Thread: Fitter/machinist apprentice tools

You could consider some Fox Wedges,small Podge bars,15" 18" 24" shifters,Off set stillsons,Nut wrench,Flogging spanners,really the list is to numerous,if you tend to purchase machining related it could be hard as the employer would normally provide what you need.

Andre "Welder" would be best qualified to answer this. He has more tools than most of us!

BT

Hi mate i am also an apprentice it really depends on what you have already and whether you are in fitting side in which case look into the tool pipeclay listed or the machining which can be iffy as some employer won't let you use your micrometers.but you might want to look into some quality micrometers and verniers/ calipers.thanks for the comment bob but my tool collection is far from complete

Im in the same boat as you, Second year fitter and turner. I just changed from A CNC jobbing shop to installing water dossers, Its been a great move but most of my gear is for the machining side lol

I have been in the job 3 weeks and I now have 2 cordless drills, 1 cordless hamerdrill (works not mine) and a cordless 5" grinder. These seem to be the most needed tools but I still have a full set of ratcheting spanners and a complete set of 1/2" sockets to get latter on my wish list.

My machining gear isnt sitting idol tho, the boss gets me to do the little machining we do in the shop because im more competent than the welders lol

What Industries do you do work for?

Edit: My vice grips are my best friend and before anyone says I dont use them on bolts!

i work in an industry where we overhaul pumps and machinery, i also do a lot of lathe and mill work with a variety of machining, also i do alot of varied fitters work.

Is this the Industry you feel you will be staying with for a while after you do your time.
Is the machinery and pumps you work on heavy or light (pumps greater than 1ton and machinery +5 ton).
If the employer supplies all the tooling to do this work that a tradesman would not normally provide theres not really much to buy,if on the other hand they expect the tradesmen to supply there own gear then I would suggest you talk to your fellow workers to get an idea of what they have.
There will be special tools that you will more than likely make or buy down the track as the need arises.

yes the pumps are heavy duty most pumps are between 3 to 4 tonne or more, i will most definetly be wanting to stay in this trade for a while, we do a lot of varied work for outside companies as well, also the employer supplies all of the big tooling but we must supply our one small stuff thanks

A big toolbox like this one and fill it up...Bob

thats a beauty. id like 3 of them.

Originally Posted by aametalmaster

A big toolbox like this one and fill it up...Bob

Originally Posted by aametalmaster

A big toolbox like this one and fill it up...Bob

Or this one. That I now have full

hi again. Some thing i that has got me out of trouble over the years is a thread file. I dont use them all that often but when neaded im all ways thankful i have one. A good one inst cheap. you only have to pull it out a few times and there all ready paid for.
aaron

I second a Thread file and a good full set of good quality circlip pliers they really are worth the price. Some good files in odd and various sizes/grades would be good, needle files are a must for every machinist.

Just a question for you and Welder, can you blokes read a bore size with internal spring dividers and transfer the size to a mic? Done that a few times and if you CAN then you dont need bore gauges to often....... Im lazy ill grab a bore gauge every time

no sure about calipers buti have used snap gauges with success.but i have i dial bore gauge which is used sometimes

Calipers are a bit more difficult you need to feel the size of the bore by anchoring one leg and passing the other leg 180deg in and out to "feel" the bore to me it fells like a very light LIGHT scratch..... thats the easy part because the bore surface is hemispheric ......once you have the size you then need to transfer it to the mic that has parallel jaws soooooo the feel is much lighter but the jaws help keep things sort of right yoou biggerst problem is co-sine error

Its a great way to measure internal circlip grove diameters you can feel a size to with in 0.02 and less!