Shop Tools, Hand Tools, HELP?

[kellymc]

Revised Listing (all none tool suggestions have been taken down, most are generic and will be bought regardless):
1) many more drills (at least one right-angle w/ carbide bits, Makitas + DeWalts) - The makita drill/impact driver combo set is a nice set of tools
1) more hammers - specify types, ball peen, mallets????
1) more wrenches (allens with handles, ratcheting, sockets) - do you want metric or standard? Also, instead of buying a full set of wrenches, determine what size fasteners you are using and buy 5-10 wrenches separately in that size so you have a good supply - then buy 1 complete set of wrenches for when you come across that odd fastener.
1) any tools that will help in getting accurate measurements (what else besides calipers?) - Check out harbor freight, their electronic calipers go on sale for $9.99 often, there's a store in Newark and one in Santa Clara
1) many vises, mounted on sturdy work tables (at least 6" expansion and 4" jaws) - buy a good vise if you can afford it like a wilton - Alan steel in Redwood City has some nice Jet vises that are made in taiwan for good prices - stay away from the cheap vises at home depot/etc...
1) more clamps (6 Quick Clamps 12", 4 Bar Clamps 18" opening) - harbor freight - on sale often - you will also want some C-clamps as well
1) dremel - the definition of a dremel:" a tool that converts electricity to vibration" - do yourself a favor and buy a proxon instead, close to the same price and uses the same tools but is much higher quality and will last much longer.
2) drill press ($350 - 500, maybe spring for a Bridgeport mill, but a 2-axis vise can offer same capability) - Couple of options here, if you have the space go for a bridgeport, there's a business closing in redwood city that is selling a couple of mills on Thur/Friday this week (search craigslist for Mill and you will see the ad) keep in mind most of these machines require 3-phase power or an adapter, also the size etc.... you might be better off with a table top machine. For this there are a couple of options, one is a TAIG mill (around $1,000) that can easily be converted latter to CNC for another $1,000. Another good choice is the B20 mill from Grizzly, also convertible to CNC but more around $4K for this option - also factor about $2K for tooling in addition to the mill price
2) miter saw (compound, sliding, single/dual beveled) - search craigslist - you likely don't need a sliding saw so look for a good used one and buy a new carbide tipped blade
2.1) arbor press (a reasonably priced one) - don't bother, purchase a 20ton press from harbor freight - currently on sale
3) band saw (horizontal or vertical? - Stout Pro 200) - make sure the saw you buy is a metal cutting saw, if it's for wood, then you will need to add a gearbox to slow down the blade the to the right speeds. I wouldn't spend the money on the stout - if anything get a milwaukee portaband bandsaw and a table mount from swag offroad.
3) bench grinder - buy the disc/belt sander below first -
3) disc/belt sander ($100-200) - search c-list for a used machine with a 1/2 to 3/4 hp motor, also that sale I mentioned above in RWC has a couple listed -
4) lathe - We have a lathe we purchased from littlemachine shop, it's a nice table top unit that we mounted to a rolling cart, so far we have been able to make everything we need on this machine -
4) mill (Bridgeport) - see above
4.1) combo machine (lathe/mill/drill press - have not heard good things though) - agreed, these machines are a compromise
5) reciprocating saw -
6) welding equipment? (only if we have members learn) Our team has a 110 welder that we weld our aluminum frame with. I wouldn't recommend this as a way to go, if you can go TIG, however, I would push for alternative construction methods such as riveting, sheet metal construction if I were starting from scratch.

Lastly, to store all of these tools, you should get a rolling tool cabinet, again, I would recommend the 44" cabinet from Harbor freight

http://www.harborfreight.com/44-13-d...net-68784.html

you can find coupons on line for $349.00 for this cabinet to save even more money.

If you have any other questions or want some additional information send me a PM and we can talk, if you want to come see our tooling, we meet on Wed/Fridays and Saturdays getting ready for cal games.

Kelly
Mentor 766 MA Bears

[invertedBottles]

Originally Posted by kellymc

LOTS OF INFO TAKEN OUT

If you have any other questions or want some additional information send me a PM and we can talk, if you want to come see our tooling, we meet on Wed/Fridays and Saturdays getting ready for cal games.

