What’s your handiest tool?

[preventec47]

I agree, everyone needs a good, cheap welder,,

The welder ain't worth a hoot, if the steel is too heavy to move,, you need a lifter,,

You need a place to store the lifter,, and the welder, and still be big enough to do a project, like a chicken coop.
(the lifter will move the coop, when the coop is done)

Finally, and maybe most important, you need a great grill.
Mine has a DIY ring, that holds charcoal in a small area, when only grilling 1 to 3 steaks

I always wanted to glue things together with liquid steel but I know there are several kinds of
welders and never knew enough about to choose one. TIG, MIG, STICK, AC, DC, WIREFEED etc ? ? ?
What do you recommend for beginners starting out ? PS. 20 years ago I bought a Lincoln AC-DC welder and an estate sale cheap and I still have it in my basement and have never touched it. I am pretty sure it is a stick welder. I seem to recall hearing that a wire feed TIG or MIG is the one that
allows young kids to weld like professionals ? ? ?

 

[Drifter2406]

Depends on if I am doing metal or woodwork, woodwork would be my Diston hand saw, Lie Nielsen no 4 plane is what I seem to use on a daily basis, metalwork would be my English Wheel.

 

[rancher2]

For me the most handiest tool I have is all my Dewalt 18v cordless tools. I do have to say those ratcheting hand wrench's are the best, have a big set of them in the pickup and they are handy out on the farm. I don't even carry a socket set in the pickup any more.

 

[SS396driver]

My brother in law hes always good for a laugh

 

[9050LX]

Chop saw for home owners.

 

[Ian178]

Hard to pick a handiest tool. Maybe my 7,1/4" battery powered circ saw.

 

[northmanlogging]

Handiest tool, by far The Saw Wrench.

its a 17mm
...a 3/4
...a 13mm?
... a 1/2
... a flat head screw driver
... a pry bar
... a punch
... a really ****** hammer
... a weapon no one would ever suspect
... a starter switch for a ford/international/johny deere
works on most bolts on a skidder, and every bolt on a Hitachi 120

and best of all, its cheap, very portable, doesn't require batteries, power, or gasoline, instantly identifies you as someone that gets **** done.

 

[kodiak]

The one tool I repeatedly use??? YouTube

 

[JimR]

For the younger folks who are just starting their tool collections, they should know that one of the first and most basic tools is a tablesaw with a good fence. I have a Delta 10” Contractor’s tablesaw, and it has served me very well for over 20 years. $600 at the time.

But one of the handiest tools I have is my welder. A cheap little 110 volt wire-feed. I have yet to encounter the project it couldn’t handle, and being able to join metal together is wonderful.

Just now finished some of these:

View attachment 978212


“And what, pray tell,” you are asking yourself, “are those?”

Firewood brackets.

View attachment 978213


So what are your own handiest tools?

.

Very nice brackets. I agree with the Mig welder. I'm up to a 175 amp Plus Lincoln now with a gas bottle. I started out with the 100 amp 110 volt unit.

 

[JimR]

Most used tool in the shop…1x30” belt sander. Sand small wood pcs, grind sm metal pcs, perfect for dressing bars, grinding off ”safety” spurs on chains I pick up for free, etc, etc
grits from 60 to 400

The Dynabrade 1/2 × 24 belt air sanders are a very nice tool for metal in tight places but not cheap, $300+. I use mine every week.

 

[JimR]

I always wanted to glue things together with liquid steel but I know there are several kinds of
welders and never knew enough about to choose one. TIG, MIG, STICK, AC, DC, WIREFEED etc ? ? ?
What do you recommend for beginners starting out ? PS. 20 years ago I bought a Lincoln AC-DC welder and an estate sale cheap and I still have it in my basement and have never touched it. I am pretty sure it is a stick welder. I seem to recall hearing that a wire feed TIG or MIG is the one that
allows young kids to weld like professionals ? ? ?

Buy a wire feed Mig with the gas setup. I too have a stick welder that hasn't been used in years. Stick welders are great for welding cast iron with nickel rod.

 

[kenmbz]

Palm sander, scrench, M12/M18 drills and impact driver.
And a leatherman type tool in each car, toolbox .
And the grinder, cheap HF to remove material quick

 

[SweetMK]

What do you recommend for beginners starting out ? PS. 20 years ago I bought a Lincoln AC-DC welder and an estate sale cheap and I still have it in my basement and have never touched it.

Get an auto-darkening helmet, set it to "10",, get some 7014 rod, 1/8"

ONLY try to weld on a sunny day, outside. It will be VERY similar to using a hot glue gun,,
except it will be a "little" hotter.

I am 72 YO, and if I weld outside, I can see clearly, perfectly clearly.

After 30 minutes of burning 7014 rod,, and maybe watching a few "MR TIG" type videos, you will be ready to build a picnic table!!
I put a big wheel on this picnic table, so one person can move it,,

 

[Okie]

MY leatherman 200 on my hip constantly. (I've carried a knife all my life, really a shame that I'm now in the same category as a terrorist for even owning one, as a country boy)

Also my eyeglasses come in handy since I wear them all time.

 

[JRenna]

List of items that did NOT come in handy today while trying to remove a broken valve cover bolt from the head on my truck...

1. Free All
2. Vise grips
3. Welder - welded nut to bolt repeatedly but it kept shearing shorter
4. The towel covering the exposed camshafts that caught fire!
5. Vintage Blue Point extractor that is now in two pieces

Handy...

1. Small Chicago pneumatic drill
2. M6x1.0 tap - hours of cleaning the threads out 1/8 turn at a time.

 

[Ian178]

List of items that did NOT come in handy today while trying to remove a broken valve cover bolt from the head on my truck...

1. Free All
2. Vise grips
3. Welder - welded nut to bolt repeatedly but it kept shearing shorter
4. The towel covering the exposed camshafts that caught fire!
5. Vintage Blue Point extractor that is now in two pieces

Handy...

1. Small Chicago pneumatic drill
2. M6x1.0 tap - hours of cleaning the threads out 1/8 turn at a time.

Haha, I had to pull a head under almost the exact same scenario (it was a fuel rail bolt). Turbo miata (not a girl car if it has a turbo haha). Went ahead and had it shaved.

 

[SweetMK]

List of items that did NOT come in handy today while trying to remove a broken valve cover bolt from the head on my truck...

1. Free All
2. Vise grips
3. Welder - welded nut to bolt repeatedly but it kept shearing shorter
4. The towel covering the exposed camshafts that caught fire!
5. Vintage Blue Point extractor that is now in two pieces

Handy...

1. Small Chicago pneumatic drill
2. M6x1.0 tap - hours of cleaning the threads out 1/8 turn at a time.

For that job (according to previous posts)
you should have used a Leatherman Tool,, you would have been done in 15 minutes!!

The mere sight of a Leatherman Tool, and the broken off part would have
unscrewed itself,, out of only FEAR!!

 

[JRenna]

I had one sitting on my flippin work bench 15 feet away!

 

[farfromiowa]

Depends on what you are doing. I think the log ox is the handiest tool for picking up rounds. I have two of them

 

[copen]

Brain. I just seem to have lost the instructions.