I took my wife’s car into the dealership for a warranty a few weeks ago and while they were checking stuff, they said the car needed 1300 dollars of work (piston soak and replace some transmission parts). I ended up doing the soak with my grandpa and took it to a shop for the transmission (wasnt even an issue, just a rivot replacement on a wheel well cover) and ended up saving 700 dollars after accounting for tools, jacks, jack stands, etc.
I want to start working on my own cars for things that can be done easily without expensive specialized tools, and I might be buying a house in the next year. I just want to start getting a decent collection of tools to hopefully save money in the long run.
I currently have a huge range of screwdrivers, soldering equipment, plyer set, socket set, file set, wire cutters and a small tool kit with some misc stuff.
I am mainly looking towards a torque wrench and a good spanner/wrench set, but looking for suggestions on what to get. Holding off on power tools until I wrap my head around brands and batteries.
Going against the spirit of the post and recommending nothing.
Start your project. Hit the store for what you need. Rinse and repeat.
Once you get a feel for what’s useful to you, keep your eye out at the flea market, garage sales, whatever.
This is how to properly build up a tool set.
Dropping thousands on tools you might need js silly.
Buy the cheap version first. Its very easy to end up with a pile of unused tools that you thought would change your life, but you only used them once or twice
Once the tool gets worn out/broken or you find the tool can’t do everything you need it to do, then it is time to look into something nicer.
Yarp. Same advice many give for kitchen tools. Buy a cheap assortment set of everything for $20. (You get the point). Then when you break the can opener splurge on a heavy duty 1. 5 years later you’ll find out half of the original cheap shit is still there, as you learned of another tool you preferred or simply never use some. Instead of paying $15 per good utensile and having a $150 up front cost, you get up and going for $20. And likely by the time you break 8 tools, you will know more about what you want/use.
My advice to any home handyman is to avoid cordless power tools. You can get a powerful name brand corded drill with all the features for the same price, or even less than the entry level cordless driver. Plus, I promise you that in the long run, the batteries will cause you more aggravation than the cord.
Harbor Freight is your friend. Their cheap tools can suck and may break with repeated use, but that’s almost a feature.
If you use a tool often enough that you break it, then it’s worth investing in a quality version of that tool. If you don’t use it often enough to break it, you can get by with the lower quality.
You can never have too many clamps, screwdrivers, or tape measures.
Ryobi cordless tools are great consumer level battery powered tools. They aren’t as high of quality as Milwaukee or DeWalt, but for the average homeowner, they are more than good enough. That said, I do prefer my DeWalt drill and impact because they are more compact, but for all the rest, Ryobi is fine.
Also a good tool box and tool bag. Having a place for everything makes finding and using your tools so much easier, and having the bag to fill with tools for whatever job you’re tackling has proven to be a game changer.
I’ve had a cordless Ryobi drill for close to 15 years. Both batteries and charger still work. I’ve used it in a few major projects over the years and it’s not let me down. It’s not the strongest or fastest drill out there, but I’ve definitely got my money’s worth from it.
I’ll second most of the recommendations here:
Socket set in SAE and Metric Wrenches in the same A set of screw drivers (Phillips and Flathead, you want at least a standard length, long, and stubby in probably three tip sizes) An Allen key set
Honestly, Home Depot has a 120pc husky mechanics set on sale for $100 for the holidays I recommend if you have nothing. It covers all of the basics, the quality is decent enough, and it’s cheaper than putting it together piecemeal even at harbor freight.
You’ll want a jack and stands as well, and if you plan to do oil changes probably ramps too (plus an oil drain pain and a storage container to store the used oil to take it back to the store for recycling).
For cars that will get you 95% of the way through most jobs. From there I recommend filling out additional tools as jobs require them.
For home improvement, add a hammer, some pliers (I’d get one of the triple sets that go on sale various places all the time).
For power tools I suggest you pick an ecosystem and stay in it. Milwaukee, Rigid, and Ryobi are all made by TTS and perform pretty similar for home users. I invested in Milwaukee but would easily recommend rigid as a solid middle brand with decent price to performance. Dewalt has a great reputation as well, with a large selection and sometimes the price to match. I also know plenty of folks that are happy with the Hercules battery tools from HF. I would stay away from craftsman/black & decker, and other budget brands from big box stores, if that’s your price range then just go with the similar priced HF tool. I suggest a drill and driver to start, then fill out tools as you need them for projects. I use my oscillating multi tools a tons as a good fit most great at none tool for cutting. A lot will depend on what work you need to do around your house (which you won’t really know until you buy a house).
