tools you can't live without when making stuff.

[Mercury]

Too many years ago to count I had a rig that held a corded hand drill and functioned just like a drill press. It took a bit of adjustment and after you had it in there it was best not to pull it out or you'd have to go through the adjustment process all over again. I forget the brand but it was a name everyone would know. It worked pretty well for the price but I sold it when I decided to just get a dedicated drill press.

 

[themanwoaname]

Too many years ago to count I had a rig that held a corded hand drill and functioned just like a drill press. It took a bit of adjustment and after you had it in there it was best not to pull it out or you'd have to go through the adjustment process all over again. I forget the brand but it was a name everyone would know. It worked pretty well for the price but I sold it when I decided to just get a dedicated drill press.

lucky! ive been looking into that kind of set, but have no idea where to begin to find one.

 

[Mercury]

lucky! ive been looking into that kind of set, but have no idea where to begin to find one.

I found one identical to the one I had although it's now a vintage model. It was a Craftsman Drill Press model 335.25921. It held a standard hand drill. I paid around $30-40 for it new back then. Is it as good as a dedicated one? No, but it works pretty well for what it is. It just requires a tight, secure mount of the drill and adjustment to ensure a straight vertical draw anytime you remove it from the brackets.

 

[themanwoaname]

awesome, thanks for the help!

 

[GunsAndGloryFX]

i actually prefer to physically work alone, because often when i get input, its completely wrong, im muscled out of the way, and i have to start over from scratch.

I hear you: can't count how many times I've heard "Cool--what's this?! *Crunch*" only to see someone holding both halves of my project. (...It was 11 hours worth of work, and thanks to you, it's now 15.) Now I hide everything fragile.

 

[fevereon]

beyond the obvious (hands, healthy lungs, common sense etc) probably my dremel, sandpaper, hand tools and a major love for actually DOING the work.. the rest (power tools and such) makes some things a lot less time consuming though.

A supportive fiance never hurts either.. it would be miserable if he hated everything i did...

 

[Jeff C]

There are millions of plastic-modellers out there - and they need no torque, just low speed. They now use a pin-vise (no fun when hundreds of 0,5mm holes need to be drilled in a spaceship for fiberoptics) - and other hand driven tools only. Dremel-types just melt the Styrene. I think there would be a market for slow and cheap but slow ones. There are some small battery driven tools of that kind out there - but unfortunatly all of them i know have a not very versatile chuck-type, they are not planned for all this toolbits. So they are not really usable for them.

Well, that´s the reason why i have no use for any of these rotary-tools - but it seems other guys use them with pleasure for their work, on other materials.

What about one of these in an electric screwdriver? You'd get decent torque and a low speed.

Amazon.com: SKIL 1/4 Hex Collet Twist Keyless Chuck, Model 92170: Home Improvement


Also, I picked up one of those drill guide things at Harbor Freight a couple months back. It's no replacement for a proper drill press, but it's a lot cheaper, and doesn't take up the space. Plus you can use it on bigger pieces. I bought mine to put a hold in the center of a 4'x4' board. Good luck doing that with a drill press. Here's a link:

ANGLE DRILL GUIDE

 

[Pilot]

Nope, pretty much just winged it. If you're interested, I detailed the build here:

Volpin Props: Budget Build Mini Vacuum-Former

For heating coils, I pirated the elements out of an old toaster oven. Works great, and super cheap! I could have included the temp control switch if I had wanted to, but this was my first vac table build, so I kept it simple.

You know, I've lived without a vacuum former for my entire life, but based on your build I'm pretty sure I have to make one now. I have an old toaster oven that currently (and only very occasionally) serves as a solder re-flow station...I think its days at that job might be numbered.

 

[_TiKi_]

1. Belt sander
2. Soldering iron
3. Dremel.
4. Respirator
5. Vise

 

[jasonw2112]

I'm suprised no one mentioned a Unibit!

Other than that X-acto knife, Zap-Gap glue, 320 grit sand paper, Upol Dolphin glaze, cordless drill, Unibit!, reference pics. Oh, and soldering iron.

 

[SaberFreak]

My brain.

Gets me out of impossible engineering/technical issues every time.

 

[themanwoaname]

I hear you: can't count how many times I've heard "Cool--what's this?! *Crunch*" only to see someone holding both halves of my project. (...It was 11 hours worth of work, and thanks to you, it's now 15.) Now I hide everything fragile.

lol. exactly, id much rather be angry at myself for breaking something than someone else trying to help or being nice. i learned talking with people when im done working on a project for the day is better than during, that way they can know what's going on with it if they want to know.

 

[meimei]

I'm usually working out of my dorm room so...

1) My hands
2) Cheesy movies for background noise (I don't know why I never use music but I seem to prefer to throw on a movie or TV show and work to that)
3) Sewing supplies
4) Permanent markers/paint markers
5) Printer
6) Heavy books (great for distressing items)
7) White glue
and if I really need to...
8) My dad's arsenal of power tools

 

[treker2557]

Special features and audio commentaries on any and all movies.
pliers of all sorts and shapes to bend wire, etc
Olfa cutting boards and accessories
Heat gun for wiring projects
microcontroller
good old fashioned measuring tape

 

[kibosh]

I'm usually working out of my dorm room so...
2) Cheesy movies for background noise (I don't know why I never use music but I seem to prefer to throw on a movie or TV show and work to that)

Totally agree! Not necessarily cheesy movies, but movies none the less.

6) Heavy books (great for distressing items)

How so?

 

[cellophaneflwrs]

my top 5 tools are my sewing machine, serger, Gingher scissors, rotary blade, and a good night's sleep.

 

[meimei]

How so?

Stole the idea from one of my behind-the-scenes Lord of the Rings books, where the costume designer talked about stuffing the pockets of Bilbo's vests with stones to make them more worn in looking.

If I'm trying to make a recently bought bag look more used (usually to remove the more rigid shape it holds, directly from the store), I fill it up with some heavy hardbound books and hang it off a hook for a week or two, until the corners are slightly stretched out and the bag looks like it's been used for some time.

Also works with pockets if you stuff small hardbound books into them and then hang up