Minimalist toolset? To fit a small car

[Matthew Lau]

Dear MIMF,

I was looking at my toolset, and I realized that a lot of my early purchases were sort of stupid.
For jointing tops, I use a handful of nails, claw hammer, and a plane.
I've moved to Titebond instead of fresh hide glue (Gels too fast in foggy SF).

What would you recommend as a minimalist toolset for an apartment dweller--preferably that can be lugged in a small car?

For me:
Sharp chisel. Sharpening stones.
Hand planes. Rasp/files for neck.
Sharp knives. Some dust control.
Brace and bits. Hand drill
Rubber bands. Nails. Clamps. Trim Router.
Straight edge. Good thickness calipers.
Good alcohol (for varnish, of course). Shellac. Masking tape.

Am I missing anything?

I hope to get a drill press sometime.
If nothing else, it would make bridge making (classicals) and thicknessing much easier

[Craig Bumgarner]

- Vise.
- My "hand drill" would be battery powered.
- Awl
- Wrenches, socket set, allen wrenches
- Specialty tools like nut files, side bending iron if applicable
- Steel measuring rulers
- Hammers
- Spoke shaves
- Saws (I have 5-6 small hand saws, each different, each with a purpose)
- Screwdrivers
- Scrapers
- Sanding blocks

That's all I can think of at the moment, I'm sure there is more, but I wound note that I carry a 80% complete tool kit between three shop locations in a canvas tool bag the size of a 5 gallon plaster bucket. Been doing it for years. I don't carry nearly everything I own, but the tool bag will almost always get the job done.

[Craig Bumgarner]

- pliers, dikes

[Craig Bumgarner]

- compass for scribing & drawing circles
- a decent pencil sharpener isn't missed until you don't have one

[Matthew Lau]

Pliers and dikes?
I just use my mini Leatherman.
Aside from possibly fret wire, what are they used for?

Btw, good call on the compass...I didn't think of it.
I have an old drafting divider from eBay.
As for sharpener, I use mechanical pencils of a knife.

[Bob Hammond]

> A toolbox that becomes a workbench, either freestanding or on a table top, complete with dog holes and a vise<

Clamps, and wedges (a whole pack of door shimming wedges might cost $5 at the orange or blue box stores)
An eggbeater drill (a good 'vintage' one) that never needs a battery charger.
A coping saw and assortment of blades, plus a birdsmouth cutting board.

Hmm, nails for jointing tops? Do you use them for stops while planing the joint? Same for gluing?

[Bob Hammond]

Hmm, for ideas, look at H.O. Studley's toolchest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di_OEdq5I-M

http://www.finewoodworking.com/woodwork ... chest.aspx

[Bob Francis]

Frank had a demo of his traveling repair box on frets dot com.
Included gelatin as a hot glue substitute.

[Matthew Lau]

I use the nails as stops.

First, I joint the soundboards.
Then, I plane a slight taper.
I lay out the top together and nail at the periphery of the edge.
Down goes wax/parchment paper.
Thin bead of glue between the plates.
The plates are hammered to tighten the joint.

This is the most foolproof and flexible system that I tried.
I learned it from Randy Angella.

[Matthew Lau]

http://myplace.frontier.com/~nostberg/c ... /step3.htm

Neil Ostberg explains it really well.

[Bob Hammond]

I see. That method accommodates irregular shapes well.

I do a similar thing with wedges and a workboard for this and thicker items The workboard is rectangular, and has 1x2 fences glued & screwed on two edges at a 90d angle. The soundboard (or other item) is laid against the fence(s). Then I screw down wooden buttons (or cams), on the other side of the soundboard, and push in a wedge to clamp the joint.

Oh, and if you go to Google books and search through back issues of Popular Mechanics for 'tool chest', you'll find some examples that might interest you. I think I will build a portable tool chest/bench too, because I might be traveling on weekends to visit my family. If I come up with an interesting design I'll let you know.

[Clay Schaeffer]

F or a portable, car tote-able workbench you might consider a workmate:
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-WM42 ... B0000224R9

A small vise that clamps onto a table edge might also be nice to have for working on nuts,saddles, bridges, and other small parts.

My problem is an over abundance of tools. I have to root around in the tool boxes to find the one I think I need.

[Bob Hammond]

Clay, I have a matched pair of hefty old-school Workmates. One that I bought new, and the second for $20 at a garage sale. They're better than any pair of sawhorses for many jobs, big or small, and store easily.

But I think we're talking 'small' here - a toolkit that is about the size of a medium suitcase that can be carried in one hand. I'm thinking about 18 x 24 x 6 inches in 'transport mode', and that can be set up for work. This might require some joinery skills, but heck, I think that if a guy can build a guitar then he should be able to make a decent travel kit.

[Clay Schaeffer]

One handy thing about the workmate is that a center board could be fabricated to turn it into a small router table or table saw (using a skill saw) or an upside down mounted jig saw.

I look forward to seeing what you come up with,Bob. I always enjoy seeing your posts where you are thinking "Outside of the Box".

[Bob Hammond]

Here's an idea of what I might do for a toolchest that converts to a bench. The dimensions are nominal, and made from 9mm baltic birch plywood to save weight. It consists of top box/lid which will become the benchtop when it is set up. It will cover the 5-6 boxes (nominal ~30"L x 4"W x 6" D), which will hold tools and act as legs or as a till. When in transport, the top covers the till/legs, and a pipe (for a pipe clamp vise) passes through all to lock them together. A screw will pass through top & pipe to retain the pipe during transport.

For setting up. the pipe would be extracted, and top lifted away. Four boxes will be stood up vertically and bolted into the corners of the top to act as legs. The leg boxes could be subdivided and fitted with sliding lids that run in grooves along the sides to provide storage. A 5th box could be hung on the side of the top as a till. It might be better to eliminate the 6th box, and instead place internal apron braces to support the middle of the top. Also, some stretchers that join the legs near the ground would probably be necessary and could be nested in a box. The pipe would be fitted with pipe clamp head, and would be perforated every few inches so that a bolt could be dropped through the top to form an adjustable vise.

I think this thing could hold all the tools and supplies for a weekend.

[Bob Hammond]

Matthew, Clay, the sketch above is just an initial notion. If it's not necessary that the toolchest can be transformed into a freestanding workbench, i.e. it will be used on 30" high table, then it could be scaled down and simplified substantially, say to 18" x 24" x 6". But I like the idea of an organized box for the tools & supplies, and a work surface that would be at 36" height.

[Bob Hammond]

I was visiting my brother and talking about the 'traveling toolkit' concept, and he rummaged around in the basement and gave me an original Zyliss vise kit from the early '70s. Many woodworkers think of this as a gizmo tool, but after using it for a bit, I'd say that that many luthiers might find this a very useful tool for mobile or moderate work. It's a clever design and the parts are high quality. It's not going to replace your Emmert Turtleback vise, but if you take the time to learn about it, I think you might find it useful.

http://workingbyhand.wordpress.com/tag/clamp-zyliss/

[Bob Hammond]

Go over to lumberjocks.com and search for Milkman's Workbench

[Matthew Lau]

Thanks for the tips.

I've been over my head with buying a dental practice, so I haven't had a time to breathe...much less build stuff.

Currently, I'm using a Blum workbench. It does everything I need, and it's portable too.

I will continue to minimize my toolset and up the quality.
If there's something nice, I'll post it up here.