tools - "must have" and "wish to have"

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hi everyone,

Aside from the obvious equipment relating to this hobby - locomotives and other rolling stock, track, mode of control, etc, I know that a number of other tools will be essential and some would be nice to have. But, within our house we have a complete lack of tools other then the basics - a hammer, a few screw drivers, pliers, a small wrench set, and a cordless drill. And like many people, my wife and I just don’t have a lot of money to spare so we have to plan our spending carefully. Which all leads to my questions.

What tools/equipment would you put on a must have list?

What tools would you consider as very good to have but not essential, so therefore would be on a wish to have list?

2

Must…

Soldering iron, A good one

a wood jewlers mallet

jewelers pliers

a good set of small screwdrivers

my list of want tools include a drill press, small lathe and some other metalworking things

3

Echoing what Teen Steam said but I’ll add a couple of others.

For kits and other modeling projects, I’d add the following:

Needle files and a razor saw, which should only set you back $20.00 to $30.00.

For benchwork, a level, a sabre saw, and a circular saw are needed if you do anything beyond the 4x8 sheet of plywood.

Corner clamps and c-clamps are also a good idea to have.

4

Perhaps I’m not reading the question properly, but it seems to me that the O.P. is asking “What tools other than equipment relating to the hobby should be considered essential?”

My reply would be that, unless he plans on getting into home repair and renovations, he already has them. Beyond that, and including tools for both general use and modelling, there are too many to list, depending on how deeply one wishes to become involved.

Wayne

5

A good Xacto knife with spare blades

Model glue (a tool?)

Flat metal ruler

Some sort of square

6

The absolute minimum? That takes some thought - says he, who has a machinist’s toolbox full of exotic hardware, most of which is almost never disturbed.

For benchwork, my way, a 25-foot tape measure, small rafter square, tin snips, power drill (may be cordless) with crosspoint screwdriver bit(s) and a saber saw (for cookie-cutting plywood.) I build benchwork from steel studs.

For mounting roadbed to plywood subgrade - a large tube of latex caulk in a caulking gun (spread it out with the sample cards from your friendly credit card purveyor or similar source) and some weights (old phone books, dead batteries from cordless tools, 2-liter bottles of soda…)

For mounting plastic-tie track to roadbed - same as the above, but make sure you use either clear or grey caulk.

For prepping flex track - fine-toothed file, diagonal cutting pliers (or specialized rail-cutting tool,) hobby knife set with long (#11) and chisel-point blades.

Wiring - small-diameter drill bit (for the power drill) Soldering tool (enter “solder” in the forum search and get to read the pros and cons of guns vs/and/or irons. My personal choice is a heavy gun for layout wiring, and a needle-tipped iron for electronics and in-panel wiring.) Solder (60/40 or electronic solder, small-diameter with rosin core) and flux (NOT acid!) Nice to have - a low-cost multimeter.

The one tool you absolutely will NOT need is a hammer. Nails have no place in model railroad carpentry.

This assumes the use of plastic tie (sectional or flex) track and commercial turnouts, and does not include tools needed for assembly/maintenance/modification of rolling stock and structures.

Avoid cordless soldering tools and those ‘not available in stores’ super TV advertised deals. Most

7

I would only get the smaller tools that you would use regularly and leave the larger and more dedicated tools until you are sure you would use them. That would be the small files, jewlers screwdrivers and pliers, an assortment of tweezers and clamps, an air-brush, razor knife and saw, a magnifying lens and a GOOD strong bright light. The hammer should stay in the drawer for most projects, not matter how frustrating those grab-irons might be.

8

http://www.micromark.com/

9

Small screwdriver and / or socket set.

Exacto knife or clone thereof, #11 style handle & blades is not expensive. I’ve also gotten blade assortments that include some odd shapes & chisel blades that come in handy.

I’ve got a genuine Dremel and a spare “clone” motor tool as well as an assortment of accessories for less than about $50 by bargain hunting.

I’ve had good luck shopping tool sales at Sears, Lowe’s & Home Depot.

Staples & Office Depot have items such as metal rulers and squares as well as various Sharpie pens, markers and other basic drafting tools. Again, look for sales such as back-to-school.

In addition I’ve found Harbor Freight & Northern Tools to both have the occasional low cost gem. Both have stores locally in Orlando.

Mark Gosdin

10

Dremel with an assortment of bits, saw blades, cut off disk, flex tool, drill press for the Dremel.

