Homesteading Tool Kit.

[demographic]

Not sure about "Homestead" but a good general purpose handplane is a good tool for woodwork.

I would say that its always worth keeping an eye out for a cheap Record or Stanley Bailey No 4 1/2 smoother or No 5 1/2 Jackplane. I'm less keen on the standard size of the 4 because I feel that they slightly too narrow and not quite heavy enough. That's not to say that I don't also have a No 4 smoother, its just that I prefer my 5 1/2 Jack.

If you get the chance of a cheap Stanley Bedrock frog handplane, jump on it cos they don't come cheap at all.

Claw hammer? I have several Estwings and have been happy with that.
Out of the huge amount of tools I use in my daily life the one that I like the most is the humble bit of string. Can pull it taught and use it to check for straightness on all sorts of things.

I have a complete list of the tools I use as a subcontractor carpenter if anyone is interested, admittedly there's some fairly specialist tools amongst them and most of the powertools are 110 volt but its still a reasonable list of good tools to keep an eye open for if they come up cheap.

 

[British Red]

I'd love to see that list!

As promised to Mark - tools in use

Today one chore was to replace the rotted lid of the back door coal bunker


Coal Bunker with old lid removed by British Red, on Flickr

Tools I used included

A sliding Chop saw for cutting planks and batten to length


Sliding Chop Saw by British Red, on Flickr

Steel rule (get a good one!)


Steel Rule by British Red, on Flickr

Carpenters square


Carpenters Square by British Red, on Flickr

Table saw for ripping wood to the right width


Ripping a plank by British Red, on Flickr

Cordless drills and drivers


Drills and Drivers by British Red, on Flickr

Hammer and chisel


Hammer and Chisel by British Red, on Flickr

Surprising how many tools you can use on a simple job


Lid Held open by British Red, on Flickr


Lid Closed by British Red, on Flickr

You don't really need all the power tools - you can do a lot with a decent panel saw - indeed there are proper hand sharpenable crosscut and rip saws hanging from my work bench


Cross cut Saw by British Red, on Flickr

That said, if you are making a lot of cuts, a good sliding chop saw certainly speeds things up. A table saw makes cutting lengths of timber to size much easier.

I also used an electric sander today - forgot to photograph that though!

 

[demographic]

I'd love to see that list!

This is my day to day kit that lives in my van pretty much all the time. there's very little extra I have to take to a jobsite. Be aware that in my line of work time is money so powertools play a large part in the list. Even on sites where I'm on an hourly rate and not a price per job I'm still expected to make an impact on what's to be done in a day. Also being on site means that pretty much everything is 110 volt, if I worked in peoples homes more I might have 240 stuff but I'd far rather be out on site than in peoples homes anyway.

Power tools, In the van:

110 volt transformer.
110 volt extension leads.
110 volt Hitachi SDS drill with selection of bits as well as a keyless chuck for HSS bits.
110 volt Bosch jigsaw with selection of blades.
110 volt Makita compound mitre saw.
110 volt De Walt power planer.
110 volt De-walt Compact router.
110 volt Hitachi ripsaw seven inch one’s always in the van and the 9 inch one .
Makita 18 volt cordless drill/driver.
Hitachi 14.4 volt cordless impact screw gun.
Hitachi 14.4 volt cordless SDS drill.
Paslode cordless second fix brad/nailgun.
Hitachi cordless first fix nailgun.

A few assorted clamps/spreaders. The ones I like best are the Irwin Quickgrip clamps, just better made than most.
6 foot Stanley Fat Max level. Currently I think these are considerably better than Stabilas offerings
Box of auger bits from 6mm to 25mm.
Stanley 5 1/2 jackplane , Japanese Samurai Laminated blade/iron in it.
A couple of hardpoint handsaws (One is the good one for clean timber and the other is the ex good one for crap timber that may have nails in it).
A four sided diamond hone. Bought it from B&Q for about eight quid and unlike bench stones it doesn't break if I drop it.
Two joiners stools made from 4x2 with a 6x2 top.


In my hand toolbox.

