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What power tools do I need?

The only power tool that you need is a good source of light!

However, there are other tools that you might find useful, depending on what you're doing!

You may find a small soldering iron useful for forming brass or copper fittings from sheet, strip or wire.

Many modelers find use for a small "grinder" (such as a "Dremel tool" or various equivalents). If you have a choice, get one with variable speed; failing that, get one with low speed(s) available (the common ones run at ~30,000 rpm - far too fast for drilling or sanding activities) - the Dremel MiniMite can be found for about $30, and provides the choice of 6,000 or 12,000 rpm operation. Many of these tools come with a sack of grindstones, etc. You'll find that you don't use most of these (they're there for other kinds of activities), so don't base you decision on the collection included; instead, get the minimum with the tool and add to your personal set as you find a need.

One thing you will find a use for is a full set of "collets" - a set typically contains 1/8", 3/32", 1/16", and 1/32" diameters. The "bits" that come with the tool usually need the 1/8" collet, but bits you scrounge from your dentist are typically 1/16" or 3/32", and drill-bits will use the smallest sizes. However, even the slowest speed is overly fast for wood, and extremely fast for plastic (you'll melt your way through the plastic rather than cutting it). Remember that the smaller the drill, the faster it can be turned without overheating the drill and work. However, the smaller the drill, the more "brittle" it is, so take great care when attempting to drill extremely small holes free-hand!

(Micro-Mark has a special little chuck for cordless screwdrivers for slow speed drilling; it is made for #60 - 80 bits: [#81653 Micro Chuck - $9.95]; cordless screwdrivers are a little bulky but they run slow and are fairly inexpensive.)

The use (not need) for "full-size" power tools will depend a great deal upon your interests - if you also plan to build furniture (or model cases) or have do-it-yourself projects around the home, get tools for these activities that you can also use for modeling (rather than get them for modeling and hope they'll be useful otherwise).

One of the more useful items will be a power drill, either a hand-held unit or a drill-press. The advantage of a drill-press is that the tool is fixed with respect to some surface ("table") which makes it a lot easier to drill holes with the proper alignment (but it won't solve all problems, such as inclined holes for masts). It can also be used to hold a variety of tools (such as "sanding drums") that will make some jobs easier. Most hand-held units have as an accessory some sort of stand that permits them to be used as a drill-press; however, these are typically much "shakier" than a purpose-build drill-press.

When you get to saws, what you will find a use for really depends on what you're doing. Unless you're scratchbuilding, you probably won't need a power saw; conversely, if you're harvesting your own wood from trees, you might want to include a chain saw in your toolkit. In general, however, there are three types of saws of potential interest:

"Table" saw (and the modeler's variants, such as the "Preac"): these are intended to make long straight cuts; you can't cut curves. You are typically limited as to the thickness of the work as well: 2" for a full-size table saw, 1/4" for a modeler's saw. However, they are unexcelled for cutting strips off full-size boards (for making planking, etc.) and making clean, straight cuts. In general, the bigger the blade diameter, the thicker the stock you can saw - if the saw has the power to make such a cut! In general, the resulting surface will be quite smooth, requiring only sanding to finish it.

"Scroll " or " Jig " saw: typically has a long arm with a short blade held vertically; the blade readily dismounts to permit replacement or "threading" through a hole in the stock, thus permitting inside cuts. The disadvantage is that the blade has only a limited degree of motion; you're probably limited to work under an inch in thickness. The key parameter here is the depth of the "throat" (the gap between the back of the blade and the frame) - that limits how long a piece of stock you can cut.

"Band" saws have a blade in a continuous loop that passes around a pair (or three) wheels and past a table. These have a large variety of blades available: very narrow (down to 1/16" inch) for the ability to turn sharp corners; very wide (up to several inches - the limit is the particular saw) for ensuring straight cuts (such as "splitting" a board in order to make thin, wide sheets). A bandsaw can be used to make inside cuts, but it's certainly not convenient (you either have to cut the blade, thread it through a hole in the work, and re-weld it, or saw through the work and glue the cut when you've done) as a jigsaw. The most useful saw if you have to cut thick stock (can even be used to make boards from logs). The key dimension here is the depth-of-throat (the gap between the side of the blade and the frame); a secondary key is the depth-of-cut - how thick a piece you can saw.

Both jig and band saw blades are usually "punched" out of sheet metal - the result is that the blades will tend to cut more aggressively on one side than the other. This can be a real nuisance if you're trying to cut a straight line using one of these saws - you have to compensate continuously in order to "follow the line". It can be done, however. Also, neither is likely to leave a smooth cut.

If you are "milling" your own "lumber", some sort of "thicknessing" device will be useful. These are typically some form of abrasive drum whose surface is parallel to an adjustable table. Passing the stock between the drum and table "planes" one side smooth(er), successive passes on each side will permit the stock to be reduced to the desired thickness. The key dimension here is the length of the drum, since that will determine the maximum width of stock that can be thicknessed.

