Essential kit

[barninks]

Hello again
here is a pic of what i think my toolkit looked like not long after i started out.
I used to work with under a mate of mine so some tools i borrowed of him to start with.
These tools are mainly for domestic work...
i had other tools too that didn't go in the box or bag...like hammer drill, super rod cable rods, etc.
feel free to ask me why i have any of those tools and what i use them for.

 

[Simon47]

The reason is... that feet and inches are very nice sizes to use... far more practical on a day to day basis. I love working in them... but will also use metric where I need to.

Ditto. 12 is a very useful number - divisible easily by 2,3,4, or 6. 10 is only really divisible by 2 or 5 without going to fractions. Also, when you do end up going to fractions, with inches we tend to use 1/2, 1/4, etc, while with decimal we tend to use .5, .25 which is not as easy to mental arithmetic with.

What I find really really annoying is when something that is clearly made in feet and inches has to be converted (due to EU rules) into metric to sell it. e.g. Most sheet materials sold as 2400mm x 1200mm are actually 8'x4' if you measure 'em.

It's worse than that. There is sheet material sold in both 2400x1200 (metric) and 2440x1220 (metric 8'x4'). The difference is not always made clear on the websites. Get 2440x1220 sheets and you quickly run into trouble if you've got 400 or 600mm spaced timbers rather than 16 or 24"

And a decent rule for tools...if you borrow it once ok, borrow it twice or more you should have it in your kit

And watch out for the "borrow it once, give it back, borrow it twice, it's mine" 'friends' A while ago a colleague asked my how come I have all these shiny tools (while I worked in IT, I had all sorts of tools for seemingly any job) - to which the answer was "I bought them, I look after them, and I don't allow anyone to just help themselves to them". I once cought someone borrowing one of my insulated screwdrivers, when queried, he was going to use it as a pry bar - he was lucky not to find me testing it for fit in one of his bodily orifices, but then I wouldn't want to get it dirty

I don't even know what a "1 Pair foot prints (225m)" is!

What rock have you been living under Apart from the regular uses, dad made an oil filter attachment - a bit of old bike chain with a metal tab on it. Replace the moving part with the bike chain, and you have an oil filter strap with remarkable gripping ability (and filter crushing ability if it's really stuck tight).

I have a stanley toolbag like this.

I have a rather old red plastic tool box made by Contico, and it holds an amazing amount of stuff due to having TWO trays in it with lots of compartments. Due to it's age (and it starting to show it), plus constantly finding another cranny to add a tool to, a while ago I set out to find a replacement - and I have to say that it was "depressing" to see how badly served we are with sensible tool boxes. Nearly all offer just one tray, and a huge space into which you are supposed to just "dump" a pile of different stuff - meaning that it's hard to find and/or gets damaged. I eventually found a suitable one, but haven't got round to sorting through all my tools and re-locating them. One "excuse" for putting this off is that I need to carefully remove one divider in a tray to take my multimeter.

and one last thing: a quality tool is an investment

Yes, this cannot be stressed too much. Not only does "buy cheap, buy often" apply, but cheap tools (especially things like poor quality screwdrivers) can damage what you're working on to the point where proper tools will no longer fit. At my last job, a common issue would be someone taking a laptop apart with a poorly fitting screwdriver - then come to me for help after they've well and truly chewed up the screw head beyond any further use.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

I have day to day tools in a Stanley tote - basically hand tools pliers, screwdrivers etc
Then have dewalt tstak toolboxes that link - one has power tools in - sds, drill driver, impact driver, multi tool and torches and drill bits
Another has the angle grinder in and other house bashing stuff mainly for first fixing with lump hammers, scutch chisel, crowbars, chisels etc...
Have one with holesaws, come drills, varyingg drill bits. Arbours and dust shrouds.
Got shallow tstak with conduit tools in.
I have another small shallow tstak for data cabling, aerials and similar stuff.
Have other tstak boxes for different jobs such as EV installs with EV testing kit, EV charge leads for testing and spares for the chargers I service when subbing.
I like the tstak stuff as it links together, is modular and easy to transport around on a trolley, leaving what I don't need at home and not taking it on the van.

 

[Simon47]

Hmmm, looks nice - and I guess as that sort of stuff goes (especially branded like DeWalt) not that expensive.

 

[barninks]

I have day to day tools in a Stanley tote - basically hand tools pliers, screwdrivers etc
Then have dewalt tstak toolboxes that link - one has power tools in - sds, drill driver, impact driver, multi tool and torches and drill bits
Another has the angle grinder in and other house bashing stuff mainly for first fixing with lump hammers, scutch chisel, crowbars, chisels etc...
Have one with holesaws, come drills, varyingg drill bits. Arbours and dust shrouds.
Got shallow tstak with conduit tools in.
I have another small shallow tstak for data cabling, aerials and similar stuff.
Have other tstak boxes for different jobs such as EV installs with EV testing kit, EV charge leads for testing and spares for the chargers I service when subbing.
I like the tstak stuff as it links together, is modular and easy to transport around on a trolley, leaving what I don't need at home and not taking it on the van.

A good post. I agree - modular storage is great. I now have the Milwaukee packout and proving the luxury of an easy to maneuver stack of tool boxes on wheels great for commercial work especially, where you are moving around a lot within one building.