Air pencil grinder. I have used mine to:
Slot holes
Chamfer edges
Engrave part numbers
Drive away co-workers who have recently been to the dentist
Friction weld plastic
Cover my bench in stainless splinters so I know who's been touching my stuff, because they are now trying to borrow my second-most useful tool, my magnifying tweezers...
Wait a minute here, they make MAGNIFYING TWEEZERS?
The sheer number of times I could have used those on the teeeeeny tiny needle slivers of 4142 I always somehow shove into my hands is absurd lol. Thanks for the tip!
I was a 6 inch scale naysayer.
I got one to prove how little I need it
I was wrong. I bought a leather pen protector that holds it and protects the precision edge.
Love my scale
A six inch scale is THE most versatile tool in any machine shop.
It’s a
Scale
Coffee stirrer
Cocaine chopper
Pry bar
Shim
Screwdriver
Putty knife
Scraper
And many others
A good sturdy medium sided flat head screwdriver. It’s a pry bar, a punch, a hammer if you spin it around, a scribe and you can use it as a rudimentary box cutter.
I got this nice German made solid steel flathead with wood handles that I found as a rusty mess in my basement. I took it in to work to clean it up one day and planned on just keeping it at home as some decorative thing, but it's just the right size for so many things around the shop and the solid steel tang means I can really bang it with a hammer without worrying about it breaking or getting torn up
I think a lot of people are misunderstanding.
The harvey double angle shank cutter is indispensable for top and bottom chamfers and side cutting
Drill mill is ok
I like to use the corner radius of endmills to chamfer things sometimes
Use a drill with thru spindle coolant to rinse things out sometimes
This fella gets it, I was going to suggest the harvey double angle too. If you're just putting an edge break or lead on threads or backside geometry and it's not particularly aesthetic or O.O.T. (in regards to the angle) a single form treadmill is a solid multi-use investment. Surface finish is obviously fine, but obviously not a 45° chamfer.
A shit ton of random shims.
Ive turned some into screwdrivers, shimed just about everything, welding spacers, used them as parts for machines, made holes in em and used em as caster plates.
ITT: a bunch of people who have no idea what you're asking.
Answer: drill/mills are great, and if you are an OEM and can play with tolerances, you can use subland drill bits to drill and counterbore in one op for socket head screws. They sell them on mcmaster/msc. There are also combination drill and countersinks from Harvey
Endmills are used as drills sometimes. We like to use them offset .001 per side on internal corners then finish the profile
Double angle chamfer tools can do top and bottom chamfering in one OP. Harvey has great ones. Even better if there's no chamfer callout you can use a single point threading tool and use that for thread milling
If you do a common feature all the time, maybe look at ordering form tools to that desired shape
Another vote for the mill/drill. Chamfering, spot drilling, side milling (plate type work where you have room to put the angle below the part).
I've got a small Haas with 20 tools and a mill/drill saves multiple spots.
Another tip (depending on the work you do)... I keep a standard load of tools in the machine and use them whenever possible. My 1/2" Endmill is my workhorse it's extremely rare that I setup something larger. The time I loose not having the optimal tool, I more than save not having to setup & qualify multiple new tools.
Leatherman Wave, if you can find one. Perfect for me to do daily maintenance and inspections. More complex inspections, maintenance, etc, normally require special tools, but the Wave is the best at simple, daily tasks.
Honestly I have done so much with mine, even down to using it for diy jobs in the house despite having ‘proper’ tools in the garage. Never leave home without it
How about a modular toolholder?
[https://www.ingersoll-imc.com/product/category/top-on?filters.familyName=Top-On](https://www.ingersoll-imc.com/product/category/top-on?filters.familyName=Top-On)
One base fits many heads, across many brands.
1/16 ball end mill for engraving and deburr.
1/2 inch basset end mill with a .06 rad that works for milling facing, ramping, and occasionally deburring. One of my favorites.
A solid through tool indexable facemill is invaluable in my opinion. Best roughing tool around, especially in non ferrous. Change the inserts for different materials, find one with an angled edge and you can chamfer too.
