# Cool Tools



## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

I thought I'd start a thread about tools. Specifically, if you have a unique tool others would benefit from knowing about, this is a place to share it with others. I realize some of the best are I-Made-It-Myself'ers, and those belong here, too. For the commercially-available ones, I'd like to suggest sharing the price and where it can be bought. Sooooooooo........


Tool: Inside/Outside Ring Clamp
Purpose: Clamp to hold rings (jewelery) without marring the surface during polishing, soldering, etc.
Source: Rio Grande
Price: $15.95

Notes: There are also hardwood ones out there, but the metal one is the best. For inside, you insert it into the ring until ring rests between ridges, then use thumbscrew to expand the clamp, holding the ring in place. For outside, use opposite end: the leather pad inside the jaw protects the polished surface. Thumbscrew clamps jaws down over your work.

Great for any kind of metalworking. Excellent tool for holding small, delicate, or sharp-edged parts while grinding, polishing, soldering, etc. Gives you a substantial handle for your part that acts as a heat-sink, as well. Invaluable for avoiding cut fingers when you drill small parts (weed-eater syndrome).









I used it this weekend, so I took some picks to illustrate it's uses:

Holding a ring (inside clamp) for polishing:









Holding a strip of metal for drilling---the infamous weedeater!


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Next Cool Tool:

Tool: Finger Cot (Finger Guard)
Purpose: Protects fingers and thumbs from heat, cuts, and abrasions while grinding, cutting, soldering, and polishing metal parts.
Source: Rio Grande
Price: $8.45/pack of ten

Cheap and wonderful: a metal-worker's best friend. Elastic mesh on one side, leather on the other. These guys slide over your fingers and thumbs and protect you from cuts and abrasions. When you grab a too-hot piece or you grind a lil bit too long, they give you that extra second of "hey, that's getting hot" before you scream and drop it. Also save you innumerable nicks and cuts while using a grinder, wire wheel, etc. They also keep your hands a little cleaner when you're using grinding/polishing compounds.


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## jsshieldsjr (Dec 26, 2009)

What a cool thread! I have a lot of pretty cool tools for my work, installing commercial security, access control and cctv systems. But for modeling i just bought the drill press adapter for my Drimel tool and it works great so far. They also have a router adapter that will probably be my next purchase!


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

I gotta beat ED 
:ttiwwop:


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

jsshieldsjr (cmon man, what is the real name?)
FYI, dremel makes quite a poor drill press since it lacks trust bearing. for the same money or ~10$ more you can get cheap drill press from harbor freight tools. you will be surprised with the difference. loads better. 

or even better, look for nice industrial drill press on craigs list. i got my near pro grade Jet that retails over 400$ for 50 bucks. my dad did even better - 8$ for a floor standing one! (required new motor but that we already had)

EDIT
same goes for the router. unless all you want to work on is very soft plastic and soft wood the weakly dremel is not going to suffice. for just a bit more you can have a proper tool .


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

T-Man said:


> I gotta beat ED
> :ttiwwop:



I was just thinking that too! :laugh:

Now I will raise you one.:ttiwwop:
:ttiwwop:

I have been working to many 12 hr days. Moneys nice but my free time sucks! I have barely enough time to eat and sleep.

Up at 2:00 am today and got to get up at around 1:00 am tomorrow!

All most knocking on your door T Got to run to Tewksbury, Mass.
Got a hot load of 200 proof Ethanol.

Ran up there in three times last week one in that snow storm. 
Went to Wilmington and Andover, Mass.
One load went to Woonsocket, RI

My company has a stop in Keene, NH now and one in Nashua (?) I think it is.

I don't get them the goodie goodie guys cry for them as they are nice stops you don't have to do anything!

Me I work for my pay!


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

jsshieldsjr said:


> What a cool thread! I have a lot of pretty cool tools for my work, installing commercial security, access control and cctv systems. But for modeling i just bought the drill press adapter for my Drimel tool and it works great so far. They also have a router adapter that will probably be my next purchase!


Thank you, Mr. Shields. As for the critique offered by others of the Dremel system, please don't take it as criticism of you. Opinions are what this site thrives on.l In the end, it's the man or woman handling the tool that is the critical factor, not the tool. I use a Dremel extensively, though I've never tried the router or drill press.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

big ed said:


> I was just thinking that too! :laugh:
> 
> Now I will raise you one.:ttiwwop:
> :ttiwwop:
> ...


I love ethanol. *L* Ed, I was wondering if you were all right----hadn't heard much from you, recently!


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## jsshieldsjr (Dec 26, 2009)

Reckers I've only been on here a couple of weeks and know to take tankist critisism with a grain of salt!  Although I do listen to his technical advice and that of others on here very carefuly!!!  I do have access to a full size drill press but not for drilling 3/64" holes with a 3/8" chuck. My last hobby was jumping out of airplanes at 12,000'!  Lots of cool tools for that!!!


