Keith Tanner said:The Bend Paks and Benwills we have at the shop all have mechanical catch releases, FYI.
My BendPak requires air. Maybe it's a 2-post vs 4-post thing?
Keith Tanner said:The Bend Paks and Benwills we have at the shop all have mechanical catch releases, FYI.
My BendPak requires air. Maybe it's a 2-post vs 4-post thing?
It really depends on what you're doing. For just fixing and upgrading it's amazing what you can do with hand tools and jack stands. Many a car has been built in the dirt with simple hand tools. From there a torque wrench lets you do things properly and a hoist lets you pull motors. A 4 inch grinder and/or a sawsall will remove things that don't want to be removed and couple those with a drill and you have the very basic fabrication tools. For general maintenence I've come to love my parts washer. Almost nobody NEEDS one but holy cow does it make life better when you have a pile of clean parts to reassemble. Makes a huge difference visually for the assembled bits and working on it in the future as well.
Mostly I like to have a tool money reserve. I'd wait to buy a hoist until you need it. Same with an engine stand. Same with a LOT of specialty tools. Collect them slowly though time as the need arises (and the tool money reserve means you can buy them and still eat) and eventually you have everything. $200 sitting in a coffee can and a nearby Harbor Freight can really save the day.
Depending on where you live in my head challenge builds means dealing with rust and seized bolts so the first thing I'd be wanting is either:
An air compressor with a big beefy impact gun for when you are done arguing with stuck bolts.
Or
$500 worth of the newest Milwaukee electric impact tools. Battery and brushless motor tech being what it is these days unless you plan to add a ton of air tools/tire machine/paint guns etc down the line I think I'd rather go this route.
The new 1/2" Milwaukee Fuel Impact is rated for 700ft/lbs which should suffice in most cases and you'd probably have just enough left over for one of their electric 3/8 ratchets which is a tool that if you've never used you don't know you want but once you use it you miss it every time you don't have it.
I didn't take my own advice and instead have a large air compressor and a handful of air tools, which work great around the garage but then every time I go to the track or need to work on something anywhere but the garage I'm wishing I had my power tools. I think the high end electric option would fix that.
You said challenge-type work. So you need to fabricate stuff.
From a point of view of "What will prevent me from fabricating stuff", I say that a good MIG welder with a tank of gas and a self darkening helmet is the answer. Being able to join pieces of steel with fire will change the game. It will eat up all of your $500 but you wont know how you lived without it a year from now.
I would be embarrassed to show my collection of grinders. I don't like changing tools, so each is set up for a specific function be it grinding, sanding or some form of wire-brushing.
My drill press is far from a quality one, but it does get used A LOT.
On the other extreme of this curve is the English wheel, worth its weight when I need it, but pretty much a sculptural conversation piece in between. But dammit, I WANTED one! And since I had a welder...
Lifts take up a lot of real estate and are one trick ponies. A high lifting floor jack and good jack stands will get you there and be useful for multiple things.
A good vise is extremely important. Next is a drill press. A sheetmetal brake would be nice but you can use a vise and blocks of wood to approximate one, you can't approximate a vise with a sheetmetal brake.
Knurled. said:Lifts take up a lot of real estate and are one trick ponies.
I do not disagree, but it's one heck of a trick. Even a Maxjax gets a car higher than any jack stand I've seen.
To the OP, with $500 to spend, I would usually say "air compressor." But as has been covered, the battery impacts are so good nowadays that it depends on what you're planning to do. If you hope to do sanding, painting, blasting, etc, then you need a big air compressor so might as well get one and some air tools. If you're not planning on those things, I'd stick to the battery tools.
