>How do I not frick this up?
You pretty much cant frick it up anymore, the quality of cheaper tools have gotten so good its really not a problem.
Just walk into your favorite hardware store and buy shit off the shelf.
The only way to frick it up is to actively TRY to frick it up, by buying weird offbrand shit nobody has ever heard of on the internet.
Do this. The demands of the job will let you know if you need a better tool. Then you can upgrade piecemeal instead of trying to get all nice tools when it turns out you only use some occasionally.
Don’t buy the cheapest crap though. Like original anon said that other anon quoted, the cheap(er) stuff is good, meaning Husky and Kobalt and the Taiwan stuff is really solid now.
Just know that expensive shiny easily recognisable brands like Bahco, Teng, Snap-on, Estwing, Rigid etc will undoubtedly get pilfered by magpies.
And that tools are only so good, as long as there in your toolbox not someone else's.
Knowing this your buying philosophy should be all about buying the cheapest where possible, and where cheap and cheerful won't cut it buy stuff that is high quality yet blends in to look ordinary.
A good rule of thumb should be to buy stuff that's a foreign brand, which thieves won't recognise.
Anything that's of one or two piece construction and consumable should undoubtedly be hardware store bargain bin own brand.
Think hammers, screwdrivers, hex sockets, Allen keys, scrapers, files, chalk, pencils, blades etc.
Whereas more mechanically complex stuff with bearings, springs should be obscure unknown quality that looks ordinary.
Think stilsons, ratchets, shifters, mole grips, levels, side cutters, tin snips etc.
Car boot sales are a great place for finding rusted hidden gems, yet thieves will still spot snap-on a mile off so think about grinding off logos or wrapping them over with tape.
Unfortunately levels and adjustable grips are the only ones where you can't skimp, as the German autistic precision of stabila and Knipex is unrivalled.
As for obscure quality brands that look ordinary, you cannot go wrong with Brit tool, Silverline, Sandvik, King-Dick, Silky or Shinto.
Etcher to mark the frick out of them.
Never loan tools.
One jobsite custom I do to larger tools is uglify them with a color no one else uses on theirs to make them less attractive targets and my initials get marked all over plastic bodied drills etc by soldering iron, but do what is customary for your gig.
Phillips screwdriver - Normally a #2 size. I get multibit screwdrivers instead unless there is a very specific reason to want a one piece.
Standard screwdriver - since a multibit or two covers turning fasteners I keep "standard" screwdrivers handy as small pry bars and to use as chisels (tools are expendable my time and convenience are not) for soft rivets and other such one-off tasks
Hammer - Whatever. Not critical so nothing sexy required.
Combo square - Whatever style your coworkers use. Cheap is fine since you're not a machinist.
Side cutters - These are decent, I've abused mine doing auto salvage and the leverage is nice. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TDDP6E?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Pliers - Slip joint pliers are shit by nature so cheap will do for starters. I throw most of them away when I get auction lots and use more advanced pliers instead but if ya need space filler just buy whatever.
If you have the money and won't lose them these motherfrickers are glorious and NOT slip joint trash.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097C98LCT?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Nut drivers and combination wrenches are fine from Harbor Freight at this point.
Channellocks are absurdly handy so get 'em. (Worth remembering is with tools like Channellocks it's very common to need two but only have one handy, the reason for the second being holding one item whilst turning the other. I avoid exact duplication and always own at least one of the largest size Channellock.)
Scraper - Get whatever they use since they specified a brand presumably they've a model in mind.
Torpedo level - Whatever works.
Plumb bob, chalk line, flex tape = need not be expensive. "Wrenches, socket set" is vague so find out what you will use. You can buy wrenches and socket sets/u-joints/extensions as you learn what you want and owning a set doesn't mean ya have to bring all of it.
Paracord (bright colors preferred) and small steel carabiners are great for keeping sockets and box ends of wrenches together in a tool bag. I use paracord loops for many tasks which reveal themselves when you have it handy.
Chisel - Get a LONG one because reach = control. I hold my chisels using visegrips so I can safely get violent and avoid my hand blocking the view during awkward tasks. Buy a decent chisel but remember they're a very consumable tool if used often. Know how to sharpen them quickly (autism not required).
