What's in your toolbox?


B

bigken462

Member
While browsing some member’s photo albums tonight at work during some slack time, I found a few homemade jigs that people have built to use to help build their structures. Being new to this myself, I was wondering if any of you guys would mind snapping a few pictures of your arsenal of tools, gadgets and jigs that you use to make your task easier. Surely there is someone out there besides myself that could find your ideas useful.

Thanks much,

Kenny
 
No pics right now but I go down to the machine shops and pick up small end cuts of square stock. Great for weighting down things and squaring corners, also for holding up walls and such for working on.
 
I had a large steel Surface Plate(12X14"'s) that I used to make buildings on. I used magnetic triangles for alignments & make the walls 90*. I sold it last Nov. to a Machine shop here in town. I don't do much scratchbuilding anymore. I'll put up a few pictures in a minute of my train workshop.
 
If you want some pictures of all the diff. handtools I use, then I will get some photo's of those sometimes today. I have quite a few & I use most of them at one time or another.:D
I buy 90% of my small handtools at Harbor Freight & Northern Tools. I use to buy them at Micromark & I still buy the MRR tools that I can't get anywhere else from them.
 
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Morning Larry,

Wow, that's a busy work bench. Feel free to post any pictures at your leisure. I'm kinda interested in ones that maybe new folks such as myself may easily overlook. For example this morning I seen one of the members using a Lego board. How ingenious is that? Lol......I went straight to Wal-Mart this morning, but they didn't have anything. I'll be hitting Amazon up later. lol

I'm about to start only my 5th Ameritowne building, so really I'm still well into the infancy stage of modeling. As new as I am though, I've discovered a few things along the way that I need to add to my bench - which at this time is only a folding table and a bookshelf in my spare computer room. I do have a enclosed garage, but if I build anything out there, I'll be cramped when parking my truck inside. Since I have carpeting in all my rooms in the house, I'm limited there also.While I have my limit here, my father and I do share a wood working shop that we can putter around with.

Never the less, last night when I ran across "Daveinthehat's" photo page, it really got my curiosity stirring of what people may be using out there. I'm sure there have been threads about work benches in the past, but thought a tool thread may be fun to have for a few possible ideas.

To kind of put into perspective where I'm at, I'll post a cpl photos of my limited work area. Most of the things I have now are simple items that can be purchased at Lowe's or Walmart. I think the most complex tool I have is the shop vac. Lol...

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While not really tool related, I think the first thing I need to focus on is a better work bench. Or at least some better shelving and lighting over the table. I can square this away on a Saturday in the shop with my father. Would be quality time spent anyway. I suppose the next priority would be a spray booth. God only knows how frustrating that is to load up a cpl armloads of junk, carry to the garage, set up, spray, tear down, move things back into this room, clean brush, go back outside and spray residual cleaner out of airbrush etc. Aside from swiping the debit card to pay for this stuff, it's the most annoying part of this hobby yet.

All the best, hope you guys have a great work week. I'm off the next two and look forward to tearing into a new kit this evening after a few hours sleep.

Kenny
 
Kenny,
That's a nice looking shop you work in. I wouldn't change workbenches unless you want an all heavy built wood one. The one U see in the picture of mine my Dad built in Wood Shop in HS in Evansville, Indiana in about 1928. It's heavy Oak & is real hard to drill into. Any big structures I make I drag out a plastic folding table like yours. I like plenty of space for structures.
Another luxury is having a nice comfortable chair to sit in. Sometimes I spend hours making a building.
If you want to see some of my indepth projects you can look down at my signature & look into my Blog link. Lots of stuff there. It will probably take a couple hours or more to read everything.:D
 
I use to never have any small storage containers to keep all of the small stuff in. I went to the Dollar Tree one day looking around for Craft items & found the small 3in. square clear refrigerator containers. There were some w/3 in a pak & some w/4 in a pak & then the other day I was looking in the bottom shelf & found 6 & 7 in a pak. There still a dollar no matter how many are packed together. I have probably about 50 of these dishes for storage & they have nice lids.:)

I was in Walmart one day & they had a wall mounted sewing cabinet for $5.00 on sale & I bought it to store automotive type bulbs & stuff in. I'm always looking for storage containers that will fit in the shop.
 
