Tools handy to have around the house

I moved the cordless screwdriver into the Initial Setup category based on podcast feedback.

I added "Hanging work light" to the light list.

After listening to the podcast today, it made me wonder if I had too many tools. I consider the tools I own a rather paltry collection compared to some people I know. There are lots of tools I don't have that I wish I owned, for sure! I looked back over my "Initial Setup" groups and if there was something in that list I didn't already own, I would pick it up on the way home from work.

I'm curious now what others think of the "Initial Setup" lists: Too much? Not enough?

As someone who is a home-owner of a not real new house and is months away from being 50, those really are tools I think are the base list to have around. I know when I was younger the list would have looked like:

- Hammer
- 2 Screwdrivers
- Key to Dad's garage so I can "borrow" his tools

I'm not sure I should admit this, but I have more than the 3 shovels mentioned on the podcast. And a digging fork. And a bow rake. And a leaf rake. I don't need them too often, but I'll be using the digging fork, the bow rake, and 2 of the shovels soon while dealing with the remains of an old flower bed and some new fence posts over the next couple weeks. The right tool for the job definitely makes a difference.

You guys on the podcast made me laugh today; thanks. My buddy whom I originally made the list for sits next to me so I had him listen to it. Anecdotally, he just bought a house and wanted to replace the kitchen sink faucet. Since he doesn't have tools, I had to bring over wrenches, screwdrivers, Teflon tape, etc., to his house to install it. Soon, he'll be able to do stuff like that on his own because he'll have his own tools!

-BEP

ps. Amanda: I've always pronounced it "behp-noot" in my head.

Since you asked, I think the 'initial setup' is a bit much. It should really be just the basic, what you buy first as an intro to tools, and it should all fit in a toolbox you can carry. Just my opinion of course. The rolling cart and all the edge case stuff is more like intermediate level tools you pick up over the years as you have a job that needs them.

My 'get the basics' list:

Small, portable tool chest with 2-3 drawers.
Safety glasses
Pair of work gloves
Measuring Tape
Screwdriver with exchangeable bits (philips, flat, hex)
Socket set
Couple of adjustable wrenches (big and small) or a wrench set
Claw hammer
Rubber hammer
18 or 24" level
3 pliers (big, small, needlenose)
Wire cutters or snips
Utility knife
Tape (duct, electrical)
Hacksaw
Cordless electric drill

Really, the starter kit can probably just be "hammer, screwdrivers, level", and everything else gets bought as you need it. Part of that comes down to what you're expecting to need to do with your tools. I'm not super handy, I just needed to do very basic house stuff, so that mostly got me where I needed. As I needed to do more stuff, I got more and more tools. At this point, I've got a pretty decent tool chest. I still don't have a good amount of the stuff on your starter list, and I haven't actually needed any of it.

Not everyone's gonna need everything. Like, I need tools for dealing with pool plumbing, so I have a strap wrench. For my purposes, super handy and a must have! For most people, not even close. Just get what you need, when you need it works great as long as you don't resort to "well, I don't have the right tool, so I'll just use the one I've got so I don't have to buy it." That way lies madness.

1) Harbor Freight is your friend. Buy what you need as you need it at Harbor Freight. Yeah, the quality is low, but you are using these things occasionally - not making a living with them.

2a) All cordless tools are evil money sucks. If you're not using them to make a living or for a routine hobby, the batteries will be dead/wrecked whenever you need them. You need your tool right now for an emergency job, but no - now you have to go spend another $100 at Home Depot for a new battery before you can even get started. That battery you just bought will be dead/wrecked next time you need it.

2b) All cordless tools are evil money sucks. Corded tools are way more powerful. They don't run out of juice in the middle of the job. They're lighter. They cost less.

3) First purchase: Leather gloves, corded drill, drill bits, screwdrivers, pliers, hammer. Also, this thing is like the best tool ever. EVER!

4) Seriously, buy that ratcheting screwdriver right now.

5) Those ~150 piece socket wrench tool sets are nice, but you should wait until you have a job that requires a socket wrench. Even then, you'll probably never use 90% of the tools in that set.

For outside work, buy a mattock first. Lots of outdoor problems are susceptible to being whacked by one side of a mattock or the other. Loppers are also useful. I like anvil loppers.

If you need a chainsaw, buy a corded electric chainsaw off of Amazon. Buy extension cords from Costco. Homeowner grade gas chainsaws are just the worst things ever. They never start properly. They die suddenly and dangerously in the middle of jobs. The chains bind all the time. Electric chainsaws are also much lighter.

