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What's your advice for second-level around-the-house tools? (piefed.zip)
submitted 7 hours ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world
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This sort of question comes around every once in a while; "what's your must-buy under $100", "what goods would you recommend for people just moving out on their own", and so on. I love reading these because, despite my simply vast experience[^1], I sometimes pick up new tricks.

This question is about second-level stuff; maybe not "must haves" that you'd recommend as a first purchase, but the stuff that makes life easier, that you might acquire after you've gotten settled. Things that you may have only discovered that you'd buy again if the house burned down.

For example, my wife bought a couple of these microwave tools years ago, and at the time I thought they were going to be gimmicky stuff we never used. Turns out, we use them all the time; whoever came up with the idea was brilliant.

A tool that loos sort of like pliers with curved jaws perpendicular to the grip action, and with silicone pads as jaw lining.[^2]

I like them because, unlike a hot mitt, if they get food on them you just wash them. They're way easier to use than mitts, and can be used more securely one-handed. I wouldn't trust them on stuff from the oven because of their size, but for plates and bowls from a microwave, they're surprisingly handy. It took me a dozen times using them before I realized the ring in the back actually works to clamp them to the bowl and turn them into a handle, rather than just using them as grabbers.

The thing I used today which prompted my post, and something I'd encourage people to buy if they don't have one, is a battery-powered rotary tool. My current one is a Dremel 8250, but many companies make them. They're handy and make short work of a lot of odd jobs, and IME if you have one you constantly find places to use them.

CLicG8eYgBj14cN.png[^3]

A kit like this one runs about $150, and I think it's worth the price. I think it's worth getting an accessories kit, but the bits that came with the kit are the ones I use most often and can take you a long way.

So, what are your tools, devices, or products that you've discovered which may not be a common, basic first-level "must have" household item, but which you'd not want to do without? Things which might be a little off-the-beaten-path but indispensable? Stuff you may have stumbled upon which turned out to be surprisingly useful?

[^1]: a.k.a. advanced age
[^2]: Image grabbed randomly from a web search
[^3]: Image from product page

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[–] 3 points 5 hours ago (1 child)

I don't think I have anything to recommend that isn't a fairly common home tool in the U.S.

Nice sets of metric and imperial wrenches, and at least one adjustable crescent wrench. You'll use the wrenches all the time, and at a basic level you can get away with just an adjustable crescent wrench. Fixed wrenches are much nicer to use, and it's super useful to be able to use a fixed wrench and the adjustable wrench for those bolts where neither end is fixed.

A flat pry bar. It's definitely not necessary, but I find them really helpful. It's much easier to remove nails than the claw on a hammer, and it's really helpful for applying leverage in a variety of situations.

A circular saw, chop saw, or table saw. A powered saw is another extremely helpful tool, but you don't need all three of these. Most people should pick one and I'd prioritize them for in this order.

Random orbit sander. Sanding by hand takes forever and it just sucks. If you use it even once it will have been worth the purchase.

Battery powered shop lights, from whatever brand you've bought power tools from. Having a handful of lights you can move to anyplace you need them is really helpful. I think every tool maker these days also makes something like this, just buy the ones you already have batteries for.

Shopvac. Immensely helpful for cleaning up the dust and crap created whenever you working on the house. You can integrate them into most of your power tools (might need some adapters) so that you're working cleaner, and you won't burn it out like you could with a household vacuum.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 5 hours ago

    These are all good suggestions. Especially the Shopvac; they're not just vacuum cleaners, and many can also function as wet vacs which can be enormously useful.

    I used to have a full shop, but over the years and over the moves I've slowly whittled most of it down. When we moved to CA, we had to cram ourselves into one of the smallest houses we've ever lived in. Two of the tools I never got rid of are an orbit sander and a circular saw. And a jig saw; those are handy, too.

    There's a bunch of stuff in my toolbox which I don't even think about anymore, but which I use fairly regularly. I think that deserves a whole discussion by itself.

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