Tools

Software Development

Please see the software page for your PC Operating System of choice.

Hardware

You don't absolutely need to have all of these things, but it sure helps! Using a tool for purposes other than those for which it was designed can be just a little more difficult, or downright dangerous. Please be safe :)

Safety

Workbench - Protect your house, have a proper work area
Safety Glasses - Protect your sense of sight
Ear plugs/Ear Muffs - Protect your sense of hearing
Face mask - Protect your lungs
Fire Extinguisher - Don't let your soldering iron start a fire you can't put out
Fire Blanket - As above
Storage Unit - Put your tools and components somewhere safe
Small Plastic Cup - Somewhere to put things temporarily. Don't leave your kit lying around.
Soldering Smoke Absorber/Ventilator - MMmmm, Lead smoke. Mmmmm, Cancer. Mmmm, Insanity. Mmm…. I think not.

Soldering

Soldering Iron - Temperature controlled
Soldering Iron Stand - Put it where it belongs
Soldering Iron Tip Cleaner - Take care of your tools
Solder - Good quality solder for good quality joints, 63/37 Eutectic
Tinning Block - for taking care of soldering iron tips
PCB Holders - Make soldering easier and cleaner
Desoldering Braid - For removing chips from inferior boards, to insert in you MBHP ;)
Desoldering Pump - As above
Breadboard - Prototyping

Electronics

Multimeter - For testing circuitry. RS232 connected Autoranging DMM
Oscilloscope - For testing signals. Dual trace
Power Supply - Regulated lab power supply
Digital Camera - For taking snaps to share with other MIDIBoxers
Mini Torch - Let there be light. A AA Cell MagLight in your mouth means you get perfect light

Drilling

Rotary Tool
Drill Press - For accurate drilling of PCB's and faceplates
Drill bit set
Router bit set
Nibbling tool - for making odd shaped holes (Careful! These can be savage)
Reamer - for making odd shaped holes
Center punch - For marking the location of holes to be drilled and scribing lines on metal

Abrasive/Cutting

File Set - Flat, round, half round, rasp and needle
Hacksaw - For cutting solid objects
Spare Hacksaw Blades - For use by hand
Coping Saw - For cutting holes in cases
Razor Knife - Stanley/X-Acto, etc. NOT for use on plastic cases unless you have a death wish

Measurement

Flexible Steel Ruler with Cork backing - From Arts stores. An excellent idea that I stole ;)
Calipers - For measuring drill bits, shaft diameters, and hole diameters
Clamps/Vices - Various sizes and shapes, for holding things still while you drill/saw/bust them up

Trimming and Fastening

Wire Strippers - For stripping insulation from cabling
Pliers Set - Various Sizes and types
Side Cutters - For trimming componenet leads
Screwdriver Set - Various sizes
Spanner Set - Various sizes, including shifter spanners
Socket Set - Various sizes
IC Puller - Little tool for pulling IC's from sockets
IC Placer - Little tool for putting IC's in sockets, spreads even pressure over all the pins
Claw - One of those little pens with a three-fingered claw for grabbing loose bits from where fingers can't reach
IDC Crimping Tool - Because doing it with pliers sucks
Electrical Tape - Too many uses to list

Accessories

Mirror - Little mirror on a telescopic shaft for peeking where your eyes can't reach
Compressed Air Can - For cleaning stuff by blasting off dust
PC/Mac - For surfing ucapps.de, the forum, this wiki, etc, for printing stuff, for talking to the DMM
Internet Connection - You will need a fairly high-speed connection for downloading instructional images, PDFs, tools, etc. 56kbps will probably not be enough. I recommend 128kbps ADSL at the very minimum. I've got 12Mb ADSL2+ which is the fastest thing available, and recommend it highly.
Printer - For everything from quick reference guides to datasheets to documentation to PCB screens to……

Lab Supplies

A few handy things to have around the lab for experimenting….

a complete set of resistors,
breadboard PCBs to mount hardware-parts
sockets with screws (eg for DIN-buttons)
set of capacitors (esp. those 104's)
some additional switches (like power-switches)
enough cables with connectors

Thoughts

Use the right tool for the job. Get all the tools you need. Don't be a cheapskate, get what you need. This doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune, but you will get what you pay for.

Be safe. Don't F*&% around with safety, tools, your workspace, etc - you can do anything from stripping a screw to killing yourself. Take every single safety measure available to you. Seriously, you never know… a tiny piece of scrap plastic can get flicked into your eye when you sneeze and leave you blind for life. There is absolutely NO need to be paranoid or concerned about this, PROVIDED that you don't be lax and you DON'T F*CK AROUND !