Workshop Power Tools
 

Tell me about your workshop POWER TOOLS (drill press, sander, scroll saw, etc.) What can't you live without? What was your best purchase?

I'm not talking about something as exotic as a Smithy Machine Shop, nor as basic as a Dremel Moto-Tool. This question is intended to get ideas for building up a nice R/C workshop in a spare bedroom.

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

the one tool that has always been in my workshop was my Dremel scroll saw. After 35 years, I finally bought a new and better one. I never had a drill press until about 5 or 6 years ago. Have one now and can't quite understand how I got along without it. I was given a large band saw and I've never set it up.
Walt

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

I have a Dremel 4 inch table saw that I really like. It is
probably my most used power tool.

Next up is a Delta 9 inch band saw. With a fine tooth
blade this gets lots of work. Great for cutting out wing ribs.

I also have an older Delta 16 inch scroll saw. I dont use this
very much but the one thing it does that the other tools cant is
interior cutouts in parts like fuselage formers.

And a homemade disc sander that gets continuous usage.

The items I couldnt do without are the Dremel table
saw and the disc sander.

Mike Hammer

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

Oh yes, I do have a Dremel sander (disc/belt) . It's handy, but not critical. I've only had it for about 7 years. Been modeling for 45 years.
WT

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

The only tools any modeler truly needs are a #11 Xacto blade and a sheet of sandpaper :D.

However, having purchased the following power tools has made building easier, more accurate and more fun. One problem with getting more capable tools is that any screwups rest squarely on my shoulders ;)

In order of most often used (I do kits and ARFs - the order would certainly be different if I were scratch building):

Used a lot
Drill press
Combo disk/belt sander (standard sized Craftsman and small Delta units)
Dremel drill press accessory (also serves as a poor man's router)
Band saw
Cordless 3/8 inch drill

Nice to have
Scroll saw
Unimat mini lathe
Bench grinder

Cheers!

Jim

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

All of it, I cant live without anything I have. Took years to accumulate whats in this shop.
What I use the most;
18" drill press, 1" vertical belt sander, dremel, scroll saw, band saw, battery drill
What I use at least once a week,
4" belt/6" disk sander, metal cutting band saw, 60 soldering iron
What I use occasionally;
lathe, mill, GP slot machine

If I could only have one power tool, the tool I use absolutely the most - Dremel. If I lost everything (like some have during Katrina) I would get the Dremel first.


You'd think dremel would be in spell checker wouldnt you!

Edwin

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

The power tools I use most after the dremel with flex shaft are:

Disk/belt sander
Drill press
Scroll saw
Mini chop saw
Grinder
4" mini table saw
Great Planes mini power plane
Air brush


Scott

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

The "Slot Machine" from Great Planes. Now there's a great power tool!

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

Hi all
I find it very interesting that when the question of must have tools are discussed how often the dremel tool is mentioned. I have a reasonably well equipped shop and I can’t remember the last time I used my dremel. I cut music wire with it and some times do cut outs on a cowling but not much more. What do you fellows do with it?

Bert

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

I suppose how much you use a dremel can vary a lot. If you assemble ARFs, I would imagine you would use it very little. Even when building kits, the type of kit will make a big difference. When constructing a Sig Four Star, I used it much much less than I am on my Top Flite Spitfire. I use it for shaping and hollowing out balsa blocks, cutting small rabbits for close fitting hatches and wheel covers, shaping details of all types, cutting and grinding holes. I used it when creating scale looking stacks and hollowing out a heavy pilot figure. I used it for fabricating mounting brackets for my gear doors, cutting cap screws to length. The list goes on and on.

Scott

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

Over the years, I have collected three Dremels (one rechargeable unit and a corded unit hanging at-the-ready under the edge of my workbench on cup hooks, and the third one in a Dremel drill press accessory.

Am building a 4*40 and in the last two days I used a Dremel to

Trim aileron servo rails to fit servo
Drill holes for servo screws,
Cut two pieces of brass tubing to make a step down adapter from the throttle cable to the carb linkage
Clean up ends of brass tube with conical grinding wheel
Cut off frayed throttle cable end
Remove excess solder from outside of tube :(
Buff tube to shiny brightness ;)
Grind burr off tailwheel wire
Drill slightly larger diameter hole in tailwheel
Drill hole in firewall for throttle cable (with flex shaft - not enuf room for anything else ;))

Using a chuck instead of those $*#&^#@%^ing collets makes using the Dremel a whole lot easier!
The flex shaft attachment is also a real winner!

Cheers!

