Tools. I’m an engineer, and I love tools. That’s why I have a lot of them. I’m constantly on the lookout for better or interesting tools to use. And I do use them. I can build or fix anything, if you give me enough time- something I’m constantly short of - usually it even turns out pretty good when I do.
On this page I’ll show you a few of my tools and why I like or dislike them.
[Should I buy the cheap tool, or do I need the expensive one?](#Should I buy the cheap tool, or do I need the expensive one?)
[What tools should I buy first?](#What tools should I buy first?)
[The most used tool](#The most used tool)
[Cordless tool kits. Which one?](#Cordless kits:)
[Where to buy tools](#Where to buy tools)
[Pictures of Eric’s tools](#Pictures of Eric’s tools)
Should I buy the cheap tool, or do I need the expensive one?
Most tool guys will tell you need the expensive one, always. However, I won’t say that. It really depends on how much work you do and what you are going to do with your tools. I’ve found that some of the cheaper tools are really pretty good - even under hard homeowner use. I’m not a contractor, and if I had to make my money with my tools, I really would use the best, but for everyone else, the consumer grade is pretty good, and sometimes the Chinese knock-off tools are pretty good. The problem with tools is that you really don’t know how good or bad is until you use it for awhile, and even then, you may not realize how bad it was until you start using a better one.
So let me give you some examples:
Hand tools.
The professionals use brands like Snap-On, Mac or one of several other pro brands. They come in a truck, purchased from a tool salesman. Many homeowners have never even heard of these brands, because you can’t buy them in stores. And not too many would buy them anyway, because they are very expensive. They’re also very good. They work well, feel good in your hand, they’re strong, and they don’t break. If you’re a pro, a broken tool can cost you hundreds of dollars in lost productivity - it’s worth it to pay for tools that won’t break.
Most consumers have heard of Craftsman tools from Sears stores, some even think of those as expensive tools. Believe me, they’re not expensive. But they are pretty good. Not nearly as good as the pro brands - they do break sometimes, and they’re made of softer metal, so they do bend. However Sears does offer a lifetime warranty. If a Craftsman tool breaks, ever, just take it back to the store and they’ll give you a new one on the spot. I did this just a few weeks ago with a 40 year old craftsman socket that broke when I was turning on it really hard. The new one didn’t have exactly the same finish, but they gave me a brand new one. Craftsman hand tools are good enough for 90% of the homeowners out there, and if you buy one of their kits of tools, they can be a real bargain. Look around the holidays for their kit specials.
What about cheaper tools? If you can’t even afford the $100 or so it takes to buy a Craftsman kit, can you still buy tools? Yes you can. Places like Harbor Freight and Northern Tool sell Chinese made tools, that are somewhat cheaper - although the price gap has narrowed in recent years. Even Sears sells a cheaper line, with no warranty (watch for this if you think you are buying Craftsman, make sure it says that on the tool). You can also find similar tools at flea markets and swap meets. When I was 15 years old, I bought my first set of tools from one of these flea market vendors for $85. I still have some of those tools and use them occasionally - they got me through the first few years just fine. Most of the stuff I use often I’ve replaced out, but for some of the tools that I use infrequently - like my 3/4 drive socket set, they work fine. One caveat, I won’t buy cheap hammering tools or hammered tools - there’s no guarantee those Chinese tools got heat-treated correctly, and I don’t want to be hammering on a chisel that splinters because the heat-treat wasn’t right. I once had a friend who lost an eye in exactly that fashion. Another downside to the Chinese tools is that there is no warranty whatsoever. If it breaks, buy a new one.
My current hand tool inventory consists of a mishmash of Craftsman, Chinese made and several others. I will say that I like cheap Stanley Screwdrivers as well as any. For socket sets, I like something even better than Sears. I’ve used SK tools for awhile, and they seem to be pretty good. I have both a 1/4 drive and a 3/8 drive set - which comes with both English and metric sizes in a nice plastic case. They’re closer to the premium brands, but I can get them cheaper on Ebay. I use these tools hard, and I’ve never broken one.
Power Tools
Everybody used to start out with Black and Decker power tools, which are still sold at Wal-Mart and other stores. Sears sells their Craftsman power tools, without a lifetime warranty, of course, and Home Depot has a line of Ryobi power tools that are consumer grade. Contractor grade tools come from brands like Dewault, Makita, Milwaukee, Porter Cable and Hilti. Again, there are Chinese knock-offs of these tools as well, and they are dirt cheap.
My recommendation is go with the consumer grade if you are a light user. They’ll get you by and generally don’t let you down. If it is a tool you use often, or you are a heavy do-it-yourselfer, I’d recommend springing for the better stuff. It really works better, has more power and lasts longer.
