I couldn't live without my drill press, and a drill bit sharpener. And hand-in-hand with those are a center punch and a set punch. Drilling accurate holes is essential. My bench grinder: I've actually got two. One with fine wire wheel and stone, the other with medium wire wheel and belt/disc sander conversion kit. Vise, mounted to a sturdy bench. Nothing worse than trying to use a vise that's just sitting there on the floor. A dial caliper. I got a great one from Highland Hardware, a woodworking shop in Atlanta. It's got fractional inches and decimal inches. Most dual-face calipers are decimal and metric. High quality tin snips. Mig Welder. Can't fab much without a welder. Believe me, I've tried. Chop saw. Do you really want to cut through 2x4 box tubing with a hack saw? After that, the rest is gravy. Really nice to have, and I'm working on getting a lot more than I've got (just bought a 30-inch stomp sheer and shrinker/stretcher set, have a hydraulic press and horizontal band saw), but to me these are the essentials. -Brad
I saw this (Hanger Board) today when I got my fabricator magazine. Its rated at 16ga. Looks like it would be easy to home make. I've seen antique single operation "Hanger Boards" in old shops but I never thought of a multi-function. opens up all kinds of ideas for me now. Is BAILEIGH INC watching?
The Jalopy Journal