Jim

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

9" throat band saw (Ryobi)

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

In order of usage in my shop:

Bandsaw
Micro Table saw
Belt/dics sander
drill press
Dremel Tool
Scroll Saw

I build a lot from plans so the above tool sure help with cutting out and shaping the parts.

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

Thanks for your inputs, guys. All of the tools mentioned make sense.

However, I noticed that several of you have both a bandsaw and mini table saw. If you have one, why would you need the other?

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

The bandsaw is the one tool I would not do without. The micro table saw gets used in my shop a lot because I buy my balsa stock in sheets. I use the micro saw to rip my sticks and stringers and it does so much cleaner and, dead on accurate. I works so well I can even cleanly cut 1/8" triangle stock. I have not purchased balsa sticks since I bought that saw.
But, like I said before, I do a lot of building from plans so, I spend a lot of time cutting out and fabricating the actual parts to build an airplane. If you are building from a kit, most of that is supplied for you.
The bandsaw is the most useful all around tool in a modelers shop. Set up with an 1/8" or 3/16" blade it will cut any part used on an airplane and, set up with a fence you can rip and make accurate cuts that are STRAIGHT. Most come with a miter slot and gauge so you can cut angles also. The only cut a good bandsaw won't make is an inside cut. If I am working with balsa, most of the time I will just cut the inside portion of the part with an X-acto knife or Dremel tool with a sanding drum. I will dust off the scroll saw if the part needing the inside cut is made out of birch ply, its probably the only time I use the scroll saw in my shop.

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

The only downside to a band saw is that if you need to cut a hole in something, you need to break the blade and weld it up again - Then to remove the part, it must again be broken and rewelded.

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

jig saw i can say needs to be added to the mix. i have a scroll saw, jig saw, drill press, hand drill, and disk sander. sometimes i wish i had a ban saw but that is only because i do wood working as another hobby.

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

Hi all ….
At the risk of hijacking this thread a bit I would like to pass on a band saw tip that some may find useful. I made a very simple jig for a friend without a table saw to cut triangle stock quite successfully on a band saw.
Start with a piece of melamine or similar material cut to the size of your band saw table.
Draw a line on that stock that will intersect the center of the blade. Cut that line out to a distance just greater than that, from the front of the table to the back of the blade.
Now with a router and a 45 degree bit, route the stock on the center of that line from one side to the other.
You should now have a table sized piece with a V grove cut across it with a saw slit in the middle of the groove for about half its length... To use you simply, thread it on to the blade; clamp it to the saw table, square to the blade. Now feed squared stock though and you will have all the tri stock you could ever want.
I hope my explanation is clear enough as it is one of those thing that is easy to make, not so easy to explain. I don’t have one myself so I can’t offer a picture to make it a little less confusing.
Bert

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

Huh?[sm=confused.gif]
That is what I was refering to when I said a bandsaw would not make an inside cut.
I would never consider breaking and rewelding my bandsaw blades to make a cut in any part. I would drill a large hole and use a coping saw before I would ever do that. If the part is made of balsa I would use an X-Acto knife with a #11 blade or one of X-Acto's small saw blades.

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

Replaced my Dremel Scroll saw (single speed) after 30 years last night. The cable attachment went last year on it. Replaced with Dremel 1800 variable speed with disc sander.

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

A bit of overkill but I use my Shopsmith, (disksander, table saw, drillpress and lath)with bandsaw a lot. Also a scroll saw.

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

Scroll saw - must have.
Disk Sander - Talk about a time saver - particularly for those of use who can't sand a square edge.
Drill Press - not "must have" but close.
Table Saw - great if you're a scratch builder or just care enough to ensure sticks are matched.

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

CCRC1,

I agree with what you said about breaking and rewelding a bandsaw blade in order to cut out the insides of a part. However, I also know what MinnFlyer is talking about because I have done that myself when the inside cut was intricate enough to make all of the setup work worthwhile. (The parts were made of 1/8" aluminum for a full size airplane.)

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

Oh, I am sure there are applications where doing that is necessary, especially in metal and industrial fabrication. But I can think of none in the area of R/C modeling. The majority of inside cuts I have made when I am building from plans are fuselage formers and they are made from balsa, light ply or birch ply. There are to many easier ways to accomplish the task instead of breaking and rewelding my good bandsaw blades multiple times. :D

RE: Workshop Power Tools
 

You could nail it back together (I use 9 inch nails and a 28 lb sledge hammer) if you don't mind the fact that you lose a bit of smoothness as the blade revolves.

-David C.