Putting Together the Essential Tool Set

Here are the essential tools needed in any good tool set. You can get them all for less than the price of a giant pizza, and when your cute new neighbor moving in across the hall asks if you have a hammer, it'll be worth every penny. So don't delay!

A Hammer

Just your basic household hammer, with a pounding side on one end (the face) and a curved claw behind it. Use the pounding side to tap nails into your walls, and the claw to pry them back out.

A couple of semi-boring safety tips about hammers: One, try not to hammer your thumb. When you're holding a nail, tap it lightly at first until it holds itself, then move your hand safely out of the way before you hit it harder. If all you're doing is setting it into a wall to hang a picture from, it won't be necessary to hit it harder.

If you're actually using nails to hold two pieces of wood together and do need to hit the nails harder, safety glasses are a good idea. Every now and then when you're hammering you'll hit the edge of the nail, and it'll zing out and fly around the room. Safety glasses will keep it from zinging into your eye. If you can't bring yourself to wear shop-dork safety glasses, at least wear regular eyeglasses or even lightly tinted sunglasses. Personally I've always felt a few moments of looking dorky in safety glasses was better than a few hours in an emergency room while some guy tries to pull a chunk of metal out of my eyeball.

Screwdrivers

Butter knives do not count! You need real screwdrivers, and you need at least two - a standard, flat-bladed screwdriver and a Phillips head screwdriver. The tip of the Phillips comes to a point and looks like a +. The screws have the same crossed pattern. If you have to buy screws for some reason, it's easier to drive Phillips screws than standard ones. The cross shape of Phillips screws has more surface area for the screwdriver to hold onto, so it slips less and works better.

They make Phillips and standard screwdrivers in a variety of sizes and lengths. Start with medium-sized screwdrivers - they'll be about nine inches long - and buy or borrow bigger or smaller ones later if you need them.

Adjustable Wrench

Technically this is called an "open-end adjustable wrench," but most people call it a crescent wrench. It does not, however, look like a crescent. It got it name because it was made popular by the Crescent Tool Company.

This wrench has a handle, and the business end adjusts to fit around different sized nuts and bolts. To adjust it, you just have to spin a little gear with your thumb. The beauty of an adjustable wrench is that it can take the place of a whole slew of single-sized wrenches, and it doesn't care whether the nuts and bolts you're dealing with are SAE (American sized, or fractions) or metric. You just dial up the size you need, and you're good to go.

Buy two of these.

Yep, buy two. One small and one medium. Let's say you need to adjust the seat on your bike and need to loosen the nut. If you only have one wrench, you'll put it over the nut, turn it, and the nut and bolt will both turn as one. To get the nut off, you also need to hold the bolt still, and that's where the second wrench comes in.

One more thought. They've recently come out with an automatic adjustable wrench. It's battery powered, and when you press a button, the jaws automatically squeeze in to accommodate whatever sized nut or bolt you're dealing with. I'm not going to say this is the dumbest idea in the last quarter-century, but it may be in the running. It doesn't make the wrenching part of the job any easier, it just saves you from spinning a little wheel with your thumb. It can also break or need a new battery. Toolmakers come out with "improvements" like this all the time so they can keep selling tools. Their problem is that a well-made tool, especially a hand tool like a wrench, will essentially last forever, so they try to make them obsolete so people will buy new stuff.

Stick to basic hand tools without extra gee-gaws and bells and whistles and you'll be fine.

Pliers

I'm hesitant to put pliers on this list, because pliers are the most-abused tool in most homes. They're used for jobs they were never intended for and make those jobs harder - if not impossible.

Pliers are holders, not turners. Use pliers for holding things too small, too hot, or too sharp to handle with your fingers. Use wrenches to turn nuts and bolts. The problem with pliers is they get used as wrenches - and they make lousy wrenches - and you end up rounding off the points of the nut or bolt you're trying to deal with. Then it's really a problem because now even a wrench won't turn it.

Get a pair of pliers - but please only use them for pinching or holding or bending stuff. They come in all shapes and sizes but start with a medium-sized pair that adjusts and fits in your hand. Needle-nosed pliers, which have long beak-like jaws, are very handy for holding small stuff or reaching into tight places.

A Razor Knife or Box Cutter

This can be from a stationery store or a hardware store. I've found more uses for a razor knife than I can remember. You will, too. X-Acto is a common brand.

WD-40

WD-40 isn't an all-purpose lubricant. Do not, for instance, spray it into the bearings of your roller blades. It's way too thin to protect the bearings, and if you do use it you'll have to buy new bearings in very short order.

WD-40 is great for sticky locks, squeaky hinges, and keeping stuff from rusting. In fact, the WD-40 stands for "water displacing, 40th attempt," because it was the chemist's fortieth try at developing a good rust preventer.

They sell small cans the size of a roll of quarters that will hold you for a long time.

Any Other Tools Your Possessions Require

Yeah, the category is a bit of cheat. But your basic, essential tool kit really should contain any other tool you need to assemble, maintain or repair your possessions. If your bike has Allen bolts as fasteners, you need the right-sized Allen wrenches to turn those fasteners. If your new put-it-together-yourself desk comes with square-drive screws, you'll need the little square-headed driver that comes with the kit. And you need to save it! Tape it inside a drawer, because it'll come in very handy if you ever have to disassemble the desk to move it, or even tighten up a fastener that's come loose.

A Tool Box

No need to get crazy here, but a small plastic tool box to keep all your tools together in one obvious place is a good investment. They come in different colors, if décor is an issue.