DIY - The Top 5 Must Have Tools For Do-It-Yourselfers
Besides the obvious must-have tools—a selection of screwdrivers, hammers, wrenches—there are a number of odd little items that I have found extremely useful to have on hand when starting any do-it-yourself project. Here are the top five:
Cable Ties Are Incredibly Useful
You just can't have too many cable ties!
1. Cable Ties – These things are exceptionally handy. I’ve used them for everything from repairing the insulation around a condensation line to my air conditioner to attaching a bird feeder pole to a fence. They can be strung together to create the length you need, last indefinitely and even come in lots of colors.
The Putty Knife: Possibly the most versitle tool ever invented!
2. Putty Knife – Spreader, scraper, pry tool and all around great little gadget, I’m never without several. They come in different widths and degrees of flexibility and can be sharpened if you need a scraper with an edge.
Yes, it is as handy as they say
Don't try this at home!
3. Duct Tape – I know it’s become a cultural cliché, but Duct Tape remains so useful that it deserves a place on any Must Have tool list. Look for the doublewide roll for heavy-duty projects requiring extra strength, and be sure to have a roll of black around as well as classic silver if you want to make your repair less visible.
A Wealth of Q Tips
More useful than you can imagine, the humble Q-Tip
4. Q–Tips – Perhaps the most unexpected item on this list, I find a zillion uses for the humble Q-Tip. They make terrific mini paint brushes to apply just a drop of touch up paint to a nick or scrape, and are equally good at getting a drop of glue or lubricant right where you need it. Add their usefulness at polishing the small crevasses and turnings of brass and silver to their list of virtues and you’ll understand why I keep a pack in my toolbox.
So useful!
5. Long Tweezers – I’m don’t recall where or when I acquired a few of these, but I’m so glad to have them! I can’t count the number of times I’ve fished tiny screws out of the tight spot into which they inevitably dropped or retrieved other bits and pieces with them. If fact, having them handy seems to work as a sort of insurance policy, preventing little parts from falling into impossible to reach places.
Well, time to go back to my project; please let me know what is on your must-have list!
Copyright © Roberta Lee 2012. All rights reserved.
(I am an artist and the author of the Suburban Sprawl series of novels as well as two nonfiction books. Find out more about my work at RobertaLeeArt.com.)
