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where to start

  • use a website

    Votes: 4 100.0%
  • use ebay etc

    Votes: 2 50.0%

  • Total voters
    4
For a beginner i wouldn't recommend a micrometer , start of with a set of digital callipers- Why ? Because they can measure outside , inside , steps and depth . Drill bits , try to buy a decent set but if you have never drilled a hole you are going to break drills so i would recommend maybe a set of frost bits or similar price range from bunnings or hare and forbes ( alcock ) brand for now - best settle on what you want now , either metric or inch - just stay away from those really cheap sets on ebay or at the markets !
Taps and dies - don't buy junk - i use sutton, p&n and i have used sets from hare and forbes and lpr and both are fine and you can also just buy what size you need when you need it you don't have to buy a set ! I use the frost brand i bought from bunnings to throw at the neighbours dog when it barks all night as that is all they are good for , they aren't even good enough to use as thread cleaners !
Things like lathes can be a difficult choice , there is budget , available room , what you intend to make with it and the size of the parts etc that all play a part in the decision . Some people get by with a very small lathe like a taig ,sherline or small seig and even the old adept lathe . These micro lathes will fit in a small cupboard and can be carried around easily so you only need a table to sit it on and you are machining in minutes ! The downside is they limit the size of your projects and usually can't cut threads or don't have auto feed . I use a little taig to make very small parts and pcb stand offs for my electronics projects as it is nimble and fast .
So don't think that you need an entire machine shop to get started - there are many many skills to be learned especially with hand tools before you buy machinery ! Measuring , marking out and filing are some , if you need to drill a hole you can get by with a cheap pistol or battery drill - a drill press just makes it easier !
Hi Xd351
Was just breezing through this thread and seem to have stumbled upon a few other Ozzeis ,I to am from Ozz originally but have lived overseas the past 15 years but have a small work room up in Chiang mai were I live with lathe milling machine and various other welding and machining gadgets .My problem up in Chiang mai is I don't have others near by to lean on for advice due to language barriers also laying my hands on some tooling etc at times can be pressing .
Anyway that was just a small rant to say gday.Are you a hobbiest or full time machinist ? It would be good to be able to pick a few brains at times on various ideas as I am a bit green but have knocked an air engine and various bits of tooling and er collet chucks but plan on building an ic engine soon so would be handy to get to know a few more people to gather ideas .
Regards Nat
 
G’day Nat ,
These days purely a hobbyist although i have worked in various machine shops and a few different industries , probably better known as a jack of all trades but a master of none !
If you have any questions just start up a thread with them and ask away , if I don’t know the answer there will be someone on here that will ! Have you decided what engine you are going to build ? One from a set of plans or one of your own design ? You have come to the right place for everything engines !
 
Berit,
In 2003, I was where you are now. This site has some of the best and generous people around and they sure helped me. Even today, I get a lot of tips from Lyle Peterson's videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mrpete222/featured
I went to this company's location in Southern California, Sherline, and can tell you, their products are of the best I've seen for a small home. Expensive but the best. You could probably have a large desk and these would fit.
https://www.sherline.com/
I used this company's products to start my learning of model steam engines.
https://www.pmmodelengines.com/
When you get started and you mess up what you're machining, don't throw it away. Put it somewhere, where you will come across it in the future. I say these are "learning experiences". I have a drawer of them. I'm looking for something and open that drawer and see them. Then I take some time, pick up the botched part and say, "I learned, don't do that again"!!! Trust me, it keeps me refreshed.
Grasshopper
 

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