Essential tools for your workshop

[Dengar]

Hi,
As you might have seen in some of my other posts I am coming back to the hobby I love. It has been six years since I have flown and I am really looking forward to getting back into the air. All that being said I have to rebuild my workshop so I ask you the group what essential tools do you have in your workshop? I don't foresee any real building in the near future so it will most likely but maintenance and the unfortunate repair job. I don't have a lot of cash to send so I would like to focus on what I really need. I have nothing left from my old days except my covering tools. So that’s it I would love to hear your advice.

Thanks,
Chris

P.S
I don't want to monoplilize these forums so if anyone finds this let me know.

[flyboy2610]

A good drill press with a tilt table and a drill press vise.
A 6" bench grinder.
A good quality vise with at least 4" jaws.
A Dremel or similar type of multi tool.
A band or scroll saw.
Plenty of 4" flourescent shop lights.
A good soldering gun.
That is what i would consider the minimum.
You can add other tools as you find you have a need for them.

[clipclop]

Good hobby knife handle, packet No11 blades, Balsa saw and handle, balsa plane and blades, balsa stripper, copeing saw and blades, sandpaper( various grades) - I use free cut paper (like used for sanding plaster) I glue peices to small blocks of dressed timber for use as sanding blocks.

[LuckyArmpit]

I'll add a few items....
Packing tape
Small size socket set, regular and metric
6" pair of hemostats (believe me, they come in handy!!!!)
Yer various glues...epoxy and CA
Set of regular and metric allen wrenches (or hex key wrenches)
Spring loaded clamps (for holding stuff together while glue dries)
A nice flourescent desk lamp with magnifying glass (great for doing the itty bitty stuff)

Dave...

[orenda635]

Just something to add onto what LuckyArmpit said. Make sure those allen wrenches are metric. Many popular engines use metric hex socket bolts. Imperial wrenches will strip them.

[geofb]

Chris,

I think a lot depends on what you intend to do. If you intend to buy ARTFs / ARFs then you will need much fewer selection of tools. If you intend to build from kits the of course it will be differnet. If you are looking to keep costs down then deciding this first will help.

[Dengar]

Thank you very much to everyone. To answer your question geofb I don't think I will be doing any real building for a while. The only thing I will be doing is the some repair work as needed and maybe a little covering.

[steve crewdog]

A Shopvac!!!!

[DaveSawers]

Forget sandpaper (glasspaper), use Perma-Grit tools for the reduction and smoothing of all materials. They last for ever.

[Viper Pilot]

And don't forget a strong fan to ventilate your workspace!!! CA fumes are BAAAD!!!

[ElectRick]

I find that a couple rolls of 3M blue painter's tape are indispensable to have around the shop.

When you go shopping for screwdrivers, don't buy cheap Chinese-made flea market specials--especially for your Phillips head assortment. You will not only ruin the heads of screws rapidly due to poor tip engagement, the cheap metals used in them just wear out faster and you wind up rebuying. Buy the best Phillips drivers you can find. Your hardware will thank you for it. Make sure to get a good complete set of jeweler's drivers too.

Oh, and a beer cooler is sometimes useful to have around too. :D

Rick

[Viper Pilot]

. . . . Oh, and a beer cooler is sometimes useful to have around too. :D. . . .

For them crooked airframe builders out there :p :p :p :p

VP

[ctdahle]

I spent some time writing this http://webpages.charter.net/rcfu/BegInfo/BasicWorkshop.html several years ago. Maybe it will help you.

[ctdahle]

And a couple of things to add to the article above:

A good quality 3/4 artists paint brush is essential for coating bare wood with thinned epoxy for fuel proofing.

The 4 in 1 screwdrivers are less easy to find now, but the newer, fancier multi bit drivers turn out to be pretty handy. They fit glow plugs as well as prop nuts on at least some 40 sized motors.

For chamfering the leading edges of control surfaces, a sanding block works fine, but a well tuned plane is faster and can be more accurate. There are several small razor planes on the market that use single edge razor blades instead of steel "irons". An extreme low angle block plane also does a nice job of making chamfers, but takes more work to keep in "tune".

I've been using Japanese waterstones (Suehiro Deluxe) to sharpen my plane irons and other tools. I use a 600 grit waterstone, and then progress to a 1200. These are adequate for most work, but I also have a 6000 grit waterstone that puts a mirror edge on just about anything. Be sure you are well practiced before you try to use the 6000. It's so soft that you can ruin it in a hurry if you are not careful. I keep the 600 and 1200 in a tupperware container, filled with water so they are always ready to go. (dont keep them in an unheated space if you live in snow country, it they freeze while wet, they will shatter). I buy most of my fine woodworking tools from Garret and Wade.

For covering, I bought a Fiskars "self repairing" cutting mat...cheaper than the comparable "hobbico" item. I use it with a set of french curves for cutting out graphics. I also have a Fiskars slide cutter. For doing a checkerboard or chordwise stripe pattern, I use the slide cutter to make up a big batch of squares and rectangles.

[SamD]

After you tire of stripping the heads of metric phillips style screws (which really aren't "phillips" but JIS), try these: http://www.centralhobbies.com/Tools/jis.html Well worth the price.

This is vastly superior to the various Xacto saws:

http://www.asktooltalk.com/home/general/tools/jpullsaws/sharksaws/10-2204.htm

Try scoring plywood with a #11 and then following the scribe line with the saw; you'll be surprised how straight a cut that can be produced "by hand". Alternatively, the Zona brand of saws is also good and reasonably priced. I've got both and they get used for differing applications.

A small 6" combination square is also very handy for laying out lines and much easier to deal with than the standard 12" variety.

A small piece of MDF with holes tapped for both 2-56 & 4-40 is handy for dealing with the solder-on ends for push rods; simply screw the end into the board and place the rod into the end and solder away- no chasing it around the work bench or losing heat when it's clamped in a vise. Plus, it's vertical and you've got gravity working for you.

Soldering irons, covering irons, etc: the short cords they come with "suck". Clip 'em off and install 8' or better cords so you're not fighting a short cord.

[ctdahle]

...A small piece of MDF with holes tapped for both 2-56 & 4-40 is handy for dealing with the solder-on ends for push rods; simply screw the end into the board and place the rod into the end and solder away- no chasing it around the work bench or losing heat when it's clamped in a vise. Plus, it's vertical and you've got gravity working for you.

Soldering irons, covering irons, etc: the short cords they come with "suck". Clip 'em off and install 8' or better cords so you're not fighting a short cord...

Those are two really good ideas...I'm definitely adding them to my bag of tricks!

[ctdahle]

Also, a piece of 10 gauge copper wire with one end stuck into a hole in a square of MDF and an alligator clip crimped to the other makes a slick positionable clamp for holding awkward assemblies in place for soldering or gluing.