What was your best buy

Of all the equipment in your workshop, what do you consider was your best buy.

For me it was a lever test indicator and a set of 4" second cut files.

A heater!!!!!

Best buy was on day one

2 lathes for 115 quid... (have spent about 2 grand on other bits tho)

Most surprisingly useful thing for the money was a digital cross slide DRO for a tenner

The dial indicator was another unknown which turned out to be a seriously useful bit of kit

I would say the digital scales and parts to make DRO's to go with them for the mill and lathe,

Les.

A tool auction box with a decent internally threaded Myford 5 inch 4 jaw chuck, a new vertical swivelling slide, still in it's grease, a small Coventry die head with some dies, a nice through hardened 4 inch Vee block and a very tired 4MT Brown and Sharp running centre [since remodelled into a Myford nosed tailstock chuck mounting] and a few other bits and pieces. Hammer price £21

Didn't I do well?!

Brian

Denbigh No2 Flypress for £8.30

_Paul_

Kettle.

Damn,

John beat me to it, So i'll add - my coffee machine.

regards

Terry

18" x 12" cast iron surface plate, $NZ 15 ex NZ Post Office Workshops Christchurch. There were two of them, the other one had handles on the ends, and sold for about $NZ 90, according to inside info gained later my one was the better of the two. Thats auctions for you!! Ian S C

Hi Guys
A Myford S 7 some parts missing rusting in a coal bunker £ 5.00 needed some parts so I made them still useing it now . Also a Allcocks arial match for 10 shillings (50p) sold for £550
Nobby

My little hacksaw machine:

Didn't have room for a bandsaw. Pretty sure I'd have given this hobby the heave-ho if I'd not had this machine to take the strain.

Joe

I rate my shaper top with the bandsaw second.

One of those little 12x eye loupes from Chronos - about a quid. With that and a nice sharp needle held in a pin-chuck, it makes locating edges and such on the milling machine dead easy.

(The needle needs to be chosen with care - a lot of 'em are bent!)

Toolmakers chest and tools I got from an engineer who was retiring, contained maybe 10 different micrometers, 2 dial gauges, 4 dial indicators, parallels, squares, v-blocks, 12" vernier and a load of other useful bits and bobs - all top quality brands, British, German, Japanese

Asking price was £150 and I did NOT haggle

my ML7 @ £200

A few beer tokens to my great nephews who cut me a pile of logs for the woodburning stove!

The best one however was free - the toolbox of a retired RollsRoyce toolroom inspector - it included plug gauges which were used on Spitfire engines. Bliss.

That's a very neat little Hacksaw, Joe

Can't quite make out the name on the top ... could you please advise.

Thanks

MichaelG.

I think my best buy was the little BCA Mk III

Small but perfectly formed.

Edited By Michael Gilligan on 27/11/2012 18:47:59

That Starret micrometer for £1?

Three step drills from Aldi for £5 that cost £35 at Machine Mart (and as far as how they work, they are worth £35!)

Various cheap digital clipers

Aldi cook's blowtorch

Slightly foxed Record No. 3 vice F.O.C. from the tip?

Or things I just use over and again?

Machine Mart carbide tipped scriber.

Set of three 1",2" and 3" squares from Chronos

Ball-ended allen keys

Really cheap 4" files from B&Q - rough as a badger's bum but the chew away anythingand you can finish with a smoother file.

Or the cheap surprise that keeps going?

Woolworths "Dremel type" rotary tool bought 12 years ago and still going strong.

Machine Mart pillar drill?

Neil

This year's bargain was a bunch of UK made "new old stock" Stubs 12" files which were being offered on Ebay by a (real) tool store.They had obviously got left with a huge pile on their hands, or had bought them as bankrupt stock. £18 for six, inc P&P, and they don't half shift metal.

Oh, and an M&W scribing block for £5 from the local rag, still in its protective grease.

Andy