The Farm Workshop. What tools do I need - starting from scratch.

[asy]

The question is:

What tools are ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, and which ones are "Gee that'd be nice" to have on the farm.

So far we have all the little hand tools, so lets assume they're a given. You know, screwdrivers, hammers etc.

I also have a Bench Grinder and most of the little tools, like Drop saw, Drills, Hammer drills, Angle Grinder (4") and we're also taking a Radial Arm saw, nail gun and small compressor down there.

So...  What do we NEED?

I guess a welder would be high on the list (as discussed on another thread).

A wood lathe will be on the list as a 'want' not a 'need' I should imagine...

But what else?

asy

[Larry]

Since the welder (electric?) is already a given I would suggest a chop saw…or maybe a metal cutting band saw.

Acetylene torch outfit would also be high on my list but you could get by with the electric welder.

[sawguy21]

Do you have a set of mechanic's tools, box end wrenches (spanners?), socket sets, pliers and the like? They will be indispensible around machinery. You won't need Proto or Snap-On although they are sure nice but don't waste your money on the cheap imports. A 4"-6" bench vise is mandatory. An electric drive 5hp air compressor with a 60 gallon reservoir is almost a must have too. Don't go too small here. A good axe and a maul would also be useful. Gee, shopping with other people's money is fun.

[DanG]

Wrenches.  Lots of'em, including sockets in both SAE and Metric.  The air compressor is vital, imho, because it enables you to get some air operated tools.  They are cheap, but worth their weight in gold!  Several good heavy duty jacks and plenty of wood blocks are always handy around tractors.  You got two of them beasts, so go get a  greasegun NOW if you don't already have one.

More later.  Gotta go feed animals before it gets too dark.

[woodmills1]

listen to all the previous.  Mechanics tools go used but not of of brands.  Junk metal tools only used for the one time job.  For wood need table saw, jointer, planer and chop or radial arm,  get the lathe and theshaper later.

[DR_Buck]

For the handtools add 3/4 drive socket set.   1/2 inch at minimum.  Working on large equipment necessitates a large set, including a big breaker bar and the matching pipe section. 

I agree with the cutting torch, metal chop saw and welder at the top of the list.  Here's a few other items in no particular order:


Digging bar
chain saw
pick
fence pliers
wire stretcher
pruners
circular saw (battery op)
     or lots of extension cords
generator
crow bar
drill press
screw gun
lots of hammers ( I never have one where I need it)
highlift jack
bolt cutters

[Corley5]

Drill press and a bench grinder and I'd get a set of torches when I picked up the new welder.  Gear pullers are also good things to have around.  You may seldom need them but they sure make life easier when you do  Good pipe wrenches up to 24".  I'd start the set at 8"    An assortment of crowbars, pinch bars etc.  Don't forget cold chisels, center punches and drifts.

[Tom]

Nails, screws, Rope (200' 1/8" poly and 100' 1/2" nylon--larger as you learn), chain, Cold Shuts, Assorted bolts, washers and nuts.   A pile of scrap metal for making things fit. (don't ever throw anything away.) chainsaw.  Keep a spool of twine in each vehicle.

(you can do a lot of building with nails, rough wood and a chainsaw.)

Electric wire from 20 gauge on up 4.  Electric tape.

Post hole diggers, handsaw (bowsaw).

Having a sawmill will provide you with a lot of building material.  plan on using wood for most initial building because it will be available.

Tub of grease and a grease gun. (use it. The world runs on grease)
Several cases of engine oil at least one change per vehicle.
accumulate a set of filters for all vehicles.
At least 10 gallons of hydraulic oil.

4 or 5 inexpensive tarpolins.

buy your work gloves by the gross from a safety type company.  You can usually find them for 1 or 2 dollars a pair. (split leather and canvas)  cotton gloves catch on wood and metal.

A tire repair kit. Patches, plugs, air gauge, portable air bottle.

5 gallon water cooler, cups (travel cups for the tractor)

25 gallon cooler for lunches

a bunch of ammunition boxes of the 30 caliber size for small sets of tools for the tractor or chainsaw or to carry spare parts in the truck.

Hats!!  Don't rely on caps.  Use brimmed hats whether straw or cloth to keep the cancerous rays off of your ears and neck.  Straw is cheap, light and cool.  Buy them 5 or six to each person so that store inventory won't get you out of the habit of wearing them.

Get in the habit of wearing long sleave shirts and sun protection.