I subscribe to Adam Savages methodology of buying cheap hand tools and replacing them with quality ones when they break (since that’s the sign you need a good version of it). I’ve found I still have a ton of cheap tools that work just fine.
Lastly, shop around. Don’t assume the Harbor Freight will be the best deal (they have the reputation of cheap stuff, but as their quality has started going up so have their prices). Look for sales and deals, and for sure shop the clearance aisles at the orange and blue stores. I also shop estate sales and moving sales where folks are looking to offload an entire garage worth of tools quick.
Edit to add: safety equipment is the one area I never compromise. Good eye and hearing protection is invaluable (you only have one set of eyes and ears, and both are fragile). I keep safety glasses in the basement and garage near all my power tools and mechanics toolbox so they are always close by. I also keep n95 masks for working in dusty areas like the attic. I hate gloves but keep a couple pairs for mechanic and outdoor work mostly. Glasses and ear plugs/muffs/active buds (isotunes, AirPods Pro, etc.) should be the first two things you get.
In addition to what others have said: Eye protection, earplugs, Those free moving blankets from harbor freight I lay them on the ground/floor when I’m working so I don’t get completely filthy and keep one in each car. Harbor freight long wrench set, a drill, good drill bits, an angle grinder, a cutoff wheel, a Dremel or similar, a 1/4" electric ratchet, pry bars, pick set, a gasket scraper, empty spray bottles from Dollar tree one with soapy wooder and one with some kind of degreaser, the big jug of orange hand cleaner, a nail brush for scrubbing your hands, work gloves the thinner fabric kind with coating on the palms/fingers they have them in Amazon but I get them from work, funnels, an oil catch pan that stores the oil inside, an open catch pan, a magnetic parts tray, long extensions, trim and plastic fastener tools, 3 lb sledgehammer, pipe wrench, torx bits from T10 thru T55, wire and nylon brushes, look for manufacturer specific app for your car forscan for Ford, jscan for jeep/Chrysler/Dodge there’s a ton more out there, they let you do a lot More than just the check engine light you’ll need an obdii adapter that works with that app, you might want a generic elm327 as well and download the torque app. Watch the torque test channel and project farm on YouTube. Be aware of the rental tool program at most parts stores as well, then there’s a bunch of specific tools you might want or need that I won’t get into.
second harbor freight. good set of sockets, screwdrivers, open wrenches. if you break them, get a better tool next purchase, otherwise they’ll last years. I’ve had a set of sockets for 20 years, from back in my retail days at advance auto parts. if you need a specialty tool, get it when you cross that bridge or rent one for the job.
Here are a couple of items that I wish that I had picked up earlier. They are not required, but they greatly simplified my life.
- headlamp: Trying to balance or prop up a flashlight while working used to result in so much frustration.
- tin sheers: I love these so much that they have replaced scissors in most day-to-day applications
- flexible drill bit extender: So many screws are in places inaccessible to a drill body. This inexpensive item solves that problem. Magnetic wristbands: Keep those screws and bits from getting lost.
- level that is at least 2ft long: I really appreciate having a level that can span two studs (16")
- precision / mini needle nose pliers: I don’t need them often, but when I do I am always happy that I have them
- painters tape: I am surpised how often I use painters tape for all sorts of applications
I’d check to see if there’s a tool library near you. After doing some work, you’ll get a feel for what tools you’re using most often, or that are frequently checked out of the library.
A lever and a proper surface on which to stand.
If you’ve got sockets, wrenches, pliers, and screwdrivers you’re 90% there. Get an impact driver, you can use one for pretty much anything with the right bits. I buy DeWalt or Milwaukee power tools in the US personally, but it doesn’t matter much. You won’t be using it all day every day, dropping it off scissor lifts, etc like I do.
A good set of jacks will go a long way. And start collecting flashlights.
What jacks would you recommend?
I have one of those harbor freight Daytona 3 ton low profile ones that I really like. Also let me introduce you to the Project Farm channel on YouTube, he does non-biased scientifically fair comparisons of lots of different kinds of tools including jacks and jack stands.