Top tray..
Brad awl.
Pliers.
Snips.
Marking gauge I made myself at college.
Lucas Girder type 91 adjustable spanner,
Couple of screwdrivers.
Plumbers adjustable pliers.
Two plumbers pipe cutters.


Second tray and it gets a bit more expensive here...

A set of six Marples chisels plus a 2 inch one that's just great.
2 Axminster 42mm all steel chisels. Big, long but tough. Can really beat on them when working large oak timbers in old buildings.
Set of dividers.
Veritas 220 adjustable mouth low angle block plane. This I bought with the last of the money from after my fathers death. Bit posh but I have never regretted that money spent on it at all.
Veritas honing MK 2 guide. Getting bevel up planes right is a lot more than just being sharp, having the right angle for the type of wood and grain really makes a huge difference. This allows that repeatable accuracy.
Stanley 92 shoulder/rebate plane.
DMT 600 grit diamond hone.
Set of nailpunches.
Pushpin.
Sliding bevel x2.
Assorted countersinks the best of which are of the "snail" type with a hole in the side of the cutting face.


Bottom section of the box...

Estwing 20 ounce claw hammer
Estwing 24 ounce ripclawed framing hammer.
Tool belt/hammer loop pouch.
Fisco tape measure.
Stanley knife.
Pencil.
2 foot wrecking bar.
Small but very handy nail pulling bar.
600mm Stabila girder level.
Stabila boat level.
Coping saw.
Facom hacksaw.
Stanley chalk line.
Mortise gauge.
Axe.
Box of cordless and security bits.
Box of cobalt alloy steel bits from about 1mm to 13mm in half mm increments.
Bolster x2 cos ones a lot slimmer than the other.
String line x2.
Combination square.
Padsaw for cutting shapes out of plasterboard.
Little radio.

 

[British Red]

Interesting stuff - do you find the nail guns worth it - I keep toying with the idea but I haven't "pulled the trigger" yet

 

[feralpig]

For the gardening section I would recommend Felco secateurs, lots of different models available, I get on best with No.8, they rarely need sharpening and are very comfortable to use. A little more expensive but they are very good. I have used mine for 12 years now and I have replaced the blade once.

I bought a Felco2, this morning. Been wanting one for ages. The best, nothing to match them.

 

[demographic]

Interesting stuff - do you find the nail guns worth it - I keep toying with the idea but I haven't "pulled the trigger" yet

For me they are worth every penny but they do need servicing every once in a while and if I wasn't doing what I do I wouldn't get a gas powered one. Mine have a small gas cartridge, a cylinder, piston that drives a pin that puts the nail in when the gas is ignited by a sparkplug powered by a battery. Great if you are in an area where airlines aren't practical but they are a bit technical and when they go wrong can be expensive. I've got pretty good at stripping them down by now so they don't hold any fears.

If I was in more of a workshop environment I would get the ones that run off airlines instead. There's a workshop I sometimes work in that has the airline ones and apart from the lines they are great.
They run for longer with less maintenance. Pretty much a few drops of oil in them every morning at the start of the shift before using them and they run for ages. Simpler to work on as well.

Worth noting that even being careful pretty much everyone I know that's got a nailgun has at one point managed to shoot their left hand by thinking that the nail will go straight and its hit something in the wood, curled round and poked out at a jaunty angle and got them.
I always make sure my hands are further away than the length of the nail in any direction from the end of the gun. I have seen them hit another nail, screw, even a knot in the wood can do it and turn right round and and up coming pretty much back to touch the end of the gun.
The coil guns are pretty evil because they can be set to bump fire, that is the user holds the trigger on and bounces it along the wood, firing every time the nose hits the wood. The coils contain 320 number 50mm long ringshank nails.
One of the lads I've worked with was up a ladder, nailing the sidings on a timber framed transportable lodge, stopped bump firing but kept his finger on the trigger.
Someone walked past the ladder and touched the end of the gun with his head... Trip to casualty later and they got the nail out as it had glanced off the bone but if it had been straighter on it would have gone into his skull. There's no messing about with those things. They fire as fast as you can bounce them on a bit of wood.

