A bit of a tool

[Mike]

Yesterday I broke the blade in my knife and upon opening the spares box I found it to be empty…
This was a sad moment.
I went out and bought a new knife from Hobbycraft as they did not have spare blades, back home using the new knife I noticed as one does, how much nicer (not just easier, but nicer) it is using a new blade.

Today the iron broke and we bought a new iron.
Again upon using it I noticed how much nicer new things are and how the right tool makes the job more fun.

So I wondered, do I have all the tools I need, or do I find I am making do with things instead.

I use nail clippers instead of sprue cutters, are sprue cutters that much better?

What tools do you use?

[Steve Johnson]

Depends upon what I’m making Michael. For general stuff I use:

Scalpel with both straight and curved blades. Good quality needle files. Eye surgery scalpels that work a treat as a small chisel. A needle file that has been ground down to make a sturdier small chisel that the eye surgery scalpels. Sprue cutter. Good quality tweezers. A small  pair of watchmakers pliers.

That’s about it. For anything else I will make stuff at work, having the advantage of a full workshop at my disposal.

 

[Not Connard Sage]

Mike wrote:

So I wondered, do I have all the tools I need, or do I find I am making do with things instead

Dunno, what tools do you have now?

 

Looking around my desk I see:

Jewellers files – round, half round, flat etc.

Razor saw

Side cutters

Sprue cutters (they’re cutters for small electronics components actually ;))

Pin vice, and micro drill bits

A selection of knives – from a Stanley to Swan Morton scalpels

Tweezers, including self locking

Surgical scissors

Hemostats – straight and curved

150mm steel rule

300mm steel rule

Cutting mat

Glue gun

Soldering iron

Dremel

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obvious contrarian and passive aggressive old prat, who is taken far too seriously by some and not seriously enough by others.

[Angel Barracks]

I have two craft knives; I have a normal straight blade in one and a chisel edged blade in the other.
Bonesaw
Pine vice
Desk mounted vice
Hand drill
Normal tweezers
Fine bent arm type tweezers
Normal needle files
Diamond encrusted needle files
Mr Stanley the knife
Selection of modelling tools for clay/greenstuff
Pins and needles
Hole punch
Nail scissors
Eye/ear droppers
Egg cup
Disposable cheapo retractable knives
Big pliers and thin nosed pliers
Hot glue gun
Steel rules
Prolly some other stuff too….

[Not Connard Sage]

A bone saw!!!!

 

I thought my collection of surgical instruments was a bit OTT…

Obvious contrarian and passive aggressive old prat, who is taken far too seriously by some and not seriously enough by others.

[willz]

A few of  the above, a nylon makeup wide bristle brush.

No not for my eyes and beautification but for dusting.

[Mike]

Plaster over the mouth?

[Norm S]

Side cutters for plastic sprue is one of the best tool investments you can make.

[Angel Barracks]

I am not sure now…..

It was labelled that, but it does not look like this:

It is a wooden handled straight saw.
The metal blade is rigid and does not flex like a regular saw, it also has a reinforced spine, for want of a better word.

However, the worrying thing is that I can’t find it….

[Norm S]

I think you may be describing a dovetail saw.

[Angel Barracks]

Norm S wrote:

I think you may be describing a dovetail saw.

Just done a Google of dovetail, it is quite similar to this:

Shame, still…
I am gonna get myself a genuine bone saw now.

[Etranger]

Not Connard Sage wrote:

Editor Mike wrote:

So I wondered, do I have all the tools I need, or do I find I am making do with things instead

Dunno, what tools do you have now?

 

Looking around my desk I see:

….  Hemostats – straight and curved

 

A hideous Americanism! Call them Spencer Wells Artery forceps please. http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/objects/display.aspx?id=5515 

Good list nonetheless.

[Lagartija Mike]

While hemostats and bonesaws are part of every determined hobbyists miniature operating theater, a good quality jeweler’s kit will take you far with a minimum of space.

[Etranger]

Damn Americans   Canadians!

[irishserb]

Being a professional model builder (sounds so over-blown) for so long, I have a huge collection of tools, most of which almost never get used (well, maybe a couple time per year, but just don’t find them that useful).  Despite the pro model bla-bla, my home work table is the same chaotic mess as most hobby other gamers, though not as nice as many of those pictured online. Anyway, the tools that are on my table (or next to it) that I actually use are:

Hobby Knife

100ct box of blades

10 inch steel scale in 10ths of an inch – in addition to measuring and acting as a cutting edge, it is my primary tool for applying putty

6 inch steel scale in 1/100ths of an inch – my other putty application tool

4 different sized and shaped diagonal flush-cut pliers (the old dark green handled Mascot model is the best)

adjustable protractor – mostly for layout of pieces on plastic sheet

scribing tool

Tough-Grit files/sanding sticks – for thinning figure bases, shaping plastic and foam

Squadron style sanding sticks

hobby saw and miter box

one flat, one half round file about 1/2 inch wide, not the little jewelers files

one 1/4 diameter round file

one pair locking tweezers

hacksaw blade – for shaping foam

surform tool – shaping foam

old Black and Decker mini hobby sander.

Dremel

proportional dividers – mostly for cutting circles in plastic

band saw

3 dental tools for shaping putty

1/8 inch low density polyolefin bench cover/cutting surface

 

 

[Angel Barracks]

To paraphrase John McClane, now I have a bone saw, ho ho ho.

[Rod Robertson]

Crikey! Is this a Dexter-wannabe thread! You’re all sounding quite mad, except Tim, who is eminently sensible and correct! Quick, call the police!

Cheers? And good gaming?

Rod Robertson Zaphod Beeblebrox

<hr />

<hr />

 

[Author]

Posts