chris Headon]

What a thread! And I thought I was among the few who collected tools for a pastime, looks like I'm in the majority.
So which of my tools is the best, well I have recently added a multi drawer chest so I can now find everything - that's got to be good, but for sheer engineering elegance I love the Williams superslim torque wrench 1/2" drive, had it for years and used it quite a lot, still going strong. I have also just added a compressor, airtools and grit blaster to my collection and am getting to grips with it, could offer some fun in the future. I too have a two car garage, and currently I have two cars in it, with the tools all pushed to the side, fortunately my garage backs straight onto a multi roomed cellar which is also my workshop and wine celler, what more can a man want?

 

[David Sturch]

Chris,
In answer to your last question "A bigger shop".
Dave

 

[Al Jones]

This 'tool' fits on this thread so I thought it might interest some of you guys. The lighted mirror and pick set are dental items but can be useful for tight corner work or retrieving a lost item,etc, with the picks, or being able to check/locate something in a blind panel or engine location with the lighted mirror. This set is available in CVS pharmacies for,as you can see,$7.99,right now on sale for $6.99 and same at drugstore.com.The light in the mirror shines on the mirror itself,illuminating the object you want to view and is quite bright.One pick,one scraper,one mirror,all a bit less than 6" long. Order at www.drugstore.com or go to DenTek.com. I have no business interest in this item.
A.J.

 

[Ian K]

Scott, Keep that tool sharp!

And, he better keep it locked away in his head so its always there when
he needs it

Unlike the countless tools I have misplaced over the years (or, the ones
my 4 yo son has walked away) ...

Ian