Recommended Tools and Machinery for Your Team's Machine Shop

[George]

Hi All
I had a great time volunteering in the machine shops at Las Vegas and Phoenix
Seeing old friends and making new ones is always fun,
In talking with the Students and Mentors I went and opened my mouth and said I could put a small table top machine shop together for about $1500.00
Now I am happy to say my mouth is foot free!
The machines and tooling in the following list are not the “Top of the Line” but are of proven quality and I have either purchased or have personal experience with each tool listed and should provide a good starter shop for robotics or any other machine projects
(I converted the same mill to CNC about 2 years ago for less then $800.00)

Harbor Freight (http://www.harborfreight.com)
1pc Mini Mill (R8) #44991-2VGA $489.99
1pc Mini Lathe 7x10” #93212-2VGA $399.99
1pc Drill Press ½” #38119-0VGA $ 59.99
1pc Band Saw #93762-1VGA $199.99
1pc Grinder 8” #90022-0VGA $ 54.99
1pc Drill Chuck (2mt) #42340-2VGA $ 7.99
ST $1212.94
CDCO (http://www.cdcotools.com)
1pc Mill Vise 4” #21003 $ 95.00
1pc Clamp Kit #24802 $ 38.00
1set Parallels #37201 $ 27.00
1pc Drill Chuck #25003 $ 10.00
1pc Arbor (5/8) #21303 $ 4.00
1pc Edge finder #60601 $ 5.00
1pc Wiggler #60603 $ 6.00
1set End Mills #45901 $ 48.00
ST $ 314.00
Enco (http://www.use-enco.com
1set Lathe tools #383-4300 $ 37.95
1set R8 Collets #231-4611 $ 37.95
ST $ 75.90
TOTAL $1521.84

This is a very basic setup and will fit on a 3’x8’ table (band saw under)
Taxes and Shipping is not include
If there is an interest I can put together some other packages for people with a more space / bigger budget
Please let me know what you would like to see
Have Fun
Geo.

PS its going to be great to see what everyone else comes up with,

[Lowfategg]

I would probably throw in a test indicator (CDCO 26013) for aligning the mill vise and mill head along with the tail stock on the lathe. Its also a good idea to replace the blade on the HF band-saw with a bi-metal (HF 91029-4VGA) one because the included one stinks. Any reason to include both a edge-finder and a wiggler, don't they both do the same thing? The only other thing I would add would be a full set of drill bits (CDCO 42203), and a digital caliper (CDCO 31505) if the team does not already have one. Other then that it looks like a very nice setup for the money.

[Rosiebotboss]

How about a regular caliper. (not a digital one) Teach the studnets how to read an "old fashioned tool".

One of my pet peeves is digital clocks. I asked a student to look at my watch (which I had taken off and put on the bench) and tell me what time it was. They could not tell me because it was an "old fashioned dial type, with hands".

[Lowfategg]

Originally Posted by Rosiebotboss

How about a regular caliper. (not a digital one) Teach the studnets how to read an "old fashioned tool".

One of my pet peeves is digital clocks. I asked a student to look at my watch (which I had taken off and put on the bench) and tell me what time it was. They could not tell me because it was an "old fashioned dial type, with hands".

Its really personal preference, I think digital's are easier to read quickly and will keep you from making silly mistakes. I have used both and I much rather have a digital set. Digital calipers are so cheap anyway it makes no sense to get dial ones.

Get a set of mics to teach your kids how to read "old fashioned tools". It will keep them busy for a while and quite entertained.

[Peter Matteson]

Originally Posted by Rosiebotboss

How about a regular caliper. (not a digital one) Teach the studnets how to read an "old fashioned tool".

One of my pet peeves is digital clocks. I asked a student to look at my watch (which I had taken off and put on the bench) and tell me what time it was. They could not tell me because it was an "old fashioned dial type, with hands".

Dial calipers are nice, but does anyone teach their students how to read the pre-dial style calipers?

It seems like every year or two we end up teaching a a whole new crew how to read our non-dial 3ft calipers or how to use the cadillac gages on the surface plate for making precise measurements.

On the topic however, this is a great list of small tools that every team could use. I don't know how teams get away without having a lathe of some kind to turn shafts. That to me is the most crucial tool to start with. because I have seen plenty of clever ways to use fixtures to get around not having a mill.

