what are your favorite tools?

[heygrey]

we've amassed quite the collection in the past few months as we tackle more projects. 

today i was reminded once again that i freaking love my impact driver. more power than i realistically need, but man it's efficient! we never set out to buy one, but an after christmas sale had an 18v cordless drill for $199 or the drill and impact driver for $219. easy choice there! when we build furniture it's SO handy to have a drill bit in the drill and to be able to screw with the impact driver. 

my second favorite right now - stud finder! i borrow my landlords when the ol' tap tap knock knock method doesn't seem to be working, but i picked one up at work for a dollar this week and i've already used it a dozen times. so simple, and saves me from putting unnecessary holes in the wall :-)

[sierramist03]

I love this thing I always reach for it! We have a bigger cordless and corded drill that are too heavy for me.

[darby]

Flooring nailer! I know it's not a tool that gets used often, but I had so much fun when we used it & it made me feel so powerful! :-P

[ktzmoh]

What stud finder do you have? The last 2 that I have had seem worthless at finding studs in our walls. I really would like a nicer one that will do the job.

[heygrey]

Jul 29, 2013 17:33:00 GMT -5 ktzmoh said:

What stud finder do you have? The last 2 that I have had seem worthless at finding studs in our walls. I really would like a nicer one that will do the job.

this is a Bench Mark Studsensor. 

it's found every stud i've hoped it would... and that's saying a lot because the person who built this house has NO concept of 16 on center so there is never a stud where you think it should be. 

i got this second hand so it wasn't like i did any research, but so far i'm really pleased! 

[auntie]

My orbital sander

[kaylie]

Air compressor and nail gun. I get a ton of use out of them.

[steph96]

Jul 29, 2013 20:18:32 GMT -5 kaylie said:

Air compressor and nail gun. I get a ton of use out of them.

Ditto! I am always looking for things that I can nail.

[wawa]

My wrecking bar. It was the only thing that let me keep up with MH and the other guys when we were doing demo. Give me a lever long enough...




Now that we're not destroying things, I'm a pretty big fan of my oscillating tool. There's a lot of random little things that could have been huge hassles but were easy because of that thing.

[TBM]

Jul 29, 2013 20:51:04 GMT -5 steph96 said:

Jul 29, 2013 20:18:32 GMT -5 kaylie said:

Air compressor and nail gun. I get a ton of use out of them.

Ditto! I am always looking for things that I can nail.

:Y:  Add a crown stapler (for upholstery) and a paint sprayer, and the air compressor is really an amazing, versatile tool.


For everyday tools, I love our small cordless drivers.  In addition to a couple of rechargeable drivers, we have a black and decker drill/driver that runs on AA batteries...perfect for small jobs and for when the other drivers haven't been charged.

We recently got a Ryobi laser level that is pretty sweet.  The suction attachment doesn't hold long enough for someone who works slowly (DH), but the pins that you can use to mount it on the wall are great.  It came with a nice storage case.  The guys working here were kind of jealous, because it was nicer (bigger-size is everything-lol), than the model they had, and theirs didn't come with a case. ;p

[treedimensional]

For DIY interior household projects, the table saw and the mitre saw.

Some of my professional tools (saws) I use almost daily, and they are replaced every year.

[demandypants]

my leatherman. It is good for small projects where I may need a few different tools. I keep it in the kitchen because I like to have it handy. I installed a ceiling fan this weekend and it was one of the few tools I needed to complete the task.

[315]

My rubber mallet is getting a lot of use lately. On objects, not people.