Glad I’m not the only one repping Harbor Freight in this thread lol
Harbor freight has some diamonds in the rough, just gotta be careful of what you get there. Some stuff is great, some is crap.
Most simple tools, I’d always recommend HF (hand tools, basic power tools, etc). If it doesn’t have electricity, I’ve never had an issue with their tools. They’ve also made aggressive upmarket shifts lately (past 5 years), which has introduced some higher end lines that seem pretty well made from what I’ve heard.
Harbor Freight happens to have some good shit, that does not mean most of Harbor Freight’s shit isn’t garbage.
No wrench set yet, but hoping Santa brings them this year. What should I be looking for in a set?
And I have a few flashlights after lockdown prepping. Looking to get a good headlamp now and lantern style light.
Milwaukee is one of the brands that has my eye for power tools. I’ve only used Mikita or Milwaukee power tools in my life, just because that’s what we were provided at an e-recycle/electronic refurbish shop I worked at years ago.
Re: wrenches.
I’m not sure where you’re at or what kind of things you will be working on, but here in the US you generally want to have at least a cheap set of both SAE and Metric wrenches. Nothing is more frustrating than having a random bolt be SAE while everything else is metric, and stripping the bolt with a wrench that is “close enough”.
You’ll also come to a decision on if your like flat wrenches or angled ones, though it doesn’t hurt to have a cheap set of both.
If you know for sure what set you’ll be using the most (or even better, what sizes you’ll be using the most), spending a little extra money on “ratcheting” wrenches can save you a ton of time and frustration. I do a lot of toying around on my car, and some of these bolts are in tight places where you can’t turn a wrench very far; ratcheting wrenches let you get the wrench in place once and just wiggle the bolt out.
Electrical meter
Tire air gauge
Tire patch kit
Air pump
Brake reset tool (forget exact name, I paid $10 and it pushes the brake piston back in when installing new brake pads)
Tire thread measuring tool (know when you need new tires)
Battery tester (test how many cca remain)
Battery acid tester
Radiator coolant tester
Distilled water to put in battery
Coat hangers (metal hanger can be cut and bent to hold things such as the brake caliper)
The tire patch kit saved me a few weeks ago.
Maybe it’s just a thing around here but almost every tire shop will pull and correctly patch a tire for free if you drive up and they aren’t super busy. The patch kits like you show are iffy IMO. They can last a while but I’d still err on getting it done right at a shop (from the inside of the tire, and ensuring the puncture didn’t expose any steel bands that will then rust and break).
I’d also say you don’t really need the thread depth gauge, modern tires all have tread wear markers molded into them, and in a pinch you can use a penny (the top of Lincoln’s head when inserted upside down is about the limit for tread wear on most tires).
In addition to the torque wrench, a breaker bar is helpful. You didn’t mention it but Allen wrenches are vital.
Also, all hail Harbor Freight. Great place to get cheap tools. If you don’t think you’ll use a power tool more than once a year, they have some great cheap shit too. They do have higher end power tools, but they have frequent sales so I would wait for one of those.
Otherwise, other tool choices come down to the type of work you’ll be doing. I do more wood stuff personally, but you sound more like a metal guy
A friend with a good set of tools. Who you can trade labor with. Many car tasks need 2 people so if you can hang out with someone else working on their car and they return the favor you are greatly ahead. Not only that but you will teach each other (well at the start that person will teach you - do plenty of work to pay them for their effort to teach you).
After that tool do you need for the current job that either your friend doesn’t have or you use so often it is worth having your own. Every car has its own set of special tools that are not used for any other car you will ever have but you need it to do some job. You will need several torque wrenches as they have different ranges, but you won’t need them all for the first project.
If you’re going to work with wood. A jig saw is the OK at everything saw. You can do long straight cuts by clamping on a guide. You can do bends.
I don’t do battery powered tools, just mains powered.
I’d probably go circular saw with guide if you need a straight cut. Honestly, I rarely make curved cuts so I use a circular saw more than a jigsaw.
A 13mm (half-ish inch) ratchet spanner comes in handy quite often. It’s used everywhere, and handy to have available when you can’t be arsed taking out the entire socket set.