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Sometimes a thick skin is a good tool, too. *grins* Glad you understand. Tankist is the bomb when you need help.


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## jsshieldsjr (Dec 26, 2009)

Tankist if you must know it's John!


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

oh no, i absolutley don't have to, its just that i find i need to copy/paste your nick.

as far as drill... well, i'm not eliminating the possibility that it is me who is misinformed. with that i know for sure dremel branded rotary tool does not have thrust bearing (had to open mine to see wtf is wrong with it.) and the main bearings are not conical so i don't understand how it can be a good drill without support in that plane . sure with enough rpm you can drill a hole even with a nail, but i don't see it as a proper way to go. i also know that the guys over at electronics forum don't like dremel for purpose of drilling their PCBs either due to sloppy results.

products today are developed by marketers not engineers. and since the former don't quite understand some of the engineering concepts i grew not to trust them to much. just like despite glorious commercial ad it is clear that your everyday SUV is not really suitable for off-road use, dremel, despite it having ability to use drill bits in its chuck and press accessory thingy is not a really a drill.

but grains and bricks of salt is always good. as i said above, perhaps i don't know what i'm talking about.

cheers


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

big ed said:


> I was just thinking that too! :laugh:
> 
> 
> All most knocking on your door T Got to run to Tewksbury, Mass.
> ...



Wilmington/Reading is the wife's childhood area. Also the Greenberg show in March. You are pretty close. Let me know when you go to Maine and stop at the Buckhorn Restaurant/Truck stop .

For tools I do have an 8 inch drill press It was on sale at VIP auto. Normally it was 50 I forgot what I paid . It's great.


I have some miter nippers from a dollhouse store for small woodwork. They almost look like a dinosaur. I used them on my Advert billboards.


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

one of the coolest and versatile tools for a hobbyist to have is a lathe. 

me and my dad were considering splurging together for one of these drill/lathe/mill machining centers but after examining one in person he decided that it is a sales fluff as well (he gave me the same reasoning - "just because the booklet says so doesn't mean it really is"). well, as professional metal worker he has ultra high demand from his tools . once again he proved to me that patience (which i have little) is golden. i really just wanted to purchase something already. but not a month later we got ourselves a lathe for 200$ from craigs  granted it is a hobby grade but a larger one and he modified it with many pro and self made parts. he is still not happy though - that person is a perfectionist, LOL . so next thing is another motor swap, this time with entire drive (shakes head)

a funny thing with that tool.
in current economy and situation with manufacturing going over to china, dad's employment is hectic. today he is at small shop that is starting up and trying to make it big. as such they are not fully equipped. so instead of them purchasing a lathe he brought his in (reason for absence of pictures) and receives small "rent" payments for it. so our tool already paid itself off and anything further goes towards upgrades.


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## jsshieldsjr (Dec 26, 2009)

Now thats the way to buy tools!!!


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

I like how you and your dad always manage to tweak the system to your advantage, Anton.


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Reckers said:


> I love ethanol. *L* Ed, I was wondering if you were all right----hadn't heard much from you, recently!


200 proof but denatured.

Poison now if you drink it.

Yes it's around 550 miles round trip up to around Bean town. ( all maniac drivers around me too in all kinds of vehicles.)
Not just 4 wheelers it seems like everyone drives like they got a death wish
I have been putting in 60 hrs in 5 day work weeks.
I never work Sat or Sun.


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## stationmaster (Dec 7, 2008)

The best tool one can have is that stuff between your ears........at least for some of us.

Various picks, a hobby vise, my Dremel(yes they work well for a small drill press. Ya ain't drilling 1/4" steel plate, ya know), and those gadgets with a magnifying glass and alligator clip. "Handi-hands" I think they are called.

Oh, yeah, and a fully equipped wood shop.

Pics to follow..............

By the way John, ever try jumping from a plan at 300'? Talk about a rush. Those are called LALO jumps(Low Altitude-Low Open). HALO's are cool too(High Altitude-Low Open). But, damned cold. You can almost eat your lunch on the way down.

Bob


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

My next Cool Tool is a pocket screwdriver I picked up at the hardware store checkout counter. No manufacturer's name, only cost 2 or 3 dollars, and it's great. Very hard plastic with hex grip at either end and two reversible tips give you a small and a tiny philips tip as well as a small and tiny blade scredriver. Good quality metal in it----whoever makes this puppy should be proud of himself. The two end-caps stay clamped on tightly and are good low-friction tips like a jeweler's screwdriver. Great for train work.