Kelly
Mentor 766 MA Bears[/color]

That's a generous offer that I'd love to take you up on, but we probably won't be able to make it out anytime soon. We are also going to be at CalGames, we'll see you there. I love all the info, if I have any other questions I know who to ask for an answer! One things, regarding cutting tools, is there any one of the tools we could purchase that could perform essentially the same as other tools? Like EricH said on the previous page, a sliding miter saw can perform some of the bandsaw functions? It would not only save us space but time having to train members on only one tool vs two.

With any new tools, we will get experienced mentors or ask other teams to come out and teach us, or at least myself. It is my responsibility to see that all the tools are properly operated, so I will be willing to pass on the training. Having another student lose their fingers would be worse for me then losing one of my own!

The only problem we have with Craigslist and classifieds is the ads go up quickly, and require items to be picked up, sometimes quite far away. With out limited number of mentors, we can't really go anywhere on short notice. Plus, it's easier to point at a new product for a sponsor to purchas. We do not know if they are willing to provide direct funding yet.

Jackson and rondinol, good info. Will be kept in mind!

Originally Posted by Cory

You really don't need a sliding miter saw. We have this. $200 and it works great. High quality. Throw a nice carbide tipped blade on there and you can easily cut aluminum tube (absolutely do NOT cut solid/ferrous metal with any miter saw).

Thanks Cory, you have some really informational points! I've been reading that Makitas have the most accurate cuts in miter saws, but it seems you do think the Rigid works great. When cutting with the miter, what kind of clamps or other tools do you use to hold the material down? Do you have it on a dedicated stand, or some kind of table/bench/counter?

[Akash Rastogi]

According to google maps, San Francisco State University is very close to your high school, as is the City College of San Francisco. Those two will probably end up being two of the best resources you could possible establish in terms of machining capabilities and mentoring. Both are within two miles of Lowell HS.

Be sure to check both out very soon.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by invertedBottles

That's a generous offer that I'd love to take you up on, but we probably won't be able to make it out anytime soon. We are also going to be at CalGames, we'll see you there. I love all the info, if I have any other questions I know who to ask for an answer! One things, regarding cutting tools, is there any one of the tools we could purchase that could perform essentially the same as other tools? Like EricH said on the previous page, a sliding miter saw can perform some of the bandsaw functions? It would not only save us space but time having to train members on only one tool vs two.

With any new tools, we will get experienced mentors or ask other teams to come out and teach us, or at least myself. It is my responsibility to see that all the tools are properly operated, so I will be willing to pass on the training. Having another student lose their fingers would be worse for me then losing one of my own!

The only problem we have with Craigslist and classifieds is the ads go up quickly, and require items to be picked up, sometimes quite far away. With out limited number of mentors, we can't really go anywhere on short notice. Plus, it's easier to point at a new product for a sponsor to purchas. We do not know if they are willing to provide direct funding yet.

Jackson and rondinol, good info. Will be kept in mind!



Thanks Cory, you have some really informational points! I've been reading that Makitas have the most accurate cuts in miter saws, but it seems you do think the Rigid works great. When cutting with the miter, what kind of clamps or other tools do you use to hold the material down? Do you have it on a dedicated stand, or some kind of table/bench/counter?

I have no experience with Makita saws, so I cannot recommend it over a Makita, but our experience with Ridgid products in general has been very good.

In principle I am against paying $600 for a sliding compound miter saw. It's just not that much more useful than a regular miter saw, for FRC purposes. If you were framing up a house every day of the year and required the versatility and the durability of a professional grade tool it would be the right choice...but that isn't what we're doing in FRC.

I don't really see one as a replacement for a bandsaw or table saw. You can cut a 15"x15" square with a 12" sliding miter saw. I guess that's better than if it wasn't sliding, but it's nowhere near a real table saw and I'm not sure in what way it would be equivalent to a vertical bandsaw, as they are primarily used for contouring.

You should be able to find a fairly decent vertical bandsaw for a couple hundred dollars. With good blades and proper care it should cut aluminum up to 1/4" thick with no problem (inevitably people will cut steel with it, or shove aluminum through at about a zillion miles an hour and ruin your brand new blades though).


We use the clamp that came with the saw. We have a beat up folding table that we will often bolt the saw to and then wood screw down a stop to ensure repeatable length cuts for tubing that gets welded without being further processed on the mill. Otherwise we just use it on the ground.