What Smithing Tools do you long for?

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Mauser fan

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This should make for an interesting topic and shouldn't be limited to just big ticket items. All things Gun Smithing should be included even tools that can be made easily. Lets hear what everyone has to say.

I am looking for a bolt handle forging block with all of the heat sinks that accompany it.
 
Forestry mulcher... Oh wait you said smithing tools...

I want a surface grinder and a bridgeport. And a horizontal band saw. Big heat treating oven. And a bigger lathe. My grizzly combo machine is nice to have, but it has its limitations.

As for things i can actually afford or justify, some various chamber reamers, a 1/64th graduated chucking reamer set up to about 1.25", toolpost grinder, 100+ pound anvil, better insert tooling, etc. I could go on forever.
 
I am tooling up for a different type of toy building. I have a 3D printer to print the things I want in positive form. I have a foundry to do aluminum and bronze investment casting. I need a small lathe with a cross slide vice so that I can do basic milling with a cutter in the head. I also need to build some encasements to use for mold making. I’m not planning to sandcast but it may end up happening as that is much quicker and easier. Investment casting just gets you a better piece which is closer to being finished.

1st project will be a simple contender barrel stub upon which a 30 caliber rifle barrel drop will be attached. It will then be chambered for 32 long.
 
I already have a end mill, lathe (could be better. Could use heat treating furnace, Angle/index table for my end mill, A complete set of c-5 collets (round SAE & Metric), square, hex and head for my lathe. And a bigger ac/heat shop to put it all in. AC/DC Tig welder, plasma cutter.

What I can afford, very little since I can't currently justify the cost, but it's a lottery dream.
 
A set of Whit-worth taps and dies with the 55 degree taper not the 60 degree taper, a tig welding machine, and some affordable oxygen and acetylene tanks. I found some gauges, hoses, a cutting torch with a hand full of tips and some welding tips with a cart for $80 recently.
 
Here is some things that I have that crossed over from the automotive industry that has made my life that much easier and I don't have to spend any money to buy more special tools. They are external drain plug sockets. I just got a chamber reamer in the mail and don't have the T handle for it. But I do have the socket as stated and they are now pulling double duty. I'm glad I never got rid of them.

The reamer is a 7x57mm finisher the socket that I'm using is the 3/8" drive 3/8" external drain plug socket with a 5" extension and 3/8" drive sliding t handle.

What do you guys have or wish that had?

Keep the posts coming.
 
Here is some things that I have that crossed over from the automotive industry that has made my life that much easier and I don't have to spend any money to buy more special tools. They are external drain plug sockets. I just got a chamber reamer in the mail and don't have the T handle for it. But I do have the socket as stated and they are now pulling double duty. I'm glad I never got rid of them.

The reamer is a 7x57mm finisher the socket that I'm using is the 3/8" drive 3/8" external drain plug socket with a 5" extension and 3/8" drive sliding t handle.

What do you guys have or wish that had?

Keep the posts coming.
4x4 Fords are my other passion... My tools cross over all the time. A tool is a tool, no matter its intended purpose. I pulled a buddy out of a ditch once with a pair of jumper cables, which were subsequently ruined :cuss:.

I too have used an 8 pt socket on taps. Or even a crescent wrench. Ive also chucked a tap in the tailstock on the lathe and used the chuck to turn the work piece.

I took Machine Tool at my local tech school. Those 9 months really opened my mind on how to use tools or make them. Half of being a machinist is learning how to set up work to be efficiently completed. It forces you to think a bit outside the box.

Ive got some pipettes and large syringes from work that have measured paint, measured combustion chambers, and sucked excess bar oil out of a chainsaw. If it works, it works.

The tailstock on my lathe works well as a light duty press, in addition to its other duties. A drill press can do the same. Or a bench vise.
 
I already have a end mill, lathe (could be better. Could use heat treating furnace, Angle/index table for my end mill, A complete set of c-5 collets (round SAE & Metric), square, hex and head for my lathe. And a bigger ac/heat shop to put it all in. AC/DC Tig welder, plasma cutter.

What I can afford, very little since I can't currently justify the cost, but it's a lottery dream.

I have a set of fractional round 5C collets. Certainly handy, but i dont need to use em that often.

Plasma cutter is super handy. If you can barely justify it, buy one! So much better than a traditional torch. Which, you know, you can rent the big bottles for.

A power draw bar would be nice, as my grizzly milling machine doesnt have a spindle brake and the nut used to hold the spindle still gets loose. Grizzly has a cheap DRO i wanna try out too. The DRO is another one of those things that just plain kicks butt! So handy.

My shop is heated, but no AC. That would be real nice. My lathe/reloading/smithing room is connected to the house HVAC though, to keep things consistent.
 
I have several sets of welding bottles, along with N2 and Ag/Co2 for mig. I added DRO Pro to my lathe and mill when I purchased them. I have a 1 & 5 micron slides on my lathe, Mill all 5 micron. They are not cheap but have an excellent warranty. My 1 micron side started giving me random errors after 4-5 yrs. They did not have any 1 micron slides like mine so they replaced the whole system, free of charge. Can't beat that. They are supper handy and makes a job go lot faster not having to count turns and adj for play.

My shop is an old pole building that my dad built in the 70's. Before he passed a way i asked him how thick the slab was. He said 6" with lots of steel. The bad thing is there is no perimeter beams on the slab, it floats with the ground. So I get lots of practice in keeping my lathe and mill level. I enclosed 1 end making a 12'x25' space for my climate controlled space. I live in a very dusty area so I had to do something to keep from destroying the machinery. I had all the walls and ceiling sprayed with urethane insulation, min thick 3". The best money well spent. I have a small window unit that heats and cool it. I had to add a dehumidifier since the humidity averages 50-60% in my area.

This also works as my reloading room, gunsmith, with the outer non-climate control area is now where I have my PU disassembled doing body work getting it ready for paint. A project I started over 20 yrs ago before I ended up a life changing nerve damage. Just had to replace my 43 yr old air compressor. Having to add a good filtration system to remove all the water. If I add any more equipment I'm going to be forced to run a bigger feeder to the shop. My dad only ran #3 which limits me to 75 amps. I electric company has access to my south side for their power lines, so I could get 3 phase powder if I wanted to spend some $$$.
 
added DRO Pro to my lathe and mill when I purchased them. I have a 1 & 5 micron slides on my lathe, Mill all 5 micron. They are not cheap but have an excellent warranty. My 1 micron side started giving me random errors after 4-5 yrs. They did not have any 1 micron slides like mine so they replaced the whole system, free of charge. Can't beat that. They are supper handy and makes a job go lot faster not having to count turns and adj for play.
My machine is a lowly grizzly so i dont want to put 2 grand worth of DRO on it lol. The ones i were looking at were under 200. Only accurate to .002" but thats plenty for my needs. And i can always use the dials for precision cuts. My machine was right at $5000 in 2017. Its $7500 now... Insurance bought it as a replacement for an old, large wood lathe i lost in a fire. They also replaced all my used eBay/estate sale Starrett tools with brand spanking new ones.
 
Extractor ratchet pad swaging kit, particularly for S&W revolvers.

Have timing issues on few respective chambers with two of my large framed S&W’s. They have both been sent to Springfield MA on separate occasions to address this and though there was improvement, they are still failing, and do not grant me the piece of mind they’re in battery 100% of the time.
 
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