The right tools for the right job

[mousme]

Okay, flist, I need your help yet again. Many of you are all-around handy people (which I am not, but hope to remedy someday).

What in your experience constitues a properly-equipped tool kit for basic household repairs? In essence, if a n00b such as myself were to begin trying to be self-sufficient when it comes to small repairs and such, what are the essentials that one should have?

Thank you for letting me pick your brains, yet again. :)

Comments

[fearsclave.livejournal.com]

Hm... hammer, screwdriver, cordless drill with assortment of screwdriver and drill bits, reciprocating saw, Allen keys, adjustable wrenches, Vise-grips, pliers, wire cutters, C-clamps, saw and mitre box...

[whiskeygirl8.livejournal.com]

You can get needle-nosed pliers that have a wire cutter on them. Actually, just about every needle-nosed plier I've seen has that.

Oh! I forgot! Those pliers that are snub-nosed and you can lock them. (I don't know what some of these things are called, but I use them and know when I need them. I just couldn't ask anyone to bring it to me. They'd never know what I meant.)

[the-xtina.livejournal.com]

Depends on how basic, I suppose.

- One of those screwdriver things where you can switch out the bits.  So that you can have several sizes of flathead or Philips, all right there.

- A hammer, and a small thing of slim nails.

- A flashlight, and batteries.

- A pair of needle-nose pliers.  They are startlingly useful!

- An adjustable wrench.

That is for wicked basic.  Things like "Stupid doorknob" or "The electricity is out!" or "The doorframe came apart??".  For mildly more advanced basic, I'll leave that to others.

[shovel-bum.livejournal.com]

When I moved into my first apt, this is what my dad gave me. He had it all tucked into a little tackle box. He's definately a DIY guy and this is what he thought I absolutely had to have when living by myself:
Hammer, small nails and hangers for pictures, etc. Several flat and philips head screwdrivers in a few different sizes. A pair of regular pliers and a pair of needle nose pliers. A pair of wire cutters and an adjustable wrench. Later he gave me a little Black and Decker drill, but that isn't necessary unless you're actually going to build something. You should be able to do most basic home repairs and hang pictures/what have you with the stuff he put in my little tackle box. For learning how to do bigger projects you might want to check out Toolbelt Divas (http://toolbeltdivas.com/). They'll tell ya exactly what tool you need for whatever job you want to get done.

[joane.livejournal.com]

that isn't necessary unless you're actually going to build something.

Or hang shelves, or install braces, or put up curtain rods... I've used my drill a whole lot, and I've not done any major renovations or building projects yet.

[taxlady.livejournal.com]

Took the words right off my keyboard ;)

[merccom.livejournal.com]

what the hell is wrong with people!!!

DUCK TAPE!!!!

;)

a couple of adjustable wrenches, regular pliers and needle nose, a SET of screwdrivers flat head and phillips, wire cutters, hammer, box cutter.

also you'll want a couple of hardware assortments such as screws, nails, washers,

several kinds of tape, scotch, masking, packing, and duct.

if you want to step up get a real set of wrenches, standard and metric.

[shovel-bum.livejournal.com]

Heh - I just assumed duct tape was a household staple :)

[mousme.livejournal.com]

It is. I used to have a duct tape icon, but it got sacrificed somewhere along the way.

I always have duct tape around the house. :)

[whiskeygirl8.livejournal.com]

Yes! Duct tape! If it moves and it shouldn't, use duct tape. If it doesn't move and it should, WD-40.

Also, electrical tape.

[ai731.livejournal.com]

Mostly what everyone else has said, with the exception of the following:

I prefer corded drills to cordless - cordless battery packs are bloody heavy, and if they're not, then they don't really have the "ooomph" to do the job I need them to do.

Everyone (mostly Americans?) has mentioned flat and Phillips head screwdrivers, but IMNSHO, no self respecting Canadian uses a Phillips head screw when they have the option of using the much superior Robertson head screws, instead. So I recommend one small and one medium (helpfully colour-coded green and red, respectively) Robertson head screwdriver.

