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Thread: spending $500

  1. #1
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    Default spending $500

    So you have $500 given to you to spend on "shed stuff"... what would you buy?

    in my case I already have decent arc welder, a few vices, basic tools, and a few special tools.
    Being a general "handyman" I don't have a particular set of "niche" tools, so I'm leaning towards shed storage (toolboxes, shelving, etc) or decent workbench materials.

    what would you buy - and why?

    if it makes the scenario easier - the budget can go up to $600 AUD, but I'm looking for a view which may trigger my grey cells out of the default solution.

    thanks,
    Des

  2. #2
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    I would buy a metal cutting Bandsaw. I Have no idea how I did fabrication without it.
    BETTER TO HAVE TOOLS YOU DON'T NEED THAN TO NEED TOOLS YOU DON'T HAVE

    Andre

  3. #3
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    Definitely an 18v cordless drill + driver set, at least. There are lots of extra skins depending on the brand - angle grinder, circular saw, multi tool, recip saw, jig saw, sander......


    -russ

  4. #4
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    Hear Hear a must in any shed.
    I have been collecting the Ryobi 18+ gear for a few years and could not do without my cordless tools.

    Cheers Ian

  5. #5
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    +3 for 18V. Had Ryobi and still do, but collecting AEG now.
    Nev.

  6. #6
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    Drill press, band saw or cut off saw.

  7. #7
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    If you are intent on setting up good storage I would go for a decent metal cabinet with heaps of thinnish drawers.

    I have a 6 drawer map cabinet which I rate as my best/ most efficient shed storage.

    Measurement gear
    Drswer1.jpg

    Sockets and spanners and various mechanical kits
    Drawer3.jpg

    Tapes/dies/spare bits and collets
    Drswer4.jpg

    Metrics and other fasteners - my young bloke calls it Dad's Bunnings drawer.
    Many of the screws nuts and bolts are reclaimed from old machines etc
    I know where everything is without any labels.
    Drswer5.jpg

    Tool steel, imperials and odds and sods
    Drawer6.jpg

    There's another drawer full of crap that I need to sort out.

  8. #8
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    A bench grinder with a linisher attachment. My god is it handy for a range of things - quickly knocking a burr off some steel, shaping steel, giving a quick and pretty decent edge to a knife, same deal with timber.
    Add on a scotchbrite belt or two and you get some quick & easy polishing ability for metals.
    Also, a wire wheel, so darn handy for knocking rust off a something.
    That'll end you up at a pinch above the $500 mark, but I have to say, I'd do it again at the drop of a hat!

  9. #9
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    First off, $500 is not going to buy much so you'll probably need to buy second hand. As far as storage is concerned I'd be putting together a self designed and made storage system. My preference would be wooden draws, simply because they can be made cheaply and more importantly they can be oiled to keep rust at bay. Looking at tools, that would depend entirely on what type work you do. Things like bandsaws, pedestal drills, rechargeable drills, belt grinders, metal benders, lathes and so on are indispensable to me but, my requirements will be different for yours. Unfortunately, $500 isn't going to go far so you need to sit down and work out what is going to be of most help in your endeavours. Good luck.

  10. #10
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    Because you're talking about shed storage, I'd probably go to a place like Stratco and look at their metal cabinets, from memory around the $190 mark. Have 3 metal cabinets and they help keep the dust off stuff also. Keep an eye on the junk mail flyers, sometimes other places have them on special too.
    Don't know if you have a Cheap as Chips that way, but I picked up a couple of them for $120 each.
    To grow old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by BobL View Post
    I have a 6 drawer map cabinet which I rate as my best/ most efficient shed storage.
    Totally agree on some good storage, no point in having all the tools in the world if you can't find them

    My only problem with Map drawers are that there is a lot of the drawer you don't get access to when opening them.
    I have a set that I got at an auction a while ago and recently ended up making some removable trays from some scrap I had in the wood rack. You remove the middle tray and can then slide out the back tray, means I can get a lot better use of the full space
    20171008_215149.jpg

    I'm one drawer down, still need to do the rest...

    Other then generic storage we really need to know what kinda work you are doing, a horizontal bandsaw is great if your doing heaps of fab where you need to cut up stock, most of my projects start with putting something in the bandsaw to cut it to size. This includes if next step is mill, lathe or welder.
    A belt linisher / grinder is great for general fab, deburing and some metal removal, in a pinch you can get most of this work with an angle grinder, still nice to have tho.

