Mike White, an instructor at the Franklin Technology Center in Joplin Missouri, shared a set of student plans for a machinists ball peen hammer. While his students typically make the hammer out of metal, Mike decided to make his out of something a bit more striking …

Mike also shared a set of plans for a nifty machinists scribe that nests inside it’s own handle when not in use.

Thanks for sharing your plans with us Mike!

If you’re an instructor like Mike and you’d like to share your student plans with the site, please feel free to submit them using the “Submit Your Plans” tab at the top of the page. I’ll provide a link (and thus free publicity) back to your school or website. Every submission helps this site grow. Thank you for your support!

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Here’s one of those beginner projects that I just love. I’m all about making my own tools, even if they can be purchased for a fraction of what it costs me to make them in terms of man-hours. Why? Because I get a renewed sense of satisfaction every time I reach for a tool that I’ve made. My handmade tools are a constant reminder of how satisfying this hobby can be.

Mike White from the Franklin Technology Center in Joplin Missouri sent in this set of plans for a nifty collapsible scribe. What’s neat about this particular scribe is it’s ability to collapse down and nest inside itself. It reminds me of those hammer/screwdriver combos where the screwdrivers are nested inside the handle of the hammer. However, like many combination tools the ham-driver was never a good hammer or a good screwdriver. It was a mediocre combination of both. But I digress …

This scribe design solves the problem I have with my current $5 scribe – it protects me from getting jabbed with the point when not in use. Sure my $5 scribe came with a protective rubber tip. But I lost it within a few days somewhere in a pile of swarf. With this setup I’ll be able to slip my scribe into my bib overall pocket next to my scale and never poke myself!

My only question for Mike is what method do you recommend to harden the scribe? Keep in mind that people making the scribe may have no experience whatsoever in hardening. So an explanation of the cheapest/easiest/safest technique would probably be best.

Mike also shared plans for a machinists hammer (ball peen style) which I’ll post in a few weeks. Thanks for sharing your plans with us Mike!

If you’re an instructor like Mike and you’d like to share your student plans with the site, please feel free to submit them using the “Submit Your Plans” tab at the top of the page. I’ll provide a link (and thus free publicity) back to your school or website. Every submission helps this site grow. Thank you for your support!

  Scribe_Plans_from_Mike_at_Franklin_Tech.jpg (169.4 KiB, 1,445 hits)
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First, let me say that this list will never be complete. Second, if you asked 10 machinists to put together a list like this, you’d get back 10 different lists. Because of this, my list will be contested by many readers, of that I’m sure. If you think I’ve omitted something, please post a comment. I’m sure this list will continue to grow long after I’ve posted this – but that’s the beauty of the internet.

Keep in mind, this list is intended for the beginner. Someone who has just purchased a shiny new lathe or mill and has no idea what tools they need to buy to go along with it.

I’ll try to list the most important items in each category first. In some cases I’ll provide links to further explanation on some items (like which brands to look for, which size, etc).

Safety Equipment:

• Eye Protection
• Ear Protection
• Steel Toe (or thick leather) shoes with a hard sole (to prevent chips from poking through).
• No Gloves, Jewelery (rings, necklaces, watches, etc), Long Hair, Long Sleeves – nothing that could get caught in moving machinery.
  • If you have long hair, get a hat to tuck it under. “Pony Tails” can still get caught.

Hand Tools:

• Calculator (any cheap scientific that has Sin, Cos, and Tan functions)
• Screwdrivers (#2 Phillips, 4″ Flat)
• Pliers
  • Needle Nose
  • Diagonal Cutting Pliers
  • Channel Lock Pliers
• Hex Keys (metric and fractional sizes)
• Files
  • #2 Smooth Cut Mill Bastard
  • Jewelers Files
  • File Card
• Scribe (carbide tipped)
• Deburring Tools (Noga or Vargus brands are good)
• “Fishtail” (for setting up threading operations)
• Thread Pitch Gage (for measuring threads)

Measuring Equipment

• 6″ Scale (5R or 16R with 100th’s)
• 6″ Caliper (vernier, dial, or digital – buy a cheap Harbor Freight one, if you need better accuracy you should be using a micrometer anyway).
• 1″ Micrometer (vernier – Etalon, Starrett, Browne and Sharp, and Mititoyu are all good brands – buy a good quality used micrometer off of ebay).
• Magnetic (“Mag”) Base (Noga is a good brand)
• Test Indicator (Interapid, Browne and Sharp, or Mititoyu brand)
• Travel Dial Indicator (1″ – buy a cheap one in case you destroy it. Harbor Freight is fine).

Lathe Tool Bits:

• High Speed Steel (HSS) blanks that can be ground to any shape (you’ll need a bench grinder if you plan on grinding your own tools).
• Indexable Inserts
• Carbide Tipped
• Boring Bar

Mill Tool Bits:

• End Mills (assorted sizes to fit your needs)
  • 2 flutes (for soft metals like aluminum)
  • 4 flutes (for harder metals like steel)

Tool Boxes:

• Kobalt/Craftsman (this is the minimum quality tool box you could choose. You’ll soon find that the drawers on these mechanic-style tool boxes are far too large for your small tools. Avoid cheap brands like Husky or Harbor Freight).
• Kennedy (better quality, smaller drawers which is ideal for all the small tools you’ll acquire).
• Gerstner (best quality, but expensive. If you plan on making this a lifelong hobby or profession, consider a good quality wooden tool chest that will help protect your tools from rust).

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