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Early Retirement Extreme Forums » DIY Skills Questions

1. 

   Mirwen
   

   Journeyman
   Joined: Jun '11
   Posts: 169

   About a year and a half ago I bought my first house. I had owned a condo before, but this is the first house. I got it for a song because it had a lot of deferred maintenance. 30 year old carpets, fences falling down, windows broken out, etc.

   I've been fixing it up and I'm starting to discover that some tools are worth buying. So far I've bought a DeWalt miter saw and a Bosch oscillating tool. With these I've regrouted tile and installed bamboo floor and baseboards.

   I've never thought much about tools before. Most of my life I've gotten by with the $15 tool sets they put out at Christmas time.
   I love these new toys, but I've started to wonder if I should get hand tools instead of power tools so that I could use them under any circumstances. Since I'm generally clueless about tools I was hoping that you guys could give some input on what other tools would be "basic" for around the house work (renovation). If you were buying your first set of tools would you get power or hand tools?

   Posted 1 year ago #
2. 

   baggywrinkle
   

   Novice
   Joined: Oct '11
   Posts: 24

   Both are wonderful depending on the problem at hand.

   A sailboat will take you anywhere on the planet if you are
   not in a hurry. But nothing beats windward like a 747.

   It is liberating to skip the extension cord and not worry about
   batteries for that project in the back pasture and just grab
   the breast brace and a kerosene lantern. But brother, unless you
   are from the days when ships were wooden and men were iron
   it is really nice to have the option to use a chain saw instead
   of a hand saw or an axe.

   When we moved to this property I relied on common knowledge and
   purchased heavy equipment to keep nature at bay. Then I discovered that rocks and boulders eat heavy equipment and break
   windows, so I evolved to the hand scythe. Oh the peace and quiet
   and good exercise to use a machine that ran on coffee and oatmeal! But my time is precious so I went through another
   evolutionary leap. These days I no longer beat back the heavy
   brush myself. I allow my livestock to do it for me while I
   watch my happy minions from the comfort of the front porch!

   Posted 1 year ago #
3. 

   ffj
   

   Master
   Joined: Aug '10
   Posts: 363

   I think you need to be a little more specific as far as what kind of renovations you are going to tackle. Electrical, plumbing, drywall, roofing, trimwork, etc? Each will have its own set of specialized tools.

   Powered tools can have a huge advantage over hand tools. Ever try to hand plane a board versus running it through a planer? Or ripping a sheet of plywood with a handsaw versus using a circular saw? I like results fairly quickly so I have a multitude of power tools.

   Got to thinking though of the handtools I use on a consistent basis for carpentry. So here they are:

   tape measure
   framing square
   hammers
   prybars/crowbars
   chisels
   nail sets
   handsaws - circular saws can't do everything
   chalk line
   utility knife
   speed square
   T-square
   and a good tool belt

   Posted 1 year ago #
4. 

   George the original one
   

   Expert
   Joined: Jul '10
   Posts: 1,970

   I have a miter box with handsaw. It's nicer for working with delicate trim than the power saw. A hacksaw with a large steel frame is far cheaper than an abrasive cutoff wheel and more useable on household sheetmetal. Handnibbler and sheet metal shares are good, too. An eggbeater drill for holes too small to use the auger.

   For home DIY, I'd add a pipe wrench, slip joint pliers, needlenose pliers, diagonal cutters, crescent wrench, and vicegrips in a few sizes. All sturdy, nothing delicate.

   All-in-all, though, I use the skilsaw and power miter the most, with the tablesaw a somewhat more distant third when it comes to prepping wood for home repair/enhancement. They are wonderfully time efficient devices.

   Posted 1 year ago #
5. 

   AlexK
   

   Journeyman
   Joined: Jul '10
   Posts: 115

   I have a Makita cordless drill and impact driver that I love. An air impact wrench is necessary for mechanic work. I make money with them so I consider something that amplifies my work an investment and not an expense.

   Posted 1 year ago #
6. 

   George the original one
   

   Expert
   Joined: Jul '10
   Posts: 1,970

   Oh, by the way, one tip if you find yourself without power and need to cut something hard... it may be easier to drill a series of connected holes than to try sawing through.

   Posted 1 year ago #
7. 

   jacob
   

   Expert
   Joined: Jul '10
   Posts: 3,360

   It's a "means vs end" issue. If you enjoy the process, nothing beats hand tools. If you're just looking to get done, power tools it is.

   The downside of power tools is generally just the fact that they take up A LOT more space. For this reason, I've gone completely with hand tools. The only power tools I have is a legacy screw driver + dremel sized drill. However, after recently handplaning enough boards to build a small bench (96 surfaces!) I was seriously contemplating getting a power jointer. On the other hand, using an 8+ pound plane for an hour burns a lot of calories and taking paper thin shavings is oh so satisfying (aahh the sound of it)... until you start getting blisters, that is.

   If I was doing this for a living, there would be no question of me doing the grunt work with power.

   ADD: The likelihood of personal injury with hand tools is much smaller. I figure the dumbest thing I can do with hand tools is having a chisel slip and make a clean cut into my hand. The dumbest thing one can do with power tools is to lose entire body part(s).

