What’s your handiest tool?

[les-or-more]

I always wanted to glue things together with liquid steel but I know there are several kinds of
welders and never knew enough about to choose one. TIG, MIG, STICK, AC, DC, WIREFEED etc ? ? ?
What do you recommend for beginners starting out ? PS. 20 years ago I bought a Lincoln AC-DC welder and an estate sale cheap and I still have it in my basement and have never touched it. I am pretty sure it is a stick welder. I seem to recall hearing that a wire feed TIG or MIG is the one that
allows young kids to weld like professionals ? ? ?

Dig that welder out of the cellar and start burning rod, stick is a little harder to master but once you do, you will be a much better welder using any process. Mig is easy to make look good but I would rather have a not so pretty weld that holds than a pretty solder job. Practice is the key and then some more.

 

[stihl sawing]

Probably the most worthless tool I ever bought was these.
they will not stay on the Fastener the head flexes and they are hard to use.
I give up on them after about 10 minutes of using them went back to the ratchet wrenches

 

[holeycow]

A good, great big socket set that has 1/4", 3/8, and 1/2" drive. Wait for a good sale somewhere and a decent one will come up pretty cheap. Many have wrenches, screwdrivers, extensions, adaptors, etc.

cordless drill and impact driver

swiss army knife. I use mine every day and have had a jacknife in my pocket for over 40 years I suppose. Maybe even 50..?

I'm just about due for my third swiss army knife..

I have several multi tools of a few brands. They don't get used nearly as much as the jacknife multi tool for me. I find them bulky, by comparison.

this is what I have and is a great little tool;
https://www.swissarmy.com/us/en/Pro.../Medium-Pocket-Knives/Cyber-Tool-S/p/1.7605.T

 

[SweetMK]

A good, great big socket set that has 1/4", 3/8, and 1/2" drive. Wait for a good sale somewhere and a decent one will come up pretty cheap. Many have wrenches, screwdrivers, extensions, adaptors, etc.

If you lived in the United States,, that "good, great big socket set that has 1/4", 3/8, and 1/2" drive"
would have to be sized in "METRIC" as well as "NORMAL" to be at all useful,,,

 

[holeycow]

I need both metric and normal, of course. Many sets here include both.

 

[daddy]

I always wanted to glue things together with liquid steel but I know there are several kinds of
welders and never knew enough about to choose one. TIG, MIG, STICK, AC, DC, WIREFEED etc ? ? ?
What do you recommend for beginners starting out ? PS. 20 years ago I bought a Lincoln AC-DC welder and an estate sale cheap and I still have it in my basement and have never touched it. I am pretty sure it is a stick welder. I seem to recall hearing that a wire feed TIG or MIG is the one that
allows young kids to weld like professionals ? ? ?

Get that stick welder hooked up and learn to use it. 6013 rod is easy to start with, 7018 is what is used the most. I don't think you should get a wire feed mig until you know how to weld. Too easy to make bad welds that look ok. Auto darkening hood will make it easier to learn. Welding takes lots of practice to be good. Each process has its advantages, but in my opinion, stick is the place to start. I weld for a living.

 

[daddy]

Leatherman rebar is my handiest tool. Don't know how I made it most of my life without one. Use it multiple times daily.

 

[BrettS]

My handiest tool is my brain.

 

[Karrl]

A good, great big socket set that has 1/4", 3/8, and 1/2" drive. Wait for a good sale somewhere and a decent one will come up pretty cheap. Many have wrenches, screwdrivers, extensions, adaptors, etc.

I don’t usually like plastic cases but a set like this is invaluable to have in your truck. Costco usually has some version of this that goes on sale from time to time.

 

[Karrl]

Also everyone hear talking about their brains, I guess I’m the only one who has to shut that thing off to get any work done

 

[Jere39]

On the lower end of a Leatherman, but still slips off my pocket clip every day for something

 

[CJ1]

Well lets see, my flashlight gets used the most and what saves me the most physical labor is my DK50 tractor. Soon to be a tracked skid steer. CJ

 

[cookies]

My mind is my greatest tool although it seems to require warm up and time to work things out to make sense of things before a decision is made. I use so many tools it is difficult to say what is the most used or preferred though I often am going behind others that have destroyed things using the wrong tool trying to perform a repair.
Melting two pieces of metal together is easy once you get over the fear of it and start working at it, the best advice is protect your eyes and skin from the arc light...it will give you burns on your skin like a sun burn and blind you...nothing like a 8 hr headache from one blinding mistake. Second best advice is learn the types of rod or wire to be used for their purposes, take extra material and weld on it to get comfortable adjusting the machine settings for the best metal pooling without blowing through your material. Then grind it down and beat it with a BFH to test strength, if you want pretty welds using a stick get good at grinding and buy spray paint. Anything over 1/4" preheat it, thick metal is more forgiving than thin. Watch videos about welding after you try your hand at it, you will remember/retain/apply the information better the next time.
When welding a nut on a broken bolt for extraction, use the largest id nut possible and fill it in until the weld is proud of the nut top to send as much heat as possible into the bolt expanding it in its bore. Do not rapidly cool it or it will be much harder to drill out if it breaks off.

 

[les-or-more]

I am just a hack with a welder, a DC welder and a can of 7018 and lots of practice will get you respectable looking welds.

 

[sirbuildalot]

Handiest tool would depend on what I'm doing. Carpentry, metal working, firewood, etc.

In general some top choices for me would be:

*Tractor and a welder

 

[muddstopper]

Always keep this around for when things need persuading.

 

[Bango Skank]

My leatherman and one of my Surefire or Streamlight flashlights. Both tools get used every day LOTS of times and im totally lost without them. Im on my second leatherman in the past 10 years or so. This “Wave +” was a free replacement by leatherman when my “Juice CS4” died. The juice and leatherman have both been back for the same thing. A broken awl or a flat head [emoji1787][emoji1787]

And my custom made sheath. Made buy a local boot store owner that is a leather smith.

Sent while firmly grasping my Redline lubed Ram [emoji231]

Got the same Wave, I think. Been carrying it since 05.
Absolutely love it, can’t recommend it enough. It’s with me almost always, and gets used daily.

Good quality craftsmanship on it, good steel, the knife holds an edge nicely. The pliers are comfortable enough.

 

[daddy]

View attachment 979118
I am just a hack with a welder, a DC welder and a can of 7018 and lots of practice will get you respectable looking welds.

Obviously not a hack. Appreciate the humility though. My goal is to learn something new every day.

 

[farmer steve]

Lots of good tools so far. I know craftsman tools aren't the best but this is my favorite.

 

[les-or-more]

Handiest tool would depend on what I'm doing. Carpentry, metal working, firewood, etc.

In general some top choices for me would be:

*Tractor and a welder

I agree, I can not pick a single tool as a favorite, there are far too many to pick just one.