Shop Tools, Hand Tools, HELP?

[Cory]

There should be a number of threads out there with a lot of the information you're looking for. I'm not sure if they have information on specific models of tools though.

3 in 1 machines are junk. Avoid them like the plague. You're basically throwing money out that you could save for quality machinery.

I would not purchase corded drills. The technology is such in cordless drills that there is no reason to purchase corded. We got rid of a corded drill we had because it had so much torque it was unsafe for inexperienced users.

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).

We purchased one of those 20 ton presses like mentioned earlier, used it for a year, and then gave it away. It's super inconvenient due to the limited travel of the bottle jack, as well as slop in the ram because of the construction method.

I would see if you can get the sponsor to just grant you the money, as opposed to them purchasing tools off a list. It makes more sense to add tools as you discover you need them, instead of trying to cover everything up front. Inevitably you will end up with a lot of tools you rarely/never use if you do the latter.

As soon as you cover your basic tool needs and are looking for machine tools I would purchase a lathe.