My tool drawer 12 years ago contained the following: a

hammer, needle nose pliers, and a Philips screwdriver.

That’s all. If I needed a flathead screwdriver, I used a butter screwdriver.

knife. If he needed to measure something, he used a ruler.

If I needed to tighten a screw, I would ask my neighbor to do it.

shape.

This was a soon altered status when I married an officer

electrician and we moved to 4 acres in the mountains and

we began to build a house – with our own hands. If he knew

then how much i didn’t know then i never would have

we believed we could do it.

But we built the house. And then we build a

greenhouse with garden shed. Next, we raise a free-

standing wooden shed. Our greatest achievement was when

finished building our wood frame barn.

As we add buildings to our complex, we add tools to

our collection. For starters, my husband gave me a tool

belt equipped with a good hammer, speed square, measurement

tape and a utility knife as a birthday present shortly after

We started building the house.

I loved having my own set of tools with me at all times.

With this, and my newly developed sawing skills, I was

established for a while.

As I have become more confident with power tools,

could take on more aspects of the construction of the house. Soon I

I needed my own screwdriver gun and circular saw that was easy

for me to drive, (unlike our 1970s Skil saw I had a

complicated switch and weighed as much as me).

For my next gift, I got the DeWalt five-piece engine.

toolbox Good tools are a pure joy to work with.

With the DeWalt kit, it was a lightweight, battery powered.

Circular saw; a super-powered cordless drill; a saw-everything

(reciprocating saw), and high powered flashlight, all in

a place.

As we added tools to our collection and I learned how to use

them, I realized some general principles about the purchase,

equipment use and maintenance.

Regarding the purchase of tools, the central principle is this: it is

it never pays to cheapen tools.

Even for the ones we rarely use, like the hacksaw, it’s

better to just spend the extra money first.

Otherwise you will eventually have to go out and

replace the cheap tool that breaks the second time you use it

or that it malfunctions and wastes your time and

materials

This tip holds true for everything from brushes to

table saws. Make the additional investment. It’s worth it

because it will save you time and headaches.

Regarding the use of tools, the central principle is this: obtain the

right tool for the job, and then work within the operation

capacity of that tool.

For example, my lightweight cordless circular saw

could mow a green 4 x 6 if it had a super charged battery

and I forced him. But that’s not what the little saw is

intended to do, and might damage it, smash wood, insult

same, or have some other problem using the tool to

something for which it was not designed. Use the right tool

contributes adequately to its efficiency and overall

pleasure in the process.

About the maintenance of tools. Well consider this. Ounce

you’ve made the investment and you’ve gotten used to it

to use the tool correctly for the job to be done, if

you also pay a little attention to maintenance, then most

good tools will last a lifetime.

Keep it simple and doable. For most tools, all you have

do is keep them dry, blow the sawdust out of them

before storing them and store them in a safe place.

For battery powered tools, keep batteries fully

Charged for long life and better performance. keep blades

sharpened on the saws so the engine doesn’t have to work as hard.

In general, take care of your investment. if you only do one

Little maintenance as you use each tool, you’re all set.