A combination machine that...
A combination machine that offers a small lathe and drill mill. This type of machine offers the racer a good deal of value for the money. Remember, this is not an ultraprecise tool, but it does offer a great deal of versatility for the money spent.
For those of you who like the less spectacular, there is always a bandsaw. While less spectacular than the cutoff saw, the bandsaw offers more versatility when you look at the materials you can cut. While the cutoff saw will make short work of steel, it is not versatile enough to cut aluminum. The bandsaw cuts steel and aluminum with ease. The price is a bit higher and you gain more precision over the cutoff saw. You should plan on spending between $150 and $300 for a bandsaw that will serve your needs. While that sounds like a lot of money, it will morph into a real deal if you have to spend the day cutting tubing and plate aluminum with a hacksaw in order to get your car ready for the next race.
Sheetmetal repairs are a fact of life for the Saturday night racer, so you need a good set of tin snips. You will need a pair of left, right, and straight tin snips. The names mean just what you think-one cuts to the left, the other to the right, and the other straight. While they look like glorified scissors, they make doing sheetmetal work much more enjoyable. Be prepared to spend some real money for a good pair of tin snips. For this tool, price really determines quality. Costs run from $25 to $45 per pair. Spend the money for a quality set of tin snips. Your hands will appreciate it, and the quality of the work you do will be greater.
A drill press with an X and...
A drill press with an X and Y adjustable vise. A drill press is one of the most useful tools a racer can own. Having the ability to place holes in a precise manner and hold the work piece in a stable, secure fashion is a real positive when it comes to performing weekly pre-race maintenance.
Doing sheetmetal work can mean cutting large sections of metal, so using hand-powered snips is not always the best method. Using a saber saw or a jig saw with blades designed for sheetmetal can make short work of a big cutting job. You can buy a jig saw for less than $30 at any of the major home improvement stores, such as Lowe's or Home Depot. Either will have a full range of choices.
We need to remember that we only have two hands, and we need those to work the tools. But we need a tool to hold the work. A good vise attached to a good workbench is a huge help. It also makes all of the work we need to do much safer. The price for a good vise can range from $49.95 to well over $100. If you do not have a vise, there are still many other tools available that can help you hold the work piece. Vise-Grip pliers are a great way to help secure work and keep things in place while you are working. C-clamps are also a good option. These tools range in price from $5 to $20. You can never have too many C-clamps or Vise-Grip pliers.
Sometimes a lathe is the only...
Sometimes a lathe is the only tool that will accomplish a job. If you have the resources and the facility, it is a very valuable tool when it comes to cutting metal and making parts work like new again.
After you cut the metal, you may find that you still have to do some adjusting to get everything to fit. A good set of hand files is indispensable in the shop. It is unbelievable just how well a new, sharp file works. A good set costs from $35 to $50, and it is money well spent.
Sometimes you need to file more than you can or should with a hand file. That's when a handheld grinder is an excellent tool to have at your disposal. Several years ago, these grinders were expensive, costing as much as $125. The prices have come down, and it is not uncommon to be able to buy a good angle grinder with a few spare wheels for less than $35.
While it would be nice to have a mill and a lathe in your shop, it is often outside the budget of most beginning racers. However, there are machines that do very basic, light machining, and they're available for a reasonable price. There are machines that are lathes and mills in one. While you won't be doing machine work for engine builders with these tools, these combination machines allow you to do great machine work that will help you with basic fabrication. These machines are available in the $400 to $500 range. You still have to buy the tooling for cutting, which can cost more than the machine, but it will give you some basic machining capacity.