Single point threadmills. Obviously its not really multipurpose but i can do a range of threads in hard materials without having 8 different taps in the machine.
What kind of work are you doing? Mill/Drill comes immediately to mind if you want to drill shitty holes, leaves large burrs on your chamfering operations, and have a ton of deflection and clearance issues side-milling lol
3 flute end mills. Milling obviously, lots of times I don’t even load drills to run a job I just helix mill everything. Granted most of the stuff I run is pretty thin.
I find a .5" bullnose endmill, 1.25" LOC, relieved 1" beyond that comes in quite handy for roughing and finishing those long walls where either you can't get a bigger tool, don't have the power for a bigger tool, or cost of said bigger tool is a concern.
After many tool changes because engineers don’t understand the why we hate 3 converging boxe, and there inability to use ASME standards for clearance holes. No multitool exist that will save you more then just understanding tool pathing. That is unless you’re a 6 tool umbrella. That’s just ass.
I’ve run a 12 holder robo-drill for a while. Keeping your standard finishred, finisher and probe, in there is non debatable. That leaves me with 9.
I then use slots for my
3/8 carbide drill mill used for chamfering.
1/2 hss spot drill
4.2mm hss jopper (metric company)
5mm hss jopper
M5 pipe tap
M6 pipe tap
6mm carbide end mill.
Last two spots get used for special taps or larger/ smaller/ relieved endmills.
The 5mm drill and 6mm endmill do a lot of the heavy working for hole making; drilling and then opening up, leaves a far better finish aswell.
So no, in my experience no multi tools truly exist. But god damnit if I won’t tool path a few extra minutes to resist a tool change.
My custom bastard file. The top end of the file is ground to a dull point to be used as a pry bar. The end of the tang sticks out the end of the handle if I needed a punch of sorts. The tang is also ground down to operate as a flathead screwdriver/wee pry bar.
Also, it files
LOL these comments. To stay on topic, Ingersoll has a line of indexable spotting drills that I love as I use them to spot HSS drills, Break the edge after the hole is drilled, chamfer contours AND engrave. I use a slew of different speeds/feeds I apply depending on the operation but I have hundreds of hours on a single insert by now working with aluminum all the way to heat treated 17-4/300 series stainless.
I like to use 3-way caliper as a crescent wrench, you just use the locking screw to hold the jaws in place. Likewise, a micrometer can be used as a c-clamp in a pinch.
I'm just kidding, I'm the quality assurance guy, those are definitely bad ideas for precision measuring tools.
Air pencil grinder. I have used mine to: Slot holes Chamfer edges Engrave part numbers Drive away co-workers who have recently been to the dentist Friction weld plastic Cover my bench in stainless splinters so I know who's been touching my stuff, because they are now trying to borrow my second-most useful tool, my magnifying tweezers...
Wait a minute here, they make MAGNIFYING TWEEZERS? The sheer number of times I could have used those on the teeeeeny tiny needle slivers of 4142 I always somehow shove into my hands is absurd lol. Thanks for the tip!
My 6" scale. Gram for gram you will never get more tool for the weight. Edit : Just realized I misunderstood the question.
I was a 6 inch scale naysayer. I got one to prove how little I need it I was wrong. I bought a leather pen protector that holds it and protects the precision edge. Love my scale
They're so over rated imo
I thought so too
Maybe depends on where u work
What kind of work do you do that you’re constantly using a 6” scale?
Tool and die maker. Fortune 500 company. Some light fabrication. You can get measure to within .01 if you know what you are doing with one.
A six inch scale is THE most versatile tool in any machine shop. It’s a Scale Coffee stirrer Cocaine chopper Pry bar Shim Screwdriver Putty knife Scraper And many others
You’re not a machinist unless you’ve snorted a 6.0” +/-0.005 line of coke off a reference table chopped with a 6” scale
It can be a shim if you're brave enough
I’ve accidentally done that with a lathe chuck, mine has some nice serrations in it now lol.
