Your most useful tools

[FJ and G]

1. I found that the Dremel, with its various attachments, has been the most useful tool for everything from cutting rails and grinding points for my homemade switches to cutting and shaping wood and polishing.

2. The cordless drill for benchwork drilling and screwing is a must-have for me. My first layout was finished with my ancient handtools that even included a manual drill crank. It was a nice workout but made for sore wrists.

3. Now that I finished my basement, I can start putting my other new power tools to work such as chop saw, Skill saw, table saw, and many other tools. I agree with the adage: "you can never have enough tools."

4. I always thought that Lowe's and Home Depot had the lowest priced tools. However, yesterday I visited a place called Harbor Tool Warehouse across from Potomac Mills Mall in Northern Virginia. The tools there cost 1/3 to 1/2 of the price at Lowe's and HD. I picked up a riveting tool there that I plan to use to make some sheet metal structures and repairs on some existing Lionel PW structures. Also, there was a really cool clamp for about $4, used for woodworking that forms many angles. I plan to use it to connect sides of structures together that I wi***o glue. Tiny screw clamps can hold the walls together at any angle you wish while the glue is drying.


Dave Vergun

[Anonymous]

Once your layout is built, You may find your focus on certain tools changes. My dremel and a cordless drill were my most oft used tools and I still use them but now with the layout done, I find I use the smaller tools more. Several I could not do without:

1. A good quality pencil soldering iron, flux and small diameter rosin core solder.

2. A couple of hemostats...one cuved and one straight.

3. A pinvise. I have several with swivel heads and interchangeable collets to accomodate any size twist drill.

4. Twist Drills. I use numbers 65,70 and 75 the most.

5. A quality set of screwdrivers. There are a lot of cheap sets out there. Spend the money and get a quality set.. I think the best is made by Wiha of Germany.
6. Get your dentist to save his worn out dental probes for you. They are very handy fishing springs...traction tires etc...

7. This ought to be closer to the top. A dandy little tool sold by Micromark called the grabber. Spring loaded it grips very small nuts and bolts in places you can't get your finger in. A smaller version is especially made for Kadee coupler springs. Well worth the dough.

8. Razor saw set and needle files.

9. Small brass hammer.

10. Pan O Vise. I swear I could not live without mine

11. Multi meter.

12. Wire Criimper, solderless spade terminals and a wire cutter.

John Harding

[Anonymous]

Outsourcing labor has given us an opportunity to buy some tools and machines at low cost.

I've been scratch building structures. My $100 band saw from Home Depot has been very useful. I also have gotten good use out of my $40 drill press purchased from a traveling tool show.

[FJ and G]

Roger,

I'm missing those 2 tools, unfortunately, but I did purchase a drill press for my dremel. I have broken a number of very small bits by using my hand-held drill and hope to decrease this breakage somewhat.

John,

I've not heard of the Pan O Vise, grabber and hemostat. What does the hemostat do?

I have the other tools you mentioned and they have proven useful. I dulled my razor saw on something so I purchased a hacksaw with very fine teeth used for cutting metal that I will probably use to cut track. I've been wearing out a lot of dremel cutting wheels on track.

Also, you mentioned soldering tools and crimper/solderless spade terminals. In what situations do you NOT solder but rather crimp?

[Buck216]

I'll toss in a word about magnets. For working on locos and rolling stock I like to use magnetized screw drivers. You are less likely to drop a screw on the floor if it is sticking to the screwdriver.

Also, like the spring loaded pick up tool, I again like the extension wand with the magnet on the end. That little tool has found dropped screws, etc., when I could not even see them at first. [:D]

I also remember a post from the past about a guy who made an apron that I think had velcro on the ends that stuck to the velcro strip he had on his work bench. If he did drop a part it fell right into the apron. I have not tried that idea yet, but it sure seems like an easy and practical tool to make.

[cnw1995]

What's a hemostat? My most useful tool is a small screwdriver and a pair of needle-nose pliers. I bought that model railroaders tool chest sold by MicroMark; it has some interesting stuff in it that I used to use in n scale kitbashing. Haven't done that yet in O.

[FJ and G]

Buck,

My Beagle grabbed a plastic box of track spikes about 2 weeks ago. The plastic was chewed beyond recognition and the spikes were scattered everywhere in the carpet. I don't know how I would havee found them all without the aid of thee magnet.

[Big_Boy_4005]

By far the number 1 tool in my collection is the cordless screw gun.I hace used it to build my house and my layout, and a bunch of other things.

