By Tony Konovaloff
Just like your rig, what you do (or plan to do) in your shop will determine just what sort of tools you need. If all you are going to do is the regular maintenance and such all you need is a good set of mechanics tools. But if fabrication or more serious mods are on your list it will help to have a much better equipped shop.
A covered workspace is at the top of my list, mostly because I do not have one. I re-built my diesel over the winter laying in the gravel sideyard and I really want a covered workspace. Fortunately there is room in my shop for all my tools even if it won’t hold my rig.
One of the first things that makes it into our shops is a floor jack. Bottle or scissor jacks just don’t cut it as your only service jack. Frequently the floor jack comes with a couple of jackstands usually of a small size that just don’t have much use on our taller rigs. These days though you can get much more suitable stands for a reasonable price. Don’t buy junk as they are holding the entire weight of the rig over you. I use a bunch of 6 ton stands that have a good wide base and are plenty tall enough to keep the rig at a good height. Always follow the best safety practices when you put your rig on stands!
When I started putting more serious tools in my shop I did it slowly. Bought tools as I found a use or needed them for one particular job. I had most of my wrenches and sockets so fixed tools and tools for fabrication came next. I 
started out with not much more than a drill, a sawzall and a grinder. Traded for my AC/DC welder when I needed it to build my trailer.
Fitted the welder to a small cart that holds my gloves and helmet, grinding discs and cut off wheels, welding tools, extension cords, welding rod and a chop saw. Don’t know how I got along without the chop saw but I did for a long time. Also have a spare helmet and gloves so someone hanging out when I am welding can watch and even give welding a try. Also scrounged up a 4′ x 4′ welding bench that lives in the side yard. Found the need for an oxy/acetylene torch, so that found it’s way into my shed. Not going to keep the flammables in my garage which happens to be attached to my house.
A 12 ton press sees a lot of use. My press is just a cheap one from Harbor Freight. Absolutely a must have when working inside gear boxes and the like. Been handy on occasion as a bending tool. Lots of tools can be used in more than one way.
A drill press fits in a corner and sees a heck of a lot of use. Big holes are much more pleasant on the press versus having the hand drill yanked out of your hand or smashing it up against something. A complete set of drills (letter, number, fractional as well as a small assortment of fairly large bits, 9/16 to 1 in) found it’s way into the shop as well. Nothing like having the proper bit when you need it.
Can’t afford the Bridgeport Mill and don’t have room if I could. Even though I did find room for a small lathe/mill combo, fun to play with. Machining metal is whole different ball game that I want to learn to do better. Have made a few things on it for the rig and made adjustments to other parts so they fit better.
I have an air compressor but it mostly gets used to blow things off, air up tires and run a couple of die grinders. Never have owned an impact gun and have no intention to get one. You can’t go wrong with a good vise and the anvil I inherited from my Grandfather gets used more than you would think. There are others but it is mostly small stuff.
While you may want every tool in the catalog, some of them are better borrowed than purchased. Very few people actually need their own cam bearing driver or engine hoist. Currently there is an engine hoist in my shop but it belongs to a friend. Even though they are cheap, it is still cheaper to rent one for as often as it gets used.
So do some planning, get some tools and have at it.