I've gotten several sawzall type tools from Harbor Freight for about $20 each. Some last forever under heavy use. Some are trash out of the box. I've cannibalized parts from the bad ones to repair the good ones.

The HF cut off tools and grinding tools are useful for problems that involve metal. But, don't buy them until you have a problem that requires them. Similar for other super useful tools like squares, t-squares, and bar clamps.

You can get a powered drain snake from HF for a couple hundred bucks. It may not be professional plumber grade, but it can pay for itself very quickly if you have the kind of problems that it can help with.

I've got battery powered tools mostly because they were gifts, but three years in, I haven't had any batteries go bad. I drop them on a charger after use, take them off a day or two later and leave them unplugged, and they're usually ready to go when I need them next. None of those are reasons you shouldn't get corded tools, just that battery tools aren't the devil. Especially small drill guns. Great when you need to paint a room and deal with a bunch of outlet covers.

Polq, I gotta disagree with you on cordless drills. They are WAY more convenient than corded, and I've had the same Dewalt set with two batteries for at least 10 years now and they are still going strong. I agree with you on heavier duty stuff like a sawzall is much better corded than cordless just because of the power output.

If anyone wants a nice screwdriver, I recommend this one. I was reading something about a year ago and came across it and my old bit screwdriver had just broken and I was looking for a quality one instead of the usual $10 jobs that always feel cheap. I felt like a bit of a chump paying $30 for a screwdriver but once I got it I found it is the nicest screwdriver I've ever used and it was worth the money. It is very sturdy and the ratcheting action is super smooth. Two thumbs up from me.

I have both corded and cordless drills a hammer drill that doubles as a regular drill. Otherwise I have been super happy with my Ridgid cordless drill and impact driver. Came with two batteries and have held up.

Don't forget a rake. But for God's sake don't call it a plotting rod.

LeapingGnome wrote:

Polq, I gotta disagree with you on cordless drills. They are WAY more convenient than corded, and I've had the same Dewalt set with two batteries for at least 10 years now and they are still going strong. I agree with you on heavier duty stuff like a sawzall is much better corded than cordless just because of the power output.

If anyone wants a nice screwdriver, I recommend this one. I was reading something about a year ago and came across it and my old bit screwdriver had just broken and I was looking for a quality one instead of the usual $10 jobs that always feel cheap. I felt like a bit of a chump paying $30 for a screwdriver but once I got it I found it is the nicest screwdriver I've ever used and it was worth the money. It is very sturdy and the ratcheting action is super smooth. Two thumbs up from me.

Agree on the cordless. Lithium ion batteries are much better than the old (nickel–cadmium?) that they used to use. They still have charge after 6+ months storage and most recharge in under an hour. With a fast charger, 15 minutes. I have backup screwdriver/drills because my non-tool inclined girlfriend steals mine all the time to assemble IKEA type furniture. She hasn't touched a regular screw driver in years.

Also, is there a reason you went with the mechanics version of that driver over the standard one? From what I can tell it looks like the standard one uses longer double sided bits but the mechanic one only takes the shorties.

A pro tip, after you keep a couple of those useless Allen wrenches that are hyper common in store bought furniture. To ensure you have a drill bit to use take your angle grinder bought as suggested above with a cutoff wheel and cut off the small turn side, and voila, you have a custom drill bit you can use to assemble...Or if you're me your drill bits are lost in boxes and you found your angle grinder and thought why the hell not?!

Hah, good idea and now I have a reason to break out the multi-tool.

EvilDead wrote:

Also, is there a reason you went with the mechanics version of that driver over the standard one? From what I can tell it looks like the standard one uses longer double sided bits but the mechanic one only takes the shorties.

The mechanics one is compatible with bits from anywhere, so if you already have a bunch of short bits you can just use them too. The standard one uses those double length bits and there were reviews complaining that other regular bits don't work so I went with the one with more compatibility.

Okay, thanks. I'm going to put a price watch on that. My ratcheting screw driver is a cheapy Craftsman that is rusting out.

EvilDead wrote:

Okay, thanks. I'm going to put a price watch on that. My ratcheting screw driver is a cheapy Craftsman that is rusting out.

can't you trade it in on warranty?

Hobear wrote:
EvilDead wrote:

Okay, thanks. I'm going to put a price watch on that. My ratcheting screw driver is a cheapy Craftsman that is rusting out.

can't you trade it in on warranty?

