Thread: Tools needed for an apprentice

well i started work this week. and today i bought a sidchrome socket set at an auction

Welder,

Good for you. Did you get your tools for trade? Keep your receipts for tax time. Not everyone will agree, but I engraved my name on my tools for security's sake.

Ben.

Originally Posted by welder

well i started work this week. and today i bought a sidchrome socket set at an auction

Have they asked you to fetch the left handed screwdriver yet

nope i learnt how to do some cylindrical grinding. and was suprised when they let me machine some plastic flanges. all the other apprentices that i talked to at tafe are not even allowed near machines except for cleaning them.

Originally Posted by welder

nope i learnt how to do some cylindrical grinding. and was suprised when they let me machine some plastic flanges. all the other apprentices that i talked to at tafe are not even allowed near machines except for cleaning them.

That is often the case (in many trades), so if you're at a workshop that allows you to do actual work, definitely stick it out with them. You'll find yourself a long way ahead of your fellow apprentices in a couple of years. :2thumbsup:

okay does anyone know where to get cheaper measuring gear i go a quote $430 for a coolant proof 200mm mitutoyo digital caliper and $922 for an 0-150 mm mitutoyo micrometer set.

Ebay

I second the "buy the best you can" philosophy. I still have much of the stuff I got when I started my apprenticeship in 1964, (much of the stuff, because I didn't mark it all, and some toerag nicked the unmarked stuff!!)
One of the wisest things Dad said was "...buy cheap, buy twice"
Best of luck, an apprenticeship is hard work, but it will stay with you for a lifetime.
cheers
Bill

Originally Posted by .RC.

Years ago I bought a chinese 3/4 drive socket set, I think they were $150 at the time.... The comparable Sidchrome at that stage was $1000...

Quite surprisingly the sockets are tougher then I expected..... I have only snapped the 1 1/8 one, put many S bends in the breaker bar and we broke the ratchet, all courtesy of long pieces of pipe..But the sockets are much tougher then I expected....

My opinion is you buy good quality for the most used tools and cheap for the ones you do not use much...

Koken is a good japanese brand not yet mentioned...

Hi i totally agree rc. Koken impact sockets particularly the in hex ones are first rate

Originally Posted by welder

okay does anyone know where to get cheaper measuring gear i go a quote $430 for a coolant proof 200mm mitutoyo digital caliper and $922 for an 0-150 mm mitutoyo micrometer set.

Do a search here on buying Mitutoyo from Singapore, there was a thread running a year or so ago, maybe less, on a member who bought some Mititoyo when passing through. I almost always buy my goods overseas and expect to pay about 50% of the local gouge. Things for business are particularly overpriced in Oz. Why? ... because they can.

I second the "buy the best you can" philosophy. I still have much of the stuff I got when I started my apprenticeship in 1964, (much of the stuff, because I didn't mark it all, and some toerag nicked the unmarked stuff!!)
One of the wisest things Dad said was "...buy cheap, buy twice"
Best of luck, an apprenticeship is hard work, but it will stay with you for a lifetime.
cheers
Bill

I'll, um, "third" that. I have a good collection of crap tools, don't get me wrong, however if it's something I will use other than just once or twice I buy the best that I can and then look after them.

A few reasons, there are plenty more:
1) If they're good (as opposed to simply expensive), the tools will work precisely as they should. "Good" doesn't mean the most expensive, and the most expensive doesn't mean the best. Beware of marketing hype.
2) They've normally been designed as opposed to simply copied by a company who don't understand why something is made the way it is, and invariably copy them slightly wrong
3) It encourages me to look after the tools because I know there's a lot of my hard earned invested in them. That in itself makes them last even longer/stay accurate longer/etc
4) They don't let me down at a critical time, costing time, money and perhaps wrecking the piece I'm working on in the process (eg cheap crappy taps breaking)
5) The intrinsic satisfaction of using something that's "good" as opposed to spending one's life surrounded by crap. I don't believe in reincarnation so reckon I may as well try to make the most of this life, and life is too short to aim low!
6) Finally, tools don't make the craftsman, but just like surrounding yourself with people who aim for perfection, if you use good products yourself you're inspired to try just that little bit harder for a better result

I still have all of my tools from my apprenticeship, and that was (groan) almost 30 years ago! When I look at a tradesman one of the first things I do is look at his tools and the way he (not being sexist, but it's invariably "he") is dressed. If the guy is scruffy looking, with crap, poorly maintained tools it's been my experience that the work he produces maintains that standard. Believe me I'm not the only one to stereotype like that!

My 2 cents worth anyway.

Pete

/note to self: dress well when when meeting Pete...

Damn. I failed the "Pete dress test" - although he was wearing lycra at the time - maybe that lets me off.

Michael

Damn. I failed the "Pete dress test" - although he was wearing lycra at the time - maybe that lets me off.

Michael

Yes I figured that would attract some comments

Having said that I very much stand by the comment. I'm not talking about getting dressed in a Giorgio Armani suit to go to work, but if the guy can't be bothered having a shower every few days, can't be bothered getting a haircut every few months, and can't be bothered washing his clothes every so often, then I've found he's at least consistent!

For the record of others here, when I arrived at Michael's house he was dressed "normally", has a very neat workshop with good quality tools that are clearly very well maintained, and his modesty here on the forum belies the exceptional work he produces.

Pete

PS This is coming from a guy who is a messy worker, and gets around in scruffy jeans/shorts typically covered with various oil/paint/blood stains, but I still have nice tools and look after them

"... the exceptional work he produces."

I'll accept "produces serviceable work" but it's not exceptional

Michael
(Just glad I wasn't wearing my chicken suit that day)