As for the Chinese knock-off power tools. I can’t really recommend them. I’ve had really spotty results. Every one of these I’ve bought I’ve had to fix at one time or another. I will say, once I fixed the problems, they worked fine. Generally they come with cheap power cords and switches and very poorly done solder connections. I’ve had a couple of Chinese tools tat have worked great, however. This disc/belt sander has worked great for better than 15 years. It’s noisy, and sounds like it’s going to fly apart, but it never does, and I’ve never had to work on it at all.
Personally I’ve had really good luck with Porter Cable and Milwaukee power tools, however they are both premium brands, with a premium price.
What tools should I buy first?
Simple. A good set of hand tools should be first. A very basic set would include a hammer, pliers - both slip joint and needle nose, an adjustable wrench and a set of screwdrivers. This set costs $60 at sears.
Add a set of wrenches both English and metric, and a set of sockets in 1/4 and 3/8 drive, again English and metric, and a good cordless drill with a set of bits, and a small hand saw, and you can do 90% of the household chores. This socket and wrench set goes for $79.99 - and I know you can find it much cheaper around the holidays. The Ryobi 12v cordless drill goes for $49.99 and will do most anything you need. I might upgrade to an 18v kit for $79.99 for an 18v and they might throw in a cordless saw a light and an extra battery - which is a real bargain.
The most used tool
By far, my most used tool is a cordless drill. I use it to drill holes, drive screws, turn bolts and all kinds of other things. I used to use a corded drill a lot, but the cordless ones are so good that I rarely pull my corded drill out anymore.
I currently have four cordless drills:
From newest on the right, to oldest on the left. They all work fine. The oldest is about 15 years old now, and is a Panasonic 12V drill. The second is about a 7 year old Panasonic 12V. The second is a Ryobi 18V and the newest is a Milwaukee 28V.
The Panasonics were the cream of the crop 15 years ago, and they had all the right features. The only reason I bought the second one (on the right) was that the batteries and charger on the first (on the left) one went bad and it was cheaper to buy a whole new drill kit than just the batteries and charger. I’ve driven literally thousands of screws and drilled hundreds of holes with each of these drills. They’ve been dropped off ladders and worked until the motors smoked from heat.
But time marches on, and the unique features that were only available in the Panasonic line at one time, are now available in much cheaper drills. Also, the power available has gone way up. The Ryobi 18V is about 5 years old, and is a great drill. It is powerful, has a keyless chuck, and has an adjustable clutch. It starts and stops instantly with the trigger pull, and it has full power at low speeds. These were all the features that only Panasonic had for a long time. The new 28V Milwaukee is a beast. It has 3x the power of the old Panasonics. It also has a hammer drill function, I’m not sure if I’ll need my old Milwaukee corded hammer drill any more. For the average homeowner anything over 12V is overkill, but 18V power is nice, and the 28V approaches corded drill power. The downside is that the bigger batteries are heavy. The 12 V Panasonic on the right above is very handy and lightweight.
Cordless kits:
A cordless tool kit is a great way to get a set of cordless tools. They are a relatively recent way to market tools, however, for a do it yourselfer, they can be a great deal. I’ve bought two kits: First, the Ryobi 18V kit from Home Depot. This kit came with a drill, a light, a circular saw a dust buster type vac, a reciprocating saw, a 10 inch chain saw and a jig saw. The tour de force of cordless kits, and it went for something like $300 - which was a fantastic deal. In addition, Ryobi has expanded the line to include every power tool you can imagine for a relatively cheap price. I picked up the router/trimmer shown below.
The problem with the Ryobi kit was that some of the tools worked well, some not so well, and some not at all. The drill is fantastic, and works really great. The jigsaw is also very good as is the router/trimmer and the flashlight. The recip saw works well, but the battery life is not good. The circular saw is only good for very light work, and the chain saw, which I thought was going to be great, doesn’t work at all - it’s total junk. The only really great thing about the Ryobi kit is the drill and the price.
So I began looking at other combo kits. Dewault, Bosch, Makita and Porter Cable all make pretty nice looking kits. However, one came out a couple years ago that seemed to outshine the rest. I recently purchased the Milwaukee 28V kit.
These tools are industrial strength. The kit came with the drill, the circular saw, the recip saw and a light plus two 28v Lion batteries and a charger - plus I got their jobsite radio as a throw in and I have a 28V impact wrench coming from Milwaukee - this special made the tool set halfway reasonable. I bought the 28V band saw as a separate kit with another battery and charger. All these tools seem as powerful as corded tools - so far no complaints, but I can’t say I’ve used them hard yet. Interestingly , the circular saw is 6 1/2 inch and is very quiet - so it doesn’t seem powerful, but it ripped right through 3/4 plywood cuts, and took several back to back passes in a 2 x4 easily.
Power is their strength - price is not - there is almost $1000 in tools in the picture above
Where to buy tools
I buy tools from a lot of sources. As I mentioned before Sears is a good place to get Craftsman tools, especially when they are on sale. There’s also a good selection of tools at Lowe’s and Home Depot home centers.
