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Unread 31-03-2011, 23:20
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ratdude747 ratdude747 is offline
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AKA: Larry Bolan
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Re: Tools you can't live without

My must haves:

mechanical:

horizontal and vertical band saws... must, must, must.

dremel set

good socket, wrench, screwdriver, and hex key set (if you go craftsman and it is not made in usa, go to lowes and get kobalt... same quality, half the price)

shop-vac (a small one will do, but bigger ones are nice)

lathe if you can afford (get used, new ones including grizzly are mostly JUNK*)

bench grinder (put a stone on one side and a wire wheel on the other, and make sure it is a good brand, no-names are hollow)

if you can afford, mill and a good set of bits

cordless and corded drill and a good bit set

files and file handles

chain breaker

hacksaw and plenty of blades

pliers and vice grips


Eletrical

good crimper, either heavy wire cutter style (like huge set of pliers ans one crimping tooth w/o stripper) or ratcheting style

good stripper, either 2 blade "automatic" kind with cutter or the spring loded multi-size kind.

in addition, find the cheap "does all" kind; the screw cutter in the center is all they are good for but they do it well.

good soldering iron/station (grounded, at least 30w and with a "mini-chisel tip; I recommend the xytronic 258 and a stand w/ sponge)

combo rj45/12/11 crimper (if you try out CAN, you will love it- see link in my signature). on that note, other necessary CAN tools are in my document at the link.

a good multimeter with a continuity beep function

good cutting pliers both big and small

pistol-grip zip tie gun

electronic dymo label gun

wago tool (buy 2 spares- people tent to think they are pry bars and break them... and they like to walk off)

programming:

a nice, 50-100ft cat5 cable (tether)

one or 2 good laptops

Other:

a good color printer
mini-fridge for cool drinks for break (helps with stress)
radio/cd player for the shop OR speakers and an ipod with good music (to boost morale)



*- i know first hand how bad grizzly is... pure junk.
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Dean's List Semi-finalist 2010
1747 Harrison Boiler Robotics 2008-2010, 2783 Engineers of Tomorrow 2011, Event Volunteer 2012-current

DISCLAIMER: Any opinions/comments posted are solely my personal opinion and does not reflect the views/opinions of FIRST, IndianaFIRST, or any other organization.
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