Fantasy tool shop
Have you ever gone to a tool shop, web site or catalogue and browsed through, picking out a fantasy shopping basket of those things you’d get if money was no object? I know I have.
So I put the question to some online makers via Twitter.
What piece of equipment have you always dreamed of owning/want to try next?
Workshopshed – Twitter
Milling machine
For me, the next “must have” is a milling machine. I’m pretty much pushed to the limits on what I can do with the lathe and having a mill rather than a simple pillar drill would allow me to improve accuracy and increase the variety of projects I could create.
Steve Sherwin from Steve Sherwin Mechanical Art also wanted a milling machine but rather than a little one he wanted to go for a bigger model such as those I trained on at Dowty.
it would of been a 3d printer but I bought one last week plenty of time on my hands and all that but a big old Bridgeport mill so I can do some serious cuts instead of my toy warco
Steve Sherwin – https://www.facebook.com/ssmechanicalart/
Lathe
Cleo from Modular Robotics and Dexter Industries wanted a lathe, so that she could relax whilst making wood chippings. I have noticed this myself that making can be a form of meditation in that it takes your mind off everything other than the task at hand.
Definitely a lathe. Turning wood is so soothing. I am dreaming of selling pens once I retire from my actual job. Retirement isn’t that far off in the future, so I need to get some practice in. I want to take local wood, whenever a tree is felled and turned it into pens.
I would also consider knitting needles :) If I ever get good enough.
Cleo Qc – https://twitter.com/Cleo_Qc
Derek from Extreme Electronics also want’s a lathe but for him it’s more for cutting metal.
Always wanted one, used to make rc model cars at School, would love to make a metal robot arm, and hand, plastic just wouldn’t be strong enough, and it’s great to not be limited with just nuts & bolts.
Derek Woodroffe – https://twitter.com/ExtElec
Laser Cutter
Nikki from OliveFrogs wanted to go high tech with a laser cutter.
I’ve wanted a laser cutter for quite some time. It pairs very nicely with a 3d printer for making cool stuff using fairly inexpensive materials.
Nikki from OliveFrogs – https://twitter.com/OliveFrogs
Laser cutters have the speed advantage over a 3D printer and are great for cutting lots of parts from a large sheet. Here, Domonic shows how you can quickly make PPE face shields using a laser cutter.
Water Cutter
Charles from ColdLandCNC also wanted a high tech cutting tool
Small WaterJet in Home workshop
Charles from ColdLandCNC
A waterjet cutter works in a similar manner to a sandblaster but uses water rather than air and has an even finer nozzle. The mix of water and abrasive particles pumped at high-speed and pressure through the nozzle can cut through sheet materials leaving a fine edge with no sparks or burning. There can be some heating through with the water helping to draw that away from the cut.
Pick place
Nick Sayer from Geppetto Electronics assembles electronics for his tindie store. So it is not surprising he wants a tool to help automate that process.
I think a pick-n-place machine. I think it would save me money in the long run making a *pile* of one or another kind of board to put in my @tindie inventory.
Nick Sayer – https://twitter.com/nwsayer
Posted in: Inspiration
Metal sculpture in brass, mounted on an 1800s French Coin