Ok, a large assortment of accessories for the Dremel. I probably have 40 various tools for the Dremel.

A hardware store (not big box) in my town carries a large assortment of Dremel stuff. I sometimes wander in and pickup another tool for my Dremel.

A battery operated Dremel for work away from the bench.

Protective face shield is a necessity.

I some times wear a ball cap with two super bright LED’s in the brim.

Rich

11

The must have is safety glasses. Especially for power tools, but also handtools such as a hammer, snips, etc. where there is a possibility of flying debris.

After that it really depends on what you are doing.

For a small layout you could just lay a 3/4" plywood sheet across 2 sawhorses and be done with bench work. OTOH if you are building a larger layout with grid or L girder benchwork you’ll find a saw handy for cutting wood to length.

Wiring a small layout you can strip the wire and cut it with a knife. For a larger layout you’ll want wire strippers.

If you’re building models then a small hobby file, a set of small screwdrivers, and a hobby knife will be helpful.

My suggestion is you buy tools when needed for each thing you’re doing. Look at non powered tools first as they are usually cheaper.

Enjoy

Paul

12

A must have is a bench mounted lighted magnifying glass cause if your eyes aint the best they sure ain’t gonna get any better. The must have tool list is seemingly endless as the more you do the more tools you need to do the jobs. The one good thing about model railroading is there is a lot in the way of tools you can “make do with” such as things found in the dollar stores like mixing bowls and spatula for mixing hydrocal etc., sifters or tea strainers for ground cover, foam brushes for painting. I am not one who advocates buying cheap tools being a tradesmen I have tools that are older then I am and everyone knows if taken care of a good tool will out last you, but if you don’t have the money you don’t have the money plain and simple and for the average user working on your train layout is not going to overtax your tools so if your careful the cheap stuff will do until you can afford better. Try looking in places like Harbor Freight there stuff is of lesser quality but it will get the job done.

If I had a blank check I would replace the old unimat that has long since died with a nice small milling machine and a small lathe, and a resistance soldering tool would be at the top of the list as I worked my way through the Micromark catalog.

13

Must have tools for the hobby? Lesseee…

  1. A wide vocabulary of choice expletives. The ability to say them so that She doesn’t hear them would definitely be an advantage;

  2. Needle tweezers;

  3. Track nipper from Xuron;

  4. Sprue nipper from Xuron;

  5. An Opti-Visor;

  6. Metal illigitimate child files, needle files, fine needle-nosed pliers, cutters, soldering implements and supplies, wood rasp file, wire brushes, clamps, vise, a fine eye-glass type screwdriver set, seven different glues, table or bench saw, radial saw, miter saw, drill press, …I better stop.

  7. Most important, patience.

-Crandell

14

Something I want to add:

must - NMRA gauge, soldering iron

wish - soldering station

Wolfgang

15

There are not too many must have tools in model railroading. Xacto knife, a small file to smooth out track joints, an NMRA gauge to check and set wheel/track gauge and coupler height. Needle nose pliers to set and pull track nails, and a 12 volt test lamp to check for juice or lack of same on the track.

Moving on to very useful but you can squeeze by without them for some time. Soldering equipment, wire strippers, a multimeter, a Dremel, pin vise and a set of #60 to #80 numbered drill bits. Xuron rail nipper, a sprue cutter, a scale ruler. Handsaw or saber saw or skilsaw. Combination square and a steel tape. Clamps.

You can save money by waiting until you need the tool before buying it. It’s also cheaper to buy just the tool you need rather than a set of all sizes. Decent tools will turn up at yard sales and Craigs list. Used cordless tools most often will need a new battery, and replacement batteries can cost as much as a whole new cordless tool.

16

This is the only tool you need!

http://www.amazon.com/Wenger-The-Giant-Knife/dp/B001DZTJRQ/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1263143868&sr=8-6

17

If ya want to save a little money on your Zuron Track cutter nippers. Go to your favorite Wally World, and go to the craft Section. There you will find the same Track nippers for like $4.00 opposed to the $12- 15 dollers that you would pay for a Zuron. Kevin

18

Thank you to everyone for the great advice! I have to say, it is nice to not only have started into this hobby after decades of dreaming about it, I think it is a hobby that attracts a really great group of people!

19

Must:

Xacto knife

plastic cement

paint

file

Want:

corner brace

tweezers

This is just my bare bones idea for tools

20

I must have what I wish to have, albeit, ALL OF IT!

Jimmy