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Old 05-08-2014, 21:49   #1
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Tool Recommendations

Hello Cruisers,

Soon I will be rejuvenating the interior of our Swanson. She has a reasonably nice fitout, from the early 80's, some nice timber, a good galley and dining accommodation. However I had to remove some shelving to deal with leaks and water damage, and I also removed a simply enormous pair of speakers from above the port side settee, so there are some gaps to fill. The somewhat dated shelving with tinted Perspex on the starboard side is also in my sites, if I do a good enough job on the port side. The deckhouse could do with a few shelves and a laminated arch for strength, it would be lovely to do these in timber. Timber frames around the deckhouse windows are also on my wishlist.

My design palette is a bit hard to define as the Swansons were mostly home fitouts, so there's no absolute reference points. For inspiration I have found the interiors of late 80s Westerly yachts rather nice, and also the Pearson seems to have a good clean interior look and feel. I have collected a series of photos of the interiors of these yachts and others to help me.

Now, the point of my posting. Over the last week I helped a friend who is building a house, and while helping him I was introduced to a tool I have never used before, called an impact driver. Not particularly relevant to anything I am doing now, but I realised there are tools out there that are very good for some jobs which I have never heard of before. I would consider myself a pretty decent carpenter/cabinet maker, but I am limited by the fact that I have done neither professionally, so may well be a terribly uninformed weekend warrior.

So before I start this fitout, I would love to know which tools you have found useful in this sort of work. I don't want to go on some kind of Bunnings (like Home Depot) buying frenzy, but it would be a shame if there was some simple tool that really helps with this sort of work.

I have what I would consider the essentials, a very good quality mitre saw, power planer, drills, router, plenty of good quality hand woodworking tools also... but what about the unusual stuff. Never had a thicknesser, for instance, don't know if they would help with this job. My clamp collection is pretty ordinary, do speed clamps help or hinder...?

I know it is a nebulous question, but any suggestions that might help would be gratefully accepted.

Matt
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Old 06-08-2014, 00:04   #2
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Re: Tool recommendations

Impact drivers are great tools but probably a bit too willing for cabinet work. I have one, but tend to keep it away from anything fine. I think a small thicknesser and a router table would be very useful, although the former more useful than the latter. You can pick up each of them second hand for a few hundred and they are handy tackle. Apart from that, you mentioned all the necessaries. Clamps are good. You can never have too many clamps.
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Old 06-08-2014, 00:09   #3
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Re: Tool recommendations

The Ryobi cordless stuff that Bunnings sells is pretty good stuff. We've got the rattle gun, drill, vacuum (lives on the boat, that one), circular saw, angle grinder, random orbital sander and a couple of lights. On the wishlist is the jigsaw and trim router. Other cordless tools are a 10.8 volt drill, rattle gun, demolition saw and multi tool. The 10.8 V is a perfect size for boat work. As for cutting straight line panels, I'm inclined to get them cut at the store (like Bunnings) that will precut them to size for you as it is near on impossible to get perfectly straight cuts with guided hand tools for us regular handymen.

Anyway, back on subject. A big part of redoing the wood work on the boat is removing the old, replicating it and putting it back together again. With this in mind, I would also include in a wish list as useful:

Rattle gun, demolition saw, angle grinder (with flap disk), multi tool, hole saws, 1 m rule, tape measures, lot's of clamps (quick clamps, G-clamps and carpenter's clamps), engineering squares, saw horses (although I like to substitute these with aluminium step platforms as they are more versatile), auto centre punch, those other punches whose name escapes me for marking the centre of a hole, cold chisel and jimmy bar. There's also that gadget that looks like a comb that is used for copying a contour, but I have found the method that uses a drawing compass to be more effective for large panels.

Now one idea that is super simple that I often use when working on the boat is to make drill guides out of, say 70 x 35 mm timber offcuts. I drill a few covering all the size holes I'm likely to need in my drill press at home. These offcuts are then used as guides to drill holes with a hand drill into flat material that are pretty much perpendicular to the surface. Very handy especially when drilling through thick stuff and being hopeless at holding the drill at the right angle (pardon the pun).
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Old 06-08-2014, 00:21   #4
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Re: Tool recommendations

I think when I referred to the impact driver I should have been calling it a rattle gun. They are small and light and powerful. Great for demolition work.
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Old 06-08-2014, 00:36   #5
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Re: Tool recommendations

First, Reefmagnet, thank you, a great list and I will read, re-read, and read again.

Can we clarify the whole rattle-gun thing though?

What I used last weekend was called an impact driver, and looks like a slightly shortened drill. It spins at around 600 rpm, and when you use it to drive in screws or self tapping bolts, it starts by spinning freely and smoothly, then as the resistance builds it then begins to chatter, pretty noisily, and becomes much like the air driven tools they sometimes (incorrectly) use to put wheels on cars.

I can't see the use of it on the boat though, as Cherp suggests, a bit too aggressive for cabinet work.

Is that what are we all talking about?

