What is in you toolboxes?

[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

[cobolt cutter]

Alex,
mitutoyo is INexpensive tools sets. The best is Starrett or Brown&Sharp, and a Kenny toolbox. To me, these are the top of line tooling sets. This is just my opinion.
If your just starting out, thats a good start but why so many digital calipers.
ask yourself will you be turning or milling more. what types jobs will you be doing the most,then buy accordingly to the job! At one time I've had very tool you can imagine. about $13,000.00 worth. allways remember one tool at a time! most of the time I bought tools from coworkers, I knew and how they used them, so I knew what shape the tools were in.
Cobolt Cutter

[BLAMM!!]

MITUTOYO, Starret, and B&S IS GOOD ! Get some dial indicators .0001" and .001", drop indicators .0001" and .001", depth mics, pressure indicator mics, plastic indicator mics, thin anvil blade mics, friction thimble mics., telescoping bore gages, and a sunnen hole gage, then get dead blow hammer, ball end allen wrenches, combination wrenches, tri blade deburr knives ( small scraper) hope this helps it did for me. if you want to be a goode machinist you must arm your self to the gills!

[fpworks]

Cobolt,
Can't agree with your take on Mitutoyo...we have several instruments from all three companies you mentioned (plus some more) and Mitutoyo is probably my favorite (for calipers and micrometers).

In reality, they're all equally good, until you go with something like Enco or generic brands, then you see a definite difference it quality.

I do agree with you about buying one instrument at a time, per job. That way you don't break the bank, or be tempted to buy some poor quality stuff.

Alex,
You will need some basic stuff to start:

1. Calipers...skip the 6" and get 8". Anything larger than 8" gets clumsy to handle and you'll smack them on everything. Verniers are better than most people think, but if you get a digital set, make sure it is water resistant.

2. Dial indicator. A 0.0005" is adequate for most stuff, unless you're grinding. Get a good magnetic base/stand...I highly recommend Noga's [the black ones] for $90-110. If you buy a cheap base and get the opportunity to use a nice one, I promise that you will buy a new one within 12 hours.

3. Gage block set. You will need to periodically check your instruments...especially micrometers. They are very temperature sensitive. There is no way I will promise a measurement below 0.0005 without validating the instrument with gage blocks at the time of measurement. (micrometer really aren't good for measurements that tight....you should use a comparator micrometer. The method I described here is kind of like using your micrometer like a poor man's comparitor mike.

4. Granite plate. (self explanitory, I hope) Also consider that you can take a lot of high precision measurements with an indicator, gage blocks, and a granite plate.

[BLAMM!!]

One of my favorite ways to get accurate below .001 is a pressure mic. Just calibrate it on a plug gage. and Mitutoyo makes a pressure mic that goes down to .00005.

[CarbideBob]

You really can't go wrong with mitutoyo equipment. Good stuff at reasonable prices. Do some shopping around as distributors get different pricing from the factory so sometimes you can get discounts. My experience has taught me that anything lower in price is pretty much junk. Higher priced stuff will live longer. A B&S or Interapid indicator will last twice as long as a mitutoyo indicator in my shop. Kennedy toolboxes are nice but in my mind nothing beats a Gerstner top.
The most important tool in my box sits in the top center drawer. The Machinery's Handbook. This is the bible of metalworking.

[Pres]

imo - "Lista" is top quality in tool storage cabinets.

[ajl6549]

Mitu, Starret, B+S...all great but the best thing I've seen in this thread is Interapid, I would not recomend anything but, for all test type indicators. I've got an interapid groove/bore gage I got at an auction fifteen years ago it has a million uses but these days are quite pricey.

[BLAMM!!]

I agree; Interapid is superb, but BestTest is also truely awesome and I also believe in spending money. Theres a reason good stuff is more costly. Noga Articulate mag base is great for all positions. When I buy inspection equipment I look to Mitutoyo 1st, Brown and Sharpe 2nd then Starrett for general hand held stuff.

[bennett71]

What are your aspirations? Digital bore guages up to 5" & everything else digital also??? If you are just getting into the machining world first learn how to use vernier tools if you don't know already & get good with them, then go digital. Save yourself a lot of money on the bore guages for now & get a good set of telescoping guages & learn how to use them. This will free up some cash for some more important tools like 123 blocks, v-blocks, sine bar, radius guages, tap wrenches, parallels, edge finders, taps & dies, a good dead blow hammer, a-z, number & frac. drill set, deburring knife, center drills, 6 inch steel rule, scribe, punch set, bandaids, electrical tape if you run out of bandaids, files (needle included) mag base, mighty mags, machinist's squares, combo square, & a thousand more things I can't think of right now. Last but not least the most important tool I have ever bought also like Bob is the Machinery's hand book. In machining, all the little things add up & it gets to the point when you lose track of what you have in your box & you find out what you don't have when you borrow it from someone else. Happy machining & good luck, Tom