[George]

Hi Low
Great suggestions
I went with the basics for the machines; but an Indicator would definitely be a good addition
You can indicate the vise with the edge finder or the wiggler, (Old School, it takes time but it works) looking back on this those two do overlap some, depending on what sets you have.
I would have liked to find a different saw but this one was as universal as I could find for the price (I purchased one in 1980 and it is still in use) and agree Bimetal blades are the way to go.
Drills and Calibers are a must and a set of Micrometers (0 – 3) would be nice too.
But there was only so much room in $1.5k

for my $.02 on calibers, I teach them all,
Vernier scail calipers are hard to read, but they are a basic skill
Dial calipers skip
Some of the Digitals calipers have a progressive error
Geo.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Lowfategg

Its really personal preference, I think digital's are easier to read quickly and will keep you from making silly mistakes. I have used both and I much rather have a digital set. Digital calipers are so cheap anyway it makes no sense to get dial ones.

Get a set of mics to teach your kids how to read "old fashioned tools". It will keep them busy for a while and quite entertained.

I don't like digital calipers at all. I much prefer a dial caliper. I think using a dial caliper also makes you more conscientious of the fact that you cannot measure a part with +-.0001 accuracy, even though the digital calipers read out to that decimal point.

[MrForbes]

Good stuff George!

I'd skip the mill, and get a bigger lathe....

[bigbeezy]

I prefer to use a dial caliper, personal preference. In my engineering classes we are taught to use a pre-dial caliper before we can use our own dial or digital ones. Thanks to robotics I had already learned how to use these tools.

As for the list, looks great. i'll have to forward this on to my team back home to see if there is anything they want to add to the shop this year.

[Wayne Doenges]

One of my pet peeves is digital clocks.

How do you teach a student CW/CCW with a digital watch?

[Lowfategg]

Originally Posted by Cory

I don't like digital calipers at all. I much prefer a dial caliper. I think using a dial caliper also makes you more conscientious of the fact that you cannot measure a part with +-.0001 accuracy, even though the digital calipers read out to that decimal point.

The fact that your using a caliper and not a mic should tell you that read lower then .0001 would be inaccurate. My digital calipers don't even read that low anyway. Either way for most robotics applications there is no need to get any closer then within a few thousands (unless we are talking about bearing bores). Not to mention that getting within +-.0001 on these small and cheap machines would be hard at the least.

Dial or Digital, whatever! Just get something that can measure accurately to within +-.001.

[Matt Howard]

Originally Posted by Lowfategg

Its also a good idea to replace the blade on the HF band-saw with a bi-metal (HF 91029-4VGA) one because the included one stinks.

If I know anything about Harbor Fright tools, it's that it is always a bad idea to use their blades. I've seen way too many blades snap, and cutting discs rip themselves apart at high speed.

Just before the season this year I was building a new tailgate for my truck my friend was using a HF grinding Disc in my Ryobi. It broke in half, and caught him in the safety glasses and the bridge of his nose.

Steer clear.

[JamesCH95]

I've used both the mini mill and mini lathe on the list and they are good for the money, but machining steel will be quite a chore.

Personally, I would spend more money on the tooling because the light-duty machines can't handle much in the way of cutting forces, and nicer tooling will help that.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by Lowfategg

The fact that your using a caliper and not a mic should tell you that read lower then .0001 would be inaccurate. My digital calipers don't even read that low anyway

People who use measuring tools all the time know this, but if they average person sees a dimension of 2.4155 they're going to think it's accurate to that last decimal place, when in reality calipers aren't even very good for .001

[Lowfategg]

Originally Posted by Matt Howard

If I know anything about Harbor Fright tools, it's that it is always a bad idea to use their blades. I've seen way too many blades snap, and cutting discs rip themselves apart at high speed.

Just before the season this year I was building a new tailgate for my truck my friend was using a HF grinding Disc in my Ryobi. It broke in half, and caught him in the safety glasses and the bridge of his nose.

Steer clear.

I own this band-saw and I use these blades on it. They work great and hold up just fine. With the right tension and coolant they will last you all build season. Just like with any bandsaw, treat your blades well and they will last longer (aka, don't feed to fast or jam the blade into the material). I believe if you want a higher quality blade mcmaster sells them with the right length/thickness and tooth count.

Btw, its a great little saw but do be warned its about impossible to get it to cut straight. Makes short work of cutting off stock for the mill and the lathe.