What definitive set of power tools should a person purchase for the purpose of home upgrades and repairs?
Answers:
Since you already have a cordless drill, I'd suggest (more or less in this order):
A handheld circular saw (sometimes called a Skil saw, but Dewalt and Porter-Cable make better basic ones than Skil). A reciprocating saw is good for demolition and rough work, but not for precise, clean cuts--I'd get that only when you have a job for it. But do get a hand held jig saw (sabre saw)--Bosch, Porter-Cable and DeWalt make good ones. A compound miter saw is nice if you are doing any trim at all--DeWalt's 12" model is a real workhorse, right around $300, but a 10" saw can be had for much less.
I also have a spiral saw that I use for drywall cutouts, a router that I constantly find new uses for, a random orbit sander that I can't live without, and a 4" belt sander I've used on every remodel job I've had since I bought it. Mine are all Porter-Cable.
If you can afford it, a small air compressor with 18 gauge and 15 gauge finish nail guns is great--if you can only have one finish nailer, I'd say 16 g. The compressor can also be used with a paint sprayer, tire inflater, air hammer, etc.
Other answers:
A good drill is indispensable and a jigsaw is very useful
A good drill is indispensable and a jigsaw is very useful
Hammer, adjustable wrench, phillips and flat head screw drivers. Also pliers and maybe a reciprocating saw (a little safer to use than a circular saw).
The other thing you can do is look for a rental shop in your area. They can rent you the tool you need and you don't have to purchase/maintain them.
1. Hammer 2. Utility Knife. 3. Cordless Drill 4. Jig Saw 5. Set of pliers and such for home plumbing and electrical issues. 6. A pry bar, for molding and other woods. 7. A battery charger for lawnmowers and vehicles. 8. Extra batteries and charging station for your cordless drill 9. 5-n-1 tool, for scraping paint, opening lids, a handy screwdriver and much more, invaluable. 10. A gift card every Christmas or birthday to buy more and more that you will love to have.
A drill is the best, most practical, and most useful. In the beginning, start small and get maybe 5-7 volt drill. I got a ryobi, and so far it's been strong enough for all the minor, around-the-house jobs.
Then, as other jobs come up, buy them. So far, I've bought a putty scraper, a window screen roller, a soldering iron, etc.
This weekend, I'm going to check out Sears for multi-piece tool sets. They usually come with toolboxes, and are always on sale. Try to get one with ratchets in both metric and british.
I also have this old pair of 8" pliers that i use for just about every wrench job. It's extremely useful for plumbing too.
Being addicted to tools, I can give you a list longer than both arms. Here are the basics.
Circular saw.
3/8 drill motor
Rechargeable screw driver (Buy one of the kits for it
that has extra blades and even
twist drills)
Set of screwdrivers (straight blade and phillips)
set of adjustable wrenches. 6, 8, and 10 inch
Set of open end wrenches up to 1" (also a set of metric)
You can buy sets that have a good selection of
both standard and metric. Usually combination
open end and box end.
A pair of channellocks (common name sometimes called water
pump pliers)
Cutting pliers (commonly called electricians sidecutters)
Hacksaw
Claw hammer
Undoubtedly there are aeveral that I have missed.
Circular saw
sawzaw(a large reciprocating saw)
Miter saw
Drill
A drimmel is very useful and adaptable
Any thing you can't do with those you will probably want to hire somebody for.