Tool selection for workshop at work

[B3D3G1]

Hey guys.

My office is moving to a bigger location with triple the garage size. I need some help finding the right tools and sources so I can put a proposal in and get what I need. We have bare minimum stuff now and this is my chance to increase our capabilities. I used to have a professional machine shop at my last job I could walk over to and talk to the guys and use the old machines for simple things.

My current setup is a long and narrow 2 car garage with some tools/workbenches around the outside and a lift at far end. 2 cars fit nose to tail with a little bit of wiggle room. I work for an automotive electronics company so most of the stuff I need to do is wiring and making brackets. We have horrible Mill/Drill press with drive belts to change speeds and then a bunch of hand tools. I have a 15'x15' room that I can make into a workshop and I need advice on what to get and where to get it.

I'm thinking of the following bigger items to add for now:
1. solid workbench
2. sheet metal shear
3. sheet metal brake
4. band saw
5. arbor press
6. electrostatic work bench and soldering station with storage for small pieces
7. Mill
8. Drill press
9. belt sanding machine

Buying a nice Bridgeport mill would be awesome but probably out of the price range and could be difficult to source used from a non-professional source. Maybe there is a good source for refurbished but it's still probably more than I can get in my budget. I work with a bunch of software and electrical engineers and they don't always see the importance of having a good organized workshop.

Model of the space I'm trying to carve out for myself. Those 4 rectangular blocks are cars.

 

[matt_i]

My advice is you have to know your boss. Some would choke on a $1000 req but sign 50x $50 ones.

Bridgeport is a very good tool to have to make professional parts. I would consult about having parts made at a job shop from drawings/sketches, very soon your bosses may see the advantage of purchasing such an asset.

I'm also surprised you don't employ a tig welder.

I would also add some bosses hate to 'build things' like workbenches and would rather buy from a catalog due to the perceived time savings. Others see adding value to raw materials...

Just a question but how exactly did they expect to replicate the capability you once had? Or is that deemed "unnecessary" and you are expected to make up the difference with eggbeater drills and files? Being frustrated in a job for lack of proper tools (and no way to create them) is not my idea of a good day.

 

[B3D3G1]

I added a few more items to my list in the first post after thinking about it more.

I would love a simple TIG setup but I'm not very experienced with welding and I can always go to a guy around the corner to quickly get something done. I would like to know more but I don't so it would be an even harder sell of the boss.

Maybe I wasn't the most clear in my first post, but the additional capability I had before was at a previous job. If making a piece from scratch right now, we would design, 3D print, and then outsource fabrication. I would like to be able to modify existing items and quickly make something.

 

[bdbecker]

Not knowing what your budget is, its tough to make any suggestions of where to source equipment. If you are looking for decent quality on a budget, maybe check out Grizzly Industrial for some of your machinery. There's the typical industrial suppliers like MSC, Grainger, Global Industrial, etc. who also sell machinery, and can also supply you with for your workbench and storage cabinets.

 

[matt_i]

I'll circle back to having an open honest conversation about what kind of capability the shop is to insource vs. what to outsource, and how much investment is going to be insourced. They probably have some vision of this that won't change unless certain burning-need situations arise to change minds.

I'd scratch the arbor press unless you know a specific need, I use it for pressing bearings and other press-fit assemblies that need servicing...in my mind its more of a machine-repair function than a sheetmetal bracketry need. I don't use it to flatten or straighten parts as its too easy to overload, in those cases I like to use something like a C-clamp for more predictable overbend.

I'd scratch the drill press if you can get a real mill.

There is good stuff on craigslist, just takes some time to sort thru it, visit, arrange rigging. Again a corporate philosophy about whether you are more managerial or entrepreneurial mom-and-pop shop.

 

[sberry]

Battery drill, sawzall, 4.5 grinder and some unibits. Rotator vise, Vgrip clamps.

 

[sberry]

Right, left snips and extra right in hi leverage.

 

[B3D3G1]

Thanks for your input matt_i

I've always just used what I had available to me and now I'm sort of this new domain.

We've got a Grizzly Mill/Drill press we can keep (begrudgingly) using. I've sort of narrowed down my want to buy list to this:
1. Large sturdy work table
2. electronics/soldiering workstation
3. Brake
4. shear
5. band saw
6. belt sander
7. additional/restock hand tools

Wish list: Mill, TIG welder, Arbor Press, PCB Mill, Laser Etcher/Cutter

Started looking around at pricing. Grizzly has probably most of the tools I need for a price I can probably justify to my boss. The one thing I'm having trouble sourcing is a bench top shear for wider sheets, not just bar stock.

 

[bdbecker]

...We've got a Grizzly Mill/Drill press we can keep (begrudgingly) using...

Is it "begrudging" because you wanted to get something bigger/better, or is it because you are having problems with your current piece of equipment?

Two assumptions (please correct me if I'm wrong)... It sounds like you are using it to drill mounting holes and maybe mill slots in sheet metal brackets, and most of your work is limited run/one off. Unless you are trying to achieve a high degree of precision, that machine should be more than capable of doing the job for you. Don't discount the importance of proper tooling and workholding. You would be surprised at how much easier your life would be with a good set of parallel bars paired with a decent quality milling vise.

EDIT:
Also, take a look at this website, he makes a couple of good points about improving the performance of a Grizzly mill/drill.

http://conradhoffman.com/milldrilltips.htm

 

[KDXSR5]

We have several sheetmetal-work companies in my town, and they are sometimes open to visitors. If you really want to get into the sheetmetal fab game (even small time) it might be worth checking to see if a local sheetmetal outfit will let you check out their shop and ask them questions. This will give you a good idea of what the pros use on a day to day basis to accomplish what you want to do.

 

[matt_i]

While you are looking around at stuff I also think a Diacro #2 rotary bender is a pretty versatile machine for round & rectangular stock. Can also be fitted with tubing dies if needed.

I think you are correct to angle for a Bridgeport. I'd rather run a clapped out step pulley J-head (or even one of the 20 Bpt clones in good shape) than use a brand new mill drill.

As far as sheet metal machinery, same principle applies in my book. Floor machines >> Benchtop machines. Diacro also has some benchtop stuff but they are quite proud of it. Meanwhile Peck & Stow (and later Pexto) and Tennsmith have floor machines that will handle all kids of stuff and could probably be had good/used for less. The 52" jump shears are needed to handle a 48" wide sheet, although most steelyards also stock a 36" wide sheet which can be used with the smaller wid]th shear (I forget off the top of my head what it is despite owning one in the past).