10 Essential Garage Tools for Home Mechanics
The selection of garage tools needed for home mechanics can be very extensive. For most people, the contents of a toolbox are not purchased all at once, but rather, they are transient and grow over time.
Interestingly, some items are handed down in the family, and the collector’s toolbox may become a very valuable asset.
In this teeny tiny article, we take a quick look at some essential garage tools that most home mechanics cannot do without.
1. Duct Tape
It comes in a wide variety of colors, but black and silver are the most common. Duct tape, also known as gaffer tape, is super strong, efficiently sticky and very easy to tear off using your hand instead of having to use scissors or your teeth like ordinary tape.
Famous race teams still use duct tape to patch up their racing cars.
2. Spray Lubricant
The WD40, which stands for Water Displacement 40th formula, is a very popular spray lubricant. It was created in 1953 and it has multiple uses.
3. A Cable Tie
This item is used to attach things, or you may say, to bind things together. Cable ties tend to have incredible strength and come in different colors and sizes.
4. Rags
A bag of rags is great. You can use them to handle hot objects, wipe spills, wipe off grime or use as a knee pad. There are endless uses of it.
5. A Ratchet and Socket Set
Make a wise investment by purchasing a high quality ratchet and socket set that can last for a very long time.
A proper set has 1/4 and 3/8 inch drives, 1/2 inch drive sockets and ratchets. The casing should be a proper fit as well to avoid accidental fall outs when you open the tool box wrongly.
6. Spanners
A good combination of spanners and ratchet spanner sets are a great addition to your tool kit. The complete set of spanners from 8-19mm are essential and you would probably want to get an extra set for the common sizes such as 10mm, 13mm, and 17mm.
Ratchet spanners are a bit costly, but can ease things when you’re working on places that are hard to access.
7. Bit Set
An efficient multi-piece bit combination can help you in changing an air filter or any other job that involves removal of bolts. Bits are frequently used, making them really important garage tools.
8. Vice Grips / Locking Pliers / Vise Grips / Mole Grips
This is a multi-purpose garage tool that you cannot do without. Vice grips can be used as pliers, to clamp items together.
Furthermore, they can be used for holding hot items or stuff that you don’t want to touch with your fingers, or for removing studs and bolt heads.
9. Hammers
A hammer is definitely a vital garage tool for every home mechanic. Hammers are available in different shapes and sizes.
Examples are: claw hammer, mallet, ball pin hammer and a short-handled lump hammer.
10. Bench Vice
This proves a very useful tool. Buy a good quality bench vice and it may last for a lifetime. After it is mounted to a bench, you can use it for cutting, grinding, hammering, and welding for a very long time.
Wrapping up!
Those are basically the most essential tools that many home mechanics use on a regular basis. Most items are readily available and come at a great price.
Invest in high quality items that can last for many decades to come. This is so you can easily hand them over to your children or other family members.