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*Wire brusher*

One of fun projects involves the 022 switch. I have a bunch and took two and dissected them. Now I am cleaning up the rails. The brush works a lot faster than a scotchbrite pad although it is more dangerous. The tabs catch on the wire and zip . That part isnn't fun .The brush is a Big LOts dollar special. The motor I have had for years and is a yard sale one of a kind. Thought you would enjoy it and save this thread too.


Expect more on the switchws later.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Very nice, T. Ain't it great when the brush catches the edge of something and sends it flying across the room?
I have a heavy grinder with two stones (coarse and fine). Years ago, I bought a lighter one and removed the stones, installing buffing pads in their place. I can swap out for a wire wheel, if need be, on one side. I'm going to post a pic someday soon of the item on the other side. It's brass and sort of an elongated narrow cone; the base is hollow and slides over the threaded shaft of the grinder. Set-screw locks it in place. The outer surface of the cone has a very shallow thread. It's for quickly swapping buffing pads. You get these pads with leather sewn on either side at the center, with a hole in the leather. To mount a pad, you just slip the hole over the cone and spin it a few times, letting it wind down the cone till it stops. When you're done with it, you unscrew it----takes about 30 seconds to swap a buffing pad.


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## tankist (Jun 11, 2009)

micro polishing wheel made out of old hard drive disk










dremel based micro circular saw


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

I like 'em, Anton! Keep me in mind for Christmas!


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

Nothing like a delicate tool.


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## bradimous1 (Mar 3, 2010)

big ed said:


> All most knocking on your door T Got to run to Tewksbury, Mass.
> Got a hot load of 200 proof Ethanol.
> 
> Ran up there in three times last week one in that snow storm.
> ...


I currently live in Tewksbury... fairly new the area. Anyone know any good train stores? I go to Maine Trains in Chelmsford, MA and really like it.


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## bradimous1 (Mar 3, 2010)

oh, and my favorite tool right now is a flash light... keep losing things.


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

Hey Brad,

I stumbled upon My Dad's Trains in Wrentham, MA just before Christmastime. It's a little hole-in-the-wall barn on the back of a guy's property, but boy, do they have quite the inventory and collection of stuff. The type of place where you literally have to squeeze yourself through the aisles. Very helpful staff, too. A guy by the name of Peter there spent at least an hour with me answering my very naive questions about building an HO layout, scenery, etc. Check 'em out ...  I give 'em a thumbs up.

http://www.my-dads-trains.com/

TJ


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## bradimous1 (Mar 3, 2010)

I'll have to check it out... a bit of a drive, but may be worth the look see.


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## stationmaster (Dec 7, 2008)

Brad, my favorite, other than my X-Acto knives and saws, has to be my magnet. I remove Doesn't work well on plastic but it finds those tiny, itsy-bitsy screws that manage to find the floor. My "helping hands" is also a favorite, then the Dremels.

The bad thing about tools is, if you travel to club meetings, or just plain travel to run trains at shows, as I do, you have to have two of just about everything. One set for the bench and one set for the tool box. And, of course, extra parts. Kadee couplers, coupler springs, wheels and trucks, screws, nuts and bolts, decoders, light bulbs..... 

My tool box looks like a miniature parts warehouse/repair shop!!! I really need a bigger one. Maybe one of those tackle boxes like my Plano 8606. Currently, I have a three tray Plano tackle box and it's jammed FULL!!

Bob


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## tooter (Feb 26, 2010)

Even though I'm just a beginner... I already found my first cool tool. It's a diamond surfaced metal nail file, and does a really nice job of taking the nubs off of plastic model parts.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

choo choo, any tool that really satisfies you qualifies. By posting, you make everyone aware of a great tool that really serves a specific purpose.


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## stationmaster (Dec 7, 2008)

Emory boards work nice too. Get 'em buy the bagful at Dollar Tree.

Bob


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

bradimous1 said:


> I currently live in Tewksbury... fairly new the area. Anyone know any good train stores? I go to Maine Trains in Chelmsford, MA and really like it.


NorthEast Trains in Peabody,It may only be O.

hhttp://hubdiv.org/ has a Train show, saturday 13th, all scales at the Peabody Holiday Inn on 1 newbury street.
March 27,28 is the greenberg show at the Shriners in Wilmington


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## bradimous1 (Mar 3, 2010)

T-Man said:


> NorthEast Trains in Peabody,It may only be O.
> 
> hhttp://hubdiv.org/ has a Train show, saturday 13th, all scales at the Peabody Holiday Inn on 1 newbury street.
> March 27,28 is the greenberg show at the Shriners in Wilmington


I didn't know about the Greenberg show... that is good to know. I will be there for sure. Unfortunately I am going to miss out on the hub division show as I will be out of town. I actually called NorthEast trains earlier today, but they were closed today.

thanks for the info!!!


