What tool(s) do you dream of someday owning? (realistic options...)

[BrickHaus]

A hobby lathe, mill, band saw, plainer, and table router. Who am I kidding. I WISH i had a shop.


That being said. I think a lathe will be my next buy. I've been watching nice ones pop up and sell on Craigslist, but I just haven't had the dough to buy em.

[Chuck E Ducky]

A CNC would be amazing and I will have one eventually. Probably going to go full machine shop for my second career. I want to build cool stuff but my current career and time don’t allow for that.

I want to build Restomods.

[Paintslinger16]

I am thinking we need a show us your tool box thread now. Absolutely love tools, I worked at Sears in tools, division 9 when I was 19 bought a lot of hand tools with my discount back then 82-83

[Spider!]

I'm thinking a little laser cutter/etcher. Maybe convert a 3d printer.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Those fiber lasers the ones that can actually hog material out. That would be cool to own. A buddy of mine makes a small fortune just doing logos and custom yeti mugs and stuff.

[BrickHaus]

Yeah, a fiber laser, and fiber rotary laser would be awesome. I want to engrave 3 tubes on a rotary, then solder them together some day to make a hand etched looking sheridan.

[desertT1]

My summer project, well one of many, needs to be making my working area more cleared out. I have projects I want to do with some tools I have, but can’t get to them right now because of some clutter that happened from adding other tools and projects not yet wrapped up.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I would love a dry ice blaster. They get $2500 a car but the units are like $10k to buy.

[DocsMachine]

I would love a dry ice blaster. They get $2500 a car but the units are like $10k to buy.

-Personally, I'd love to have one of those laser rust-removal units. This is Alaska, things rust, and I could probably make a pretty good living cleaning parts with something like that.

But a decent machine starts at $80K, and the ideal one for the task is closer to $150K.

Doc.

[flyweightnate]

I want one of those little Bantam desktop CNC mills. I know it's got minimal capacity, but boy it looks fun and easy.

[latches109]

Desk mounted Robot arm I can talk to

[powpowpaintball]

-I miss having access to a shop.

And by that I mean my machine shop is basically my two-car garage. One bay has a project car in it, that's been there for roughly a decade, and the rest of the shop has machine tools. I can no longer do any welding (other than TIG) or grinding in the shop- it puts too much junk and grit in the air. The machines are generally covered with cutting oil or way lube, and grinding grit in the air turns that into lapping compound.

That means, these days when I need to do any welding or grinding, I have to do it outside. And our "summer" is, at best, four months long. (It was snowing today, and snowed yesterday- about another inch accumulation, total.)

So if I need to do any MIG welding, grinding, or fiberglass/bondo work on the project car, I have to roll it outside, do the work, blow it off, and roll it back inside. During one of the six and a half nice days we get per year, during the four months of "not snow".

I mean, I need the machines a lot more than I need to weld or grind, but it's still a pain to do even minor work on a car these days.

Doc.

I feel your pain. The time spent moving stuff out, back in, packing and unpacking tools, etc. is such a drag. I'm in Indiana so at least I have a much larger window for nice weather and outdoor work, but the inefficiency of the whole process is frustrating.

[Grendel]

Lincoln Welder (TIG 200) with accessories and the space to make use of it. Learned to weld many moons ago and in particular like to AC TIG weld but have not had my own equipment (had access to US Navy and my employers' for years). Now I am nowhere near previous resources so want my own set up and definitely not enough room in my little shop to setup a dedicated TIG work area. Eventually like an AC/DC TIG setup and a separate MIG machine. I've always enjoyed welding, not to say I am anywhere near a pro but with some practice to knock of the dust not too bad.

[PlawB]

I'm pretty simple. I just want the stupid tool that lets you take an AKA Viking ram apart.

[nerdcore]

3D printer. Not even a dream because I'm certainly able to get a good one, but I'd have to clear a space in the garage for it and that's, like, work I wouldn't be getting paid to do, so...

[netsurferdude2]

Tools on my list: Belt grinder, die filer, TIG machine, and a Di-Arco metal bender.

I am very fortunate to already have a clapped-out bridgeport and lathe worthy of a production facility. The thing I need most in my shop is space. I would kill for a welding fixture table and somewhere to put it. I am stuck in a 10x20 space and the lathe and mill take up half of it. Plus it is always leaking due to a bad roof and there is a 10% incline on the floor so leveling the machine tools is a bitch.