In Knipex we trust. In all others, get a deposit. I bought a pair of Cobra 10 inch adjustable pliers and it was one of the best purchases I could have made.

Though, I was issued a Wiha DriveLoc handle and some blades for it (Pozidrive 1&2, Phillips 1&2, and a couple of sizes of flat) at work, and that is becoming my favorite driver.

A metal utility knife and some quality blades.

The first toolset I purchased 40 years ago was a Craftsman set with end wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, etc., and their standard metal toolbox. I have since expanded to a large rolling box, but that Craftsman toolbox stays in my truck for those frequent trips out to the farm. This summer I finally took steps to better organize this small box and purchased a canvas pouch to keep all the end wrenches and adjustable wrenches organized. I have found this pouch to be a time-saver and wish I would have bought one earlier.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

For a vehicle tool kit I like to just have the tools I need which consists of USA made wrenches and sockets in 10, 12, 14mm, a deep well socket for lug nuts, Knipex pliers, Klein 10 in 1 screwdriver, zip ties, duct tape, etc.

For a garage tool chest I have full metric and SAE socket and wrench sets, various ratchets and breaker bars, pry bars, etc.


As far as brands I like the following for USA with a few European/Japan thrown in.

Pliers/Cutters - Klein, Knipex, NWS, ChannelLock, Wilde slip joint flush fit
Locking Pliers - Grip-On
Hammers - Vaughan/Grayvik, Estwing, Trusty Cook, Barco
Screwdriver - Klein, Felo, Tekton, Vessel
Punch, Pry - Wilde
Pipe Wrench, Pipe Cutter - Ridgid
Levels/Squares - Empire, Johnson
Tape Measure - Stanley/Craftsman
Socket/Bit holders - Ernst
Tool Bag - Husky
Snips - Midwest
Scissors - Heritage
Saw Blades - Diablo, Freud
MultiMeter - Klein (Korean made, discontinued)

A good pair of work gloves to help protect your hands so that you can continue using the rest of your tools.

Do NOT cheap out on the pliers.

Good needle-nose will hold their alignment better than cheap ones

Good standard pliers will grip better

Good adjustable pliers won't be too loose and become a pain to adjust

In short, get good pliers

Take a look at TEKTON for any wrenches, ratchets, etc. Good prices plus -10% savings on their home page.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
Start out with a basic set. Here’s a good Black Friday deal. Half off.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobal...wer-Chest/5000183119

Add a set of pliers and screwdrivers and you’re all set.

Great start. Add a couple of Pipe Wrenches. Claw Hammer. Small Level, Volt Ohm Meter, And somewhat of an auto Scan Tool.

I’ll second the TEKTON brand for good quality basic tools, including wrenches. Most of their stuff is made in Taiwan, I believe.

I also like Husky brand screwdrivers.
You can get a set fr $30.
Also get a set of precision screwdrivers for the small stuff.

If the OP here has boys, just buy junk or anything you can pick up along the roads. Once the boys reach driving age, they'll steal or borrow all your tools. Wives aren't a bunch better. I still remember (vividly) her asking to borrow my pocket knife. OK, she's my wife, so I didn't argue. About an hour later she was walking along and I asked her for my knife back. She gave me a vacant look. No idea what I was talking about. So we retraced her steps and there it was, right where she left it. Yeah, I bought her one of her own. Then another and so on. She finally admitted it was easier to just borrow mine. And then leave it when she was done.

Don't loan tools. They usually don't come back. With son's, its easier. Just go look in their car or toolbox. Or where they were working. I solved that by buying Snapon. If I ever catch them with one of mine, I'll skin them. They know it and are afraid of them. Wives are a bigger problem, whats mine is hers, hers to lose as she see's fit.

Of great interest to me was my younger son going out on his own and buying a tool set. A few years in all the commonly used tools were missing. He lost them.

Many lost tools can be found along the roads. I call it highway hunting. Stopping and picking them up. You've got to be sharp eyed. Its how I accumulated my collection of gas cans. I didn't mind going to work on Sunday's. Lots of drunks running out of fuel, then hiking to the nearest gas station to buy a gallon or two. Then they'd toss the empty can along the interstate. The back of the garage was where I stored them. Then I bought a new jeep in 2005 and it came with 200 gallons of free gas! I piled all of them in the back of the jeep and went to a gas station. Filled them all up and went to my son's house. He'd just bought a motor home. We managed to fill up over half tank. A good dad present.