Believe it or not, I buy a lot of my tools online these days. I buy from Ebay sellers all the time and bought many of the tools you see there. I also buy a lot of tools from Amazon these days. They ship very quickly and have great customer service.
A couple more places is to look at Harbour Freight, who carries many of the Chinese-made tools. As I said above, I have mixed luck with these tools. Mostly good luck with the hand tools, and mostly poor luck with the power tools. Northern Toolhas a wide variety of tools and equipment. We don’t have a local store, but I wish we did.
I do buy a fair share of used tools as well. Nothing wrong with used, if the price is right. I’m always on the lookout for tools at the swap meets and flea markets.
Pictures of Eric’s tools
As I said, I have a lot of tools, so this is just a smattering.
First power tools:
Delta sawbuck sliding miter saw. This one is a bit cheaper than the premium models and works great. I’ve had it for about 8 years, and used it pretty hard at times and it hasn’t missed a beat.
Craftsman air compressor - oiless model - I got from my brother in law for free. works good.
This 9 inch disc, 48 inch belt sander was made in China and works perfectly. I’ve had it for 15 years or so, and have never had a problem. It’s great for sanding wood or metal. I often use it for sharpening mower blades.
This is a Smithy, made in China Mill Lathe machine. I’ve had it for about 10 years, and I would say it works just OK. Not great. I can’t say I’ve used it often, but it does come in handy sometimes when I have to make something on the fly. I have a stock of steel and aluminum bar and plate stock on hand that I can make things out of.
Small Delta bandsaw, works good - not used very often.
Delta benchtop drill press. I use it fairly often, and it works well.
Sears Craftsman 10 inch table saw. Bought it new about 15 years ago. One of the shop workhorses. I use it pretty frequently.
Other Tools:
As I said, I have a lot of tools. Here’s a couple of my tool boxes. I have a couple rules about my tools. One is that I always put them away in the same place so they don’t get lost. Second, after a big job, I always take the time to clean the tools before I put them away. This enables me to keep the tools for a long time, so I don’t feel bad about buying the better ones. The toolbox on the left is about 25 years old, and the one on the right is about 15 years old. Each drawer stores it’s special kind of tool.
One larger drawer in the above boxes is dedicated to drill bits. You can never have enough. I have a couple sets like this. I also have a device called a drill doctor that allows you to sharpen them.
One of the surprisingly often used tools I have is a pressure washer. I bought this one about 10 years ago, after I used a neighbors to clean the deck. It’s a big one, with a 13hp Honda engine on it, so it cleans everything - including the skin on top of your foot if you’re stupid enough to wear sandals while using it. The 50 foot hose it came with wasn’t enough, so I added the hose reel and the 100 foot pressure hose.
Porter Cable Tiger Saw - great for demolition work. This thing has been used hard a few times, and cuts right through about anything.
Nail guns. When building, I use them quite frequently. The big one is a Porter Cable framing nailer - it works OK, but not as good as the others. The medium one is a Bostich finish nailer - works great, and the small one is a Devilbiss brad nailer - works perfect. I have a smaller “hotdog” type compressor I use specifically for the nailers. When I’m not using it, it’s connected to a hose reel near the cars for pumping up tires on cars and bikes.
Another thing you can never have enough of is clamps. I find the quick grip clamps are great, but the Harbor Freight copy - with orange handle - is junk. I also have several measuring devices and conventional and laser levels. I buy work gloves by the dozen pairs.
This is a nice little Ryobi dremel-type tool. Variable speed up to about 25 thousand RPM, I used it for all kinds of cleaning, drilling and grinding operations. Interestingly, I often use the little cutoff wheels for cutting metal.
Milwaukee hammer drill. Powerful and able to punch right through concrete. I don’t use it near as much used to, now that the cordless drills are so powerful. You only need to buy this kind of tool once in your lifetime.
My house uses a lot of caulk, so I bought this Milwaukee 12v caulk gun. It can squirt that sticky stuff like nobody’s business.
This is an interesting tool, called a Fiskars rotary cutter. I think people use them for crafts, but I use it all the time in the shop.
Propane heater I use in the shop when it gets cold outside. It uses a lot of propane, but is good for short term heating needs.
2 1/4 ton floor jack I use all the time when I’m working on cars and motorcycles.
Husqvarna 16 inch chain saw. Great saw. It’s one of their smaller ones - I think a 40cc, but it cuts really nice. It’s also easy to handle and start.
Makita chain saw. It’s a brute. I bought it from the rental store and it runs pretty good and has awesome power. 64cc I think. Too big for anything but occasional use. It also leaks bar lube, obviously.
Another shop workhorse this is a quickick battery starter/charger. I bought this probably 25 years ago, and it works great. It’ll jump start a car or charge a battery in a hurry.
For all my maintenance charging, I have several of these - battery tenders. They work good, just leave them on the battery all the time and they keep it charged.