Eveyone one on the farm should carry a sharp pocket knife and know how to keep it sharp.  There is no problem with carrying two if you also need a cheap utility knife.

Learn to use them in a safe manner.

Keep first aid kits in close proximity to all work being done.   Own several and keep them current.

Flash lights (electric torches) for each vehicle.

Learn to tie good knots
learn to rig and handle heavy loads

Never reach into something that is moving

Don't spend more than half of what you have in your pocket.

[Riles]

I like that. 25 gallon cooler for lunches.    None of those namby-pamby six-pack sized lunch buckets. How many people ya feedin' there Tom?

[Tom]

..................one. (?)

[badpenny]

  We used to call them "Herman Munster" lunchboxes

[Don_Papenburg]

ONE of the MOST INDISPENSABLE tools is a flat smooth concrete floor.  It makes the other tools work much more efficiantly.

 Drill press
grinder
welder 
Greese gun   Look for a MacNaught  Mini lube or Maxi lube  Maxi lube fits 5galon pail.  I wish I had a maxi lube . I have the Mini  Got it at a farm show back in the early 80s  It is made right there in the land of OZ.

[Stump Jumper]

rust reaper 
the farm doesn't have house yet  so an outhouse is a good tool 

[isawlogs]

  A half a dozen chain holes ,  and maybe a sky hook ,  are things that you will be looking for in the near futur .

[thecfarm]

Ladder,step ladder,sawmill  steel flat shovel.Chains and straps to pull out trucks,cars when they get stuck.Start checking lawnsales and auctions for nuts and bolts.Why don't you just come on by with a note pad.Be alot eaiser. 

[Corley5]

A selection of LogRite tools of course.  I'd start out with a 48" canthook and a 42" hookaroon    Probably oughta have a one of their logscales too

[PineNut]

Don’t forget electric fence wire. It replaces bailing wire for those emergency temporary repairs.

[Don_Papenburg]

Hey Stump Jumper ,How could I have forgotten the outhouse ?  That is the first thing I built on my farm .  Brick one holer with armrests to make the reading easier . Raised panel seat skirt for added class.

[SwampDonkey]

Tap and die set for threading or rethreading bolts and nuts.

[pigman]

A large strong building  with  good locking doors to store all of the tools mentioned.

Bob

[scsmith42]

Lots of great advice here; I concur with it all.

Asy, I would build a large shop FIRST, as this will give you a place to store everything, work on stuff out of the weather, and secure your tools.  By all means pour a slab; working off of dirt or gravel gets old in a hurry.

Don't make the mistake of making the shop too small.  40' x 80' with a 14' ceiling / eave height would be a good starting size. This would allow you to have a mechanical repair area, a woodworking area, personal item storage area, guest bedroom area, and areas to have two or three projects in the works at any given time, plus storage for equipment, tools, spares, etc.

A good set of cordless tools - especially a drill - are very handy.  Along with them get an assortment of driver bits, drills, etc (these are usually sold in a kit). 

You will want several solid work benches, and shelving units.  A sink (with hot water) and a parts washer are also helpful.  Your own fuel tanks (500 gallon gas and diesel) are also very handy to have on the farm.  Getting around on the farm I use a Polaris Ranger - probably the single most used vehicle we have.  4-wheelers are almost as handy.

I also have two farm trailers that we built by taking an old utility bed from a pickup, and an old welding supply company bed, and sticking them on frames.  The small one has a generator and compressor on it, the large one has the portable welder and accessories on it, and tools and supplies, etc get stored in their bins.  Very handy to be able to take them where you need to work, and then be able to secure your tools out of the weather.

Probably the most versatile tool that I have is a 60' articulating manlift.  It doubles as a crane, and allows me to sink poles for pole barns, set rafters, work on the sides of buildings, etc.  My wife claims that it's worth ten farm workers!

[asy]

Wowwee Thanks Guys!

Keep the info coming!

We have 2 shipping containers on the farm already, one's waterproof, the other's unintentionally perforated. All the good stuff goes in the good one, it's kept locked. The other one's mostly empty at the moment, but I plan to fix it at some stage... Much later.

My LOGRITE Cant hook is ON IT'S WAY!!!  Don't forget, I was the first person on here to put my hand up when the offer of  pink tools came up, and Amberwood picked it up for me while he was in USA. It should be here in a couple of days!!!

I have a few hammers, and general chippy type stuff, coz I do house renovations once in a while, so have lots of that stuff, have absolutely NO Mechanic-y type stuff, coz I've never done that...  I'll learn though, I'm sure.

