Recommended Tools and Machinery for Your Team's Machine Shop

[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.