Minimum honey do kit?

[Matt Lau]

I just finished helping my parents repair their closet door.

The screws had stripped the MDF door, and were hanging.
My dad had tried filling it in with toothpaste and pasting the screws back in place.
I just drilled oversized holes, cut oak pins to length with a Dozuki, planed an oak dowel to fit, glued it, sawed the excess with a Kataba, trimmed the end flush with a nice chisel, and re-screwed the screws in place.

It felt very good to justify my tools.

Anyways, it got me to thinking that there are only a handful of tools needed to do most repairs around the house.
I really don't need my LV LA jack, or carving knives for most tasks. Alternatively, a cordless drill is indispensable.


Would you guys mind helping me refine my honey-do kit?


Here's my short list:
1. Good crosscut saw. Good flush cut saw.
2. Sharp chisel about 1" to 1/2" (and something to keep it sharp)
3. Cordless drill. Drill bits. Bit driver. Good bits for driving screws. Awl to start the hole
4. Headlight.
5. Good block plane (western or eastern is fine).
6. Tape measure
7. Masking tape
8. Hammer/mallet
9. Screwdrivers
10. Wrench(es) including allen wrench
11. Sharp utility knife
12. small vac for cleanup.

Any others? I'm thinking of making a small bag in my car for repairs...mainly to help parents and friends.
Nothing fancy.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Duct tape. Don't leave home without it.

Small bunch of clean cotton rags.

Small squeeze bottle of glue.

Square of some type/size/$$$. Inexpensive combo w/45* is fine.

[Jamie Buxton]

You're forgetting about plumbing and electrical.

[Matt Lau]

Ah!

Great tips.

My dad has trouble changing a lightbulb, so I've never had much guidance.

[Shawn Pixley]

Level, square, and channellock pliers?

[Warren Wilson]

a small flat prybar of some sort, perhaps a catspaw

Which reminds me of one of my wife's favorite strategies when I have too long neglected a task. "Don't worry about that light switch," she'll say, "I'll get it," walking past me with a 4 lb hammer, a crow bar and a crescent wrench.

[Reinis Kanders]

Shark prybar are nice, they work well for nails, but also have a curved flat end to slip behind moldings or what not.

Scribing compass is handy as well.

[Chris Cohick]

Pliers, needlenose, vice grip, and slipjoint. Hacksaw. Pipe wrench or two. A level. Combination square. Teflon tape.

[Jim Dwight]

If you frequently go to one place, like your parents, I would leave a bag there. I made one up for my daughter when she moved to an apartment and recently put a bag with my step-daughter in the condo we bought for her at school. I just go to Harbor Freight and pick up about the same stuff you list plus a painters all-in-one (works for putty knife and other). I don't have chisels in these bags, however. Cheap ones are a frustration and good ones would get banged up, I'm afraid. I don't put a block plane there either, I would bring it if I thought I needed it. I have a caulk gun at the condo along with some caulk and a few drywall tools.

When I go somewhere local, I start to put tools together a night or two in advance so I can keep visualizing what I will need. I often end up buying stuff rather than coming back home. But I try to minimize it. I can't for the same reason I make multiple trips to the home center doing things on my house.

[Matt Day]

This list is going to be pretty long. I suppose it depends on what is considered "basic" repairs around the house.

[Greg Hines, MD]

I keep a stud finder with level in my bucket, as well as my el-cheapo saw blades, including a backsaw and drywall saw with an interchangeable handle. I also have a box of electrical connectors, a combination flat/round rasp, and two pairs of vise-grips.

Doc

[Victor Robinson]

After consistently forgetting what you need every time, you'll end up having a whole second shop there. DAMHIKT.

[Erik Loza]

Good thread. I keep a pretty standard tool box inside the pantry with most of the hand tools everyone else has listed, as well as some basic plumbing and electrical stuff like teflon tape, wire nuts + stripper/crimper, pipe sealant, etc. Also, my LED headlamp. As a matter of fact, I would say that the LED headlamp is my most valuable tool in the kit. Use that thing all the time. Saves me from having to run out the (detached) garage to get things in many cases.

Erik

[Steve Peterson]

I would add a small collection of screws, nails, and picture hanging hooks.

For a small toolbox, I like a decent quality universal screwdriver. The tips pull out to switch between slotted or Phillips. The entire shaft reverses for small or large tips. One end has a 1/4" hex, the other end is 5/16". My latest is a Milwaukee brand for around $10. Add a long shaft #1 Phillips screwdriver for getting into recessed screw holes of many toys and a #2 Phillips for appliances.

