The Perfect Gift: A Tool Box

Most everyone has a screwdriver or two laying around the house, but not everyone has a minimum collection stored in a tool box. If you know a young person graduating from high school, a single relative, or even yourself, a tool box with a minimum complement of tools may be the perfect gift.

Based on my own experience, the BASIC TOOL BOX should include:

A plastic or metal box such as the 13² plastic box from Walmart or the 14² plastic box from Lowes. The box should have a secure latch that won¹t come open when picked up.

#1 Philips screwdriver

#2 Philips screwdriver

1/8² Flat blade screwdriver

1/4² Flat blade screwdriver

Standard pair of slip-joint pliers with insulated handle

Diagonal cutters with insulated handle

Long nose pliers with side cutter and insulated handle

Small claw hammer such as Sears 3805 - 7 oz.

Depending on your knowledge of the individual¹s needs and the size of the box, additional items might include:

Full-size hammer

Crowbar or pry-lever

Flashlight

Tire pressure gauge(s)

Pocket knife & sharpening stone

Soldering iron & solder & soldering braid

Digital multimeter

Set of nut drivers

Set of Allen wrenches

Set of Torx drivers

You get the idea!

73, Fred, K4DII
Reply to
Fred McKenzie
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================================== What about Posidrive screwdrivers ? These are similar to Philips type of screwdrivers but have additional 'notches' (if that is the correct word) for better grip . The relevant screw heads are accordingly.

Frank , GM0CSZ / KN6WH

PS Most screws used in the UK are now of the Posidrive type.

Reply to
Highland Ham

Dunno why it didn't occur to me...thankfully it 'did' occur to my wife: Bought almost the exact (above) setup for my prospective son-in-law for Christmas. He's mechanically dis-inclined. We're gonna fix that. Can't have a s-in-l who can't fix stuff....

jak

Reply to
jakdedert

And... You plan to work on SMD circuit boards with this!!!

Jerry G. ======

Reply to
Jerry G.

And... You plan to work on SMD circuit boards with this!!!

Jerry G. ======

Reply to
Jerry G.

Frank-

I've heard of Posidrive. I think they are used in an old Hewlett Packard counter I have. However, the tool dealers I asked had never heard of them. I ended up using a common Phillips driver for my counter.

Certainly Posidrive would be a better choice where they are more commonly used.

Fred

Reply to
Fred McKenzie

I see that you still have reading comprehension problems, Jerry. Anyway, no one in their right mind would try to cram a good SMD rework station into any toobox. There is no way I would let anyone shove a stereo microscope into a toolbox.

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
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Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

Heh heh dont forget the asprin and $50 for the headache and one tool you'll always have to go get for each job. And a 6" or 8" knuckle buistin adjustable wrench. LOL

Good luck

K4TWO Gary

Reply to
Mr Fed UP

I'd consider looking for some other tool dealers to do business with. Pozidriv (a registered trademark of Phillips Screw Co.) screws and drivers are very common, sold by just about every tool company from Snap-on through Stanley to Sears.

Tektronix used Pozidriv screws exclusively for many years, until they converted over to Torx. A standard Phillips bit fits poorly in a Pozidriv screw, making it really easy to chew up the screw with this combination. Any decent toolbox should include some Pozidriv drivers or bits.

Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Reply to
Roy Lewallen

Don't forget a 4" pipe wrench for those tight spots! It has been a real life saver to remove broken studs and broken pieces of bolts. I have one made by Rigid.

BTW, you won't bust your knuckles if you buy a real wrench. 8" is too short to get a good grip on things. I have a 12" and a 14" "New Britain" adjustable, along with a 4" Xcelite in my electronics tools.

The only tools I usually have to buy these days are new ones to replace what walks away. :(

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
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Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

6" and 12" adjustable wench

12' tape measure (25' would be better) mechanical pencil, extra leads and a small notepad
Reply to
Silfax

oops I meant wrench, although a flexible wench might not be a bad idea either (but she should be bigger than 12 inches....)

Reply to
Silfax

A common problem is to turn the adjustable wrench around the *wrong way*! I've had people argue that there is no wrong orientation for the common 'C' (Crescent) wrench, but there most certainly is. Do it wrong and you'll be fine 75% of the time; but that one time when you need it to really bite--and you do it wrong--*you* are the one who gets bitten.

Boy Howdy! I recently moved my office/shop and salvaged the buildings on the property at the same time. I'm still trying to find all my tools....

jak

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Reply to
jakdedert

Roy,

How well does it work the other way around -- using Pozidriv screwdrivers on "regular old" Phillips-head screws?

Reply to
Joel Kolstad

Yes, most people seem to use it backwards where the stress is against the front of the movable jaw, rather than the back where its supposed to be. It doesn't matter if the item is fairly loose, but when you really need the torque, it needs to be turned the right way. Maybe they need to cast notches for your fingers to show people the right way to use it! ;-)

I'm trying to but my shop back together. I haven't really worked in the shop since the middle of 2001, right before I got sick and lost my job. Now, its been five years and two years of hurricanes that made the mess even worse. Some squirrels nested in the building and chewed the cords off of everything in sight. I had to put rat poison in there to kill them all. I'm missing two cordless drills, two surface grinders and enough hand tools to fill a couple large toolboxes. Since I no longer do any work away from home I have started hanging what is left on pegboard over the different workbenches.

--
Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to
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Reply to
Michael A. Terrell

In my experience, it works better than using a Phillips driver on a Pozidriv screw. But it still doesn't fit really well.

Roy Lewallen

Reply to
Roy Lewallen

OK Guys! I've done some more checking, and still can't find a store that sells Posidrive or Pozidrive. I have one lead to a specialty tool store across the state, but the local Ace, Sears and Lowes don't carry either the screws or the drivers.

I can see where the Posidrive may be used in some electronic equipment, but all of the screws in the hinges in my house, as well as the screws holding the locks on the doors, are definitely Phillips. Are Posidrive screws used for those applications in other countries?

I can see now that my original list should have stopped without the additional items. The purpose was to define a really BASIC set of tools for use around the home!

Fred

Reply to
Fred McKenzie

There's sure no problem finding mail order sources:

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The real advantage of Pozidriv is in applications where something is mass produced with the screws put in by power drivers, so they're fairly common in manufactured goods. I was really directing my earlier comment that every toolbox should have some Posidriv bits or drivers to people doing any kind of work on electronic equipment or other kinds of manufactured goods. Posidriv tools probably wouldn't be of much use for most household repairs, so wouldn't be appropriate for a very basic household tool box. The same goes for Torx.

You can identify Pozidriv screws by a ding in between the slots. There's a good picture at

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Roy Lewallen, W7EL

Reply to
Roy Lewallen

I haven't seen complete Pozidrive drivers anywhere around here, but Orchard Supply (local hardware outlet) has Pozidrive bits in several sizes, which will go into the usual magnetic-hex-socket driver handles. In fact, just yesterday I glanced over their $2.99 "17 bits in a small carrying case" assortment by the cash register, and found that it contains 3 Phillips and 3 similarly-sized Pozidrive bits.

--
Dave Platt                                    AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
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Reply to
Dave Platt

I've kept a long, slim, scalpel (+ pack of spare blades) in my toolbox for over 40yrs, wouldn't be without them. Can be used for cutting, poking, as an improvised instrument probe and (if push comes to shove) the final solution to that b****r of a problem ........ provided you fit a new blade first !!

Reply to
dick on the langwang

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