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## T-Man (May 16, 2008)

*A match made in heaven*

I visited Kobey's flea market on Stadium Drive in San Diego and got this Stand for 2 bucks. I had to clean it up, and for sure, it fits my old 380 dremel.

I got my picture angle wrong (I hid the name), it is a dremel press. Actually the drill stays stationary and the base plate rises.


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Very nice acquisition!


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## Mit (Feb 12, 2010)

I use about anything for "tools" for my trains. As some of you know i make most of my stuff, why should my tools be different right? As for the dremel being weak ( i have to disagree there) I remodeled one third of my house using a dremel, from the wall board and floor boards, to ceramic cutting tiles, cutting outlet boxes and degrouting mistakes! Although, yes i have had to eplace my bushing (once in ten years), I also use my dremel to repair and cut metals on my vehicles. Back to trains, Clothes pin clamps, emery boards, straight pins, mini tools (curved needlenose pliers, straight ones, mini cutters, grinder, scroll saw, bench vise, Fly tiers vise, and leterally dozens of rasps, files and sandpapers) I use the softer pumise stones used for cleaning for dulling plastic parts (must be flat surfaces or preetch the stone before using) Thumbtacks as clamps for small parts, felts to hold in place, lots of cardboard (from notebooks and pads) Wooden rulers, and a jewelers set of tools. Just because it is junk for one purpose, doesn't mean it is for model trains. I am sure I am not the only one to use toothpicks and scrap wood for clamps (lol)
I love using the dremel "wand" extension for train work, it has a two foot reach and controled like a pencil, real handy in already placed items that may be damaged if moved. (But then the only dremel tool i don't have is the lawn mower blade sharpener, I have a bench version of that)


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

I like my Dremel, too ... especially when using my set of diamond-burr cutter heads ... all sorts of shapes and sizes ... great for really fine grinding/shaping.

In the "use 'em by the billions" department ... toothpicks, Q-tips, pipe cleaners, old toothbrushes, plastic yogurt cups. And, very importantly: an ever-fresh stash of single-edge razor blades.

My favorite simple modeling tool: an old tweezers that has a curved tip, so that you can poke into things at a skewed angle of attack. I often slide a little coil spring around its belly (squeezes the cheeks together) to use it as a small clamp.

I have a nice magnifying-glass-lamp ... the kind mounted on bendy arms. Me and my old eyes have been using that more and more these days.

I finally found a use for my leftover pieces of 2" pink-stuff insulation foam ...

To spray paint the components of my stripped Lionel 1681, I cut several sections of wire clothes hangers, and bent them to various angled shapes. Then,I poked an end of each of those into the 2" foam. The "flying ends" of the contoured wire made great low-impact support points for my model pieces during the spray painting process.

TJ


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

My favorite use for a Dremel is to modify squirrels. Those lil buggers really squeal!


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## stationmaster (Dec 7, 2008)

Reckers, squirrels are easy. Try modifying slugs, 'dems some slippery critters!!!!

Bob


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

I tried them once, but unless you have a lot of lime juice....


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## stationmaster (Dec 7, 2008)

Reckers said:


> I tried them once, but unless you have a lot of lime juice....


Dude, you h'ain't lived until you've had slugs, modified with Dremel of course, covered with a picante/mango/horseradish sauce. It's killer!!!!!

You cook the dish with one of those lighted magnifying glass tools, right on the workbench!!! And you can use one of them brass boilers from an old steam engine for a cooking and serving dish.

Bob


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Mmmmm....steam sautee'd slugs served in a copper chafing dish! *L* That reminds me of lunch last Thursday. A couple of salesmen took me out for lunch and we gorged on sushi. Yummmmmm!!!!!!! And brought right to your table by a madman with a truly wicked knife in his belt!


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## stationmaster (Dec 7, 2008)

Was that madman wearing a hockey mask?

Bob


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

Worse...an apron and paper hat. *L* I love asian restaurants: there's an atmosphere that no other restaurants have. A frenzied pace with the kitchen and wait staff constantly shouting at each other in a language I can't understand! I ate at one a few weeks ago---when I went up to pay at the cash register, the guy behind the register hands a cell phone across the counter to me with a smile and says, "You call 911, please?"


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## stationmaster (Dec 7, 2008)

Reckers said:


> Worse...an apron and paper hat. *L* I love asian restaurants: there's an atmosphere that no other restaurants have. A frenzied pace with the kitchen and wait staff constantly shouting at each other in a language I can't understand! I ate at one a few weeks ago---when I went up to pay at the cash register, the guy behind the register hands a cell phone across the counter to me with a smile and says, "You call 911, please?"


He must have recognized you from the photos at the post office.

Bob


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## Reckers (Oct 11, 2009)

*LOL* I agree---truly a timesaving move!


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