Oh no. It's poor precision edges! I would never!
Scale is 💯
This 6" scale love makes be unusually relatable.
6” Combination square.
I love my hook scale, I need a nice regular one.
Angle grinder
The amount of times I’ve used one as a pencil sharpener.
Lol I freehand drills on it
It works for tungsten too
Yeah there are few things a flap disc or a grinding wheel won't touch, it's such a powerful yet affordable tool
[there's already a tool for that in your shop](https://youtu.be/yFWAHLYrgO8?si=f96zdJ0DJUs1hAU2)
I’ve done that too. Just with a manual.
Amazing for large-scale foam sculpting.
This was the one when I was a machinist or a welder. LoL
My last boss is a tool. Neither favourite nor multipurpose, but a tool nonetheless.
A good sturdy medium sided flat head screwdriver. It’s a pry bar, a punch, a hammer if you spin it around, a scribe and you can use it as a rudimentary box cutter.
I got this nice German made solid steel flathead with wood handles that I found as a rusty mess in my basement. I took it in to work to clean it up one day and planned on just keeping it at home as some decorative thing, but it's just the right size for so many things around the shop and the solid steel tang means I can really bang it with a hammer without worrying about it breaking or getting torn up
Carbon rod
Employee of the month!!
We have a carbide rod we use to indicate deep drill positions. No joke it's something I'm considering picking up for my personal kit.
I think a lot of people are misunderstanding. The harvey double angle shank cutter is indispensable for top and bottom chamfers and side cutting Drill mill is ok I like to use the corner radius of endmills to chamfer things sometimes Use a drill with thru spindle coolant to rinse things out sometimes
This fella gets it, I was going to suggest the harvey double angle too. If you're just putting an edge break or lead on threads or backside geometry and it's not particularly aesthetic or O.O.T. (in regards to the angle) a single form treadmill is a solid multi-use investment. Surface finish is obviously fine, but obviously not a 45° chamfer.
A shit ton of random shims. Ive turned some into screwdrivers, shimed just about everything, welding spacers, used them as parts for machines, made holes in em and used em as caster plates.
Apprentice.
ITT: a bunch of people who have no idea what you're asking. Answer: drill/mills are great, and if you are an OEM and can play with tolerances, you can use subland drill bits to drill and counterbore in one op for socket head screws. They sell them on mcmaster/msc. There are also combination drill and countersinks from Harvey Endmills are used as drills sometimes. We like to use them offset .001 per side on internal corners then finish the profile Double angle chamfer tools can do top and bottom chamfering in one OP. Harvey has great ones. Even better if there's no chamfer callout you can use a single point threading tool and use that for thread milling If you do a common feature all the time, maybe look at ordering form tools to that desired shape
Another vote for the mill/drill. Chamfering, spot drilling, side milling (plate type work where you have room to put the angle below the part). I've got a small Haas with 20 tools and a mill/drill saves multiple spots. Another tip (depending on the work you do)... I keep a standard load of tools in the machine and use them whenever possible. My 1/2" Endmill is my workhorse it's extremely rare that I setup something larger. The time I loose not having the optimal tool, I more than save not having to setup & qualify multiple new tools.
I love my Nine9 NC spot drill for spotting, engraving, and chamfering. The insert is super tough and lasts a really long time.
Leatherman Wave, if you can find one. Perfect for me to do daily maintenance and inspections. More complex inspections, maintenance, etc, normally require special tools, but the Wave is the best at simple, daily tasks.
Replaced my wave with a titanium charge. Love them both, the charge a little more though.
Honestly I have done so much with mine, even down to using it for diy jobs in the house despite having ‘proper’ tools in the garage. Never leave home without it
Honestly when it comes to something I use for most of my roughing profiling and milling it has to be my 2 inch widia 490.
Disc sander. Works better than a bench grinder for drills and chamfering bars.
Drill mills are great, torque wrench is a must, honestly Handy as a rathet, handy for good, strong setups
I find myself using a spindle sander for an awful lot of things.