   Posted 1 year ago #
8. 

   Mirwen
   

   Journeyman
   Joined: Jun '11
   Posts: 169

   No one seems to be advocating hand tools unless you enjoy them, so I think I'll stick with power tools for the big stuff.

   Thanks for the lists, I have put many of those hand tools on my Amazon wish list. The next time I need one, I know what to order. Maybe someone will be nice and give them as a gift : )

   The only other projects I have on my to-do list is more painting, finish installing the floor, and replacing the tile surround in both bathrooms.

   I'd like to be able to tackle most random stuff that comes up: a leaky faucet, a broken outlet, building raised beds in the garden. I don't want to build fancy furniture, but I would like to be able to build some rough outside things.

   I don't need to re-roof anytime soon, luckily that has been done recently. However, I would like to be able to nail down a loose shingle. I've been borrowing a ladder when I need it, which is not very often.

   Here's one problem I haven't solved yet. With the miter saw I can make short cuts, but if I need a long cut I've been using a (terrible) hand saw. I know most people would get a circular saw, but they terrify me. Would a jigsaw work for this? Table saws are nice, but a little out of my price range for the frequency I would use it.

   Posted 1 year ago #
9. 

   AlexK
   

   Journeyman
   Joined: Jul '10
   Posts: 115

   Your cuts will come out a lot straighter and less splintered with a circular saw. A circular saw is also 10X faster than a jig saw. The spring loaded guard covers the blade when it's not touching wood so it seems safe to me, although I'm sure there is someone out there who has managed to cut off a finger with one.

   Posted 1 year ago #
10. 

    jennypenny
    

    Expert
    Joined: Jul '11
    Posts: 1,385

    My preference is to own hand tools, and rent power tools when we need them. I think the only exception is a chainsaw if you have a lot of trees. We do own a circular saw but I don't like to use it for safety reasons like Jacob pointed out. (although my DH still managed to put the handsaw into his forearm--think Monty Python's black knight).

    Posted 1 year ago #
11. 

    ffj
    

    Master
    Joined: Aug '10
    Posts: 363

    Mirwen

    Don't be intimidated by a circular saw. Find somebody near you to show you how to safely use one. All of them have a spring loaded safety guard as Alex has pointed out and most have a safety that must be pushed in to even start the thing. They are loud though but don't let that throw you off. You would have to get pretty creative to cut a body part off; clamp your workpiece to a couple of sawhorses for stability and you'll be fine.

    The jigsaw can work for that but it is mainly designed for circular or curved cutting. Oh and by the way, when you are cutting something to length, that is called cross-cutting, and when you are cutting something to width, that is called ripping. And when you are cutting an angle for something like trim, that is called mitering.

    If you do stick with handsaws, remember that there are crosscut handsaws and rip handsaws. If you try to rip with a crosscut handsaw it will take forever as it is not designed for it. You would have better luck using a rip for crosscutting but it still isn't as good as using the right tool. And if they aren't sharp it will suck even worse.

    Good luck.

    Posted 1 year ago #
12. 

    graynomad
    

    Apprentice
    Joined: Oct '11
    Posts: 54

    Your cuts will come out a lot straighter and less splintered with a circular saw. A circular saw is also 10X faster than a jig saw.

    All true, but if space is an issue and you can only have one then a jigsaw will do everything, slower and not as accurate granted but it will still work. Despite the name you can't cut a hole with a circular saw :)

    If you are cross cutting you can eliminate splinters by scoring the cut line with a blade and/or cutting from the rear of the sheet so the blade pulls against the face side.

    Also you can get a nice straight cut with a jigsaw if you clamp a fence onto the job.

    Another also, you can start a cut in the centre of a sheet by plunging the blade, good for doing cutouts without having to drill holes. This is good if you want to use the cutout, say for a door on a box etc.

    EDIT: I just thought of something a jigsaw won't do, make a trench or rebate. But if you are doing that sort of work you would have a router anyway.

    Posted 1 year ago #
13. 

    alaskan
    

    Novice
    Joined: Oct '11
    Posts: 7

    The hand tools I use the most are quick cut hand saw and an egg beater drill. The drill has to be 50 years old and I still use it like crazy. The battery never dies, it's light and the low speed keeps you from burning up bits. Other than that I have a ton of power tools for cutting.

    4.5" angle grinder
    Recip saw
    Circular saw
    Wood mitering chop saw
    Metal chop saw
    Gas chain saw

    Posted 1 year ago #
14. 

    chilly
    

    Journeyman
    Joined: Dec '10
    Posts: 275

    I second graynomad on the jigsaw. If you're considering hand tools, then production speed is probably not a big requirement. You're not going to build fine furniture with a jigsaw or a circular saw - so for general all around usefulness I think the jigsaw wins. It does kind of matter what you foresee using it for... in an apartment or an RV I tend to need to make little oddball things. Not decks or furniture. To lean more towards the latter type project, you may do better leaning towards a circ saw.

    I'm just in an apartment now, so the only things I keep with me out of storage are a jigsaw, a corded drill, angle grinder, and a dremel. I actually don't find myself using the angle grinder as much as I used to when I worked on cars for fun - so I could probably live without it now.

    Posted 1 year ago #

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