What are your favorite, must have, hobby tools?

[Randy K]

Other than the basic X-Acto knives and stuff, what tool(s) can’t you do without?
Also what tools are on your wish list?

We moved into our new house several months back and I'm just getting around to setting up my hobby room again and looking for ideas.

 

[Rocketjunkie]

Must have a Dremel or similar.

Wish list? CNC machining center, modern CNC lathe, laser cutter.
Building to put the above in along with machinery I already have.

You asked :wink::tongue:

 

[AfterBurners]

Lets see??

• Dremel
• Cutting Mat
• Aluminum angles
• Wood dowels with different grit sand paper glued to them
• Parts organizer
• Circle cutter (Hand Tool) for cutting card board center rings
• Ruler
• Digital Calipers

Just to name a few...I'm sure there's more.

As far as my wish list, that will be determined when I move up to larger rockets. I'm sure I'll need more power tools. Dress press for starters.

 

[degreaser]

My most often used tool are my Starrett calipers.

 

[dave carver]

A pack of 120-400 grit wet/dry 3M sandpaper. That and a knife is all you really need. The rest comes under the heading "want".

 

[Gary Byrum]

All of them. Many more today than yesteryear. They all have equal value to me.

 

[troj]

It depends on what I'm building...

Low power, it's pretty much an X-Acto knife and sandpaper.

Mid power, the Dremel might get some use.

High power, a lot more power tools (miter saw, drill, Dremel, table saw, power sander, space heater, drill press, the list goes on....)

-Kevin

 

[Tarasdad]

My Zona saw set and miter box; Dremel; Xuron cutters; flexible straightedge; builders triangle set; set of small spring clamps; t-head pins; t-bar sanders and adhesive sandpaper in various grits; a GOOD set of screwdrivers in both metric and SAE, ditto for hex drivers; eye protection; dust mask; nitrile gloves; magnifying visor. Lots of others, but those are the ones I use pretty much every build, rocket or RC.

 

[Coop]

I don't have a lot of the high-tech stuff because I'm just a medic. So some of my "go-to" tools are a bit low-tech (or improvised).

No particular order:

Sharpie. Aside from a marking tool, it's a unit of measurement: mark the fin mount location in Sharpie, sand until sharpie line gone, you've sanded enough for a good bond. It's a good radius for MPR fillets, too.

ET stylette. Epoxy putter-onner for remote places deep in BT, fillet-maker, as well as a handy tool with which to snake a shock cord through drilled holes in a NC. In LPR, you can coil up the end, stand it in the paint can top, and use the other end sticking up on which to place your NC, so that you might paint it separately from the BT.

14 and 16 gauge flexible catheters. I get the expired ones from work, with the manager's permission and approval. These are good for precisely placing adhesives in hard-to-reach places if used with a syringe.

Spring clamps of various sizes.

Makita cordless drill.

Angle iron stock.

2" blue tape.


Later!

--Coop

 

[John Galt]

3M Bondo Glazing & Spot Putty.

 

[belfert]

Dremel tool and fly cutter are my must have tools for rockets along with a cordless drill. I have been building only HPR for years.

 

[Randy K]

I was guessing I would get a few interesting ideas from this post.
Most of the basic items I have, except for the CNC mill and lathe and Laser cutter, which I don’t consider basic.

I liked the idea about the flexible catheters for getting glue into hard-to-reach places. In the past, I have picked up some small plastic tubing from a local pet / aquarium store for doing that type of work.

A couple years back I had a bench top drill press and belt / disc sander that I sold when we were downsizing while preparing to move. I’m thinking about picking those up again and maybe add to it a table top jigsaw, such as a Rockwell BladeRunner.

In the past I have also considered a small CNC mill for some other hobbies I’m involved with, but could never justify the cost knowing how little it would be used. I have connections with several tooling shops I have always turned to for the few one off parts I have needed.

 

[mkadams001]

In addition to the tools others have listed I use a zyliss vise and a good block plane. I don't think that the vise is made anymore by zyliss but there are similar ones out there.

 

[James Duffy]

Other than the basic X-Acto knives and stuff, what tool(s) can’t you do without?

This may seem like an unusual answer, but the one hobby tool I now consider absolutely indispensable is Adobe Illustrator. I generate scale drawings, plans, part templates, alignment guides, decal artwork, painting masks, and much more. I've now crossed a rubicon and begun laser-cutting parts using Illustrator files to drive the cutter.