How about a modular toolholder? [https://www.ingersoll-imc.com/product/category/top-on?filters.familyName=Top-On](https://www.ingersoll-imc.com/product/category/top-on?filters.familyName=Top-On) One base fits many heads, across many brands.
1/16 ball end mill for engraving and deburr. 1/2 inch basset end mill with a .06 rad that works for milling facing, ramping, and occasionally deburring. One of my favorites.
A solid through tool indexable facemill is invaluable in my opinion. Best roughing tool around, especially in non ferrous. Change the inserts for different materials, find one with an angled edge and you can chamfer too.
Single point threadmills. Obviously its not really multipurpose but i can do a range of threads in hard materials without having 8 different taps in the machine.
My wife
Been trying to find one of them, where'd you get yours? I checked but McMaster doesn't seem to stock them
They're buried deep into the pipe tubing and hoes section
You have to check the back pages
My hands.
What kind of work are you doing? Mill/Drill comes immediately to mind if you want to drill shitty holes, leaves large burrs on your chamfering operations, and have a ton of deflection and clearance issues side-milling lol
Hammer with nail puller or hammer with axe-end an old, old question...
I use a reamer to chamfer holes inside deep pockets
My pocket flashlight. Use it all the time.
Leave the flesh light at home please. 😄 streamlight wedge ftw. Gotta have that light on ya 👍
3 flute end mills. Milling obviously, lots of times I don’t even load drills to run a job I just helix mill everything. Granted most of the stuff I run is pretty thin.
I find a .5" bullnose endmill, 1.25" LOC, relieved 1" beyond that comes in quite handy for roughing and finishing those long walls where either you can't get a bigger tool, don't have the power for a bigger tool, or cost of said bigger tool is a concern.
After many tool changes because engineers don’t understand the why we hate 3 converging boxe, and there inability to use ASME standards for clearance holes. No multitool exist that will save you more then just understanding tool pathing. That is unless you’re a 6 tool umbrella. That’s just ass. I’ve run a 12 holder robo-drill for a while. Keeping your standard finishred, finisher and probe, in there is non debatable. That leaves me with 9. I then use slots for my 3/8 carbide drill mill used for chamfering. 1/2 hss spot drill 4.2mm hss jopper (metric company) 5mm hss jopper M5 pipe tap M6 pipe tap 6mm carbide end mill. Last two spots get used for special taps or larger/ smaller/ relieved endmills. The 5mm drill and 6mm endmill do a lot of the heavy working for hole making; drilling and then opening up, leaves a far better finish aswell. So no, in my experience no multi tools truly exist. But god damnit if I won’t tool path a few extra minutes to resist a tool change.
Straight die grinder with a 3” suicide wheel. Use it with both hands like a welding torch and you’ll be able to see how precise you can be with it.
My custom bastard file. The top end of the file is ground to a dull point to be used as a pry bar. The end of the tang sticks out the end of the handle if I needed a punch of sorts. The tang is also ground down to operate as a flathead screwdriver/wee pry bar. Also, it files
Hammer
My cock!!!!!!
Mole grips
My knife.
LOL these comments. To stay on topic, Ingersoll has a line of indexable spotting drills that I love as I use them to spot HSS drills, Break the edge after the hole is drilled, chamfer contours AND engrave. I use a slew of different speeds/feeds I apply depending on the operation but I have hundreds of hours on a single insert by now working with aluminum all the way to heat treated 17-4/300 series stainless.
Right now, even though I'm still figuring it out in some areas, my adjustable angle live spindle in my DN lathe.
I have one of those in my okuma. Works great!
So far so good. Just waiting on fanuc to come add plane rotation to this machine for a few things I can't do otherwise.
I like to use 3-way caliper as a crescent wrench, you just use the locking screw to hold the jaws in place. Likewise, a micrometer can be used as a c-clamp in a pinch. I'm just kidding, I'm the quality assurance guy, those are definitely bad ideas for precision measuring tools.
Micrometers make a good wrench in a pinch :)