Shop tools

[Scott Davis]

Good list. I would rank a band saw pretty high though (top 3 used tool for me). You can certainly use cutoff wheels and even jigsaws if the material isn't too thick, but for ease and quality of finish, there really isn't much of a replacement. I'll just go ahead and say it, at $260 the harbor freight vertical/horizantal bandsaw can't be beat (use the 10% coupon this weekend!!). Spend $40 on a new blade right away (I have starrett), and invest 2 hours making adjustments. Mine runs like a champ, and you can make improvements along the way (table, clamp etc). If it breaks toss it. If you can afford better, by all means, but keep in mind wood bandsaws and metal bandsaws are not equal.

Chop saws are my go to for tubing with straight cuts (if you have a lot of that), so great if you're building a cage for example. Not quite as good with the angled cuts (precision).

 

[Aaron H.]

Harbor freight body saw... I've used this shit out of this tool for cutting fiberglass along with and Dremel using the reinforced cutoff wheels.

 

[Ryan L]

Question: What is PSI rating of copper pipe soldered? Love the idea.

August-2016-Plumbers-Handbook-9th-web-Interactive.pdf (copper.com.au)

Page 14, lists KPA ratings. For some of the smaller diameter stuff it certainly looks ok.

 

[David mono]

I got a used but loved 4 x 6 band saw a few weeks ago and it is great the chop saw is basically useless. Buy a band saw .

 

[Ryan L]

I spoke earlier in the thread about the little air powered 90° die grinder, well that was just a cheapy and I was using it practically every time i worked on something. So I have upgraded to the Milwaukee 12v version.

Cordless, practically silent in comparison to the air powered one. no more firing up the compressor or dragging the hose around the shed. Has 4 separate speeds. 10,000 rpm - 15,000 - 20,000 and 24500rpm.
the trigger is also adjustable if you want it to start slow or to feather the speed. also has a light built in so you can see what your doing.

Very happy with it. Was running it with a carbide burr in it on some steel and cast iron and its even fine like a standard die grinder would be. the roloc discs are great. Much better than a flap disc in a grinder.

 

[Jeff W]

That’s good to know. I picked up a Milwaukee trimmer that came with a battery 4-pack. If the other hand tools are good there’s no reason not to keep with the brand and benefit from interchangeable batteries.

 

[Ryan L]

The only thing that's a bit peculiar with it is the safety locking collet. You have to loosen it, and then keep loosening it again, until it gets tight again and pulls the captive collet out. its not like a normal collet where you crack it open and it goes loose. You have to unwind it a few turns to draw it out. Its not a problem if you know what is going on, its a safety feature. It would just drive you nuts if you didn't know about it.

Ryan

 

[Hector]

Number one on my list would be a band saw. A band saw would have saved me lots of grief and would have made cuts and brackets much easier and nicer , hind sight is always 20/20, I do have a small portable drill press, a permanent nice one would also have saved me a ton of work, unfortunately I just have one small garage bay and a tiny room, not much room for anything more than a bench. If you are lucky enough to have lots of room you can set up a shop like Howard's, which I have seen personally truly amazing and functional. And sky high ceilings!!!

Since I don't have a lift , the wheel Dollies that Howard suggested have been fantastic , I made them with harbor freight parts, super cheap.

 

[Howard Jones]

If you have room. A bench on casters that is rated to hold the engine and gearbox on it. Build it out of steel and make its height to suit working on engine. About 5-6 feet long and 3-4 feet wide is just right to install gearbox, clutches, water pumps, u name it. It will also serve as a utility bench for fiberglass layups, drilling holes in flat material, and just about everything else you come upon. Leave the edge of the top overhanging the legs and horizontal pieces a couple of inches so that you can clamp things down to it.

I made this one for about a hundred bucks. I use it all the time

 

[Neil]

A bench-mounted 4" to 6" belt sander is a real asset. Use 3M Cubitron II abrasive belts and you can even grind titanium. It's great for finishing the edges of fabricated metal parts and for radiusing square corners.

A 4" or 4.5" angle grinder with a 3M bristle disc is useful for de-burring edges and holes in sheet metal as well as scuffing the surface to provide some "tooth" for better paint adhesion.

A set of combination wrenches that have ratchets built into their box end is super handy.

Hex wrenches with ball ends make it easy to get into socket head cap screws even if not perfectly aligned.

Steel-It is a very good polyurethane coating that comes in a spray can. It is only available in black or gray and both contain fine particles of 316L stainless steel, making it a nice, tough finish.

J-B Weld is a very good two-part high-strength epoxy adhesive that is handy for bonding metal & fiberglass. Make sure the surfaces are clean to achieve a high strength bond.

For semi-structural applications, AVEX riivets are the best choice. They are aluminum with a steel stem and have a large grip range. Although not as high strength as Cherry Max, they are far cheaper and are suitable for most uses if applied properly- spacing, edge distance, etc.

There are many more suggestions but I'll stop here.

 

[Joel Heinke]

If your car projects involve welding on odd shaped items, things like headers, door frames, fender liners, body panels, etc. here's a specialized tool I use all the time.

I've don't recall ever seeing a place to buy one of these, I made this one after seeing a picture. It saves from getting a crook in your back and really does make it easier to get those "stack of dimes" TIG welds as you can place the weld joint right up in your face. It also helps positioning and holding the panel joints together for tack welding.

I used 1" ball bearings silver soldered to 1/2 tube to make the flexible arms. The vice grips (minus jaw protectors) make a great place to hook up the ground clamp so it's not distorting the items being welded.