busymama7 Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 I have a 17 year old son who wants to study mechanical engineering but will be going on a two year lds mission first. He loves to tinker and create projects and things. He has a dremmel tool and quite a bit for electronic stuff. His best friend has a 3 D printer and Lazer cutter that they use together a lot and I don't want anything that might be out of date like that when he gets home. Im just thinking some good quality tools of some kind that he can keep for years. He's worried about not being able to "project" while in college or starting out due to funds so I like the idea of building up a stock for him of things that are his own. But I don't really know what exactly would be those things. I would rather invest is a more expensive tool up front then a bunch of smaller things. I know this is vague but does anyone have any ideas? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 (edited) 1ds never had to buy tools for school - he's an aerospace engineer (subspecialty of mech-eng.), currently working on a MS. does the school of his choice have any requirements they bring their own tools? if you want to get tools for his at-home projects, that would be based on the type of projects he likes to do. if you're thinking of the future when he has his own place, I'd make sure he's got some good regular tools. screwdrivers, wrenches, quick-clamps, a drill (cordless are very nice.), etc. a soldering iron. the things ds really needed for school, were a surface/laptop and a desktop at home. he does have a set of . . . something for doing very fine electronic work, but he had that from when he was doing his ccna. he did research on carbon fiber - and would bring pieces home to prep, never used tools. he did take some of our rokenbok pieces and quick clamps to stabilize it prior to impact tests. (kinda cool. boeing was paying for it. and he got a scholarship out of it so he ended up getting his bs with little/no debt.) proud mamma moment. - the picture is after they had I set up, before doing the force/impact test to see what pressure was required to break it. the set-up sped-up significantly - from 30 minutes to <5mins - with the rokenbok and quick clamps. Edited November 30, 2019 by gardenmom5 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 Both my dh and I are engineers. We never used our own tools in labs - labs had everything already provided. We did need a good calculator (which will be pricey), but you want to wait on that as the school may make a specific suggestion. I know at least one engineering school has the students make a 3D printer in one of their first engineering classes, so no telling what his specific school may do. He will need a good laptop, but it is too early for that too. So, if you want to start him a set of good quality tools that would be useful for life, I'd ask him what he would like, and get started on that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 He might enjoy a Blender class depending on his skill set now? Blender is free software. I've taught classes. Some students design stuff to send to 3D printer. https://www.udemy.com/course/blendertutorial/ The arduino is a good idea too. Does he have his own decent laptop to take on his mission? He could do a lot of playing on the road with Blender and a arduino. Given that he's 17 and is going to have a 2 year break, I wouldn't buy anything super expensive while being very niche career oriented. So many engineering/comp sci students change direction after starting course work. Especially since different colleges may have different expectations/requirements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 OP - It's not "exciting" - but I bought good luggage for my girls when they graduated high school (they went to school upstate NY, we live in WA). something that would withstand getting hauled back and forth across the country - will also withstand getting hauled around for transfers. That will be useful for going back and forth between home and school. (unless you live close to where he plans on attending college and he'll be living at home. my mother bought a used 29' briggs & riley (from her neighbor - it needed a new zipper pull, fell under warranty. they warranty against airline damage.), 2dd used it for her mission to chile as well as school. 2ds used it for his mission (it's STILL going strong). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymama7 Posted November 30, 2019 Author Share Posted November 30, 2019 He does have an Arduino. He can't take a laptop with him so that will wait until he gets home. I was thinking more along the lines of non digital tools (like the dremmel) that would be helpful for personal projects in the future (and now). I would rather do one expensive item than several small things but I might do smaller tools/clamps. His interests are wide but not particularly wood work based. It's hard to explain really. The dremmel was perfect and something like that is what I'm looking for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bambam Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 1 hour ago, gardenmom5 said: OP - It's not "exciting" - but I bought good luggage for my girls when they graduated high school (they went to school upstate NY, we live in WA). something that would withstand getting hauled back and forth across the country - will also withstand getting hauled around for transfers. That will be useful for going back and forth between home and school. (unless you live close to where he plans on attending college and he'll be living at home. my mother bought a used 29' briggs & riley (from her neighbor - it needed a new zipper pull, fell under warranty. they warranty against airline damage.), 2dd used it for her mission to chile as well as school. 2ds used it for his mission (it's STILL going strong). My mom got me a duffle bag for my high school graduation. Almost 30 years later, that bag has been on countless trips and is still going strong. I totally agree with quality luggage being an excellent useful for years gift. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busymama7 Posted November 30, 2019 Author Share Posted November 30, 2019 30 minutes ago, HeighHo said: is he interested in welding? Yes. He has done some. Him and his friend built a forge for metal work 😁. I'm not sure exactly what he would need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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