Tag: tool

Spring isn’t just the time for cleaning your home. It’s also the time for renovating, refurbishing, and restoring. That yardwork project you put off last fall? Those garage projects you wanted to do all winter when it was too cold to work out there? Now’s the time to stock up on tools and gear, but you have to act quickly if you want to snag a deal. Home Depot’s Spring Black Friday ends after April 28, and Lowe’s SpringFest ends after May 1, but there are still deals on loads of our favorite gear from brand favorites, such as DeWalt, Milwaukee, Ridgid, Klein, and Kobalt.

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Tool Deals

Gearwrench 232-Piece Mechanics Tool Kit

Photograph: Home Depot

The Gearwrench brand is my favorite entry-to-mid-level tool brand for chrome hand tools. Made in Taiwan, these sockets, combination wrenches, and ratchets have excellent manufacturing tolerances, meaning less slipping off bolt heads and potentially damaging them. This kit only comes with 1/4-inch and 3/8-inch drive sockets and ratchet handles, not 1/2-inch, but that shouldn’t matter unless you’re working on large projects, such as cars’ axle components or building a deck. The organization box is also excellent, with sturdy slide-out drawers and built-in handles that make picking up the heavy box a breeze.

An impact driver is a power tool that delivers rapid, repeated forward thrusts as it rotates on a bolt or screw head. It works wonders for stubborn screws and bolts that may be too rusted in place to remove without a power tool. An impact driver typically fits small screws and bolts. Similarly, a hammer drill delivers the same thrusts but is designed for drilling through tough materials that could choke up a normal cordless drill. This combo kit includes two batteries and a charger, so when you run one dry, you’ve got another to use while the first one is charging.

An impact wrench is similar to an impact driver in that it uses repeated forward thrusts to loosen stubborn bolts, but it tends to be more powerful and meant for larger bolts. I’ve used one to loosen rusty suspension bolts and engine bolts enough times in the garage to consider one a godsend for heavy-duty mechanical work.

DeWalt 20V Max XR Cordless Drill Kit

Photograph: Lowe’s

The cordless drill is arguably the most versatile power tool in a homeowner’s toolbox. Not only can it drill, but it can be fitted with screwdriver bits for Phillips head screws, Torx, triple square, and hex bolts. A similar 20-volt DeWalt has been my standby for years, and the XR version adds a brushless electric motor for a longer life span. The speed is adjustable from 650 to 2,000 rounds per minute, which is useful because you won’t need a high RPM all the time. The ergonomics are perfect. I’ve spent hours in a row with an ergonomically identical DeWalt with no hand pain. The small LED in front of the trigger lights up dark work areas nicely.

If I were to “hypothetically” say that I’ve drilled more than 100 holes in my apartment walls (and if my hypothetical landlord wasn’t reading this), I’d tell you that these budget drill bits performed excellently in drilling through pre-war drywall, which in my place measures a particularly thick 3/4 inches. I’ve used these bits to repair the frame of a couch, build wooden furniture, and drill through metal picture frames, and they’re the best value out there. They come in several sizes that have never left me wanting.

Gearwrench makes the best value in tools. I tested this 12-piece screwdriver set earlier this year, and I was enamored with how tightly the Phillips head screwdrivers fit into screw heads. That means less slippage that can damage screws and potentially make them nearly impossible to remove or reuse. The rubber-wrapped handle is comfortable for extended periods too.

Garage and Yard Deals

Ridgid Compact Miter Saw Stand

Photograph: Home Depot

Perform any woodworking, even if you’re cutting boards, and you practically need a miter saw. The hang-up comes in finding a stable, secure place to put it while you’re using it. Choosing a stand is vital because a miter saw is dangerous when it’s unstable. I’ve always been impressed by Ridgid stands. The mounting brackets are quick and easy to use, and the structural parts have robust materials that don’t scream cost-cutting. This stand can hold up to 400 pounds, which is plenty for a miter saw.

A stalwart tool of any garage, whether you’re cleaning up after a woodworking project or washing the car, is the shop vac. It’s a supercharged cousin of your household vacuum cleaner. It can suck up wet messes, thanks to its built-in drain, as well as dry ones. Ridgid makes my favorite shop vacs because, with five horsepower on tap (for this model), it has no shortage of power for sucking up large messes, the included hose attachments fit securely, the caster wheels glide easily, and I’ve never had one break while on duty.

Maybe it’s the number of times I’ve stood on a Werner ladder and didn’t fall off, but when I need to purchase a new ladder, I almost always go with Werner. This 8-foot-tall model is made of thick, durable fiberglass that helps cut down on some of the weight when you’re moving it, and it holds up to 300 pounds. There’s a magnetic tool strip at the top, along with a paint can holder and a slot for holding a drill or hammer.

Kobalt 630-CFM Leaf Blower

Photograph: Lowe’s

Leaf blowers aren’t just for fall. They can be a major time saver when you want to clean up the grass shrapnel that remains after edging your lawn, for example. Gone are the days of a bulky, smoke-spewing, gasoline-powered leaf blower. This cordless, electric model from Kobalt moves 630 cubic feet per minute of air, meaning it offers plenty of power while weighing just under 9 pounds. There’s a battery and charger included too.

Other Tool Deals

Klein Digital Multimeter Kit

Photograph: Home Depot

Being able to measure the electrical current flowing through an outlet, car battery, or the like is essential when working with electronics. Klein is a longtime stalwart in tools designed specifically for electricians. This multimeter measures up to 600 AC/DC voltage and 10A DC, and it comes packaged with GFCI outlet testers and cables. If all the dials and screens look complicated, don’t be scared. The included instructions will tell you how to set everything, and it’s far easier than it appears at first glance.

It’s easy to find a decent utility knife, but hard to find a great utility knife. I’ve used tons, from Craftsman to Stanley to no-name brands off Amazon, and the Fastback is my favorite. The replaceable blades are sharper than those from other brands, and you can flick the blade open and shut one-handed with ease. You can store a spare blade in the handle, and there’s a bit holder for a common-sized flat head and Phillips head screwdriver bit. A battle opener and wire stripper round out the features list.

Stanley makes my favorite tape measures in their Fat Max series, but these DeWalt tape measures are nearly good, and hey, they’re on sale. I’d say they’ve earned the right to use “tough” in their name, because I’ve thrown some around a few job sites, and the thick plastic casing can put up with a lot of abuse. One of the few differentiators among tape measures is their ability to extend without collapsing. The DeWalt’s thick tape manages this well, so if you need to stretch it out 10 feet across the room to measure something (which is quite common), then you’ll have a lot fewer headaches with this than a cheaper tape measure.

Plastic trigger clamps won’t be the clamp to grab for the heaviest-duty jobs, but they may be the clamps you reach for the most often. More times than I could count in a month, I need a third hand to hold something steady for me while I work on a project. From pinning a bracket to an awkward place while you bolt it in to keeping hands safely clear when cutting something, you need a few clamps in your toolbox. With 100 pounds of clamping force, these will be more than capable of many day-to-day, small tasks.