Advice on tools for fabrication

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supermanotorious said:
all I should say is Welcome to the Worm Hole.

for starters you need a way to cut metal and a way to glue it back together, sounds simple- right?

yes even a $9 Harbor Freight angle grinder (with coupon) with a cut-off disc will cut the metal (albeit not very efficiently (read: get a ton of discs)) and their 70 amp stick welder will do the 2 tricks

then someday you get tired of the angle grinder for it's quickly disappearing cut-off discs and inaccurate cuts (plus those HF grinders burn out quickly...$9 here and there) so you opt for the <$100 chop saw, it has a angle setting clamp, cuts slightly more precise than the angle grinder, and the 14" discs last quite a bit longer, but you still have to deal with sharp, aggressive burrs, sparks, and ear splitting noise as you cut

the stick welder handles most of your needs but now your family and friends are asking you to fix their pool fences, lawnmower decks (you name it) and more, and that doggone stick welder is blowing holes in everything, on top of that you get to test out a friend's HF 90 amp flux-core machine and you love the convenience so you pick one up- but still you find it blows out thin metal given it's crude adjustments

where do you go from here? name-brand welders significantly range in price

you'll also need files, clamps, jigs, cutting oil, nozzle gel, pullers, expanders, pliers, drivers, wrenches, sockets, adapters, squares, magnets, tool boxes, drill bits, step bits, reams, and more

your cutting and gluing leave much to be desired..... how do we prioritize? cutting? shaping? or joining?

somewhere along the line you want to work with bends, welcome to inception as this is the largest worm hole within the fabrication worm hole, pipe or tube? flat? square or round? hollow or solid? mandrel? the options are almost limitless, there's DIY then there's pro-grade $$$$$$$$$

holes! hand drill or drill press? there are times and places for either

now you're running out of room! the garage can only hold so many tools, the wife only allows so many tools per square foot so you must get creative! an RV pad? a shed? somewhere off-site? how do you deliver adequate power to the spot?

sometimes you need to work with sheet metal- another worm hole, sure a jig saw will cut it crudely, so will the band saw you're considering buying, and by now, you're realizing every new "toy" is at least $500 or let's be honest, you would've had it by now, but to cut sheet metal you need a shear, a real one, not a pair of aircraft shears that might've worked here and there, and maybe a brake too to put accurate bends in the sheet metal, how about an english roller to make nice, curved pieces of sheet metal (not to mention the press, or the hammer press)?

oh my! what about a plasma cutter? about the same price as a welder and we're cutting most anything, but not with super precision, but maybe we could attach a computer to that plasma cutter?! now we're getting some pretty precise cuts! but this comes at the expense of not only dollars, but time, and space

plasma is great but CNC or waterjet would be even better!

how "fabricator" are you trying to get? making your own chain links? expanded sheet metal? much to consider but do not fret, no one, and I mean no one builds this tool set overnight, it is a worm hole, a journey, you will learn SO much on the trail and we're here to help

no doubt I've left many things out so comment away
Click to expand...

I'd buy the 80 amp DC at 119.99 when they are on sale as AC stick is the worst. Lol
 
OldToyotaGuy

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Well super hit the nail on the head! I guess for now I'm gonna go and grab the Evolution 10inch Rage3 miter saw. Its 400+ on the interwebs but I found one by chance today at Crappy tire for 200 bucks. There is no indicators of this item being on sale so I'm gonna scoop it up tonight. Then my bank account will need to remain empty for a bit. I got a second job today though haha so I've been budgeting my cash. The JD2 bender and drill press is next
 
pRoFiT

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supermanotorious thats a mouthfull of information.

Now i want to put a shed together! Wife already complaining about stepping on a piece of small cut metal shaving......i clean up but they are small pieces. need separate garage!!!

maybe ill start a shed thread.
 
supermanotorious

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end of the month the 90 amp flux machine is going to be on sale for $84, I'm buying another

I didn't talk too much about band saws above but I must say, a large, hydraulic feed band saw is so much better than a chop saw
 
chancer

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supermanotorious said:
absolutely correct, this collection add$ up, I've never met anyone with the interest in collecting these tools have the means all at once, likewise, I've never met anyone with the means have the interest
Click to expand...

And aint that last part sad. The fools with all the money, Would rather pay someone to do it rather than learn!

I guess that is why we have Jobs.
 
Lorddurock

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metal cutting saw blades

we have a chop saw at work that using a "normal" saw blade. it gets used a fair mount to.

if you have a miter saw at home some thing like THIS will work great for clean, strait cuts as well as angles. this style of blade works well and doesn't shoot sparks like abrasive cutting wheels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGvexh3-HL8

band saws really shine when cutting large and thick matrial like 3/8+ plate or 2" bar stock
 
chancer

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That is a neat deal. 40dollars blade in a 120 dollar saw.
Here is one with the blade made for this type of use. 180 bucks at lowes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOC_xTyJN6I

Faster cleaner cuts than an Abrasice wheel, very low sparks, cold cuts, no slag to grind off.

First I have heard of these! Amazing stuff. Dewalt also makes your 500 daolar model
 
Flyinhillbilly

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chancer said:
That is a neat deal. 40dollars blade in a 120 dollar saw.
Here is one with the blade made for this type of use. 180 bucks at lowes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOC_xTyJN6I

Faster cleaner cuts than an Abrasice wheel, very low sparks, cold cuts, no slag to grind off.

First I have heard of these! Amazing stuff. Dewalt also makes your 500 daolar model
Click to expand...

I'm going to Lowe's tomorrow for flooring, my shopping list just grew. Thanks for posting that. I've used the high dollar versions of those before, but didn't know there was an affordable option out there.
 
chancer

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I think I heard him say he ordered it and had it shipped to store.
So double check, before searching for it on the shelves.
 
Flyinhillbilly

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Just tried to buy the evoloution rage 2 at lowe's. Turns out it's a Home Depot item. Oh well, it'll keep for a little bit as I'm still focused on finishing my house.
 
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Our cold saw at work has pretty expensive blades. I wonder if these 40.00 are better. We has cutting fluid and they still don't last. I found that they suck on thin metal as the blade tends to catch and chatter and can bend the metal. This spins a lot faster so might not have that issue. I'd like to try one for sure.
 
Flyinhillbilly

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