Reasoning is order of usefulness to the common man. Everyone knows how to use a bench vice. Most everyone knows how to use a compressor, and even a small one makes tasks like airing up tires a lot easier and can run intermittent tools like an impact or air ratchet. I wrenched for 10 years in my garages with just a pancake compressor. Sure, it wouldnt take all the 40 lugs off my dually without cycling, but it did it in two cycles and was still faster than any other method. A large air compressor is more a nice-to-have, lets you expand your tool openings a bit to air drills, die grinders, etc. Even though battery stuff is nice now, the tools are still quite a bit larger and more expensive than the air powered equivalent. A MIG welder is next, since most folks can use one and they are very versatile. A shop press is one of those tools that once you have it you find a lot of uses for it, can be used for forming, assembly, disassembly, but is sort of large and not used every day. Also, pressing is generally something that can be farmed out relatively cheaply and while-u-wait. Last is an oxy-acetylene torch set. Its your all-in-one heat/cut/weld tool but the learning curve is pretty steep as is the chance for something bad to happen.
codrus said:Keith Tanner said:The Bend Paks and Benwills we have at the shop all have mechanical catch releases, FYI.
My BendPak requires air. Maybe it's a 2-post vs 4-post thing?
That would make sense. It's a lot harder to run cables to three more posts than just one.
About battery power - it's great as long as the batteries are charged and you realize they are a consumable, and that nothing beats 120 psi of air pressure both for momentary power and sustained effort. We have good electrics at the shop, and I still find myself reaching for the air tools. I'll take the electric impact to the track with me, but if I have the choice I'll usually reach for the air tools.
I assume that if you have a good workbench, you have a vise. The bench should be strong and bolted to the center of the earth. Nothing's more frustrating than a good vise attached to a table that can move.
I'm going to break with consensus and say storage. One entire wall of my garage has shelves like this:
My crap is up on the shelves, not on my work bench or the floor. My toolboxes are tucked into the shelves. No idea what it cost to build as it was here when I moved in, but I'd guess to do it right with good wood and good fasteners would be a couple hundred bucks.
Only one? I've got Ikea shelving that started life as college furniture and is about to move into its fourth garage. Kinda like Slefain's, but modular so I can easily take it down. Every wall of my garage has cabinets or shelves. For a while, about once a year, I'd tear everything off the shelves and "defrag" the garage, reorganizing for better efficiency.
Along the "storage" line of thinking - if you don't have one and have the legal/physical room to place one, a shed can be one of the best "garage accessories" around. The biggest you can fit. A great space for yard equipment and other large tools you don't use as often (like a folding engine hoist).
Streetwiseguy said:You didn't specifically state "auotmotive" projects, so, I say table saw.
Ok, you got me on that one! And I thought my scenario was air tight too- lol.
I guess I was thinking of automotive projects for this experiment.
And I'm not looking to buy something in particular. What would *you* spend *your* $500 on in this scenario?
dculberson said:Knurled. said:Lifts take up a lot of real estate and are one trick ponies.
I do not disagree, but it's one heck of a trick. Even a Maxjax gets a car higher than any jack stand I've seen.
To the OP, with $500 to spend, I would usually say "air compressor." But as has been covered, the battery impacts are so good nowadays that it depends on what you're planning to do. If you hope to do sanding, painting, blasting, etc, then you need a big air compressor so might as well get one and some air tools. If you're not planning on those things, I'd stick to the battery tools.
I'm with dculberson. I use mine as a comfortable height workbench when working with unwieldily pieces of metal or wood. I use mine as an engine hoist, or body hoist to lift a car off a drivetrain, because of it I can use comfortable height alignment stands that I made from 4x4s. I lifted the plow that I bought out of the back of the truck with it as well as an engine. I've loaded heavy bits into trucks. It's been awesome.
Ian F said:Along the "storage" line of thinking - if you don't have one and have the legal/physical room to place one, a shed can be one of the best "garage accessories" around. The biggest you can fit. A great space for yard equipment and other large tools you don't use as often (like a folding engine hoist).
Yup, I have a Harbor Freight temporary (haha) garage behind my garage. That is where the mowers, yard carts, wagons, and wheelbarrows go. Oh, and tires/wheels. Cost me less than $200.
Keith Tanner said:Only one?
Yeah, not enough room on the other side wall. The entire back wall is floor to ceiling pegboard though. There is a 10x10 loft above one parking space, and a 4' wide loft above the entire 16' rollup door. The loft storage really holds an insane amount of household stuff.
Storage. I has it.
Honestly I'm a little surprised to read so many people say lift and air compressor.
