Tool Box

This page is a little summation of the tools I've acquired over the years.  I did my best to start with what I got first.  My dad always said you look a little "unseasoned" if you open your garage (or the back of your work truck) and every tool looks shiny and brand new and MATCHES!!  This doesn't mean you shouldn't take care of your tools, because they'll last forever if you do, but don't think that someone's tool collection was acquired on day 1.  It takes years to build your collection, and I built mine as I came across things I needed for various projects I was working on.

So the purpose of this list is to let you know what I bought, whether I would buy it again after having owned it for a few years, and what I look for when I'm buying that particular type of tool.

An Extension Cord

  This picture looks similar to the one I found at Home Depot.  Mine only has 3 plugs, and I honestly haven't found many times where I needed more than that, but I suppose 4 could be handy too.  Make sure when you buy your extension cord that it has the 3-prong plugs.  Some of the lighter-duty ones only have the 2, and while most of my power tools don't require it, you don't want to come across a tool that needs one and be stuck trying to find an outlet to plug it into.  The extra bonus of this set up is that it's super simple to roll the cord back up and store it.  You will find that the just the extension cord by itself is awesome, but it's a huge mess when you go to store it.  And I'm all about organization with my tools.

The next things I picked up were a hammer and a mallet.  Now the mallet came in handy when it was time to lay some hardwood flooring, but really I picked that up to help with swapping the hard and soft tops on my Jeep.  But double bonus.  I don't have big recommendations for the hammer or the mallet.  The hammer needs to be heavy duty, but not so heavy your arm gets tired of swinging it after a few nails.  If it's too light, though, it becomes a big chore to get nails to go in.

Screwdriver

 This isn't exactly the same as mine, but it has the same idea... and actually now that I look at this one, I kind of want it - because it matches a lot of my other tools.  hahahaha, I'm totally that person my Dad makes fun of.  :)   Okay, so the reason I like these is because they have a space in the handle for putting all those different driver bits - which is incredibly handy when you get into a project and realize you need a square bit, or a flat head instead of your philips head.  They're also nice because they ratchet, meaning you twist your wrist a little to the right and then back to the left and the bit continues to turn the screw in whatever direction you wished without a lot of extra effort from you.

Cordless Tools

 This set here looks a lot like the one I picked up next.  The major difference I can see is this appears to come with some canvas fabric bag to store them in whereas, mine has a hard case.  I think I prefer the hard case because things don't shift around so much, and you can stack other things on it easily.  The do make sets with more pieces to it, but this basic set does the job for me.  I'm trying to think how long I've had mine... hmmm 10 years now?  Wow.  Well it's certainly held up over the years.  The only things I have had to replace have been the occasional saw blade (for both the circular saw and the reciprocating saw) and I had to buy a new set of batteries.  The cordless tool set isn't so great if you are needing to cut a ton of stuff with your circular saw or the reciprocating saw.  Both those tools drain the battery really fast so if you are a weekend warrior like me, this is a great option, but if you're doing remodeling work for pay, you might want to have these tools in their corded alternatives.