1) Compressor w/pneumatic tools (including my 4 ½ electric grinder. My larger 8” grinder is not often used anymore since I got the smaller grinder, that and the larger one is so heavy). I have almost enough air hose to go to the street, one side of the yard or to the rear of the yard but not to both sides,
2) MIG Welder. I also have an ARC welder that I never use and an Oxyacetylene setup that is infrequently used or needed but when it is…,
3) 8” drill press on a homemade stand sized to fit me. It would be nice to have a larger drill press but then it would not be something I could pick up and move to where I want/need it. It also might not be tall enough for me to work with it well. I never have gotten to add the lower stretchers on the legs which I should do someday,
4) Blast cabinet: I am using glass bead media in it. It has been worked hard since I got it. One of my better investments,
5) 6” bench grinder mounted on a heavy stand. I have a wheel on one side and a wire wheel on the other side for de-burring (use a shield to cover your eyes and face),
6) Large vacuum cleaner. It is hooked up to the blast cabinet to remove dust when cleaning things but it is also used every time I work in the garage; at the end of the day I sweep up and use the vacuum to pick up the sweepings. I also use it to clean up chips every time I use my lathe/milling machine.
7) Horizontal/vertical band saw. Good for light work but frustrating at times. It will cut tube and flat stock when in a horizontal mount as long is the flat stock isn’t too wide. It also has an ersatz table that will work but it is frustrating at times. The throat is less than 7” deep which limits you a lot. It uses 64 ½ in blades and using the conventional blades it will spit the teeth of quite quickly. The solution is to pay a bit more and get bi-metal blades. It also has a habit if shooting the blade off the drive wheels at the most inopportune times. Very maddening to say the least.
There are options to these small band saws that can be made: http://www.mini-lathe.com/Bandsaw/Bandsaw.htm#bandsaw, http://www.homemetalshopclub.org/projec ... stand.html,
Light-weight 4” X 36”belt sander (it’s good for putting heat in a part. Actually it does work OK as long as the material is not too heavy [thick]. I need to get a green belt for it). You can see it in the picture I posted but now it sits on its own stand/table. Great for de-burring leveling supposed straight cuts,9) Parts washer (I have yet to make a stand for this one but my other one does have a stand for it). I have one of the small sized ones like HF sells. Small but compact and with the exception of large parts (and that can often be worked around) it is very handy to have sitting around. Like so many tools, it sits around doing nothing but taking up space but when you use it, it is usually in a burst of activity. I also use it to pre-clean parts before I put them in the blast cabinet which is a necessity to keep the media clean and not jam up the nozzle,
10) Lathe/milling machine. I have used it more to make tools and jigs than I have to make parts for any of my toys. It was my graduation (retirement) present to myself but it sits idle an awful lot and takes up space. I think I spend more time oiling it to eliminate rusting than I do using it.
11) 20-ton shop press. I have used it to press-in a set of ball-joints and so far that is about all (I think there was something else but apparently it was not important enough to remember). After looking around on the web I can see a lot of additional uses for it and tools can get for it that could be of some help.
12) In the picture I posted you can see the edge of a homemade work table. It was to have wheels on it and be movable but it has ended up being a storage/work table with the work part being very small (just like on my work bench). It was made from scrap wood and metal that I either was given or from bed frames (not the legs but other parts). I never did get around to putting a surface on top of the plywood.
13) A homemade rotisserie. The build is currently on hold (again) but it has been use a lot not only to allow me to work on both sides of the pan but to turn the pan around so I can work on either the driver’s side or the passenger side in a tight working place.
Lee
). It’s just an idea that may or have some merit to some... depending on many things.