A lift never crossed my mind, probably because of the investment. They aren't cheap themselves, and then you have to consider if your garage floor can handle one. Assuming your workspace has a floor of course. So concrete work just adds to the price.
I have an air compressor, and I detest turning the thing on because it's so loud. I also have a nice assortment of air tools I've never used- because of the compressor.
The good bench vise and the disc/belt sander are good ideas too, I hadn't thought of those. And of course, a torque wrench!
As for the engine hoist, I desperately want one for myself. But as others have pointed out, how often do you really need one? Is it worth the space it will take up when not in use? Is it too a one-trick-pony?
Initially my list was:
1. Welder and at least one angle grinder. As NOHOME said, it is a game changer.
2. Drill press- no batteries to change and it too can do many other things than drill. Shaping, reaming, honing, etc...
3. Cordless impact driver
I've gotten to the point where if I'm buying an air compressor it's either big enough to run a sand blast cabinet, or small enough to pick up and move. Those that are in the middle are less useful. Also a fan of corded tools over air tools when applicable though I understand that air tools do have their place.
Oiled compressors are quieter than oilless. And compressors bolted to the floor are quieter than ones on wheels or on a pallet. Don't ask me why, but it made a significant difference on mine.
About expensive lifts: I just scored a 10k Bend Pak for $750. I have to take it down, but used lifts aren't all THAT expensive.
Air tools > corded tools > battery tools. Unless you're talking about ease of use, in which case you turn that equation around.
Another vote for bigass compressor, and a cheap “air tool set” from HF + decent impact/sockets. HF low-profile “race jack” and “not cheap” jack stands.
I like the battery powered stuff on the road, but a couple minutes of run-time on the compressor beats the hell out of hours of charging, especially when pulling an all-nighter two days before the challenge.
I pretty much wrote off having a big compressor. I have one stashed at my Mom's house that needs a new pump, but meh. My cordless tools are awesome and my $40 HF corded impact is still going strong. And while a 4-post lift will fit in my garage, I'm not making it a priority (even though I have support from my wife to buy one).
Welder would be nice, but a friend with a welder is even better...
mazdeuce - Seth said:I've gotten to the point where if I'm buying an air compressor it's either big enough to run a sand blast cabinet, or small enough to pick up and move. Those that are in the middle are less useful. Also a fan of corded tools over air tools when applicable though I understand that air tools do have their place.
+1 on this. My compressor will fill tires and run an impact gun or a nailer once in awhile, but it doesn't have the CFM to run a blasting cabinet. It's also an oil-less version so it's loud as berk. While I have a blasting cabinet, I got it for free and I'm not tired of looking at it and it's in the way, so it will be going to the curb very soon and won't be replaced until I have a shop and a 220V compressor to power it.
That new 1200 ft lb H-F impact gun is tempting... if I got one on those, I could replace my compressor with a smaller (and QUIETER) pancake compressor.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
So, so true! I think I have the same one you do if not the next size down. It’s kind of silly really.
paranoid_android said:Honestly I'm a little surprised to read so many people say lift and air compressor.
...
1. Welder and at least one angle grinder. As NOHOME said, it is a game changer.
2. Drill press- no batteries to change and it too can do many other things than drill. Shaping, reaming, honing, etc...
3. Cordless impact driver
I have (or have had) all of these tools in my garage. Of them, the lift is far and away the one I use most often. Well, the air compressor technically probably gets used more often, but only because of the safety catches. I do tend to do more wrenching than fabricating, though.
The 18v Millwaukee fuel cordless impact driver is convenient and nice to have at the track, but I've had a number of cases where it wasn't enough. The flywheel nut on my RX7 just laughed at it, for example. The Ingersoll Rand air impact, OTOH...
Honestly if you have the $1500 that a cheap lift costs saved up these days I would recommend buying the eBay tire machine and balancer combo with the money first. Reasoning?: Because you can make the money back from your friends with a tire machine, and relatively quickly, but not one friend will even consider paying for the use of your lift.
I know someone else said it already, but my vote for best "Big item" for a shop is cash. It sounds like a no-brainer, but having the liquid cash 'around' when you take on new projects means you can buy and change plans of attack as the need arises.
You'll need to log in to post.
