Forget the number drill set, the metric sets you list will be sufficient, add a few larger reduced shank "blacksmiths" drills if you want say 16, 20 & 25mm

The 58pc clamp set will do so leave the other bits off for now

6" rotary table may be a bit small on a BP

Get an R8 shank flycutter rather than the 3 small ones or better still a 63mm indexable face/shell mill & arbor

Unless you intend to use 5C on the lathe then ER collets, blocks and a collet chuck may be a better option. I'd also use a ER32 collet chuck rather than the set of R8 collets

Might want to add a boring head to the list

This is what you need

Edited By JasonB on 26/05/2023 20:19:30

Well not listing what you already have makes it hard to guess what's missing. But I love spending other peoples money!

Few comments:

• Wouldn't bother with Number or Letter Drills unless really needed. Much to be said in favour of metric drills on 0.1mm increments
• Another set of drills for Brass only
• The Rotary Table and vice may be a bit small for a Bridgeport. How about a Kurt.
• 5C collet block without 5C collets?
• Taps, Dies and Milling cutters (long list! I'd go metric)
• Safety Glasses
• Bisley cabinets
• Linisher
• Bandsaw
• Vacuum Cleaner
• Files (also with set for brass)
• Having gone for a Bridgeport, the Super 7 feels undersized. How about a Boxford, Colchester etc?
• Digital or Dial Caliper. (Jenny and other manual types also useful)
• Thin rubber gloves
• Emery Paper
• Spanners and nut drivers (Metric, BA & Imperial)
• Stock fasteners, washers, etc
• Dremel
• Set squares
• Angle Gauges (Wixey abnd protractor)
• Marking fluid, Acetone, Meths and Penetration Oil
• Blowlamp and insulating blocks
• Brazing rods and flux
• Screwdrivers and security heads
• Air Compressor and accessories
• Big vice on bench
• Punch set
• Hole locator set
• Edge finders
• Work light(s)
• Paint floor and foot friendly mats
• Swarf magnet and swarf bins
• Deburrer
• Dead Hammer
• Angle plate

and more…

Years of fun ahead!

Dave

I am a Bridgeport user and have two rotary tables, a Vertex 10" HV and a very old 14" of unknown make. The 14" table has a 20" sub-table for the bigger radius work but only used every few years. I lack the muscle to shove it from trolley to machine table. The 10" table I can pick up.

You've omitted some important information: what are you intending to do with all this stuff? There's big differences between making tiny steam engines, and doing basic machine work for real cars or motorbikes….

And you're right, some of it overlaps, like the imperial and metric drill sets. Those are expensive items, so settle on one and don't buy the other. A sub£5 calculator hanging off the mill will sort any conversion problems. I'm trying to be entirely metric, so would avoid the number etc drills but if you're going to use mostly imperial measurements, that should be flipped. Do you really need a chopsaw when you have a bandsaw?

As everyone else has said, buy the ER32 collets(and not having a full set is daft) with the available square and hex blocks. When you've settled on your favoured cutter size, treat then to their own specific collet. I'd probably attach the drill chuck to a 20mm shank to use with a collet. That all makes the the 5C redundant until you actually need them for specific jobs the ER won't do – no, I don't know what they could be.

Try and keep the tools needed for using everything to a minimum – it's seriously frustrating using a random selection of spanners, allen keys and sockets to just clamp a workpiece and fit the necessary tool.

Just because one person finds a particular tool essential doesn't mean you will – rotary tables are a good example, as there's a lot of resources tied up in one that might be better spent elsewhere for your work. £200 can still buy a useful amount of material. I have a pair of 123blocks that are touted as must haves, but only one of them ever gets used to align the toolpost square with the chuck….

You haven't listed basic metalworking tools like hacksaws, files, snips, punches etc.

What for, and how often is the expensive crane going to be used? They're meant to lift an engine in and out, not move long and heavy stuff around the workshop. Once you've had one tip over, you'll lose any enthusiasm for the things. They take up a lot space even when folded too.

For general workshop use, I'd probably buy a TIG welder instead of the MIG. That decision is reversed if you're going to be working on cars. That is how mine get used.

Even if you can afford to buy all this one go, it's probably better to get the basic clamps, cutting tools and measuring kit first then get the more specialised tools from the remaining slush fund when(if!) they're actually required.

A £70 adjustable spanner? Really?? I've never met a mechanic who didn't have adjustables, but they're in the good enough to get it done not family heirloom category. Mine are Bahcos, but the most expensive was the smallest(£7 at an autojumble), and the biggest was rescued from a skip before I was born. I wouldn't buy them new

I think Dave's right about the Myford/Bridgeport combination too.

Edited By Nick Wheeler on 26/05/2023 21:16:58

You will be needing the crane to move things like the 4" engines boiler or pick up things like the wheels to get them onto the BP table. I'll alsoup the rotary table from my earlier 8" suggestion if that is what you want to be making.

You will also need to be thinking of a M300 or a Colchester sort of size lathe preferably with a gap bed. Probably get a proper collet chuck for that either flexi or 5C.

Edited By JasonB on 27/05/2023 07:06:05

Having a very comprehensive set of 5C collets I prefer them to the ER style for the work I do (99% motorcycle).

Hexagon and square collet blocks are used frequently as is the 5C collet chuck on the lathe, my cutter grinder takes 5C collets. Throw in the availability of hexagon and square 5C collets as a bonus. They suit me but only for what I do, a Traction Engine would require a very different approach to "Must Have" kit.

I have just looked at you list. I would add pencil. paper and a note book (commonly called a laptop or PC these days). You already have a camera, I use a good, now old, pocket camera.

What you really need is a good starter project. That will tell you what you have missed off the list. Only make tools if you have to.

I trust the IPA was good.

JA

While the advice to stick with metric drills is sound if you are building from scratch, if you are trying to follow instructions and plans from ME or similar you may find that number and letter drills and imperial (ME) threading gear have a more important place in your set-up.

As has been said – what are you intending to make?

I use a 12" rotary table on my Bridgeport. Horizontal/vertical capability is a necessity:

I prefer a parallel central hole, not Morse taper. A parallel hole means it is simple to make locating pegs:

There is a rotary table hidden under the wheel!

Andrew

I consider a fire extinguisher essential in any workshop. You just never know. Most of us will go a lifetime without ever needing one. But when you need one, you REALLY need one, and FAST. Grinders, chop saws, Dremels etc and the usual workshop degreasers, oils, fuels etc are a potential risky combination. Let alone electrical wiring, be it 240 volt or 12 volt vehicle electrics etc. Keep the fire extinguisher next to the entry door, or attached to the inside of the door, so that if you come out to find a workshop full of smoke, you can grab it straight away. And if doing welding or silver soldering etc with a torch etc, place the extinguisher nearby just in case.

More obviously, safety glasses are essential. And don't underestimate the need for good hearing protection (speaking as a victim of "industrial deafness&quot. Angle grinders and chop saws are the worst offenders. And air compressors in confined space.