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Rod

wrote:
On 19 Dec, 10:06, John Rumm wrote:
wrote:
In the DIY Dunces thread, a couple of people have mentioned putting
together basic toolkits for their son or daughter.
So what is a basic toolkit?
I did look in the uk.d-i-y wiki (possibly not hard enough) - and I
don't think there is an article on a 'Basic Toolkit' there, so perhaps
answers to this thread could eventually make it into the Wiki as a
useful article?
That is a good question actually...

Much of the answer depends on who is using it, where, and what range of
tasks you expect them to take on.

You could go for something as simple as a good swiss army knife or
better still a leatherman tool. That would take care of basic screwing,
snipping, stripping, and gripping tasks.

Beyond that I would have though a small box or bag with screwdrivers,
pliers, tape measure, small torch, wire cutters and strippers, medium
sized adjustable spanner, small multimeter, hammer, box of assorted
twinthread screws, small cordless drill, and assorted multi purpose
plugs would cover a good deal of jobs.

That's great John! Given this is uk.d-i-y, I'm surprised the
ubiquitous angle grinder hasn't made it's way in there ;-) I will go
and get some twinthread screws.

The least used item of mine in that list is the hammer. I have a hard
rubber mallet used with some woodworking chisels that gets more use as
a general encouragement tool, but it's probably a bit too esoteric for
a basic toolkit.

I have a small (miniature) ratchet socket kit and ratchet screwdriver
with a selection of heads which both get used extensively. The Stanley
knife gets a lot of use as well, with curved blades rather than
straight ones.

Cheers,

Sid

Actually I had been mulling over contributing 'mallet' to the thread.
Really useful for things like flat pack assembly - though I use a cheap
rubber one rather than wood.

Recently I seem to have used loads of round head screws - lots of fixing
things to walls.

Also - just been to look at my 'ready kit':

waterpump wrench
hex/allen key set
pencil (and sharpener)
Uniball write-on-anything-at-any-angle ballpoint
(e.g.
http://www.cultpens.com/acatalog/Uni_PowerTank_Retractable_SN-220.html)
try square
spirit level
glue (PVA and superglue? - maybe epoxy)
abrasive (emery, sand, wet-and-dry and maybe small sanding block)
countersink bit (preferably snail-type)
hacksaw (and, if any plumbing is possible, compact pipe cutter!)
maybe a small folding saw (e.g. Bahco gardening saw)
PTFE tape
centre punch and/or bradawl
files
string or cord
gloves (e.g. nitrile disposable and knitted cotton)
plastic boxes for storing all sorts of things (screws, nails, fuses, etc.)
Ikea template for marking out door/drawer handle positions (cheap orange
plastic)
silicone grease
white lithium grease aerosol
sticky stuff remover

--
Rod

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