7 Tips For a Basic Tool Chest

If you’re thinking about buying a home or are a new home owner, there are some basic tools you need to have around. There are lots of tools out there, but you need just a few basics tools to get started. I started out with a hammer, rubber mallet, hand saw, drill, pliers,   socket  set, an adjustable wrench, and two types of screwdrivers, buckets and for paints and paintbrushes. You’ll need them to drive a nail, hang a picture, put together bed frames, and tighten and loosen screws and nuts. Let me suggest to you what kinds of tools I think you are going to need to start out with.

1. Hammer

There are few different types of mallets and hammers available. Your basic claw hammer is the best for driving nails and getting them out. It would also be good to get a rubber mallet for closing paint buckets and such, because using a hammer tends to deform the metal lids.

2. Saw

I started out with a simple carpenters hand saw. You’ll run into small projects and need something to cut wood with. I think a power saw is over kill if you only have to use a saw periodically on small items.

3. Pliers

Pliers are jaws to squeeze things shut or to get a firm grip on to pull out. An adjustable plier is good to have around. I like the ones with a rubberized handle and jaws you can vary the widths with.

4. Drill

A basic 18 volt drill with some bits is a good purchase. Any time you want to screw something in it goes easier if you drill a hole first. You can also get accessory screw bits and have a drill do the screwing in for you.

Fasteners

There are numbers of type of fasteners, but many types you will seldom or never encounter. In your home your fasteners are going to be hex nuts and bolts, Phillips screws, and flat headed screws.

5. Screwdrivers

Both Phillips and flat head screw drivers come in all sorts of sizes but two very useful sizes, small (# 1) and medium (#2) are what you will mainly need around the house.

6.  Socket  Sets

You’ll also want a 6 point  socket  set in your tool box. Every nut you have in your house is a hexagon of varying sizes. Any time you assemble or disassemble

7. Adjustable Wrenches

An adjustable wrench is open on one side and has two jaws that come with a screw to adjust the width. The jaws come together on two sides of the hex nut, and can be used in places where the bolt or screw is deeper than a  socket  in the  socket  set. I’d start with one medium and one large adjustable wrench.

You’ll only need these few types of tools to do almost everything you’ll run into when going into a new home. Don’t over buy. You’ll be able to put these tools to good use, and you shouldn’t need more tools unless you start doing engine repair, or are building something for your house. anything in the home environment you will run into the six sided nut. The best basic  socket  set is a 40 piece hex or 6 point set. They have standard inch and metric millimeter size  sockets  and a ratchet handle.