Problems in life, as a rule, appear unexpectedly: the seat at the chair has sagged, the vent in the bathroom is “overgrown”, the faucet began to dig, the socket sparkled, etc. Yes, the same screw is wrapped in the wall… And if there is no suitable tool at hand, some little thing can spoil the mood for a few days.
Of course, the better equipped the home workshop is, the more problems can be solved. But not everyone can afford to allocate space for a workshop — they usually manage with a compartment in a closet or a suitcase.
Urgently a screwdriver!
The technology around us is unthinkable without bolted connections. Take a closer look: any mechanism in the house is assembled on screws — sockets, handles on the gas stove, Ikea furniture… After all, a screw is also a screw. And to remove or disassemble the part, you need a screwdriver. And since the sizes of the screws are different, as well as the shape of the slot (simple, cruciform, hexagonal, in the form of an asterisk), then you will need several screwdrivers and different sizes.
A reversible screwdriver with a set of bits for all types of screws helps out. What it is good for is the ability to both tighten and unscrew the screws. I have two such screwdrivers — straight (it is longer) and in the form of a pistol, which is both more convenient and faster for me to work with.
Even cooler if you have a screwdriver with a set of bits. This is a really versatile tool — you can not only turn screws, but also drill and clean surfaces (from paint, rust, even soot from burnt porridge in a saucepan).
I have two of them, and the same ones, in order to use an additional set of batteries and not waste time on recharging.
Drills of running diameters from 2 to 10 mm are needed in the farm. Metal drills are universal — they can be used on any material, including wood, although there are drills with a sharp shank for wood. Plus to this set — a separate drill for tile.
Tip: if you suddenly need to drill asbestos cement (slate), you should not take a metal drill, it will quickly blunt. Take a tile drill with a triangular sharpened plate on the shank.
And of course, we need drills for concrete of 6, 8, 10 mm (and a stock of dowels for such diameters). The power of a cordless drill /screwdriver for solid holes in concrete or brick may not be enough — you will need an electric wire drill or a puncher, but these are tools of a different caliber. It is better to have your own drill, but it is easier to ask for a drill from friends for a while or rent it.
In addition to standard dowels, it is worth having a stock of dowels for drywall and anchor. The latter are needed for mounting on walls made of foam concrete of low density.
Basic set of tools
Pliers, a hammer, a hacksaw for metal — a completely typical set. Bend a simple wire hook, “bite off” the right piece of a small nail, pull out a screw with a torn head — you won’t even be able to come up with situations that may arise in everyday life.
Advice to girls: spend money on a men’s holiday, buy your boyfriend, husband, dad, if he doesn’t have a good penknife with a set of blades, starting from the main blade, corkscrew, awl and ending with scissors. Or — the so-called multitool, which also has pliers. It’s quite expensive, but very practical.
But the usual hammer is not as relevant today as it used to be. Now everything is fixed on screws with dowels and a screwdriver. But, again, life is richer than our assumptions! For example, a small hammer is always useful to fix the frame for the poster or the trim on the door, to fix the shoe on the shoe, to fasten the wooden parts.
A metal hacksaw is an indispensable thing, since you can cut everything: wood, metal, and plastic. She helped me out when my wife’s pork drumstick didn’t fit into the pot! And you can’t solve the problem without a hacksaw, well, except to go to the butcher’s market.
By the way, when sawing small parts, small vises are needed, which are attached to the table with a clamp. Without fixing the part, sawing does not work well: it is easy to break the canvas when skewed. Many materials have to be cut with a knife, and then a long metal ruler is simply irreplaceable. I have both a narrow 50 cm long and a meter long one, which is convenient for marking large sheets. And also a knife with a retractable blade.
For work with electrics
If the light in the house or apartment is gone, first check whether the circuit breaker on the dashboard has not worked. Keep a workable flashlight in an accessible place: in the dark it is difficult to go to the switchboard or find candles if the light has disappeared in the entire entrance (house, district, city).
The indicator screwdriver is your first friend in case of problems with electricity. When you really want to touch a bare conductor, touch it first with an indicator screwdriver. If neon lights up, go and turn off the bagger. By the way, sometimes a sensitive indicator screwdriver helps to find hidden wiring when you need to screw a screw into the wall.
A soldering iron and the necessary accessories to it (rosin, tin) are required infrequently, and the appropriate skill is needed. Therefore, if you imagine what and how to do when soldering or just tinning the tips of the conductors, it is better to have this tool at home. And he will not be superfluous if there is a sensible person nearby. So it’s up to you.
For work with plumbing
If you are ready to replace a leaky faucet yourself, connect a water filter or fix the fittings of the drain tank, keep a pair of gas/adjustable wrenches, tow, plumbing thread, sealant for thread lubrication at home. And there are even more problems at the dacha: there’s a well, and a water pipe, and everything for watering.
Important little things
Solvent
They can be white spirit, acetone, solvents No. 646, No. 647: degrease surfaces before gluing or painting, dilute thickened paint, remove bitumen stains from clothing or dried traces of sealant from tiles. And with the help of a solvent, you can get rid of the factory film that stuck to the plastic window frame to death. An irreplaceable thing! And of course, the WD-40. To “develop” a metal part with moving parts, beaten by rust, is for her. It can be considered a rust solvent.
Sandpaper
In addition to the classics of the genre — peeling old paint from a chest of drawers or two surfaces before gluing — sandpaper is convenient, for example, for cleaning wooden kitchen boards. Or — for sharpening a kitchen grater or scissors. A fine-grained skin must be on the farm.
Sticky tapes and adhesives
Well, I’m not talking about scotch! Only a lazy person does not have a couple of reels of wide and transparent (or red) tape at home. The thing is universal! Suitable for packaging everything. Masking tape is no less useful thing in the household. It helps a lot when it is necessary to paint a section of the surface by staining neighboring areas with paint. The good thing is that it sticks slightly and is easily removed without damaging the wallpaper and without soiling them. It is convenient for the sticker of temporary inscriptions, an envelope for collecting dust from under the drill bit.
And of course, electrical tape, which is used not only for insulation of conductors. These are tool handles, and time stamps on the drill, on the awl, on the measuring bar, and so on, so on…
There are cases when they try to wrap a leaky pipe with tape or duct tape or fix a loose chair. It’s pointless, but it creates an imitation of activity. For a cracked pipe, there is plumbing adhesive tape (for example, Henkel). It helped me a lot when the tube and piston of the garden sprayer pump cracked.
Ties
And to repair a chair, you need a hammer, sandpaper and glue, and something to pull and fix the structure. For this, a sling with a winch is perfect, which is actively used by motorists to attach cargo to the trunk of a car.
Glue
This is a thing from the category of mandatory — the more different adhesives, the better! Glue pencil for paper, glue for rubber, instant, which mercilessly glues fingers and everything else (there is a tool for cleaning hands from it), and, of course, carpentry for wood. I bought glue for glass, but I haven’t had to apply it yet, so I’ll classify it as not very mandatory.
Yes, I almost forgot — roulette!
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