    If your a handyman / Mr Fixit do you have all the general tools ? My interest is metal work and for years all I had for wood working was a handsaw. I picked up a sliding mitre saw and a table saw and have been surprised with home much then get used. Generally not too expensive either.

  12. #12
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    Vertical bandsaw, but will need to be secondhand. After I bought one I kept using it for all sorts of things. Flick it on and go. Real quick. The latest use for it has been polystyrene foam 65mm thick to insulate my hot water tank.

    Dean

  13. #13
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    You have a dilemma. Usually, you identify a need for something and then find the money to buy it. However, you have been given a some of money (birthday, gift.. etc) and you now have to find a way to spend it by getting most bang for your buck! Not always easy.

    Spending it on storage may seem a bit "boring" but it's probably money well spent. Spent wisely, $600 will set you up with some nice storage solutions. Of course, you could spent it one a nice cordless drill, bandsaw, etc. etc.

    Cheers,

    Simon
    Girl, I don't wanna know about your mild-mannered alter ego or anything like that." I mean, you tell me you're, uh, super-mega-ultra-lightning babe? That's all right with me. I'm good. I'm good.

  14. #14
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    Simon,

    this is exactly my dilemma - coupled with the time constraint of an expiry code on the card....

    FWIW
    I have some cordless tools (thank you masters closing sale)
    I have a RAS I am doing up
    I have a cutoff saw and several angle grinders
    my buzz boxes meet my current welding needs

    I've lived so long "counting pennies" that I have adequate tools which I then embellish to do what I need.

    Thank you everyone for your responses, and the reassurance that I'm not alone in this type of thinking.

    Des

    Quote Originally Posted by simonl View Post
    You have a dilemma. Usually, you identify a need for something and then find the money to buy it. However, you have been given a some of money (birthday, gift.. etc) and you now have to find a way to spend it by getting most bang for your buck! Not always easy.

    Spending it on storage may seem a bit "boring" but it's probably money well spent. Spent wisely, $600 will set you up with some nice storage solutions. Of course, you could spent it one a nice cordless drill, bandsaw, etc. etc.

    Cheers,

    Simon

  15. #15
    BobL is offline Member: Blue and white apron brigade
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    Quote Originally Posted by MasterSpoon View Post
    My only problem with Map drawers are that there is a lot of the drawer you don't get access to when opening them.
    I have a set that I got at an auction a while ago and recently ended up making some removable trays from some scrap I had in the wood rack. You remove the middle tray and can then slide out the back tray, means I can get a lot better use of the full space.
    Yeah I do that as well, cutlery draw trays are useful for that sort of thing. I usually also store kits/boxes that identify themselves (e.g. "Green plastic box" is a hole punch set) at the back of the drawer.

    I picked up a sliding mitre saw and a table saw and have been surprised with home much then get used. Generally not too expensive either.
    I use my table saw with the negative raked blade to cut Al probably more than I do for wood.

    Recently I cleaned out and converted my old small study to a small electronics workshop area. The study was full of old books, paper and old computers and computer parts, dating back to early 2013 when I retired. Although I chucked out 6 wheelie bins of paper from my work office, and disposed of 6 boxes of books, I still took a van load of stuff home and just dumped it into my study. When SWMBO retired she brought home 20 cardboard boxes of crap and put them in the lunge room. Earlier this year she finally got around to sorting them out (got rid of 90% of the contents) and set up the ounce as a draft room.

    I already had half a dozen stacks of small plastic drawers full of electronics components and have kept some of these but I really wanted was more shallow drawer storage.
    The underneath of the large built in study desk contains lots of cupboard space but I didn't want to be getting down on hands and knees every time I needed a component or tool.
    I also wanted to keep in SWMBO's good books by making sure any storage fits under the desk - she likes things to look tidy although does not always practice what she preaches.
    It's funny how tools and machinery get frowned on, but I can spend whatever it takes to keep things tidy.

    The gap under the desk was 700mm high so too low for most large tool cabinets, and most of the others with all shallow drawers were on the small side.
    The other thing that annoyed was the wheels were often large and consumed a lot of vertical space.

    In the end I settled on two x 3 drawer Sidchrome cabinets (on on top of the other) as shown in the pics below.
    I added my own much smaller wheels and it also provides useful temporary working surface when out from under the desk.

    Storage1.jpg

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