Lathe: a lathe is used to "turn" stock around an axis while a cutting tool is used to remove material from the circumference. Lathes come in two "types": "Wood" lathe (the cutter is a chisel controlled by hand) and "Metal" lathe (the tool is fixed on some sort of carriage whose motion is controlled by hand-cranked screws). Frankly, neither type is that great an advantage in ship modeling. The most common "cylindrical" objects on a ship model are masts and spars, Steering-wheels, dead-eyes, and belaying-pins; the first of these are awkward to turn because of their flexibility; the latter two will be required in such quantities that making them all identical becomes a chore. The metal lathe has the slight edge in utility because it typically has some form of chuck that can hold the work (the wood lathe more commonly attaches the stock to the lathe for the duration of the operations, and significant time can be spent putting the stock on and taking it off).

See also More about Lathes...

Milling machine: like a drill-press with a vise that can be moved around using cranked screws to position it accurately. "If you don't know what a milling machine is, you don't need one!"; if you do know, you also know what to look for.
{Compiled from various discussions on the ShipModeling Email list by John O. Kopf}

To summarize the posts on drilling plastic with a Dremel, I'd say:
1. The variable-speed Dremel Moto-Tools operate at high rpm to accomplish their work rather than using low-end torque like your basic hand drill. This causes the drill bit to generate enough heat to melt the plastic you're drilling.
2. The solution is to use a single-speed Dremel Moto-Tool which is plugged into a Dremel speed controller. You can then operate the tool down to zero rpm if that suits your purpose.

DO NOT PLUG A VARIABLE SPEED UNIT INTO A CONTROLLER!

3. The variable-speed Moto-Tools are not designed to work plugged into a speed controller, just the single-speed models.
4. A Dremel Mini-Mite has a high and a low speed setting; the latter is used for drilling styrene. I have one, I drill a lot of styrene, and it works just as well as my single-speed Dremel tool which is plugged into a Dremel speed controller.
5. Both the full-size Dremel Moto-Tool and the Dremel Mini-Mite will accommodate the same range of four collets which are interchangeable between the two tools. The Mini-Mite comes with, I believe, the medium collet, and so you will need the other three, available as accessories, to chuck in the full range of Dremel bits, grinders, etc.
6. With the smallest collet, both tools will grip a #80 drill, which is .013", quite nicely.

If you need a brochure or other information, you could look into Dremel's web site.
{Bob Steinbrunn}

Just a couple of observations on the hard-earned money headed for Xmas tool purchases. I worked as an organ builder in a shop where we necessarily worked with many different materials - woods, steel, non-ferrous metals, leather, plastics - to name a few. Much like ship modelers, on a somewhat larger scale. One big difference in a big shop is that the tools will be used by many different workers, which means that the tools get maximum wear. Only the very best tools held up for any length of time. My experience would place Milwaukee tools near the top, Craftsman near the bottom. So, should you buy the most expensive tool you can? I would say no. I have Craftsman tools that still work fine after many years. Why? Because I'm the only one that uses them. I'm easy on tools and other mechanical devices. If you are too, you can get often very good service out of a less-expensive tool.

If, however, you are one of the folks that can f...ummm...do serious damage to an anvil with a rubber hammer, your money will be well-spent on sturdier, and necessarily more expensive tools. Similarly, if your bandsaw is 8 feet tall and all cast iron, it will not need to be adjusted every time the weather changes. But, when you get into miniature versions of tools, every adjustment becomes critical. It is also very easy to overload them, and things like the exactly appropriate blade for the job become important. This is not a criticism of small tools, it's a simple fact. Some extraordinarily well-made small tools can overcome this scale effect to some extent, but that usually comes with a huge price tag. I hope this helps a bit in making that decision. If you can afford the best, by all means, treat yourself. For the rest of us, you can do excellent work with less expensive tools if you treat them well, and use them within reasonable limits.
{Gene Smith}

When talking about workplace lighting, there are a few things to consider (besides cost, of course):

The light should not cast shadows from yourself (head, hands, ...)
The light should not flicker! This is important when you want to use tube lamps. In Germany it is required by law that in workplaces those lamps must be installed in pairs, oscillating asynchronus. This is achieved by "duo" wiring. The lamps flicker exactly out of phase. You don't get stroboscope effects on i.e. rotating machines etc, and this is also done to prevent headaces.
I found that using one tube in my workshop created the effect that my drillpress actually looked as if it was standing still, when indeed it was not!
The light should be a "warm" colour, this means low UV emissions. So don't use "greenhouse" lamps.
The lighting should be sufficient, but not too bright. Ok, that's obvious, but nontheless stated in the workplaces regulations here.

{Thomas Bögel}

I have an old Unimat SL1000 lathe. Years ago Edelstaal™ marketed a 3 1/2" blade with arbor that mounted to the lathe and a small table with rip fence and cutting guide. I used to have one but got rid of it because:

I found that I used a saw so much that constantly setting up and taking down the attachment so I could use the Unimat for other purposes got to be a pain.
Metal lathes REALLY don't like sawdust! I was constantly having to disassemble and clean the cross slide and power feed because sawdust mixed with lubricant would gum up the works.

In my opinion multi-tool attachments for lathes are most useful when they are substitutes for tools that we rarely use. I have router/planer and scroll saw attachments for my Unimat that I rarely use but which save me from having two other power tools taking up space in the shop. However, most of us use a table saw so much that it makes sense to have a dedicated one.
{Joel Labow}

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