[whiskeygirl8.livejournal.com]

I had to look that up. That's a weird kinda screw that needs that screwdriver.

[ai731.livejournal.com]

Weird, maybe, but almost as common as Phillips here in Cananananada. Plus, it's about 10 times harder to strip a Roberston head screw than it is to strip a Phillips, so I always use them.

[whiskeygirl8.livejournal.com]

You know, I can see that advantage. I've never seen a screw like this, though, so I wonder how easy they are to come by in my neck of the woods.

Of course, most things I put together come with their own screws.

[taxlady.livejournal.com]

I was going to mention the Robertson screws too. There is another advantage to Robertson screws: they fit snugly into the screwdriver, so you don't have to hold them. The screwdriver will actually hold them.

[bodhifox.livejournal.com]

What is this mythical *Robertson* screw? Never heard of it.

Every toolkit must have church key and corkscrew. :)

No really, must have. And a magnifying glass and tweezers.

[ai731.livejournal.com]

This is a Robertson screw. Maybe you've heard them called "square head" screws?

[taxlady.livejournal.com]

Corkscrew, absolutely - got a "portable" one in my purse. But, come on - a church key can be improvised if you have a piece of wood, a screw, and a screwdriver. When I lived in Denmark, one of my friends had a screw in the arch of his wooden clogs, so he would always have a church key handy.

[whiskeygirl8.livejournal.com]

Well, that depends. Are you including a car in this? I know you don't have one now, but you expressed a desire to have one someday.

A hammer is, of course, essential. A phillips head screwdriver and a flat head screwdriver. Vice grips. I absolutely adore my cordless electric screwdriver, too. (I use the manual ones for smaller things, but the cordless is necessary for bigger things, like putting together a gas grill.) A few allen wrenches. Those wrenches that are adjustable. Needle-nosed pliers. And a socket set if you ever plan to do minor work on a car (it saved my life when replacing my battery.) Also a level is handy and a measuring tape. And a utility knife.

Some places sell home small repair tool kits, too (I got one from Walmart that had everything I said above except the adjustable wrench and the vice grips. And they come with nails and screws and different wall-hanging thingamabobs.)

I also really like my drill and have used it on a few things here and there, but it isn't really necessary. Most of the things I want from the tool aisle at Sears are completely unnecessary and a lot of them I would never use until I buy my own home and even then rarely, if at all (cuz, you know, I'm totally gonna have a need for a circular saw. But, I do see myself using a chain saw.)

I swear, tools are as bad as guns for me. I just want, want, want.

[luvenditti.livejournal.com]

I was wondering when someone was going to mention measuring tapes. yikes.

[silly-imp.livejournal.com]

hammers, screwdrivers (flat, robertson, philips), adjustable wrench, small pipe wrench for plumbing, pliers, wire cutters, hammer, saw, sand paper, wood chisel and/or small cement chisel, good exacto knife, teflon plumbing tape, electricians tape and duct tape, small but powerful flashlight for peering into small places, and for power tools--a decent cordless drill and basic bit set.

[silly-imp.livejournal.com]

oh, and clamps and a level

[silly-imp.livejournal.com]

oh, and a tape measure (Sorry my brain keeps going after myu fingers stop typing!)

[irishyogini.livejournal.com]

Um, let's see. Hammer or two, pliers, wrench or two, nails, screws, tape measure, a level (very handy for hanging shelves and pictures), duct tape, plumbing tape, a good flashlight, and awl, screwdriver, cordless drill and bit set, and maybe a small saw.

[ai731.livejournal.com]

There was a Canadian Tire flier in the mailbox when I got home, and flipping through it, I thought of you :) They are having a sale this Thursday through Sunday and one of the items on sale is a DeWalt power drill - $70 marked down from $120. DeWalt is a really good name brand for power tools and if I was looking for a drill I would jump at this one for that price. They also have a screwdriver with interchangeable heads for $3.50, and adjustable locking pliers for $9. I'll leave the flier in your mailbox, if you like.