My small electrical kit includes a voltmeter, wire strippers, wire cutters, needle-nose pliers and a few wire nuts. Even a cheap $5 HF voltmeter is surprisingly useful when all you need to do is detect power or continuity.

Steve

[Peter Kelly]

I'd add a mill file, an assortment of sandpaper(s) and a couple 12" clamps.

It's worth checking the closeouts at Harry Epstein if you're putting at tool kit together starting from scratch. Quality of tools there is significantly better than Harbor Fright and it isn't much more expensive.
http://www.harryepstein.com/index.php/closeouts.html?limit=all

[Thomas L. Miller]

This is like the instructions you find on any new thing (appliance, piece of furniture, etc.) brought into the house. The manufacturer states a few simple tools are required and lists a screwdriver, pliers and maybe a hammer. By the time I've finished with the thing, whatever it is, I've dragged everything out of my shop but my table saw to get the job done. Oh well, I guess the exercise is good for me. :) Sorry to depart from the thread, but I couldn't help myself.
Tom

[Charles Wiggins]

I've bought a number of tools to leave at my parents house over the years. Others have covered a lot of these, but my go-to's include a torpedo level with magnet, stud finder, channel-locks, variety of screwdrivers, and I usually take my own drill and bits including a set of Dewalt driver bits, a set of pilot bits, both countersink and self-centering, plus, a set of general use twist bits.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Internet access, credit card, and cell phone will get ANYTHING fixed.;)

[Edward Oleen]

I'd add a set of drill bits: I carry the DeWalt set, which runs up to 1/2 inch (I think)
I also use the DeWalt 12vMax drill/driver and impact driver set, along with some extenders, so I can reach things buried up to 12".

An oscillating saw with a variety of blades is extremely handy: I got the Harbor Freight fixed speed one on sale to handle an emergency and wouldn't be without it.

Unfortunately I have gotten the (deserved) reputation of being able to "fix things", so my wife and I get invites for the weekend, or dinner, or a picnic or... quite frequently now. I ALWAYS pack the basic kit - it damn near lives in the trunk.
Can't say as I mind too much - the meals are almost always very good, and I get to try things out.

It also helps the tool budget: if I buy it while on an "Oh, by the way..." trip there is never any comment, at least so far...

[Tom Ewell]

"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone."- Walt Kowalski

[Lon Crosby]

For electrical, add a non-contact voltage tester, an outlet tester, an inexpensive multi-meter and a pair of inexpensive wire stripper/crimper.

[John Bullock]

I just finished a number of small projects at my son's home and I found a variety of small wood screws handy along with a supply of wooden toothpicks for the occasional screw hole that has become loose and needs to be tightened up by inserting sections of toothpicks. This list is a tremendous reminder and I am going to create a list of these items for my go to toolbox.

[cody michael]

For electrical, add a non-contact voltage tester, an outlet tester, an inexpensive multi-meter and a pair of inexpensive wire stripper/crimper.


non contact testers are my favorite electrical tool!

[Keith Weber]

The screws had stripped the MDF door, and were hanging.
My dad had tried filling it in with toothpaste and pasting the screws back in place.

Wait... what???

Was there a thought process leading to this, or just one of those old people things, like the time my 90-year old Grandma took all the sheets off her bed and tried to flush them down the toilet? I never thought of adding a tube of toothpaste to my tool arsenal. I think I have used it successfully as a metal polish in a pinch before, though.

[Erik Loza]

"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone."- Walt Kowalski

I would add zip-ties to that list!

Erik

[Mike Schuch]

I would not even consider tackling these repairs without my 5hp cabinet table saw, 7.5hp 16" radial arm saw, 5hp shaper, 3hp dust collector and 16 speed drill press. Doing so without the proper tools is just asking for trouble! (I am guessing you are married?)

[mark mcfarlane]

Wait... what???

Was there a thought process leading to this, or just one of those old people things, like the time my 90-year old Grandma took all the sheets off her bed and tried to flush them down the toilet? I never thought of adding a tube of toothpaste to my tool arsenal. I think I have used it successfully as a metal polish in a pinch before, though.

Toothpaste is a common 'fill the hole' trick for renters to fill in nail holes in the wall from hung pictures to avoid losing your deposit. Learned that trick 40 years ago. It won't hold a nail, but it will pass a walkthrough inspection for nail holes in drywall.