50 Best Tools.1

Table of Contents! Chapter 1 - Automotive

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Chapter 2 - Electrical

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Chapter 3 - Machining

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Chapter 4 - Metalworking

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Chapter 5 - Woodworking

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Chapter 6 - Workholding

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1 Automotive

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Heavy-Duty Rotisserie By toolman8 Homemade, heavy-duty rotisserie fabricated from square steel tubing and capable of supporting and rotating at least 5,000 pounds.

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Engine Break-In Stand By jniolon Homemade engine break-in stand constructed specifically for a Ford 460 engine. Fabricated from 2x2 tubing, a lawnmower throttle/lever cable assembly, Cadillac radiator, a fan from an 80's Honda, and some spare gauges.

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Tapered Axle Puller By nonhog Homemade tapered axle puller adapted from a surplus Toyota MR2 hub and utilizing a section of black iron pipe as the tool's body.


Chassis Jig Table By astroracer Homemade chassis jig tables featuring sliding H-beams to accommodate varying track widths. Mobility and leveling are each facilitated with both casters and jacking lugs, respectively, at each corner. One table incorporates a melamine top to enable layout marking directly on the washable surface.

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Engine Stand By jniolon Homemade engine stand construction project detailed in a comprehensive photo-tutorial.


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2 Electrical!

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Lathe Electronic Edge Finder By Rick Sparber Homemade lathe electronic edge finder (LEEF) detailed in an extensive writeup. Provides the capability to detect the cutter coming into contact with a workpiece, all without any modification to the lathe, cutter, or workpiece. Utilization of the LEEF enables one to quickly re-establish zero when changing cutters and will also indicate boring bar touchdown at the bottom of a hole.

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12v Car Battery Desulfator By kmpres Homemade desulfator for 12v car batteries. Instructions cover building a desulfator circuit, smoke testing, and attaching the circuit to battery chargers. Circuit schematic and parts list included.

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ATX Power Supply to Lab Supply Conversion By Abizarl Homemade ATX power supply to lab supply conversion. Includes comprehensive instructions, photographs, and video detailing how to salvage the ATX power supply, discharge it, drill the case, attach the binding posts, and create proper wire connections.

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Detonation Detector By Julian Edgar Homemade detonation detector constructed from inexpensive electronics parts, earphones, microphone cable, battery clip, and battery.

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3 Machining

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Cap Screw Holders By Frank Ford Homemade cap screw holders machined from brass and intended to facilitate the safe presentation of short screws to a grinder. Mounted in turned rosewood handles.

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Boring Head By ISHIMURA Homemade boring head with a MT3/JT6 arbor. Connected to the mill spindle through the MT3 taper. Boring head fits on the Jacob's taper. Boring head body, sub-head, and micrometer shaft all machined from free-cutting steel. Gib plate is mild steel. Moving the micrometer dial by one increment moves the boring head by 0.02 mm. Boring head is adjusted using an Allen key.

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Taig Mill Screwless Vise By Dean Williams Homemade screwless vise constructed from a section of 7/8" thick scrap aluminum and intended to fit a Taig mill. Fixed and movable jaws are fabricated from 1 1/4" square aluminum. Capable of accepting 3" workpieces.


Rotary Broaching Tool By mikesworkshop Homemade rotary broaching tool intended to be mounted on a lathe's cross slide. Comprised of a tool post block and a cutter. Block measures 25 x 50 x 50mm. Cutter is machined from a 10mm diameter silver steel rod. Brass M5 screws secure the cutter holder to the tool post block.

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Stepperhead Universal   Machine Tool By jackary Homemade Stepperhead universal machine tool. Utilizes TurboCNC v 4.01 and powered by a 430-Watt, 1400 rpm, 240v AC three-phase stepper motor. Spindle speed is 15-3000 rpm, forward and reverse. Nema size 23 motors for the head, cross slide, and saddle. Milling head motor is 430 watts, 24v DC, with a speed range of 1000-4000 rpm. Overall dimensions: 1000 mm long x 600 mm wide x 500 mm high.


Fixed Steady By ISHIMURA Homemade fixed steady design based on commercial units. Frame features three channels, supporting brass fingers with adjusting and locking screws. An L-shaped base with vee slots mates with the lathe vee way.

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Kurt-Style Vise for   Gingery Shaper By Rick Sparber Homemade Kurt-style vise for a Gingery shaper. Separate and perpendicular screws provide clamping force in both planes. Features soft jaws with the clamp screw pulling on the movable jaw.


Fly Cutter By Frank Ford Homemade fly cutter adapted from a stock R8 arbor and utilizing a piece of round stock for the head. Tool is able to perform both rough and finish cuts simultaneously.

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Keyway Slotter By ISHIMURA Homemade keyway slotter designed to be mounted on a lathe's cross-slide. Block is mild steel, bushes are brass. Accepts HSS bits.


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4 Metalworking

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Miniature 4-Jaw Chuck By Dean Williams Homemade miniature 4-jaw, 1" diameter chuck intended for use with a small model lathe. Spindle features M12 x 1.5 thread. Jaws machined from cold rolled steel.

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Scratch-Built Bead Roller By Andy P Homemade bead roller featuring a main body constructed from 10mm laser cut plates. The only proprietary parts used were phosphor bronze bearings and two reverse gears sourced from a Toyota Celica transmission.

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Hydraulic Press By Dave Propst Homemade multi-purpose hydraulic press powered by a 25-ton Enerpac ram.