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Old 06-08-2014, 00:46   #6
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Re: Tool recommendations

Fein multitool, good jigsaw, Dremel with flex drive, laminate trimmer - a smaller router that can be used in one hand, orbital sander, multiple cordless drills.
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Old 06-08-2014, 00:47   #7
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Re: Tool recommendations

Yes the impact driver is a.k.a. a rattle gun. An 18 V impact driver is way too powerful for boat work, but I rate my 10.8V Bosch unit THE single most useful tool I have ever used for extensive boat maintenance. Funny thing was, it came in a kit and I too thought "This'll be of no use". Was I wrong. These little guys will rattle out the gnarliest of bolts and screws and DO NOT shear bolts or gall philips screws (unless you really give it the gorilla treatment!) on re-assembly. Just wait until you need to undo a couple of dozen bolts or screws, or have to contort in three directions to do up a hose clamp with one of these tools on hand and you too will fall in love! Having said that, the 18V unit I have rarely sees the light of day and the only job on the boat I've ever done with it was to undo rusted engine mount studs - which it failed miserably at, leaving me to resort to the demolition saw and breaker bar.
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Old 06-08-2014, 00:49   #8
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Re: Tool recommendations

My rattle gun is a smallish 18 volt Makita I picked up second hand from a builder. They tend to buy new ones at the end of a tax year. It only takes screw driver bits of various types. It will not take a drill bit. It oscillates at a squillion times per second and it is this action which drives in or extracts the screws. You don't really feel the oscillations in your hand though. The oscillation is a bit like a rattle, so I guess that's why they call it a rattle gun. Still too willing for most cabinet work though.
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Old 06-08-2014, 00:53   #9
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Re: Tool recommendations

Aha. Maybe the 10.8 volt version is less aggressive and therefore useful for things that you can't do with the 18v. I use the 18v a hell of a lot for general work around the house though and love it.
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Old 06-08-2014, 00:58   #10
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Re: Tool recommendations

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Originally Posted by Cherp View Post
Aha. Maybe the 10.8 volt version is less aggressive and therefore useful for things that you can't do with the 18v. I use the 18v a hell of a lot for general work around the house though and love it.
Yes big difference. The 10.8 can be use with more finesse than a regular screwdriver imo.
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Old 06-08-2014, 01:14   #11
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Re: Tool recommendations

Hang on,

There is also a people-powered impact driver, it will accept different bits for different types of screws, and you pound on its other end from the bit, and it delivers jerky thrusts to the embedded screw. The use for it on a boat is to help encourage s/s screws that were not galvanically isolated out of aluminum, or if they're rusted. Often used with concurrent application of heat.

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Old 06-08-2014, 01:32   #12
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Re: Tool recommendations

After rebuilding a whole boat these are my most used tools. Set aside the machine shop.

Cordless drill motor with adjustable clutch. And Philips driving bits (hardened and with serrated tips)

2ea. 5" orbital sanders with hook and loop pad. Prefer 40 & 80 grits

Quality dust masks and a full face respirator. Safety glasses that fit over prescription glasses.

5 gal wet & dry vacuum with a narrow end for the hose.

Variable speed jigsaw. With blades for wood and metal.

A complete sets of drill bits from #80 to 1/2" plus fractional in 1/16th" up to 1-1/4".

Holesaws from 5/8" to 5" for all thruhull sizes and common hose sizes. (Never have enough). With a 3/8" & 1/2" arbors.

3/8" & 1/2" quality variable drill motors.

Extension cords with multiple outlet ends.

Cordless 4" disk grinder with multiple type of disks.

$350 portable metal band saw with 3 different tooth pitch and bees wax.

Portable wood bandsaw with 1/4" blade.

8" portable table saw of good quality. And 7" power hand saw.

Sharp wood chisels 1/2", 3/4" & 1/2".

HD steel chisel and scrapers.

Assortment of hammers from 4oz to 5#. A couple rubber impact hammers too.

Lg and sm vice grips. Long nose pliers. Even very sharp tweezers.

Crescent tool kit with English & metric sockets with multiple screwdriver bits.

Set of English & metric ball end Allen wrenches.

1", 2" & 3" rollock sanding disks w/ multiple grits with 3/8" high speed drill motor.

Assortment of carbide burrs course and fine.

Hacksaws & keyhole saw.

Assortment of E/M threading taps from #6 (4 mm) to 5/8" (16 mm) wit tap handles.

Bench grinder with a stone on one end and a SS wire brush on the other, mounted on a waste high pedestal.

And the list goes on and on. I actually have a 6' x 12' enclosed trailer I haul around with most of my boat tools. I'm sure I missed a bunch above but that's a start?
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Old 06-08-2014, 01:52   #13
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Re: Tool recommendations

things i find useful!

a wet/dry vacum cleaner will keep the dust under control.
extractor fan mounted in a hatch,and good mobile light's
multiple multi plug power extention leads.

use grp/composite cutting blades for your jigsaw if cutting out old fiberglass tabbing,will last 20 times longer than a standard blade.

a counter sinking tool,with ajustable length drill bit in the center, if doing lots of screw pilot holes in battening or panels.

a pump kit if using west system epoxy
electronic scales if using polyester filler or resin.

balcotan,quick setting polyeurathane glue,sets in 5-10 minutes
acetone for clean up.

power planer and belt sander,4" grinder with sanding disc,orbital sander etc
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Old 06-08-2014, 02:32   #14
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Re: Tool recommendations

What the others said

But the three most useful tools I use are:

Clamps - all sorts - you can't have too many of them.
5" (125mm) angle grinder - get professional series (at least Bosch or better)
Cordless drill (with clutch etc), 18 volt - with a couple of big batteries - again, get the best you can afford.

While I have almost all of what others have posted, the 3 items above get by far the most use - don't skimp with quality when you are using them all the time.
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Old 06-08-2014, 02:53   #15
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Re: Tool recommendations

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Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate View Post
Hang on,

There is also a people-powered impact driver, it will accept different bits for different types of screws, and you pound on its other end from the bit, and it delivers jerky thrusts to the embedded screw. The use for it on a boat is to help encourage s/s screws that were not galvanically isolated out of aluminum, or if they're rusted. Often used with concurrent application of heat.

Ann
Ann....these are brilliant. You can get ten dollar ones for the hardware store but they are no good.,the bits just bend when you apply the hammer. However, for around thirty dollars at an engineering supplies store you can get a good one which will do the job well. I went through a couple of cheapos before seeing the light. Excellent for the purpose you describe. Great for stripping a mast of old fittings.
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