The Essential Toolbox

Whether you’re a rookie handyman or a seasoned do-it-yourselfer, a range of basic tools is essential to doing the small jobs around the house. Pick a place for your cache of tools — a kitchen drawer, maybe, a carton in the hall closet, or even a real toolbox — and make a point of always returning the ones you use to their designated home.

What tools will you need? Your skills and the kinds of jobs you do must be your guide, but a good basic selection would include a tape measure, square, and torpedo level for measuring and setting. A handsaw or handheld circular saw; a utility knife; a cordless drill; and maybe a glass cutter will take care of your cutting and drilling tasks. For fastening, how about a small set of screwdrivers; a staple gun; pairs of electrician’s, waterpump, and locking pliers; and a hammer?

You can take it from there. Add what you need, like chisels, a sander, and some clamps, and supplies, too, like sandpaper, nails, glue, screws, and so on. Don’t necessarily tool up all at once — that could feel expensive — but do buy tools of good quality rather than the cheap and flimsy ones on sale. Better tools last and last, and get you through many jobs, those you do both for recreation and in an emergency.

Tape Measure

Few tools translate to so many trades, from dressmaking to dressing stone — the convenient and compact tape measure makes all kinds of jobs possible.

Also called a push-pull tape, the basic tape measure is spring loaded so that the tape retracts into its metal or plastic case when not in use. It comes in all sorts of sizes, from 3-foot key-chain sized rules to bulky 25-foot flexible rules.

Tape measures have blades (as the tapes themselves are officially known) that come in 1/2-inch, 3/4-inch, and 1-inch widths. Wider tapes are bulkier, but also have the advantage of extending farther without the supporting hand of an assistant at the other end. A good size for most around-the-house jobs is a 3/4-inch-wide, 16-foot-long tape measure.