Thread: Best All Rounder...

The third most useful tool in a workshop would be my vise.

My hat's off to someone who has only one vice.

To BALDY

That scythe on the wall is a nice touch.......

JERRY

Originally Posted by CTKnife

I agree, the basics in any shop should be these two tools and lets not forget a good sound system....

+1000!!!

Originally Posted by baldy

Thats what I was going to say, hit the local garage sales at 7 AM on Saturday morning and you might find a nice bench grinder, drill press, coping saw, jigsaw etc. I have a Ryobi combination Belt sander with a grinding/buffing wheel and Its my most used tool.
Grant

Grim Reaper!!!!!!!!

Baldy,

That bench sander/grinder combo is available for $150. Are you happy with it? Can the belt be rotated so that it sits flat?

Is a separate grinder useful? For polishing etc?

Cheers,

Aaron.

Since I've been living in an apartment since I've gotten into razors, I've had to make due with hand tools and working at the dining room table or on the front porch. Personally I enjoy shaping the wood by hand. Sure, when I move into our new house I've got a stationary belt sander sitting in a box just waiting to be set up. But I will only use that to take it to the rough shape. Here's what I started out with, and what I feel the minimums are to make a set of scales in a timely manner: Coping saw, double stick tape, a drill of some sort (I have a "drill press" attachment for a hand drill that works well enough) with a 1/16" bit, sandpaper (80, 400, 600, and up to as high as you want), a flat piece of wood to mount sandpaper onto, a fine-tooth rasp is great for removing a lot of wood quickly, set of microfasteners, 1/16" pin rod, washers, ball-peen hammer, chunk of hard steel, your choice of finish. By far probably my most used hand tool is a sanding block I made from a piece of hard maple. I use the purple 3M 80?grit sand paper to knock the edges down to shape and to flatten/thin the scales. Then it's just a matter of working up the grits. The blocks are great for wedges too. Very quick at removing material, but keeping the face flat.

That should bring you in well under budget. I suggest just buying the basics at first, and buying them as you need them at that. Good luck and happy scaling!

Well I personally use a Band Saw and a belt sander....mine turned out great.....only thing I need to do is find out how to finish the wood (clear coat) and its good.
The band saw is very precise......I found mine for $50, it is an old Atlas band saw.....but my Old School Friend just gave it to me instead..lol
Good luck with it, I know that Lowe's sells a two kinds of stationary belt sanders...one for $190 and one for like $120 but get the better one.

Originally Posted by baldy

Thats what I was going to say, hit the local garage sales at 7 AM on Saturday morning and you might find a nice bench grinder, drill press, coping saw, jigsaw etc. I have a Ryobi combination Belt sander with a grinding/buffing wheel and Its my most used tool.
Grant

How does the big razor on the wall shave?

Originally Posted by Bruce

My hat's off to someone who has only one vice.

_______________________________________

I have two vices. Manhattans w/bitters and Scotch rocks.....

Aside from a buffer, I agree with drill press and beltsander, and in that order. I do also have a scroll saw, but that is only because I am lazy. I used a coping saw for a while with no problem at all, other than it annoyed me. Scroll saw saves me some frustration and maybe a few minutes per set of scales. The thing is, with a beltsander, unless you cut your scale blanks more than half an inch too big (and why would you?), you can really chew the excess off quickly. You could also do a bandsaw, but I trust a hobby grade scroll saw over a hobby grade bandsaw.