Printable View
Hi,
I'm moving into a new flat soon, and am thinking about building up a basic toolkit. Right now I just have a screwdriver set for fixing computer things from time to time!
Does anyone have suggestions for my list? Any recommended products or manufacturers?
Thanks!
If it's just general around the flat stuff, and nothing too heavy-duty, probably a Halfords kit might do you:
https://www.halfords.com/workshop-to...or_ranking+asc
The 52-piece for £40 seems OK.
What jobs will you expect to be doing with these tools?
You'll find a lot require some more specialised kit, in addition to a 'basic toolkit' - Woodwork often needs planes and chisels, maybe a spokeshave. Plumbing usually benefits from stilsons, molegrips, adjustables and blowtorches. Car maintenance will need at least one socket set. Garden structures need spades, forks, sacateurs and potentially a lot more...
You'll likely want:
- an 18v cordless drill-driver with two batteries, a set of screw bits, and a set of drill bits for metal, wood and masonry
- a jigsaw with blades for metal and wood (maybe a pair of handsaws)
- pliers in needle-nose and flat-nose
- a small 3m tape measure and maybe a big old 10m one (but not a stupidly big Fat Max one)
- a combination square
- allen keys
- claw, ball-pein, club and rubber-faced hammers
- wire cutters and strippers
- spirit levels in long, short and tiny
- sharp knife like a typical Stanley retractable, a scalpel set or a set of X-Acto hobby knives
- a large screwdriver set for normal screws, in addition to your PC-size screwdrivers
- a set of spanners, ideally combination ring and open, with one or two adjustable spanners
- scissors, probably small and big hoofing types
- Junior hacksaw and various blades
- cable ties
- electrical tape
- duct tape
- hot melt glue
- super glue
- PVA glue
- sandpaper
Depending on what you're doing, you may want some kind of workbench with a vice and some clamps. A Workmate can suffice, but they break easily, as will many 'Starter' type toolsets.
for basic home kit I'd recommend corded rather than cordless eg drills etc. The reason being you tend to only want it for the odd job here and there, and inevitably the battery will be flat. It's not great for the batteries either to leave them for long periods.
I would add to tasky's list:
Adjustable spanners - for plumbing, adjusting washing machine feet etc
Workmate bench (actually make that two - trust me, it's the long stuff that is the most faff)
G clamps and F clamps min 2 large G, 2 small G and 2 F, plus some offcuts a wood to use as protector grips.
A rawl/braddle
Serform/surform
Chisel set (buy decent, cheap chisels are not worth the misery and injuries)
Centre punch
Cable and stud detector
Laser level ( if you want to put up shelves/cupboards etc around a room)
White spirit and meths
Set of paintbrushes
Multi sander (mouse) and if doing doors/floors then an orbit sander
Door jack if you want to take off and re-hang doors.
Electric screwdriver eg Bosch ixco or whatever they call it. Saves so much time!
Metal file
wood rasp
plaster saw / multitool cutter.
If you have a garden then sledge hammer, lawnmower, hedgetrimmer, outdoor extension lead
Edit i would also add jewellers screwdriver set - a lot of electronics eg lighting switch etc has dinky screws in the housing
Edit 2: isopropyl alcohol - it's a degreaser. Use it before sticking any adhesive wall hooks, door hooks etc
Sugar soap if you're planning to paint
Swarfega and a nail brush.
Latex/equivalent gloves
A good hoover/vacuum.
Socket tester
Multimeter
Handdrill
Drill bit set eg a good bosch one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-26070...dp/B000P4IQN4/
A screw set and rawlplugs. eg https://www.amazon.co.uk/CONNEX-DP85...dp/B00B22VJVO/
But most importantly of all good old PPE:
EYE PROTECTION - buy decent, they will fit well, not scuff easily and thus you will not mind wearing them. And they are worth it when that £3.99 3mm drill bit shatters in front of you. Trust me.
dust mask
work gloves
ear plugs
and steel toed boots.
Add to that a decent RCD in case your fuse box is an old one.
I've found my homebase and B&Q ownbrand workmates to suffice for my needs - been using occasionally for 8 years now and still ok. And they pack small which is nice. Granted a solid bench is nice if you have the space, but not everyone does. I'm assuming the OP just wants to be prepared and able to do basic DIY, rather than say, reconstruct an extension or build a fitted wardrobe out of reclaimed oak.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ttaskmaster
Thanks guys. Yes, just basic DIY and repairs for now. I'm not skilled enough to build a nice wardrobe (grade C in GCSE CDT over 25 years ago!), and it's a London flat so there isn't the space for a workshop sadly. No gardening, no car maintenance. I'm happy with soldering irons etc, but wouldn't touch gas pipes with a barge pole or any other tool. Some stuff is best left to the professionals.Quote:
Originally Posted by ik9000
Really, I would just wait for there to be a job that you need doing and buy what you need for that.
