Home Tools

Not sure if this is the right place, but I haven't found any forum or thread that specifically made recommendations for tools you should have around the house/homestead.
I have an advantage that the last 3 generations in my lineage have all been some form of handyman.
So as grandparents and parents have passed, tools have made their way down to me.
Some of those tools are getting really hard to find.
But here in Maine you have the right to work on your own home, so I'm not parting with them anytime soon!

I saw a thread about gardening and landscaping tools, but none regarding home repairs (did I miss it?)

As I do some upgrades around our house, I find that there are tools that are only used on the rare occasion - but I can't imagine trying to do these tasks without them.

For woodworking and many home repairs I find the cordless oscillating tool amazing. A hole in the drywall for new electrical boxes is a perfect example.
I never realized just how much I needed that tool until I received one as a gift!

Given the newly installed water filter system I just added, the oddball plumbing tools are forefront in my mind. Here are a few.
  Pipe cutter, both standard copper pipe cutter
  and the ratcheting pipe cutter (for close quarters)
  Wire Brush Cleaner for copper pipe
  And now that solder is lead free, I use MAPP gas instead of propane.

PEX is an option, but since rodents think it is tasty, I've stayed with all copper. And I try to keep a couple of each common fitting in stock.

So what do you consider essential for general home repair tasks?

We have tools that it takes to finish the inside of a house as we bought on that was just the shell, as in outside walls, foundation and roof.

We also had parents and grandparents who passed tools down to us.

A great place to buy cheap tools is Harbor Freight.

My experience with Harbor Freight has been mixed - their bottom of the line tools are great for a single job but not much more.  The middle and upper end pieces have been stellar in my dealings. Had to replace a large 4x24 corded belt sander - first one only lasted about a month. I took it back and they handed me a new one - no questions. That unit is still running great after three years of significant work (job 1 was putting a finished surface on several 24' long 10x12 rough cut timbers - grit steps from 36 down to 240).

One thing that is indispensable if you ever need to put screws or anchor bolts into concrete, or drill a hole through concrete, is a hammer drill. I have had a Harbor Freight one, the trigger broke and the tool was useless with no replacement parts available. A Makita corded hammer drill worked fine until I used it too hard and the motor brushes burned out, replaceable from eReplacementParts but I never got to it. I got a Makita 18v hammer drill, excellent rugged tool, but the chuck froze up a few years ago and I have not been able to open it even with a big pipe wrench and the drill body locked in a bench vise. Fine if I need to drill that size hole... I have a Ryobi 18v hammer drill that has been my go-to for several years now for modest sized projects. It is also a regular drill/driver for all purposes.

For serious drilling in concrete, a Hilti hammer drill is a professional choice, at a professional price. My best friend got one used at a serious discount, and it put holes through 8" thick granite boulders in a minute.

If you're able to check out them old mom and pop antique stores, pawn shops, etc. I found a lot of good sturdy tools that they don't make like no more for cheap. I found all my ratchet bits and tools from a pawn shop for 20 bucks. Saved my ass fixing up my vehicle at that time. Get some castor oil and files and rasps to maintain em. They will last forever. If you plan on homesteading yourself I'd say have a good range of tools for whatever comes up or if you ever have to help someone.

I just bought a framing hammer at Harbor freight, was not aware their hand tools had lifetime guarantee.  This one was a good price and has a hickory handle. Something to factor in your choice

Mine would be a multi-meter. Many other tools I could make do and get by without, but a multi-meter is a must have.

For years we tried buying tools at pawn shops and second hand stores though we always found them prices too high.

Finding used tools , especially  at yard sales, can be a gift or a burden; just like a used car, tools could be misused or abused by previous owners.

If buying power tools new, I have had amazing luck with Ryobi cordless. More than one craftsman on these forums agree, all of them more adept than I am. Admittedly I have only drills, saws, multitool, and reciprocating saw. But the ability to buy 5 and 6 amp hour batteries as after market options make them doubly useful

Randy Butler wrote:Not sure if this is the right place, but I haven't found any forum or thread that specifically made recommendations for tools you should have around the house/homestead...  So what do you consider essential for general home repair tasks?