Don, I agree with you about the Concrete floor, nothing beats a good solid LEVEL floor!

asy

Scott, Thanks for the advice again, Do you have any photos of your manlift?

[Furby]

What Scott said about having taller shop walls is a REALLY good idea.
More so if you plane to bring equipment inside to work on.
If you were to have a living area in it as well, you can use the space above for shop storage.

[scsmith42]

Asy - you're most welcome!

Here are a couple of pix of the manlift:

[Corley5]

In that new shop you'll want an extra strong I-beam to attach a chainfall on a roller for lifting and moving heavy heavy stuff.  A system along these lines could be pretty elaborate or just a chainfall hanging from chain over a heavily reinforced ceiling member.  Either way a shop needs one 

[Murf]

Steve's on the right track.

A workbench, a really good work bench!!

I made a nice steel one, 4' x 8' with 4' of mesh on one end and a 4' solid plate on the other. Absolutely indispensible for fixing or welding nearly anything. A steel bench makes arc welding a breeze, you just ground the bench itself and go. 

Mine has a vice in one corner, and a series of holes and dogs that line up to a slide vice, like a wood-workers bench vice. In the opposuite corner I ran the leg up through the plate flush with the surface, I have a little post with an arm and lift on it. Stuff heavier than I care to lift goes up lickity-split!!!

In your part of the world a big fan (or several) hanging from the ceiling will help with fumes and 30°+ days.........

[OneWithWood]

I can't believe no one has mentioned a chainsaw.

Get the best chainsaw you can afford and handle safely.  Take a chainsaw safety course if you can find one.  A set of chaps or chainsaw pants, chainsaw gloves, and a safety helmet with face shield and hearing protection are a must.

[DanG]

One of the most valuable tools you can have on your farm is one you cannot buy.  It is patience.  Keep in mind that every one of the tools that has been suggested, and the ones you already purchased, comes with it's own learning curve.  Even the lowly, but vital end wrench, for example.  Used improperly, it can damage machinery, or bust your knuckles....frequently, BOTH.  This causes frustration, which leads to more poor decisions and damage, and perhaps further personal injury and expense.  Take your time learning to use each one of these new tools properly, and maybe consider not getting them all at once.  Overloading yourself can cause just as much, if not more, discouragement than doing without some things.

Lets talk about the welder, since that seems to be a primary goal.  They are great to have and use, but there is actually very little on a tractor or backhoe that a novice welder can repair successfully.  Improper repairs on a piece of heavy equipment can get you killed.  Take the welding course first, then you will know what kind of welder you want, and avoid the temptation to get in over your head.  Concentrate on learning to use the equipment without breaking it, instead. 

The backhoe is a great tool, and I wish I had one.  Keep in mind that it is a leverage device.  Leverage can be your best friend, or your worst enemy.  Keep everything on it as close to the ground as you can, especially the front bucket.  A high bucket, even an empty one, changes the center of gravity drastically, and that thing can turn over much faster than you can react.  Think through everything you do with it, even if it seems very simple.

Not trying to throw cold water on ya, I just want to watch you enjoy the learning process.

[Sprucegum]

The most important ttool that hasn't been listed yet : a chair

You need to sit done once in a while and ask yerself "What did I do that for?" 

Also very handy for planning the next step.

[OneWithWood]

DanG is spot on with his comments.

Must be why he has survived this long 

[Mr Mom]

     You all forgot the one tool that i seem to cant find when i need it...... about 25 tapemeasures always misplaceing them.




     Thanks Alot Mr Mom.

[johncinquo]

come-along.  Block and tackle.  I end up using both all the time for some reason, at least til I got the front end loader. 
Bailing wire and Duct tape, you can fix anything at least temporarily with either. 
walkie talkies.  Good for "Bring me a ..." or "get over here quick". 
Ben-Gay or whatever back and muscle ache cream they sell there. 

[Don_Papenburg]

Mr Mom .  we left out tape measures on porpuse . That is that no matter how many you have you can not find them , so to save Asy the aggravation we did not mention them .

[asy]

I can't believe no one has mentioned a chainsaw.

Get the best chainsaw you can afford and handle safely.  Take a chainsaw safety course if you can find one.  A set of chaps or chainsaw pants, chainsaw gloves, and a safety helmet with face shield and hearing protection are a must.

We HAVE a chainsaw!!!

Thanks to the advice and instruction of IanAB, we have a DOLMAR 5100D.