Possibly, I'm not sure if the moving parts tools have the same lifetime warranty. If it was nicer it might be worth the drive to check but it was only like $10 15 years ago. Never felt like a good tool.

EvilDead wrote:

Okay, thanks. I'm going to put a price watch on that. My ratcheting screw driver is a cheapy Craftsman that is rusting out.

FWIW I bought it last December and it was $40 (not the $30 that I remembered). So it looks like it has dropped about $5 in the last 10 months.

LeapingGnome wrote:
EvilDead wrote:

Okay, thanks. I'm going to put a price watch on that. My ratcheting screw driver is a cheapy Craftsman that is rusting out.

FWIW I bought it last December and it was $40 (not the $30 that I remembered). So it looks like it has dropped about $5 in the last 10 months.

It's showing $35 for me. Anyways $27 last black Friday so might as well wait.

LeapingGnome wrote:

Polq, I gotta disagree with you on cordless drills. They are WAY more convenient than corded, and I've had the same Dewalt set with two batteries for at least 10 years now and they are still going strong. I agree with you on heavier duty stuff like a sawzall is much better corded than cordless just because of the power output.

This. I've yet to have a cordless tool need a new battery. I suspect that Polq might have had a point 10-15 years ago, but the battery technology seems rock solid these days. Sure, it requires a bit of discipline to put the battery on the charger after you use it, but that seems to be enough.

That said, I have both corded and cordless drills. Corded for jobs that require more grunt, cordless for quick jobs here and there. It gets used as a powered screwdriver more than for drilling, anyway.

Jonman wrote:

This. I've yet to have a cordless tool need a new battery. I suspect that Polq might have had a point 10-15 years ago, but the battery technology seems rock solid these days. Sure, it requires a bit of discipline to put the battery on the charger after you use it, but that seems to be enough.

Like Alton Brown, whose incessant hectoring about "No single use kitchen tools!" hides the fact that he covets every stupid gadget that comes along, I totally want a good cordless drill.

I also have a couple of cordless drills of varying voltages and battery architectures that date back to about 15 years. One, a Ryobi I think, was part of a very expensive multi-tool set with different attachments. Anyway, because of changes in battery tech, standard voltages, and battery socket designs, they are all worthless junk. Well made, durable worthless junk. Even when they were a couple of years old, they were weak and unreliable. Maybe modern drills are better, but I still feel burned.

Meanwhile, I also have a cheapo Craftsman corded drill that my parents gave me over 20 years ago that still works well and has been the backbone of nearly every minor home maintenance project in my adult life.

Batteries are the DLC of the tool world.

polq37 wrote:

Even when they were a couple of years old, they were weak and unreliable. Maybe modern drills are better, but I still feel burned.

Meanwhile, I also have a cheapo Craftsman corded drill that my parents gave me over 20 years ago that still works well and has been the backbone of nearly every minor home maintenance project in my adult life.

Yeah, a cheap cordless drill will likely be underpowered - mine certainly is. But underpowered is fine for plenty of the jobs I need a drill for, and the pick-up-and-go nature of it is more than worth that, knowing that the also-cheap corded drill is available if we need the extra oomph.

polq37 wrote:

Batteries are the DLC of the tool world.

Troof.

polq37 wrote:

Maybe modern drills are better, but I still feel burned.

So, so much better. High voltage Li-Ion is a game changer.

polq37 wrote:

Batteries are the DLC of the tool world.

Then cords are the always-on DRM.

In all seriousness, I'm so glad companies are moving to a universal battery platform for all their tools. Yeah you are stuck into buying from a single manufacturer but you can use the same batteries you already own.

The issue now is most are going from 18V to 20V so beings the battery phaseout. That is my little frustration.

I have a Black and Decker cordless drill I bought over 15 years ago with 2 batteries. The batteries hold their charge awesomely. When my nephew moved in and went to Tech school, I gave it to him and bought a Bosch but didn't notice it had a NiCad battery. I swear the damned thing loses charge after sitting for a week.

When he moved out, he didn't take the B&D drill. I'm still using it and it seems to never lose its charge.

The best feature is the chuck pops off and there's a place for a bit under it. It's super handy to have it morph from a drill to as screwdriver without having to change bits.

It works like this one:

IMAGE(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/410FAWTAZ5L.jpg)

I like having a corded drill just in case, but it doesn't see much use.

-BEP

After reading the responses, I've decided to add a "Basic Tookit" grouping in the second post.

-BEP