Don's favorite tool list
TOP TEN TOOLS FOR DIY BUILDING
I’m a 71 year old retired English teacher, living in a camping trailer while building a cabin, mostly by myself. Here is a list of the ten best tool purchases I’ve made.
First place goes to my Champion 9000 generator. If you don’t have powerline electricity, this is your first purchase. Get the best one you can. I’m not young any more, so it had to have electric start. It also runs on either gas or propane. I haven’t had to use the propane yet, but it’s nice to know I can.
Second place is my Makita magnesium worm drive saw. Comparing a worm drive saw to one of those cheaply made, direct drive saws, is like comparing a cheap, quarter-ton pickup truck to a three-quarter ton truck with five hundred horsepower and four-wheel drive. They’re just not the same thing. Same with worm drive saws.
There are disadvantages. They are expensive and heavy. Enter the Makita magnesium saw. Almost as light as a direct drive, it’s as rugged and powerful as a worm drive. I’ve been using mine for a year, and it still cuts as accurately, smoothly, and effortlessly as ever. I can split a pencil line freehand, one-handed, better than I could do with my old, cheap saw using both hands and a saw guide. There’s just no comparison.
Same story with my Central Pneumatic, 28º nail gun, in third place. If you’ve never used one, imagine driving 16d nails with one hit, every time. Imagine driving a hundred of them without getting tired or stiff in the elbow. Imagine effortless toenailing. Imagine building two walls in one day. And you can’t hit your thumb! It’s light weight, has a rotating exhaust port to keep blowback out of your face, and a selector for single shot or bump operation. The gun, compressor, and hose cost around two hundred bucks at Harbor Freight Tools. How many work days will that save? How much ruined lumber? How much pain? My favorite framing hammer just got demoted.
Fourth place goes to my Yeti 1400 power center. While I’m running my generator to power my saw and compressor, I’m charging my Yeti. Right now, I’ve plugged my computer into it, and I’ve got silent, 110 volt AC power. It has two AC ports, three for 12 volt DC, and four USB
ports. It’s the size of a truck battery, but lighter, and stores 1400 watts in its lithium battery. I’ve run my table saw with it. With the Yeti, I have totally silent, reliable power anywhere.
Fifth place goes to my deWalt bar clamps. They operate by squeezing a trigger. One handed. Big deal? It’s HUGE! Normal clamps are fine in a shop, but what if you’re on an eight-foot ladder, holding up a beam? As I was this morning. The beam was heavy, and it was slipping. I was faced with being knocked off the ladder by the beam, or jumping off to avoid it. Fending off the beam with one hand, I grabbed a clamp with the other, placed it, and squeezed the trigger. Instant stabilized beam. Possibly saved my life. Use one once and you’ll never go back.
Sixth place goes to a minor gadget. It came with a can of pencils I bought at The Home Depot. It’s a pencil sharpener you chuck in your drill or electric screwdriver. When your pencil gets dull, just stick it in the sharpener and pull the drill’s trigger. Sharp pencil in one second. Everyone who sees it in action is amazed. It won’t save your life. It won’t save you money. It just turns a continual small annoyance into an even smaller one, and it cost me nothing.
Seventh place goes to my framing square. It’s absolutely amazing what a wonderful tool this is. Yes, you can use it to check if things are square, but that’s just the beginning. The long arm of the square is exactly two feet long and two inches wide. The short arm is sixteen inches by an inch and a half; great for laying out studs, joists and rafters. Both arms read interior dimensions on one edge, and exterior on the other. One is in twelfths of an inch, for scaling inches to feet. There are tables for calculatinng rafter angles and lengths. Nothing beats it for laying out stair stringers. It also works great as a saw guide for cross-cutting wide boards.
I love getting immediate answers to arcane building questions, anywhere, any time. “What size is the rough opening for a 48" square window with brick molding?” Or, “How many 16d, vinyl coated sinker nails are there in a pound?” It’s like having a building instructor in my pocket. It would probably be even higher on my list if we had reliable cell phone service here.
Ninth is my tool belt. After trying several fabric ones, I know why pros use a plain web belt, with separate, leather pouches. The belt never twists. You can put the pouches wherever you want. You may need a nail pouch on the left one day, with a hammer ring on the right. Next day you may want the pouch on the right. You may need a special holder for a nail gun, or you may be left-handed. And leather pouches hold their shape forever. Cheap belts, with fabric pouches permanently attached, are false economy.
Tenth is my jobsite notebook, which I call my “brains.” I put in my floor plans, materials quotes, phone numbers of everyone, permits, appointments, anything even remotely connected to the project. I would be lost without my “brains”. I can retrieve permit numbers, helpers’ names, inspectors’ and perchants’ phone numbers, at a moment’s notice. Plastic sheet protectors keep out dirt, and provide pockets for receipts, permits, business cards, etc. Total cost, about five bucks. Information preserved, priceless.
My final favorite “tool” is The Home Depot, They’re not really a tool, though they sell just about any tool you need. They have a no-hassle return policy. If a tool doesn’t suit you perfectly, take it back and get one that does. You don’t need your receipt. There’s no thirty-day time limit. You can also return unused supplies, if you bought extra. Wow! But that’s not all.
Their customer service is unbeatable. I needed twenty-four manufactured joists, each thirty feet, five inches long. Their Pro Desk guy advised me to order them at thirty feet, “because the manufacturer always provides a couple extra feet, so you can cut them to the exact dimension.” He was wrong; the joists were delivered, and they were thirty feet long. Oops! The Home Depot replaced them within twenty-four hours at no additional charge, delivered the replacements to my remote building site, apologized, and even threw in an extra, twenty-four foot rim board I’d forgotten to order. For free. Beat that!
