Metal working tools, what do I need ?

[RangerF150]

Hi all,
Lucky me! I pretty much got all the "picking" tools I need, may buy a tubular pick sometime and that's me pretty much done.

I work as a carpenter, have good working knowledge and used to using power tools, got chop saws , routers the lot

I'm thinking of getting into some proper metal working, id like to be able to make my own cutaway locks, perhaps make my own tubular pick!
Make a nice curtain wheel pick, the sky's the limit

But where does one start ?

Anyone here got some advice on good tools to get that would help get me started. It's a medium to long term thing.
I know nothing about good/ bad metal working tools , which tools I would require to do such tasks.
Any advice would be great, any links to good sites that sell such tools would be awesome.
Any input would be great , thanks for your time.

Cheers

[Bump]

If your going to do cutaways the first thing you need is a Dremel and loads of tungsten carbide bits/drills etc. You can get some pretty cheap stuff at http://www.axminster.co.uk/sessionID/UJ ... -20475.htm

[Wolfe]

To start off go for referbs and cheap. you can find a lot of referbs in home stores and online.brands like delta/ryobi are usually decent quaility.places like harbor frieght are a great place to shop.Sure you can buy a brand new $200 name brand band saw but a $60 one does the same job for less than half,and if you bust it up your only out 60 not 200.
heres a list to get ya going.
BAND SAW with bymetal blade,DRILL PRESS,DREMEL,BENCH GRINDER 6in should be fine,DIAL CALIPER,HACKSAW,FILES lots of files,SNIPS. this should get you going in the right direction. there are a million places to find these things ive been a general contractor for 12 years n never found everything i want at the price im looking in one spot. i search harbor frieght,homestores(beacasue the have disconted,disconinued,opened items),online, and pawn shops.
Hope this helps
W.

[raimundo]

get a mill and a lathe, and you can stay in touch with the lockpicking scene for years to come as people send you orders for this or that pick. metal work is all about cutting and grinding cold, stay away from all that talk about tempering, its a complication that you could avoid for a long time if you can mill and lathe. (with a mill and a lathe, you have tools that can actually make a mill and lathe, how about that.

[Gordon Airporte]

I don't see where anyone mentioned files - I'd get one of those assortment packs of regular sized files, and another of needle files.

Sandpaper from 220 up to wherever you want to stop (600 is enough for me, but you might want the super mirror finish from 1000 or 2000). You probably already have the lower grits around - the auto supply shop has the higher ones.

A decent metal working vise is sure nice to have, and a place away from any woodworking where you can spray ground metal particles and abrasive grit around.

[RangerF150]

Thanks guys
I will start to look around for a mill and lathe, and the other stuff mentioned.
Will let ya know how I get on !

Cheers

[Shrub]

Problem is that pretty much everythin in any enineerin tool suppliers cataloue coulkd be used or needed at some point, ive pretty much got at least one of almost everything but its taken my father and then myself many many many years to accumalate the equipment,

The main thing you need to thinmk about is that with the tooling skills are not included,

My advice and this is going to be one of the best bits of advice you are gogin to get on this thread if i do say so myself is to join your local model engineering club,

Most use the local collage or uni along with all their machines and run as a weekly night class, this will not only teach you skills to use machines but also tell you the tips etc to make your itmes that little bit better than the average person in his shed,

You will also learn what it is you want at home, you may decide spending £5 a week and useing their machines is a far better prospect than spending £000's on machines that you may not use much,

The bonus is that you make what you want at these things and the other help you learn how to do it,

[raimundo]

Grobet swiss, Bludan austrian and swedish files are excellent, the pakistan and india files wear out quickly. you can also see the difference in the price. Nickelsen used to be a good american brand, but now they are an average india brand.