Heck, I use it more than sandpaper and Xacto knives!

James

 

[ckreef]

Other then whats already posted -- a pack of ultra cheap small paint brushes. Wal-Mart craft section 30 brushes for I think $2.97. Great for applying glue. Cheap enough for single use and throw away if applying epoxy.

 

[Joe V]

Dremel, Mitre Saw, not sure what its called, band sander?, like a band saw. Sharp scissors to cut fiberglass and carbon fiber. Tiny paintbrushes and 1/2-1" brushes for laying glass and mixing epoxy. Drill and bits. Cirlcle cutter bit. Exacto knife. A guy in my club has a CNC, that is quite a useful tool.

 

[luke strawwalker]

Handiest thing I have is hemostat clamps that have had the serrated jaws ground down smooth with a few passes against the shop grinder wheel... indispensible IMHO when it comes to clamping paper parts and stuff like that...

Later! OL JR

 

[JPVegh]

#1 Open Rocket - Definitely my most used tool for rocketry projects. It used to be General Cadd which I still use quite often and is still probably number 2 most used.

Calipers
Circle cutter
Disc/belt sander combo
Scroll saw

Of course my deluxe knife set and cutting mats probably get the most use. Oh, and my reading glasses, I couldn't do anything without them.

 

[Derek]

credit card.

 

[Dork_Vader]

Most of my tools disappear.. That said I'm fairly good at improvising with what I have at the moment.

 

[gdiscenza]

Popsicle sticks/tongue depressors

G.D.

 

[BEAR]

A couple of tools that I use a lot are files. Mine are laminate files for carpentry use. The two I use the most have different grades of coarseness on them. I use them for getting seam lines off of nosecones, and many other places. Grabbing sandpaper comes after I finish with the files. they are indispensable to me. I also use them a lot to shape fins so they have an airfoil to them, so I can reduce drag a bit.

 

[aditat2]

wish list? Every tool in the Micro-Mark catalog - especially the lathe.

 

[SteveA]

wish list? Every tool in the Micro-Mark catalog - especially the lathe.

That with a few modifications. Really don't need the shipwright stuff....but most everything else...and a nice Iwata

 

[BeerorKid]

Loving this thread. Once again I learn from it.

I go through toothpicks often for epoxy.

I squeal every time I can use my dremel.... and rocketry wise it has yet to happen >.< I am angry.

 

[SteveA]

I squeal every time I can use my dremel.... and rocketry wise it has yet to happen >.< I am angry.

Cordless? Set it on "1" and you can knock-out beveled fins in a hurry.... Just make sure it's not overly soft balsa or you'll have Swiss cheese...

 

[BeerorKid]

Not cordless, but challenge accepted

 

[Gus]

Belt/disk sander, jigsaw, drill press. Each less than $99 at Home Depot or Loew's and I get a ton of use out of them.

My favorite rocketry tool though, bar none, is my Art Rose Fin Jig.

Very expensive but worth way more than what it costs. An elegant masterpiece of precision that can be used on your lap in a subcompact rental car during a hellish thunderstorm and still produce absolutely perfectly aligned fins. Works even better on your table at home. :wink:

 

[sandman]

Off all the tools I own this one makes up for all of the problems I have with all the other tools! I don't know how I got along without it before.

 

[Randy K]

Belt/disk sander, jigsaw, drill press. Each less than $99 at Home Depot or Loew's and I get a ton of use out of them.

My favorite rocketry tool though, bar none, is my Art Rose Fin Jig.

Very expensive but worth way more than what it costs. An elegant masterpiece of precision that can be used on your lap in a subcompact rental car during a hellish thunderstorm and still produce absolutely perfectly aligned fins. Works even better on your table at home. :wink:

Hi Gus,

The fin jig would be a nice addition for rocketry, but for now I just find it hard to justify the cost for one. Plus I like to do clusters and I’m not sure how you could adapt this to mount a body tube that has an cluster engine mount vs. a single engine mount tube.

Had a belt / disk sander and drill press in the past, and looking to replace those tools.
For a sander, this time I’m looking at possibly getting a Ridgid Oscillating Edge / Belt Spindle Sander.

Thought about a bench mount band saw too, but most get rather poor review, and I don’t really want to allow the room or spend the extra $$ for a larger floor model. So for a hobby saw, I was considering getting a Rockwell BladeRunner.