Best inexpensive investments?

Good belts and good drills.

Jason Fry said:
Harbor freight spring clamps :)
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Heck yeah! You really can't have too many. Regular C-clamps too. The cheap ones are fine for what I do.

Mudbug007 said:
After using them a few times, I still want a pair of $15 HF stainless steel calipers!
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I have two... one extra just because it was $5 at a garage sale. They're definitely not Starrett quality, but again, close enough for rock'n'roll. If I ever get into folders I'll invest in a real one.

fast14riot said:
My measurement tools! Also, a drop or cutoff of granite from a countertop shop is fantastic. ... Sharpies are another item I never have enough of, along with cheap spiral bound notebooks.
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I still need a piece of granite, but I do have a nice slab of marble we use when cutting/stamping/marking leather. I got crazy lucky on the Sharpies... my wife is an outside vendor for their main plant. Couple times a year they sell 'em for dirt cheap to employees, and last time they allowed her to purchase a boatload for some ridiculous amount, like $10 for a couple hundred markers. :D
 
Leethal Cutlery said:
Edm polishing stones! I get em in the lower grits and use em to get those pesky scratches out before moving to higher grits. Makes sanding a little quicker for me. Plus they are really cheap!!
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How do you use these? Do you mount them onto a big sanding stick? What about keeping them flat?
 
Leethal Cutlery said:
Edm polishing stones! I get em in the lower grits and use em to get those pesky scratches out before moving to higher grits. Makes sanding a little quicker for me. Plus they are really cheap!!
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Do you have a link for stones with holders? Those look like just what I need. My sand paper strips backed by sticks tend to wash out bevels and details. I though about getting some high grade finishing files but these edm stones look both cheap and convenient. Thanks for the tip!
 
Widerstand said:
HMGTrZLh.jpg
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Had to look that up... Looks neat!
 
A membership on bladeforums!! :):):):)

The advice and support is worth SO MUCH!!!
 
goodness i was going to say knowledge but willie beat me to it (only took 2 pages to get a post to say it )
be it so you know how to use the tools properly or that you are smart adn can make the tools work the way you need them to. while i like having a mic. around i would not have to use it in most of my daily knife making. i do however liek that vice/pan vice thing and have been looking for the right one for my shop
 
Without a doubt as Willie mentioned - knowledge!. Thanks to all you fine folks here at the forums I have learned and continue to learn so much. I have one of those Stanley vises. First one broke but the stand up people at Stanley replaced it. HF calipers, love mine! Need to get another one just for a back up. One item I got which helps is one of those foot pedal on/off switches so I can keep both hands free (or just keep both hands) when working with the bandsaw, drill press etc. Also like my cheap set of machinist's squares from Enco. My edge scribes are dirt cheap. I take a cut off of a bar of steel I'm working with and just grind a point to the middle of the thickness. A quick and dirty heat treat and I'm good to go. I have one for each thickness of bar I use and the scribed line will always be in the middle(or just off center if that's where you prefer).
 
i4Marc said:
My edge scribes are dirt cheap. I take a cut off of a bar of steel I'm working with and just grind a point to the middle of the thickness. A quick and dirty heat treat and I'm good to go. I have one for each thickness of bar I use and the scribed line will always be in the middle(or just off center if that's where you prefer).
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I use one of those too but mine come premade in every size and already heat treated
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That is a beautiful height gauge. This company makes some really fine measuring equipment.
 
Sharpies...I'd be lost without them.
Double-Stick Carpet Tape...Priceless. I use it for mock-ups, to hold scales in place on the tang while drilling holes in them, to hold extra thick scale material to the 2x4 while thinning it out with the radial-arm saw, etc.
Welding Magnet...For holding steel while surface grinding or if the piece is small.
 
+1 on the Arbor Press. Mine was $69 shipped and I set it up with a pin trimmed down to 0.1700" so it allows me to push 3/16" pins in and out of scales/tangs. Also got a set of flare dies and a set of rivet setting dies. Best tool investment I've made in a long time.

