The best model railroad tool you own?

[JMaurer1]

Stealing part from another post:

Sharp Xacto knives, sharp jewelers files, a lighted Optivisor (with the bonus magnifier flip down), a pin vise and micro drills, locking tweezers, and a tweezers sprue cutter.

Not that I wouldn't like to have lots of those other fancy tools, I just can't justify the expense. All of the tools I've listed would cost less than $100 total (approx).

[Roger Holmes]

Xuron flush cutting railcutters greatly improved my track laying.  They do double duty as sprue cutters and wire strippers.  I currently have three pairs with the newest being reserved for railcutting.  As they get a bit chewed up I pass them down to the other duties.

Runner-up for creating the biggest improvement in model building was when I started buying high quality ultrafine paint brushes.

Most used tool is everybody's favorite #11 X-Acto blade.

[railnerd]

My most useful tool would be my X3209 X-ACTO knife:



I cannot live without my Xuron 2175B flush cutters"



My "best" tool is the Knew Concepts 3" Fret Saw... I use it for cutting gaps in turnouts.

[timwatson]

Thats a very cool xacto - agreed with the flush cutters of some sort. Those I think are necessary.

[lock4244]

For the modeling that I do, I find my pin vises to be indispensable.

[primavw]

My optivisor, no question.

Ed

This... all day everyday.

[peteski]

DKS and Lou - thanks for the tips on the alternate X-acto blades.

I actually have so many tools that I often forget what I have and use another tool (not as well suited to for the task) instead. 

I also have multiple types of knives (including the very useful X3209 mentioned here). To add to the list is the set of glue applicators I made from sawing needles. And of course Micro-Brushes.

[djconway]

Well there's the articulated arm light with 4x magnifier.
The eyes aren't what they once were. (maybe in N scale that's not such a bad thing )

[DKS]

For the basic, core tools I have on hand (and recommend to others when asked), I published this a few years back: http://jamesriverbranch.net/clinic_5.htm

A few random notes...

I see Optivisors mentioned frequently. But they induce too much eyestrain and give me a roaring headache, so I rely on cheap reading glasses from the drug store. They provide just the right amount of magnification, add no weight to my head, and allow me to look over or under them for magnification-free views.

For some tools, I've found the maxim "you get what you pay for" to hold quite true. It wasn't until I spent a small fortune on a pair of flush cutters that I found one that actually worked properly. Xurons and almost every other brand I've tried either leave too much flash, or the jaws are not perfectly parallel, creating a stepped cut. My preferred flush cutters are Aven 10425F high-precision cutters, and I must say I do not regret spending the money on them. I still have a fistful of other cutters I use for less-precise work, and save these for when I need perfect cuts.

I think an overlooked tool is a good light source. Very hard to work without good, strong illumination.

A jeweler's saw is foreign to some modelers, but it's a very handy tool--like a razor saw on steroids. The one I have was given to me by my father, who used it (among other things) to slice dimes in half--edgewise.

My latest favorite tool: 4-way buffing sticks (nail files).

[Andrew Hutchinson]

Just another vote for the lathe. I use one 7 days a week so I'd say they're fairly useful. Some of that work is actual round or straight stuff for a model but a lot of it is support work for other operations around the shop. Gauges and cutters and circular form tools are some examples of the latter. Here is a shot of  a special cutter and a run of the mill slot drill.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/32922165@N06/14651527457/

 The slot drill cuts the slot and the special cuts a pair of slots that form a horn block in steamy talk or in my case a hidden bearing slot for a diesel loco truck which does the same job. Another example of the lathe's utility would be last night when I needed a .124" reamer for some dowel pins in a bending die. Now I should already have one (they're one of the most common sizes) but I don't and the store last closed on Friday at 5PM so it wasn't a hard decision to skim some drill rod in an 8mm type collet and file a cutting edge on it. I did and it worked, allowing the .1255" pins to be pressed into one side of the die.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/32922165@N06/14838459875/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/32922165@N06/14651297998/

Obviously the work shown is done on a mill but the critical operations all owe the lathe in some way.

Here's more lathework for a cavity I am trying to mill:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/32922165@N06/14837821252/

This is a cutter before it has a cutting edge. It is eccentric to the shank to give clearance and allow the cut to take place. I tried milling the cutting egde on its predecessor with a small end mill  but that left a lot of clean up to be done. A better bet is likely to mill the edge first and then cut the form very slowly. In the mean time I'm working out how to make a very small copper lap to impart a good finished cutting edge. Hopefully it will work out one way or another because I don't know how to cut the cavity outside of perhaps burning it and that's not a real option either as I don't have EDM capability.

In any event the lathe does most of the heavy lifting in my shop. Behind that is probably a hacksaw, bandsaw, coarse bastard file, etc and of course a decent mic, digi caliper and ruler. Sharpies see a lot of use as well.

Andrew Hutchinson

[peteski]

I picked through my messy workbench to see how many knifes were there, and here are the ones I found.



The yellow blade is actually made from ceramics.  Someone made these decades ago and I bought few to try them out.  I wasn't very impressed.

As for tweezers (another very useful tool), I made a holder.



I guess I'm a tool whore.    But this is over 30 years of me accumulating tools.

DKS, I agree that those 4-way nail buffing sticks are very handy in our hobby.  As is good lighting.  I have no problems using Optivisor (no headaches) and I couldn't model without using it.  I do also use cheap glasses for those not-so miniature tasks.

[DKS]

Yep, that looks a lot like my collection.

[peteski]

I also agree with DKS that Xuron cutters are on the low end spectrum of cutters. I do have few pairs and use them for some heavier cutting. But for precise cutting I use Lindstrom cutters.  They are very expensive but they are also very precise (and have adjustable pivot). Lindstrom even offers resharpening service.  I discovered these while working as a repair tech in a computer company. We used those to trim component leads and I realized then just how much better these are than the other brands.

http://www.lindstromtools.us/

[Roger Holmes]

A jeweler's saw is foreign to some modelers, but it's a very handy tool--like a razor saw on steroids. The one I have was given to me by my father, who used it (among other things) to slice dimes in half--edgewise

Proving once again that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree

[LV LOU]

 Here's one I use quit a bit,a mini tablesaw I scratchbuilt..Actually,this is an old pic.Now,it has an extension piece on the left side and the front,so the table is bigger.The way it is in the pic,it's about 9' X 8'.Right now,it also has a custom base that has 24 batteries built into it for power,totally self contained,and it has a custom built vacuum system to suck up the dust..I even made the vacuum out of a baby formula container,LOL!!