Where to start?

Basic carpentry, plumbing and electrical tools, and whatever you need for the style of gardening you do.  Depending on how much mechanical work you, do, then a decent basic set of sockets and wrenches, maybe some specialty automotive tools like hose pliers and brake line flaring tools, as well.  Some specialty automotive tools can be "borrowed" - at least in the mainland US - from places like Auto Zone.  In practice, this means paying the retail price for the tool up front, then receiving the full refund when you return the tool.  I did this with a ball joint press, to press out broken/damaged wheel studs, but in the end, a big sledge worked better.

Anne commented on the high price of things at estate sales.  I habitually check at garage and yard sales, even if I'm not looking for anything in particular.  I've found a few deals in pawn shops.  These days I don't pick up much, because I am pretty well equipped, but in years past, I found a lot that way.  My brother-in-law haunts flea markets, but there are none close to me.  Some of the "used stuff"/charity/resale stores near us do have good deals (and sometimes not).  Our Habitat for Humanity stores have supplied me with a bunch of tools and materials at good prices.  I've also bought a lot of tools new at my local hardware stores, as well, but usually buy the "store" brand - "Master Mechanic" or whatever.  These are usually good enough for as much as I use them.  If you are a professional, then by all means buy Proto or Blackhawk or Snap-On or whatever local equivalent suits your fancy.  I've also bought quite a lot of stuff off Ebay, Craigslist or FB Marketplace - some local pickup, some sight unseen and I paid for shipping.  But these were specialty items, at good asking prices (a Millers Falls Boring machine for timber framing, a Fray/Stanley wimble brace and my Morris Apex saw set, by way of examples).  I did buy a Proto brand breaker bar ratchet head for my brother off of Ebay as a Christmas present.  I knew Stanley would stand behind it if it was damaged, but it wasn't, and he was happy.

Early on, I bought tools for jobs as the need arose, often new.  Later, when I had the basics covered, I bought tools for jobs that seemed likely to arise in the future, whenever the items in question appeared at a good price.  Of late, I've hardly needed to buy tools for jobs around the house - pretty well stocked up after several decades!

"Non-tool" people that I occasionally fix things for are generally impressed with what can be done with a cordless drill and impact driver set.

Drill- drill holes, sanding and sharpening, wire wheel for rust/corrosion, paint mixing.
Impact driver- driving and removing all sort of threaded connectors, easy peasy ratcheting. Get a good set up with a flexible extension shaft and the three standard size socket drives and you'll rarely use your ratchet wrench again. I keep a full set of nut drivers and sockets in my impact driver bag.

(NOTE- a good impact driver is MUUUCHHH better for getting lug nuts off a wheel than a 4 way tool on the side of the road at night.  I keep one in the Jeep, with a deep socket that matches the lug nuts on it.)  

Those two will get you through a lot of work. A circular saw is the king of repair saws- not demo or fine work, but quick and good enough repair. There are plenty of cordless kits that have those three tool plus a work light that runs off the same battery. Flashlights are not, generally, good work lights.  A good work light can really help a situation.

I have a tire inflator that runs off my tool batteries. I keep it in a soft sided case in my daily driver. It allows me to fill the tire to a preset PSI without having my head/body down by the tire- a feature I like a lot, having seen a tire pop when getting filled. I don't go three months without my Mom calling me to fill up one of her friends' tires.  I am going to use it on my gorilla cart wheels later today.

Five  things that I use a lot from my "House tools" box are my ( $12) magnetic precision screwdriver set, good mission specific glue, a quality utility knife, clamps, and my speed square.

I'm using a digital tape measure on a flooring project right now. One of the best $15 purchases I have ever made.

If I were first getting into tool purchasing these days, I'd not get air tools. The battery powered impact wrenches, die grinders, cut off tools and spray guns  are now the equal of the air tools for the home user. I'll probably never use my big air compressor or those air tools again. Sad, but the battery tools are simply easier, just as powerful, faster to set up and more portable.

I'll quit talking about tools now and go use some.

Take care,
Jeff