 

[British Red]

Good advice...think a compressor and airlines would be the way to go for me

 

[feralpig]

Interesting stuff - do you find the nail guns worth it - I keep toying with the idea but I haven't "pulled the trigger" yet

I'm terrified of the things. Basically, what Demographic says.
Marvellous bits of kit, especially if contracting. I do use them, warily.

 

[demographic]

Good advice...think a compressor and airlines would be the way to go for me

If I had the space I would love a compressor and airline setup cos of the amount of other airline tools available fairly cheaply but working within the constraints of sitework my kit is better suited to my needs.

 

[British Red]

Space I have - Its skill I lack

 

[demographic]

Space I have - Its skill I lack

Easy way to sort that out is to give it a go. Most of the things I do from day to day are just DIY, a bit faster and a bit neater than most DIYers but basically just the same.
None of its rocket science or I wouldn't be doing it either.

I do make bits of kit and jigs for workpieces as well as buy tools but don't often take photos of them, just seem to forget to do it. I'll take a few pics of the things that make jobs simpler over time and maybe bung them up on here.

 

[British Red]

That would be great - yes please to the pictures.

I agree with the "get stuck in" philosophy - just wish I started younger!

 

[MartiniDave]

I don't think anybody has mentioned fencing pliers yet. I find them really handy.

Dave

 

[British Red]

Oh yes - and post rammers, post hole diggers and wire stretchers!

 

[MartiniDave]

Oh - and the Hi-lift type jack I have for the landy, that's often kind of useful as a short pull winch or tensioner, as well as just jacking stuff about. You just have to be very careful using it because the handle can give you one hell of a clout.

Dave

 

[demographic]

Decent set of pincers, There's a set I found in a skip outside a house I was working on in Penrith years ago, decent compound action. Small enough to fit on my pouch at work and ferociously powerful. This picture might not be the best because I had lost them for about a week, replaced them with the red set in the next pic.
Eventually one of the other lads at work found them on the sedum roof I had been working on and that explains why they have that surface rust on them.
Anyway, the good ones. See a set of these with good jaws that meet all the length and either buy them or tell me where I can buy them.
Pretty much everyone I've worked with would have a set as well if they could find some. Think the original patent was by Bernard

These are the ones I bought in that week when I thought they were gone. Cost a bleedin fortune and although they have more leverage they are just too big to carry about from day to day. Made by VBW.

Both snips will cut through a Paslode first fix nail so they are so much better than normal joiners snips that it's quite funny.
Compound action so they get the leverage with less length.

 

[British Red]

You see, thats why I need to read threads like this. I have never seen a set of nips like that.

 

[demographic]

You see, thats why I need to read threads like this. I have never seen a set of nips like that.

Nor had I, and till that point I always thought nips were a bit feckless. Maybe the VBW ones are a big spend new (if I remember right they were knocking on forty quid which made my eyes water a bit) but the Bernard ones (often on the US version of Ebay) are a lot less. See them? Check the jaws and if OK buy em.

Mine aren't actually Bernard made but they are exactly the same and most likely made under licence.

I'll get onto Vice's later as I am a bit of a fan of old English Vice's. Record, Fortis, Ajax, Parkinsons, Woden all being names to keep an eye out for though. Obviously there's better versions of those as well as every company makes their Pro range and their home-owner versions which aren't quite so hot.

 

[Tjurved]

The basics then the rest of the tools you gotta find the need for first or else you might get stuck in the huge big nasty tool collector swamp . Axes, hammers, shovels, järnspett (swedish), hoes, pliers, knifes, nails, drills, rope, wire....

 

[mrcharly]

When I was a stripling I did a lot of fencing. Hardwood posts (Jarrah), miles of wire.

A few tools were a godsend:

Fencing pliers (huge great 12"-handled pliers with the grunt to cut 8 gauge wire)

Strainers - horrible but necessary. Why horrible? Well, if the wire broke while you were straining up, the heavy clamp and chain bit came flying at you. Laid my brother out cold for minutes.

Post hole shovel. Proper long-handled shovel with a small spade-like blade on the end. Also great for digging trenches, you can get a good deep trench without having to make it too wide.

2-stroke petrol auger-bit drill. Yeah, we could have used a bit and brace, but have you ever drilled jarrah?