We just received $4,000 from our school and have to spend it within 2 weeks.
Because of this limitation we have decided to spend it on tools.
Currently our shop has
2 drill presses (One large one and one portable one)
A bench grinder
A chop saw
A miter saw
A finger brake (has to be refurbished)
and a bunch of basic hand tools + handheld power tools.
We also have
this mill although its never been used as it was installed in a different room. Since then a lot of its included accesories have been lost (Stuff like handles) and we will have to buy replacements. In the end we estimate $400 for all the basic tooling and replacement parts we need to get this mill up and running. We will need pretty much everything including a vise. We do not really know much about what we need exactly so any help is appreciated.
Our want list of tools goes like this
1st on the priority list is a table saw as we plan on building a 50% field for our shop and possibly even a 100% field to host a week 0 competition next year although this is dependent on hoping next years field is a lot simpler to build then this years. We allotted about $300 for this and plan on getting a portable Dewalt model.
2nd is a basic CNC router like an X-Carve. Although I would love something a bit more powerful as we would really like something we can cut gussets on regularly. We also plan on using it for belly pans.
3rd is an Arbor press with a hex broach. Would love recommendations for something decent that will work with the Andymark broach.
4th is a small bench top lathe. We are looking at something basic from harbor freight at least for now.
Last is a belt sander although we probably will not have enough funds left over.
Id love to hear your recommendations on what we should do. I have a few peoples input but would like more as we want to make sure we can best utilize the money.