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Larry said:
Another luxury is having a nice comfortable chair to sit in. Sometimes I spend hours making a building.
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Thankfully I have a decent high back computer chair. Sadly it's only a few feet away from my work desk though. I'll work a bit, hit up the forums, work a bit longer, check the facebook page, work a bit more, check the forums again, go get supper and bring to the computer room, check the forums again, scoot back under the desk to work some more, wonder if anyone has replied to some threads I've posted or have been watching so I'll scoot back over and repeat the process.

The next thing I know it's 5 in the morning and Ive just realized that I wasted two off days, still have dishes in the sink, clothes to iron, a hungry dog and a list full of chores that still remain unchecked...........Did I mentioned checking the forums for updates? Lol

Thanks much for the blog info. Will be some good reading tonight in between checking the forums. Lol
 
Maybe I was dreaming, but i thought I saw somewhere a homemade spray booth made from a storage tub....you know those clear, 40gallon or so tubs you can buy at kmart?
 
What's in my toolbox? Nothing...my tools are scattered over 12' of benchwork that I haven't laid track on yet!
willie
 
I have a couple sections to my workshop and one is the Machine area where I have my Milling machine and lathe.

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Then were I do all my Electronic stuff.

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Another part for Kit Building, tinkering, and research.

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Some locos and other things to work on.

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Projects in the works on Serving trays in a tray rack. Yes I have a lot of in the work projects.

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My ready to go electronic work box!

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Various parts.

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MGWSY said:
I have a couple sections to my workshop and one is the Machine area where I have my Milling machine and lathe.

QUOTE]

The holly grail of work benches. When I traveled back and forth to the Middle East when working as a medic, you could spot an American from a mile away.....The same can be said for engineers. Lol

This is so sweet. Crap sake, I want to take my little T square and level and go hide in shame. Lol

Kenny
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WOW Mark,
Outstanding, Beautiful.
A Model Railroaders Dream Shop.
Makes me Droooool all over my keyboard.
Looks good enough for a Lab at NASA.
Now, all you guys know why Mark does such Fine work in Electronic Detailing.
Mind Bog-gling.
 
nwdrummer379 said:
Say Mark, when your waiting for some glue to set do you make a visit to the tanning bed in the background there? :D
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LOL no time for that as you can see I have more then enough to work on. If glue is drying then I always have Electronic work to do or Machine work. Or the project I am working on goes on a tray and on the rack as it dries while I work on other things. Lately I have been doing so much for others I havent had time to work on my own stuff so it all sits. And before anyone says its too clean in there I can assure that it does get messy but I try to keep things as clean as possible. I remember what my High School Machine Shop teacher said "A clean shop is a happy shop" LOL I try to keep it clean in other words, LOL. One of my down the road projects is to convert my Machines to CNC so I can set up a project and let it run while I do something else! Just an idea right now though.
 
MGWSY said:
LOL no time for that as you can see I have more then enough to work on. If glue is drying then I always have Electronic work to do or Machine work. Or the project I am working on goes on a tray and on the rack as it dries while I work on other things. Lately I have been doing so much for others I havent had time to work on my own stuff so it all sits. And before anyone says its too clean in there I can assure that it does get messy but I try to keep things as clean as possible. I remember what my High School Machine Shop teacher said "A clean shop is a happy shop" LOL I try to keep it clean in other words, LOL. One of my down the road projects is to convert my Machines to CNC so I can set up a project and let it run while I do something else! Just an idea right now though.
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I'm happy to know my loco was worked on in a top notch lab! Also can you pm me where to get some of those jumper like you sent me? I'd like to keep a few in stock.
 
fire28 said:
I'm happy to know my loco was worked on in a top notch lab! Also can you pm me where to get some of those jumper like you sent me? I'd like to keep a few in stock.
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I think I have a few here. I can send you a couple different ones if you want. Email me your address again at MGWSY@aol.com and I will help you out.
 
Mark - Your HS Machine Shop teacher would be very proud of you. (If he isn't around to see your shop, that is) Man my only problem with having a shop like yours would be I have no excuse for the half@$$ work I turn out!:(
 
CNC machining would be fantastic for that shop, might as well open your own business with that! "Mark's tanning and model works"
 
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