If you had $600 to start a home workshop...

[NYSingh]

...what would you buy?  Spend it all on one higher end piece of equipment? Get a few small, cheap Amazon specials from China (drill press, bench grinder, etc)? Extensive set of hand tools?  Let's say you'll mainly be using it for, I don't know, say, restoring an old motorcycle.

[Alain2]

I would spend the money where I use it most, one thing I wish I bought earlier is a motorcycle lift.

I got this one on sale few years ago: https://www.princessauto.com/en/1000-lb-motorcycle-atv-lift/product/PA0008880239

[Dvsrd]

Specifically for restoration work, I would by a buffer/ polisher. With a soft wire brush at one end, and a spindle for cloth buffer wheels at the other end. Good lighting, a good vise, and general hand tools like sockets and spanners.
A drill press is only needed when making or modifying parts.
A Dremel or similar is also handy for polishing and wire brushing small parts.

[1976RD400C]

Maybe try to buy used equipment at a fraction of the price of new. 

[sav0r]

A nice work bench. They can be built for very little money, $50. If you want it to be really sweet, get a piece of sheet metal and cover it. My main bench is just this. It's easy to clean, you don't lose parts on it, and it's very sturdy so it works for a very wide range of projects. Find a used vise and put on the corner of the bench.

From there, find used tools. I bought like $2k of Snap On stuff from a guy who retired, but I only paid him $200. Then fill in the gaps with Harbor Freight stuff. A lot of people will groan about HF stuff, but if you aren't a professional mechanic it will be just fine in most cases (there are of course times where crappy wrenches will not work). Home Depot's Husky brand stuff isn't terrible either. I have 15 year old Harbor Freight tools that I use almost daily. For example, the plastic/composite ratchets that I bought more or less because i thought they were hilariously bad continue to work while my name brand ratchets fail and slip. After you get the core tools, then start looking at machines. A drill press is a great tool to have. The list is never ending though. I honestly don't know if I will ever have enough tools.

[85RZwade]

A lift and an ultrasonic cleaner; that being said, a table can be built inexpensively along the lines of the bench Chris described in lieu of a lift.
High-end hand tools are nice, but Craftsman, Husky etc. have the same warranty for less $$. If you break a wrench, they replace it...but Harbor Freight often will hand you a new SET of wrenches, as they have no use for an open set of anything.
Garage and yard sales can be a great source of inexpensive tools; I work out of a MAC stacked toolbox that retailed for $3200 that I picked up for $400. It had several hundred dollars of miscellaneous tools inside. People like to haggle, and you can often find free stuff.

[m in sc]

lights. Lots of led lights.  (90)

decent work top. (maybe with tool box) but if stand alone, (50)

good quality set of 6 point metric sockets.  (70)

set of metric gear wrenches (40 bucks)

jis screwdrivers. (50)

cheap ultrasonic. (150)

organizing bins. (30)

decent tool box from lowes or hf or whatever. (300)

thats over budget a bit but its a solid start.

[rodneya]

Do you just want to wrench on a fairly stock bike, or build and modify stuff.

[pidjones]

You said START, which is good because for a real shop you will eventually spend ~100 times that much. For just service (no restoration) you will need wrenches, pliers, JIS screwdrivers, oil collecting pans and funnels. Drop light, gloves, scrap carpet to put under the bike you are working on (I need to replace all of mine after five restores), shop trash can with foxtail and pan. Feeler gauges, calipers, assorted soft and ball peen hammers, DVM, clip leads. The first machine I would buy is a drill press - you can use it for drilling, wire wheel, and polishing. Air compressor and air tools (painting, grinding, sanding). Then a mini-lathe (so many unobtanium parts that you can make yourself). Bike lift is a preference thing - I'm on my 5th restoration without one. If you are married (and want to stay that way), buy her something with the $600 and ask if you can put together a shop when you get the money.

[m in sc]

i have to say: organization is key. me? I've NEVER  wanted a lift at home.

