Question for you tool lovers

If you had to start over, to replace your equipment and power/hand tools.
How much money would it take?
I need to come up with a budget.
Excluding the lathe and mill, I think at least $25,000 for hand and power tools and another $7,500 for lathe/milling accessories.
New lathe and mill, $18,000.
Welding and plasma, $6,500
What say you?

 

Are you talking US dollars? For a hobby machinist?

If so, I have a lot of catching up to do.

Tom

 

Yes, US dollars.
Remember, I have been buying tools for 45 years. I recently splurged and added another $20,000. Puff-Poof-Pufe-up in smoke!
To replace my base it's going to be expensive.
When my wife and I sit down and go over the budget for our re-born status, I'll need to have some ideas.
Hobby Machinists, is a broad term.
There are guys that are so far ahead of me and a few that are catching up.
That's the beauty of this web site, we can all learn something from each other, well except maybe the Master Machinists on board.

 

I'd think you're pretty good on your budget. Lots depends on if you buy HF or Snap-On. Interapid dial test indicators are very nice (have 3 of them), but my Chinese no-names haven't given me any trouble for about 1/10th the price. Have fun! Glad to see you are going to rebuild your shop!

Bruce

 

For a hobby machinist, it should not be so much about how many tools and machines you have, or even about the total capabilities or what you can make in your shop. In my mind, it is about how much you can learn, and how much enjoyment you get from making things. To me, projects are a means, not an end. Size and speed capabilities of the equipment are not all that important. I make stuff that match my resources and my imagination.

Beyond that, as an unabashed cheapskate, I go out of my way to get the best deals possible on everything I buy for the shop. I regularly hold out on purchasing a tool or machine I would like to be using until I find a good one at an incredible price. Just because I can, and because it pleases me. I buy machines and tooling that need work, because I enjoy cleaning them up and making them work as well as I can. My shop itself is quite humble, a three car garage that still fits a washer and dryer, water heater, freezer, yard and house maintenance stuff, a lot of just "stuff", and one car. And my shop space is what is left. The limits as a hobby machinist are not in the size of our shops or machines or wallets, or the amount of money spent on stuff, but rather in how much joy we get from having them as extensions of our hands and our brains and our imaginations.

The only correct answer to either a machinist buddy talking about machinery, or a lady of the night talking about tools, to the question "Who do you think you are going to please with that little thing?" is

ME!!!

 

I'd say you are in the ballpark for a good start. It's all of the little odds and ends purchased over time that add up to real money. When I got into machining I spent around 25k for the machines, tooling and measuring instruments. I already had welding, plasma's and other cutting equipment.

 

If buying new, just buy the absolute necessities, or ask around and someone might have an extra that they can send. You can be making chips and still waiting for that estate sale deal, "junk rusty tools in a Kennedy box with some old book for $150". Before you know it, you'll be back on track. Don't try to replace exactly everything since you can get by with the necessities for a while.

 

If buying new, just buy the absolute necessities, or ask around and someone might have an extra that they can send. You can be making chips and still waiting for that estate sale deal, "junk rusty tools in a Kennedy box with some old book for $150". Before you know it, you'll be back on track. Don't try to replace exactly everything since you can get by with the necessities for a while.

The challenge is going to be the patience factor.
I'll round up some basic hand tools and try to take my time and watch for deals/craigslist/auctions etc.

 

I'd think you're pretty good on your budget. Lots depends on if you buy HF or Snap-On. Interapid dial test indicators are very nice (have 3 of them), but my Chinese no-names haven't given me any trouble for about 1/10th the price. Have fun! Glad to see you are going to rebuild your shop!

Bruce

That's just it Bruce, I had old Craftsman tools. Somewhere in between HF and Snap-on.

 

Best of luck and best wishes on your quest to rebuild, Jeff! Going at it with a plan, I like that! When I started out, I just bought what came along for the most part, just a few new purchases; I'd accumulate $ and when I had enough, I'd go visit my favorite machinery dealer and see what he had in stock, occasionally selling something and upgrading; if I had a budget amount stashed, I might have been more selective as to my choices, but, no complaints.