Tool Box

[AlexChuang]

Well... heres kind of a newbie question... but what tools do you guys have in your tool box... i am just getting into the machining world and i want to know what tools should i get...

i have made up a list of some of my wants

mitutoyo digital bore gauges all the way up to 5"
mitutoyo 6" 8" 12" digital calipers
mitutoyo digital micrometers


what else am i missing?

what other basic hand tools should i have on the shop floor?

(and i know mitutoyo is expensive and top of the line but the system my company is going to be going to in the next couple months will be needing them)

thanks in advance for your help guys

Alex

[jackson]

well i would only buy what you need to get started like your 12" and 6" if you have thoughs you dont really need the 8" right now, i would definetly get depth mics. inside mics. tellascoping gages the diale bore gages usually the company buys thoughs,get a set of 0-1,1-2,and 2-3 od mics. to start if you want dig. thats your choise i would stay with plain dials they are cheaper and i think they are more precision, and you will need a good dial indicator and mag base for the indicator i recomend interapid .060 travel and naga fine tune mag base.that should get you started in your measurment tooling in your hand tooling you deffenitly want a set of standered & metric ballend allen wrenches, set of torx or star wrenchs, i would get a socket set metric and standard maybe a wrench set up to you,you need a dead blow or two and a good brass hammer, well that should get you started if i think of any think else i will let you know

[Matt_S]

Originally Posted by AlexChuang Well... heres kind of a newbie question... but what tools do you guys have in your tool box... i am just getting into the machining world and i want to know what tools should i get... i have made up a list of some of my wants mitutoyo digital bore gauges all the way up to 5" mitutoyo 6" 8" 12" digital calipers mitutoyo digital micrometers what else am i missing? what other basic hand tools should i have on the shop floor? (and i know mitutoyo is expensive and top of the line but the system my company is going to be going to in the next couple months will be needing them) thanks in advance for your help guys Alex

Kind of depends on your work environment.I work in a jobber shop right now,and this is what I have in my toolbox.

6"Digital calipers
8"Digital calipers
12"Old school calipers
0-6"Micrometer set
2-12"inside micrometer set
0-4"Depth micrometers
combination set
1"travel mag back indicator
1"travel indicator with magnetic base
.250 back plunger indicator
Coax indicator
Edge finders,spring loaded center,metric&standard pitch gauges
Tape measure
Assorted hand tools:Adjustable wrenches,metric&standard allen wrenches,dead blow hammer,tap handles,pliers etc...

[Newby2]

I if you are looking for high accuracy, then you will also need calibrated gage blocks, Jo Blocks, gage pins for holes less than .500" in diameter. Depending on the accuarcy required for bore gaging, you will need something more than a caliper for setting the bore gage. Calipers are typically only good for plus or minus .001" depending on the amount of pressure applied. One can make a caliper read whatever one wants. The longer the caliper, the greater the flex of the frame leading to even greater inaccuracies. Telescope gages are good only if one is proficient at using them. They are old school.
As for micrometers, be sure that you have calibrated standards for each range.
In this day and age of machining, greater accuracies are required than they were 20 years ago. Look at ISO and QS requirements. Also don't forget about GD&T. Geometric Dimentioning & Tolerancing
For repeat jobs, you may want to look at machining go/no go gages. They are invaluable for in process checks. Just make sure they are calibrated.
Forgive me, but I cannot stress the issue of calibration. Not having this in place has been the downfall of many a small shop.