No idea how to use it yet, haven't got chaps and face shield, so haven't run the saw yet.

I did buy a book on "carving with chainsaws", does that count?

asy

PS: Keep the advice comin' I'm making a 'wish list'.

[timcosby]

as tom said>>>>>
A pile of scrap metal for making things fit. (don't ever throw anything away.)

i though i was the only one who kept old lawn mowers and bicycles for parts, metal, wheels etc.

[Left Coast Chris]

asy....

These items may sound surprising but I noticed that folks that move on to large parcles sometimes fail because the amount of work becomes overwhelming and time consuming.

It is pretty important that you get the right equipment to maintain your property and home efficiently and not spent too much time with it.

1)  If you will need to keep large areas of grass down to protect from fire:  Tractor with a mower attachement.   In Spring time the grass can over take you and the tractor will knock it down fast.

2)  Good sized gas powered weed eater for around buildings or rocky areas.

3)  Sprayer for spraying round up to kill weeds.  If you will be doing large areas suggest a pto sprayer for the tractor with a spray bar.

4)  Box scraper attachment for the tractor to maintain your drive way and move dirt.

5)  Fork or brush rake attachment for pushing brush into piles for burning.  Don't try to do large areas by hand.

6)  At least one thing that is fun for you:  Boat, motorcycle, quad, or even a hamock!

The tractor and attachments along with a good weed eater will buy you time to enjoy your land and not sweat the maintenance.  Alot of us sawmill owners also use the tractor to move logs.  If you will be moving logs go for the larger tractor with front end loader if possible.  If you buy a used tractor.... diesel is much less maintenance.  Make sure it does not smoke under a load and the hydraulics work well under load.

Have fun and enjoy your place!

[DWM II]

To go along with the winches, come a longs and block and tackles, I would get a good farm jack. Harbor freight has one at a good price. You never know when you will stick a piece of equipment or a truck. It also comes in handy for general construction, lifting buildings and such.

I aint too sure of your laws down under, I dont believe their as liberal ( for the time being) as ours but I would also always have a firearm handy. Just like in the old west times, it is truly a tool of many uses. Vermin control, lunch provision, sport, self defense. A 12 ga. with a variety of shot would fit the bill.

Good luck on the farm

[redpowerd]

a high lift jack is very handy and has many uses. its rebuildable if it should break, and can be used to push and pull.

another set of items i use when i find im in need of another hand is rachet straps, all sizes. good for holding, pulling, lifting, ect. of course use descretion.

and about tape measures, make sure everyone on the job has the same brand, you would be suprised how 'off' some tapes are. i just keep to the stanleys.

got a farm, eh? good luck. DanG is right on spot with patience, allthough it must be easier to learn on a farm.

[Corley5]

Taps, dies, EZ outs and left hand drill bits 

[srt]

I'm somewhat in the same boat.  Got a farm and am building stuff to move there.  As Scott said, first the building.  I had a 40 X 60 X 12 pole shed put up, and shoulda gone bigger!   However, my stuff's not getting wet or stolen when I'm not there.

The most indispensible tool for me so far has been the tractor with front end loader.  Working by myself, I can do a lot with the front end loader in a few minutes that would take me a day without (like moving a pile of logs).   I bought a late 1960's gas 65 horse tractor with front end loader for $3500.  Spent about another $500 on it and gave it a coat of paint, and it's been very servicable for not too much money.  However, it's old and and shouldn't be asked to do what a new one will do.   

The second most indispensible tool has already been mentioned - paitence! 

[Raider Bill]

Howdy Gents! BAck from another week in TN.
My question, what's the differance between a peavey and a cant bar?

[DanG]

A peavey has a point on the end so it can also be used as a pike pole.  It was invented for use in floating logs down the rivers.  The cant hook has a little flat hook so it can grip a square cant for turning.

Peavey is also the name of a company started by the man who invented it.  I have a cant hook made by the Peavey Company.  It is a good one, but I like my Logrite better.

[Raider Bill]

Which or what type and size would go the furthest to cover all the bases if you had only one pick?
I do not have any real large diameter timber to cut and will moron likely just be moving logs around for while.

[Tom]

It's a matter of personal preference but most of us prefer a cant hook with a 3 or 4 foot handle around the sawmill.  I like a 4 foot handle becaue most of what I roll is on the ground.'

Some like Peavy's because they stick the sharp point in the ground to store in between sessions.  I find that the point gets in the way around the steel on the mill and prefer the traction that the cant tip provides when rolling a slippery log.