For a new home you probably want the basics for assembling flat pack furniture and putting up pictures. So small hammer & a screwdriver set. Maybe a nice box to put them in so you can find them next time. Then work from there.
on dust masks - cheap is fine for occasional use but consider what you need them for
FFP3 rated handles most domestic stuff, even low-level asbestos (very low level - not for serious removal work): https://www.amazon.co.uk/3M-9332-Fla...dp/B00EJIMZZ2/ so good for loft insulation jobs, small amounts of sanding etc
If you're doing lots of sanding/paint stripping then step up to a filtered mask eg: https://www.amazon.co.uk/GVS-Filter-.../dp/B013EBHHH0. Select the mask type (and filter types) according to the task. (There is a handy table on the amazon page if you scroll down)
this is true - my kit has accumulated over the years, usually driven by need than forward planning. The only thing I have that has never seen action (yet) is a circular saw my wife picked up as an impulse buy after I bought her a laptop one Christmas. Keeping it though as when we start the house DIY proper... :D :D :DQuote:
Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix
Small but solid 3' benches can be easily made to takedown or fold up. Workmates have a tendency to rack and shear their bolts off, especially around the vice boards on top. They're also getting quite pricey, these days...!!Quote:
Originally Posted by ik9000
I designed my list above to mostly fit into one toolbox, or a kitchen drawer (which is where we keep ours). The power tools and a couple of the long items generally live in a corner of the cupboard beneath.Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter Parker
bosch elec screwdriver on Amazon's deal of the day:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-Cordl...dp/B00XI610R0/
and this corded drill is on offer too:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-Unive...dp/B072NY6CSZ/
Also take a look in your local Aldi or Lidl (Aldi are usually slightly better) and on their websites, as they often have fairly reasonable tools and tool sets for not much monies. They're about the lowest you'll want to go for casual DIY, though and even then a few of their items might not survive first use...
Worth taking a look at Claas Ohlsen, it's the sort of shop where stuff you need, but didn't know you needed until you went in, pops up in front of you. A bit like Tiger in that respect, but I don't think Tiger do tools.
Chordless screwdriver is great if you are doing something like boarding up a loft so putting in a *lot* of screws, but not something I would say is in a starter kit when an old manual driver gets you a better feel for whether you are rounding off the head of some cheap screw. Similarly that drill looks super for putting holes in house walls, but for years I got away with a hand drill. These days I usually go for a Bosch battery drill as it does hammer and screwdriver functions as well as actual drilling, is nice and compact and uses the same battery as the hedge trimmer.Quote:
Originally Posted by ik9000
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00L3XK06C/
But for years I put up shelves etc with nothing more than: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanley-1mm...dp/B00004UDKT/
and a spirit level :)
Edit: I do own a chorded drill, but really it only gets used for really big holes where the extra power helps. Amazed it hasn't siezed up really.
It plays music??!!Quote:
Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix
:p
Power chords of course!Quote:
Originally Posted by Ttaskmaster
Depending on where you live there may be a tool library nearby which will save you buying some things.
MAKITA LTX!!!! (You only need the batteries!)
The rest will ... follow...
what ERU said but if you have a preferred brand in my case Bosch professional and stick to one battery size be it 10/12 or 18 volt you can buy one tool with a few batteries and buy any other tools bare so you don't duplicate chargers etc. Ryobi do the same and may be better suited for a starter kit setup.
hope this helps.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ttaskmaster
only if used by long haired rockers, but if da youff pick it up it plays drill. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Peter Parker
There is one thing I would utterly recommend, and that is a screwdriver with the little mains testing neon light in it so you can make sure that the socket or light switch you are about to replace really really is switched off at the consumer unit. I find when moving house there are always sockets that don't work and light switches where some idiot has cut it with a carpet knife when papering around it.
my place has a mystery lead that goes from a plug in the wall down under the ground floor. We've still not found out where it goes. Needless to say it is permanently turned off just to be safe.Quote:
Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix
We found a 2-core wire dangling in our under-stairs cupboard. Turns out it went live when you switched on the light in the downstairs netty.Quote:
Originally Posted by ik9000
well, for something really basic you need at least whats in this pic :)
https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.net...12&oe=5CAB5438
plus a Brummie screwdriver :)
No wheelie bin-sized bucket of swarfega?
Amateur.
You must get some impressive explosions to need loo-roll on tap ;) :D
I agree on the combi drill suggestion. I have a little 3.6V cordless screwdriver, they're junk. Not worth it as they have so little power they struggle with flatpack furniture let alone a real job.Quote:
Originally Posted by DanceswithUnix
Also, I don't think a corded drill is money well spent these days, they're are a massive faff with the cable and a half-decent cordless will do everything they can do, and probably everything you need. My old black and decker cheapo cordless managed drilling bricks, countless screw driving jobs, mixing paint and grout, etc. I did more or less kill it mind as it no longer drills straight (replaced with a black friday deal DeWalt).
Also, you don't need two batteries as a DIYer as you'll struggle to go through one in a day.
Other recommendation: Halford advanced stuff is well priced and has a lifetime warranty, so if you snap it thy'l replace it.