Coffee Can Furnace By W. E. Johns Homemade coffee can furnace powered by a repurposed dishwasher blower.

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English Wheel By idickers Homemade English wheel with removable legs.


Crucible and Tongs By Rick Sparber Homemade crucible and tongs fashioned from 6" diameter x 1/4" thick pipe. Bottom is 1/4" plate, welded to the body. Has a capacity of 9 lbs. Lifting and pouring handle was constructed from CRS rods and bars.

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Leveling Ring Roller By nitronorm Homemade leveling ring roller powered by a bottle jack. Assembly consists of top & bottom carriages secured to the base by 2x20mm locking pins. Carriages were fabricated from 10mm plate. Utilizes 100mm rollers with 20mm spindles. Top roller is driven through a 5mm keyway.


Freon Tank Forge By Fred Frontino Homemade forge fabricated from a repurposed freon tank and featuring an integral ceramic shelf to support workpieces during firing.

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Light-Duty Bender By Goff Homemade light-duty bender fabricated from flat bar stock and long bolts. Designed to be mounted in a bench vise. Utilizes homemade dies.


Gas-Fired Crucible   Furnace By Joe Hildreth Homemade gas-fired crucible furnace based on a Dave Gingery project. Furnace refractory contains 1/3 perlite. Fuel is propane. Fan motor rated at 1/ 3hp at 1725rpm.

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Boring Bar Holder By Steven Vine Homemade fixture designed to hold a Glanze boring bar for a lathe. Made from a solid piece of laminated steel.


Variable Volume Flask By Rick Sparber Homemade variable volume flask for casting. Constructed from extruded aluminum channels and wood blocks. Sides are bolted together to form the cope and drag. Kit consists of 12 sides and two bars for mounting the upset.

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Custom V-Block By Glenn Wegman Homemade custom V-block fabricated from A2 tool steel and intended to facilitate the securing of small parts for drilling operations.


Waste Oil Burner and   Furnace By Lionel Oliver II Homemade waste oil burner and furnace adapted from a 20lb propane tank. Frame constructed from steel pipe and rebar. Powered by a homemade blower.

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5 Woodworking

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Drum Sander By Ronald Walter Homemade drum sander powered by a 1/3 HP, 1725 RPM motor. Rotating drum is constructed from a stack of MDF and Baltic Birch discs mounted on a steel shaft.

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14” Bandsaw By Matthias Wandel Homemade wood-framed 14" bandsaw utilizing Ikea shelving components and plywood for the frame and table. Powered by a 1hp pool pump motor driving a V-belt mounted to a 2.5" pulley.

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Blade Sharpening Jig By John Heisz Homemade blade sharpening jig designed to facilitate the accurate honing of planer and jointer knives.


Table Saw from Plans By Hector Acevedo Homemade, wooden table saw constructed from plans and featuring a knee-operated panic shutdown bar, micro-adjustment in crosscut and rip fences, and dust collection unit powered by a vacuum cleaner motor.

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Horizontal Mortiser By Brian Grella Homemade horizontal mortiser utilizing bronze-sleeved shafts for the horizontal slider mechanism.


Box Joint Jig By John Heisz Homemade box joint jig constructed from wood. The jig is fitted with a mechanism intended to advance the workpiece a quarter inch at a time.

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Ultimate Woodworking   Table By Dave Munkittrick Homemade woodworking table incorporating space for a mounted planer, router, and sander. Features an integral clamping system and a downdraft sanding station, as well as an outfeed table.


3D Router Pantograph By Matthias Wandel Homemade, 3D router pantograph capable of controlling the depth of cut.

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Box Joint Jig By niki Homemade box joint jig for a router table consisting of clamps utilized in conjunction with a set of precision spacers. Capable of producing accurate finger joints.


Gear-Making Pantorouter By Ken Coulter Homemade, gear-making pantorouter specifically constructed to facilitate the production of wooden involute gears.

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Router Table By John Heisz Homemade router table featuring a built-in router lift and router bit storage drawer.


Longworth Chuck By Woodworker’s Guide Homemade Longworth chuck constructed from two plywood discs. Intended to enable the finish turning of a workpiece's normally inaccessible bottom face.

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Sphere Template By David Reed Smith Homemade template for turning wooden spheres on a lathe. Scales are utilized to measure proper distances. Template is fastened to aluminum flashing to provide working stiffness.


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6 Workholding

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Bandsaw Vise   Modification By mikesworkshop Homemade bandsaw vise modification to enable the cutting of smaller pieces. Involves alteration of the moving jaw, addition of a jack rod and scale, repositioning the fixed jaw, and replacing the lock nuts with tee nuts and tommy bars.

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Bison 3-Jaw Chuck   Soft Jaws By Rick Sparber Homemade soft jaws fabricated from 6061 aluminum and designed to fit a Bison lathe's 3-jaw chuck.

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Hold Down Clamp By Matthias Wandel Homemade hold down clamp constructed from a repurposed C-clamp fitted to custom-made, wooden components.


Bench Vise By slickSqueegie Homemade bench vise constructed from lumber, wooden dowels, and a 3' section of 1" diameter threaded rod.

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Hold-Down Clamps By niki Homemade hold-down clamps for woodworking constructed from scrap lumber, threaded rod, and T-nuts. Nuts embedded in underside of the workbench enable a variety of clamping configurations.


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50 Best Tools.1

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