Tools, Glorious Tools! #4 - Setting Up A Home Machine Shop: Where Do I Start?

Hey Folks,

A bit of detail on setting up your own home machine shop. Be sure to share your thoughts & advice in the comments below!

Cheers,
Chris

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-------------- Video Notes: ---------------

Links for books:

Tools & Products:

YouTube videos on grinding HSS lathe tools:

[johndilsaver]

Great video. If you're in a location that has a local model engineering club, or anything of that sort, check into it. I agree that the YouTube videos are a tremendous resource, but being able to visit an experienced individuals shop is also worth a lot. I recently made a connection with a more experienced local amateur machinist through one of the hobby machinist websites. He's helping me begin to rehab my -- very -- vintage M head Bridgeport. Also, I think it's important to seek out opportunities to get young people into one's shop. A lot of the activities we're doing in our home shops are no longer taught in the public schools (I'm commenting from the central US). Thanks again for the video.

[vetramiga]

the thing that consistently explodes my brain with your videos is how, on top of your machining skills, your shooting and editing style makes your shop seem like it's 10 times that size.

[valkman]

I was instantly blown away by the fact that the lathe and the mill was actually in the very same space. I've always thought due to the camera techniques used that the workshop is much larger.

[bradyoung]

One of the cheaper tools I would add is a ShopVac. I made mine from a broken household vacuum(for the motor, power cord, hose, and filters), 2 five gallon buckets (one with a lid, the other for the motor cover), and a switch I pulled from a broken lamp. It took less than an hour to make and I got all the materials for free. I just grabbed what I needed on garbage day. It's been working for 5ish years now.

[g.tucker]

The most important investments, in my view:

Eye protection
Ear protection
Breathing protection
Good lighting

[MrShobar]

10:00. That "Build Your Own Jet Engine" ad ran for years. I always wondered who ordered the plans, built one, and was stupid enough to attach it to a bicycle.

[IanSlothieRolfe]

One top tip that applies to most hobbies is to find others in your area with the same interests, be that via clubs or by asking around. Not only will you possibly find new friends but you will get access to a wealth of local knowledge about where you can get small amounts of materials, others that are selling tooling or machinery, advice on how to solve problems you are having etc. Talking to a retired person who has been working in the field their whole life can be fascinating and really informative.

[mr.e.]

This guy is making this amazing stuff in a broom closet. His shop is the size of my workbench. I have a whole newfound respect for this guy. Great work man.

[evanallen]

The great thing about machine tools is they can make parts for themselves. Unless you get a *really* broken one that needs some brazing then you can make parts for your tools on your tools. If you're in an old industrial city then people are just givong this stuff away

[OhHeyTrevorFlowers]

One piece of advice I received early on was to remember that hand tools (especially files) can do everything that a machine can do, often with similar precision and accuracy. So, before buying a specialty machine I consider whether I actually just need to get out the files so that I can use the money and workshop space for another project.

[stevoify]

When that turned brass screw takes shape 😍

[eeyzas]

I've been watching your fantastic work for a while, I cannot believe how small your workshop is. I'm even more impressed

[joeshomeshop]

I find that if you’re patient, a lot of retiring machinists are parting out their collections of metrology and tooling. In the last three months I found a machinist-made height gauge, surface plate, and Interapid tenths and half-thou indicators at very good prices. A lot of these guys are glad to be able to pass them onto another generation of makers.

[martinchabot_FR]

For the milling machine, DRO is a must have. Not so expensive today, but sometimes difficult to fit on small benchtop machine.
And never forget, always buy the biggest machine that fit both the kind of work you do and the machine shop you own.

[eric_has_no_idea]

George Daniels's Watchmaking cover far more than I expected. There is a section on shop layout even!

Was a really good book to get an idea of everything.

[campbellmorrison]

Took me until I retired before I got a lathe and mill. The lathe was an Emco that I had always wanted and bought secondhand, the mill I bought as a retirement present. However I have been collecting hand tools since birth. Now I'm retired I still am buying tools, especially relating to the mill and lathe. The moral of the story is it takes a life time and all the experiences that go along with it to setup your workshop so don't expect to set it up from day one as a boxed set. Even if you had unlimited money you still have to know what you want, why and where you are going to put it to find it when you need it. I would say first up, after you have the basic hand tools you need to decide your primary direction is wood or metal, that will define your first machines. I can assure you its not particularly practical ( or satisfying ) to try mixing both in the same room. And there in is the final point, what ever you do you will not have enough room :)

[southronjr]

I wish I had something like this guide before we had set up our shop. My father and I have a machine shop similar to yours and we set about doing it much the same way, however we learned some of the lessons the hard way, primarily about avoiding the cheaper sets of milling tooling and files and such. Ours wasn't set up for clock making but for gunsmithing. We built and accurized black powder weapons for competition, but seeing as my father passed away almost 2 years ago, I guess the shop is now mine, I am taking the time now to teach my son's the skills to do what my father and I used to do. I'm betting that our tools end up going to one of them and I hope they can find the same enjoyment teaching their kids like my father and I have. One side note, we had the opportunity to buy a Smithy mill/lathe combo and it has turned out great for us. If anyone follows that route, just save yourself the headache off the bat and the first time the control board burns up, just go ahead and get a VFD for it and not fight the issues with that darned control board, we went through 4 boards before I finally said screw it and taught myself how to wire and program a VFD for it, you lose the factory rpm dial but it's not hard to get around.

[larrybud]

While i haven't set up a machine shop, I did set up a woodshop 20 years ago. A great way to learn how to use your tools is to make more tools. In woodworking, I made shop "furniture". A router table here, outfeed table, workbench, simple cabinets and drawers to hold stuff. It's great because you can use lower quality material, and if you make a mistake, who cares, it's workshop stuff.

Use a new technique or two each time you make something. That's how you learn what works and what doesn't. And have fun, because that's what it's all about!

[parkerengines]

I have always used the "buy twice" plan for things like drill bits. Buy a cheapo set first to get a wide selection. Then buy quality replacements when you figure out what you will actually use. My tap set has ~10 harbor freight ones but the 1/4-20 is now actually good.

[peterarmstrong]

One of the best tools you have got is your excellent cameras and lighting so that we can so clearly see the techniques, joy and satisfaction in making the parts.