A set of basic files.

quote:

Originally posted by rburg:


Many lost tools can be found along the roads. I call it highway hunting. Stopping and picking them up. You've got to be sharp eyed. Its how I accumulated my collection of gas cans. I didn't mind going to work on Sunday's. Lots of drunks running out of fuel, then hiking to the nearest gas station to buy a gallon or two. Then they'd toss the empty can along the interstate. The back of the garage was where I stored them. Then I bought a new jeep in 2005 and it came with 200 gallons of free gas! I piled all of them in the back of the jeep and went to a gas station. Filled them all up and went to my son's house. He'd just bought a motor home. We managed to fill up over half tank. A good dad present.

I would suspect that many of those gas cans may be filled with piss and tossed out the window from a passenger.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
A set of basic files.

Any recommendations for both wood and metal?

A strong work bench and sturdy vice.

quote:

Originally posted by l33571:

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:
A set of basic files.

Any recommendations for both wood and metal?

No, unfortunately I wouldn't know specifically what to recommend. I accumulated mine here and there, probably like most people.

quote:

Originally posted by drill sgt:
What about a 10" cresent wrench(knuckle buster) and a slip joint pipe wrench. ......................... drill sgt.

Crescent wrench AKA "Swedish Nut Lathe"

A laser level

I bought a cheap Bosch one that has level and plum lines. It was about $40, but is it very handy.

Hanging pictures, curtain rods, installing light fixtures, etc.

My advice would be to just buy a tool, or tools, you need for each job that comes up. OR, buy a smal general purpose kit from a box hardware store, that comes in large folding brief-case type cases, like a large Craftsman or Husky branded all purpose set. Should have most of the basics you might need - screwdrivers, sockets, pliers, a cutter, etc. Those packages are generally speaking, very good deals price-wise. That's what I would do if I weren't a home maintenace/car/tool junkie.

Heavy duty bandaids...

Very little I can add to what has been recommended but I will try.

Harbor Freight, if it has moving parts or is a screwdriver set don't bother. The wrenches are OK but with any cheap wrenches the chrome plating or rustproofing is non existent or so thin to be useless. I scribed my driver license number on my tools. The better brands, Craftsman, Husky, Kobalt, even Stanley there was no problem. Harbor Freight wrenches the chrome plating is flaking off where I scribed the driver license number and the flakes can cut your fingers. That being said I expect to use the tools I keep in my truck maybe 20-30 times in my life so a cheap brand is OK with me. Most of the the tools for my shop are Craftsman, Husky, Kobalt and I expect them to last a lot longer. Cheap wrenches are too brittle, soft, or as mentioned the plating comes off.

If you ask an 18 year old what is bigger, a 25/32 or a 3/4 wrench you will get a deer in the head lights look. Ask what is bigger 17mm or 19mm and you will get an answer. I think metric is a communist conspiracy but I have to admit its easier to figure out the sizes. The metric revolution is not about to happen, it already has. Get SAE and metric wrenches and sockets. As I did minor maintenance on my vehicles I found there was SAE and Metric sizes in all of them. Plan on two sets of tools for your vehicles.

GCE61 recommended getting good screwdrivers, I second that motion. I have older Craftsman and am happy I went a step or two up in quality. Get slotted, Phillips in three sizes. Small, medium and large. Get a TORX set of screwdrivers and a set of Hex wrenches in SAE and metric.

Power tools. DeWalt, Milwalkee, and Bosch are premium brands. Makita is an "entry" premium brand. Porter Cable was premium but was bought out by Black and Decker as was DeWalt. B&D decided one premium brand was enough and downgraded Porter Cable to homeowner quality. That being said I have several Porter Cable power tools and for my level of use they are fine. As much as I like Craftsman hand tools I am disappointed with their power tools. Bad bearings on circular saws and broken gears on their drills after a few months has soured me on them. I have Dewalt, Makita, Bosch, and Porter Cable for most of my power tools and I'm happy with them.

Get a cordless 3/8 drill, you will find reasons to use it. I found when I had to drill in concrete a 1/2 in corded hammer drill had a lot more backbone than cordless.