I’m a 71 year old retired English teacher, living in a camping trailer while building a cabin, mostly by myself. Here is a list of the ten best tool purchases I’ve made.
First place goes to my Champion 9000 generator. If you don’t have powerline electricity, this is your first purchase. Get the best one you can. I’m not young any more, so it had to have electric start. It also runs on either gas or propane. I haven’t had to use the propane yet, but it’s nice to know I can.
Second place is my Makita magnesium worm drive saw. Comparing a worm drive saw to one of those cheaply made, direct drive saws, is like comparing a cheap, quarter-ton pickup truck to a three-quarter ton truck with five hundred horsepower and four-wheel drive. They’re just not the same thing. Same with worm drive saws.
There are disadvantages. They are expensive and heavy. Enter the Makita magnesium saw. Almost as light as a direct drive, it’s as rugged and powerful as a worm drive. I’ve been using mine for a year, and it still cuts as accurately, smoothly, and effortlessly as ever. I can split a pencil line freehand, one-handed, better than I could do with my old, cheap saw using both hands and a saw guide. There’s just no comparison.
Same story with my Central Pneumatic, 28º nail gun, in third place. If you’ve never used one, imagine driving 16d nails with one hit, every time. Imagine driving a hundred of them without getting tired or stiff in the elbow. Imagine effortless toenailing. Imagine building two walls in one day. And you can’t hit your thumb! It’s light weight, has a rotating exhaust port to keep blowback out of your face, and a selector for single shot or bump operation. The gun, compressor, and hose cost around two hundred bucks at Harbor Freight Tools. How many work days will that save? How much ruined lumber? How much pain? My favorite framing hammer just got demoted.
Fourth place goes to my Yeti 1400 power center. While I’m running my generator to power my saw and compressor, I’m charging my Yeti. Right now, I’ve plugged my computer into it, and I’ve got silent, 110 volt AC power. It has two AC ports, three for 12 volt DC, and four USB
ports. It’s the size of a truck battery, but lighter, and stores 1400 watts in its lithium battery. I’ve run my table saw with it. With the Yeti, I have totally silent, reliable power anywhere.
Fifth place goes to my deWalt bar clamps. They operate by squeezing a trigger. One handed. Big deal? It’s HUGE! Normal clamps are fine in a shop, but what if you’re on an eight-foot ladder, holding up a beam? As I was this morning. The beam was heavy, and it was slipping. I was faced with being knocked off the ladder by the beam, or jumping off to avoid it. Fending off the beam with one hand, I grabbed a clamp with the other, placed it, and squeezed the trigger. Instant stabilized beam. Possibly saved my life. Use one once and you’ll never go back.
Sixth place goes to a minor gadget. It came with a can of pencils I bought at The Home Depot. It’s a pencil sharpener you chuck in your drill or electric screwdriver. When your pencil gets dull, just stick it in the sharpener and pull the drill’s trigger. Sharp pencil in one second. Everyone who sees it in action is amazed. It won’t save your life. It won’t save you money. It just turns a continual small annoyance into an even smaller one, and it cost me nothing.
Seventh place goes to my framing square. It’s absolutely amazing what a wonderful tool this is. Yes, you can use it to check if things are square, but that’s just the beginning. The long arm of the square is exactly two feet long and two inches wide. The short arm is sixteen inches by an inch and a half; great for laying out studs, joists and rafters. Both arms read interior dimensions on one edge, and exterior on the other. One is in twelfths of an inch, for scaling inches to feet. There are tables for calculatinng rafter angles and lengths. Nothing beats it for laying out stair stringers. It also works great as a saw guide for cross-cutting wide boards.
I love getting immediate answers to arcane building questions, anywhere, any time. “What size is the rough opening for a 48" square window with brick molding?” Or, “How many 16d, vinyl coated sinker nails are there in a pound?” It’s like having a building instructor in my pocket. It would probably be even higher on my list if we had reliable cell phone service here.
Ninth is my tool belt. After trying several fabric ones, I know why pros use a plain web belt, with separate, leather pouches. The belt never twists. You can put the pouches wherever you want. You may need a nail pouch on the left one day, with a hammer ring on the right. Next day you may want the pouch on the right. You may need a special holder for a nail gun, or you may be left-handed. And leather pouches hold their shape forever. Cheap belts, with fabric pouches permanently attached, are false economy.
Tenth is my jobsite notebook, which I call my “brains.” I put in my floor plans, materials quotes, phone numbers of everyone, permits, appointments, anything even remotely connected to the project. I would be lost without my “brains”. I can retrieve permit numbers, helpers’ names, inspectors’ and perchants’ phone numbers, at a moment’s notice. Plastic sheet protectors keep out dirt, and provide pockets for receipts, permits, business cards, etc. Total cost, about five bucks. Information preserved, priceless.
My final favorite “tool” is The Home Depot, They’re not really a tool, though they sell just about any tool you need. They have a no-hassle return policy. If a tool doesn’t suit you perfectly, take it back and get one that does. You don’t need your receipt. There’s no thirty-day time limit. You can also return unused supplies, if you bought extra. Wow! But that’s not all.
Their customer service is unbeatable. I needed twenty-four manufactured joists, each thirty feet, five inches long. Their Pro Desk guy advised me to order them at thirty feet, “because the manufacturer always provides a couple extra feet, so you can cut them to the exact dimension.” He was wrong; the joists were delivered, and they were thirty feet long. Oops! The Home Depot replaced them within twenty-four hours at no additional charge, delivered the replacements to my remote building site, apologized, and even threw in an extra, twenty-four foot rim board I’d forgotten to order. For free. Beat that!
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