I cant even begin think how much money i have tied up in tools, and you cant see most of it here.   

I set up the garage last fall, these are some of the pics. its much better now.  I also built a shed out back to put all the yard shit in.

I guess the question is: what do you already have?

[SoCal250]

Besides budget, there are 2 keys that will dictate your list and order of priority: (1) what you have already & (2) how much space you have to work with?

I would start with:
1. Hand tools (including torque wrench & JIS screwdrivers)
2. Air compressor
3. Workbench
4. Bench vise
5. 2-stroke timing dial gauge kit
6. Digital calipers
7. DVM
8. Measuring cup or Ratio-Rite
9. Nitrile gloves
10. Tool chest
And I fully agree with Mark about having lots of lights and organizing bins.

And if budget permits:
Bench drill press
Bench grinder
Ultrasonic cleaner
Cordless impact wrench
Media blast cabinet
Motorcycle lift

[bitzz]

I think you guys are pretty optimistic about how far $600 goes in 2021.

[teazer]

I just spent rather more than that budget on a few upgrades that make my shop look really nice and to be honest, it makes very little difference to the ability to do the job.

Over the decades I have built and restored too many bikes to list and at few points in time did I have a decent workshop space.  I have built motors on the kitchen floor, or in the main hallway or outside or in a small cramped garage  I even completed a restoration in a 5th floor apartment.  Sure a nice shop makes a difference, but it's not absolutely necessary.  Compressor is nice to have but I managed without one for a very long time.

What is important are good hand tools but you never need snapon type prices.  Crafstman were great quality at reasonable prices and many HF tools are adequate. 
Build a wooden workbench.  Buy 2x4 wood from your local hardware store and uses 2x6 on the top with a 1/4" masonite skin on top.  Or get a length of kitchen cabinet top when a neighbor is upgrading their kitchen.  You can but that cheaply at Menards - often priced to clear.  But wood works just as well.  If you need drawers, consider a cheap wooden kitchen cabinet and build it into your workbench.

Lifts are nice but eat all the budget so leave those for now.   Get decent LED shop lamps cheaply at menards or online so you have enough light to work.  Add them for the rest of the shop as you go.  For now you just need light where you work. A rolling tool chest is super cool and I picked up a Husky from Home Depot recently for around 250 bucks.It's not the biggest or toughest, but it's enough for what I need.

Add tools as you go along and not before you absolutely need them. Welding - find a local welder.  Lathe and Mill, same thing.  Find someone close that will machine parts at a reasonable price. If you need them more and more often, it might be time to add them, but for me it's not worth the cost or the space.  A mini mill would be nice, for sure, but not a lot of use if I want to machine a cylinder head or add reed valves to a piston port motor.  Better to pay someone with the right equipment and skills.  I can use a mill and lathe but it's not cost effective for me and I just don't have the space or need.

So start with the basics - good (enough) hand tools.  Add files and drill and angle grinder as you need them.




 

[85RZwade]

Free wood is more plentiful than you might think. The tractor dealership I work for pays to have scrap pallets and shipping lumber hauled away by the 30-yard dumpster. 2x4, 2x6, 4x4, 4x6 and sometimes 6x6 or bigger free for the asking.

[Jspooner]

I would buy a lift. I agree with what everyone else has said about them but if you have the room, buy one. I found a used one for 275.00 and it even has the removable panel for making rear wheel removal easier. Just like everyone I've worked on bikes for years without one and even told myself I don't need one but now that I have one I love it. I'd also buy an air compressor. Yes you can get by without one of those too but when you need it you need it and there's no substitute for it. You don't need a large one unless you plan on running air tools but it sure comes in handy when cleaning stuff. Drill presses are nice but unless you do a lot of parts fabbing or modifying it will just sit. Ask me how I know. I'd also buy a decent 3/8 drive torque wrench. Most of the other stuff you need for working on bikes can be bought a little at a time for reasonably small amounts of money.