TedP
 
12345678910 said:
Keep an eye on Enco

On sale for half price and free shipping

$45 for a 12x18"

http://www.use-enco.com/1/1/1256-black-granite-inspection-surface-plates-640-0120.html
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I got mine from there a while back. The ONLY thing with it is, they're so damn heavy that they tended (for my luck at least) to come with some damage. I don't think the people handling that thing are very ginger with handling it. First one I got was actually cracked in half when I opened it. Second one the one corner was boogered up a bit but I figured for what I'm doing it's fine. Plus I didn't want to keep calling every time they shipped one out they told me to just keep the first one and sent me out a second.
 
Fletch Helical said:
I got mine from there a while back. The ONLY thing with it is, they're so damn heavy that they tended (for my luck at least) to come with some damage. I don't think the people handling that thing are very ginger with handling it. First one I got was actually cracked in half when I opened it. Second one the one corner was boogered up a bit but I figured for what I'm doing it's fine. Plus I didn't want to keep calling every time they shipped one out they told me to just keep the first one and sent me out a second.
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I found a local one at that price, no shipping and I was able to eyeball it first.
 
Knipex Plier Wrench, and Knipex CoBolt Mini Bolt Cutter. The Cobolt can be had for just over $30 and the Plier wrench for just over $40 if you shop, and while it seems pricy for pliers, they're relatively inexpensive for an invaluable (IMO) tool. They are made in Germany and are of the very highest quality. I'm a big Knipex fan, I've been using their stuff for years.



The special thing about the CoBolt is that it's the size of a traditional diagonal cutter, but packs a huge bite. These things cut through 1/8" stainless rod like butter, and can cut up to 0.15" piano (hard) wire. They're light enough to use like a normal pair of pliers, and can be operated with one hand. They also sell a spring loaded comfort grip version.

I bought them for a project (had to make a bunch of cuts in heavy gauge stainless wire cloth), but they're now the first tool I go to when I need diagonal cutters. I'm not even sure if I've used my diagonal cutters since I got these, TBH. If I need a fine point, I usually go straight to my hard wire flush cutters.

KXI5hot.jpg




The Knipex plier wrench is something of a hybrid between a channellock and a crescent wrench. The lower jaw stays parallel to the upper jaw, and the opening is adjusted with a spring loaded pushbutton. Once you have the opening set, you have an extremely high leverage ratio in your size range, to easily grip the fastener or workpiece. These things are so strong that they can smash the corner of 1/8" aluminum plate paper thin without breaking a sweat.

They're invaluable on partially stripped bolts, or soft fittings such as aluminum flare nuts. Aircraft and racing guys love these. I haven't willingly used a crescent wrench since I bought a couple sizes of these (going on a few years now). They don't mar bolt heads but grab harder than anything out there. They even work better than vice grips in certain circumstances.

They're also invaluable for critical installations, such as decorative fittings. They grab flats HARD so there is no chance of squishing the edge of a contact surface, but the jaws are smooth and very well finished so there is little to no marking on the surfaces.

I use mine not only for fasteners and fittings, but for holding small workpieces. Once you squeeze the handles, they grab as hard as a machine vise, and are terrific for grinding/sanding small metal parts that would otherwise difficult to hold safely without a special fixture. They also work amazingly well for bending small linkages and pieces of strip or thin bar. I keep rolls of 1/8" and 3/32" mild steel wire on hand and bend all kinds of gizmos and doohickeys using these pliers.

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My main go-to tool for detail finishing is a flex shaft machine. Foredom makes the best, hands down. If you buy one new, they are pricey; however, EBay has a ton of them. They are inexpensive to maintain. I still use the machine I bought 30 years ago and it still runs fine, with normal maintenance. And the amount of accessories is awesome, like a 3 x 10 belt grinder, a 2" angle grinder, and a drill press.
 
Goldsmithy said:
My main go-to tool for detail finishing is a flex shaft machine. Foredom makes the best, hands down. If you buy one new, they are pricey; however, EBay has a ton of them. They are inexpensive to maintain. I still use the machine I bought 30 years ago and it still runs fine, with normal maintenance. And the amount of accessories is awesome, like a 3 x 10 belt grinder, a 2" angle grinder, and a drill press.
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I still have my grandmother's Foredom, she died over 20 years ago, and used it professionally at least 10 before that (maybe longer). Still works perfect.
 
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