Number 2 would be the compound mitre saw, same story there.

Number 3 would be a combination belt and disk sander, which I use for rail grinding when laying gargraves track. I have owned a Dremel for over 25 years, and almost never use it.

I own every tool under the sun, including every one mentioned so far, but none of them get the amount of use that those 3 do.

By the way, a hemostat is a surgical clamp, and can be used to hold small parts together. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

[Anonymous]

You can usually find hemostats, forceps, clamps, small scissors, etc.
for sale at train shows. Usually reasonably priced. Good for holding
small parts and getting into tight places.

[Anonymous]

The lathe, which I did'nt see mention is very useful in my Live Steam building process.

[Anonymous]

David,

A hemostat is a surgical tool. In the ER they call them clamps. They are useful as super slim needle nose pliers that lock.....also as a vice, heat sink etc. I gave my brother in law several to put in his tackle box....great for getting hooks out of fish. I believe Micro Mark carries them.

Sorry, I misspelled "Panavise" Its a model maker's bench vise. A bit pricey but its the best no question. It tilts, turns and rotates to any position or angle with one turn of the control knob. All sorts of specialized accessories are available for it.

I use spade terminals throughout my model railroad. All power leads and common leads soldered to track are fitted with spade terminals to connect to terminal blocks which are then routed to distribution panels...also using spade terminals...and finally to the control panel. Likewise all leads from switch machines, lights in structures etc.... are connected to individual terminal blocks with spade terminals ...and then on to the power source...again using crimped terminals. John harding

[jkerklo]

Since "tools" is one of my other hobbies I am well equipped for construction and repair projects.

One very important tool for me is the computer. Good for communicating, finding information, and ordering things, but also for designing track plans and drawing the things to be made.


John Kerklo
TCA 94-38455
www.Three-Rail.com

[Anonymous]

How about imagination? It seems to me that the best tools are of little value if the user does not posess imagination.

On the other hand I would vote for the simple screwdriver (blade and phillips) and the hemostat to use as a parts picker and clamp.

Steve

[mersenne6]

As an addendum to John Harding's post. If you can get discarded dental picks from your dentist they are great for a lot of other things besides fishing for small parts in confined spaces. Their grade of tool steel is such that they can be custom ground to many shapes useful for scribing wood and plastic. After grinding to the desired shape you will need to use an india slip stone and a black Arkansas marble slip stone to hone the edges. The steel will hold the edge forever.

I've ground shapes for such things as making the proper contours on Victorian birc-a-brac for stations and houses, making a very fine sculpting tool to modify my plastic figures (sort of a minature version of plastic surgery I guess [:)] ) and to sculpt and cut detailed master plastic patterns to use in resin molds.

[nitroboy]

I do alot of restoring old trains, so one of my most useful tools is my air compressor. I got a pretty big one, a 60 gallon monster. I use it for sandblasting, painting, blowing dust off of my layout, my trains on the shelf, whatnot. I do alot of work in my workshop, so the compressor isn't just for trains.

Dave

[pbjwilson]

Regarding power tools. Recently purchased a Skil jig saw. Nothing fancy - $40 at Home Depot. But what a great saw compared to a Craftsman I purchased about 10 years ago at twice the price.

If your p[ower tools are 10 years or older consider replacing them with new stuff. The power tools of today are far superior, less expensive, and loaded with options and accessories. The DIY home remodeling craze has driven tool manufacturers to compete in quality and price.

[cwburfle]

How about a portable electric drill? How far would any of us get without one?

[Anonymous]

A size #0 Phillips head magnetic screwdriver. I was forever having difficulty with small tasks until I went to a hardware store and purchased this little gem. Be careful, all the screwdriver sets that I reviewed did not have this small size in the set.

[Anonymous]

[:0][:0]WHAT?? Doesn't anyone else use Xuron Track Shears??THEY RULE!!, but the all time best tool is a cobbler's hammer. It is a very small hammer that has a magnet embedded in one end, so you can hold your spikes with it to place them. Then put enough pressure on it to make it stay upright in place, then spin it around and use the other end like any other hammer.....only much more gentle......... Most cobbler's hammers will fit between HO rails with ample room to spare!!

[garyseven]

Nerf bat. (For when all else fails.)

[FJ and G]

Gary7,

Good one. Here's another one. If you didn't design your layout to be modular and movable, you can make quick work of one by using your sawzaw.

My neighbor told me that as a promotional gimmick, an aircraft was actually sliced in 2 by one.

Dave Vergun