Visegrips - 10CR style preferred for the jaw and cutter style. Later on I would get someone who welds to weld a ~4" long ~ 5/16 bolt to the adjuster screw at 90-degrees to the adjusting screw head as a T-handle. That does two wonderful things. It's a spinner you can quickly use with or without gloves for fast adjustment and as a T-handle it gives a very fricking large leverage increase over a much more awkward manual squeeze. I mod all of my many visegrips that way. No matter how strong you are it works much better than a manual squeeze. All my equally experienced and ancient mech and techbros love mine and either mod their own or I do it for them since it takes about five minutes.
Square (shank style) screwdrivers are so you can turn them with other tools. I'd wait to see what others use so you get the right size and length for your job.
Ask questions! Good techs love to share knowledge.
No rush on banding cutters. Find out how much you will personally need them. If rarely you can use aviation snips but that requires more effort. Ancient trick to shear steel bands using two Crescent style adjustable wrenches side by side turned in opposite directions.
I noticed that too. Thanks to texting it's now customary to avoid posting details especially on PrepHole. It's so consistent it has to reflect entire lives indifferent to thinking in detail, poor buggers.
PrepHole is so bad it's horrifying. Posters post "my car" because they don't understand why details matter and that every vehicle is not the same.
The info I posted works for any job using those tools though so it's a safe bet.
>How do I not frick this up?
You pretty much cant frick it up anymore, the quality of cheaper tools have gotten so good its really not a problem.
Just walk into your favorite hardware store and buy shit off the shelf.
The only way to frick it up is to actively TRY to frick it up, by buying weird offbrand shit nobody has ever heard of on the internet.
Do this. The demands of the job will let you know if you need a better tool. Then you can upgrade piecemeal instead of trying to get all nice tools when it turns out you only use some occasionally.
This.
Buy the cheap crap and when it breaks, buy a better one.
Unless it's something your life depends on. May want to start with quality for that stuff.
Don’t buy the cheapest crap though. Like original anon said that other anon quoted, the cheap(er) stuff is good, meaning Husky and Kobalt and the Taiwan stuff is really solid now.
Hock shop, cheap tools provided by your local friendly crackheads
Mac Tool truck.
Can't you just buy whatever your colleges use?
Just know that expensive shiny easily recognisable brands like Bahco, Teng, Snap-on, Estwing, Rigid etc will undoubtedly get pilfered by magpies.
And that tools are only so good, as long as there in your toolbox not someone else's.
Knowing this your buying philosophy should be all about buying the cheapest where possible, and where cheap and cheerful won't cut it buy stuff that is high quality yet blends in to look ordinary.
A good rule of thumb should be to buy stuff that's a foreign brand, which thieves won't recognise.
Anything that's of one or two piece construction and consumable should undoubtedly be hardware store bargain bin own brand.
Think hammers, screwdrivers, hex sockets, Allen keys, scrapers, files, chalk, pencils, blades etc.
Whereas more mechanically complex stuff with bearings, springs should be obscure unknown quality that looks ordinary.
Think stilsons, ratchets, shifters, mole grips, levels, side cutters, tin snips etc.
Car boot sales are a great place for finding rusted hidden gems, yet thieves will still spot snap-on a mile off so think about grinding off logos or wrapping them over with tape.
Unfortunately levels and adjustable grips are the only ones where you can't skimp, as the German autistic precision of stabila and Knipex is unrivalled.
As for obscure quality brands that look ordinary, you cannot go wrong with Brit tool, Silverline, Sandvik, King-Dick, Silky or Shinto.
Pound 7 or 8 cheap beers then enter Harbor Freight 5 minutes before closing time.
Etcher to mark the frick out of them.
Never loan tools.
One jobsite custom I do to larger tools is uglify them with a color no one else uses on theirs to make them less attractive targets and my initials get marked all over plastic bodied drills etc by soldering iron, but do what is customary for your gig.
Phillips screwdriver - Normally a #2 size. I get multibit screwdrivers instead unless there is a very specific reason to want a one piece.
Standard screwdriver - since a multibit or two covers turning fasteners I keep "standard" screwdrivers handy as small pry bars and to use as chisels (tools are expendable my time and convenience are not) for soft rivets and other such one-off tasks
Hammer - Whatever. Not critical so nothing sexy required.
Combo square - Whatever style your coworkers use. Cheap is fine since you're not a machinist.
Side cutters - These are decent, I've abused mine doing auto salvage and the leverage is nice. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TDDP6E?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Pliers - Slip joint pliers are shit by nature so cheap will do for starters. I throw most of them away when I get auction lots and use more advanced pliers instead but if ya need space filler just buy whatever.
If you have the money and won't lose them these motherfrickers are glorious and NOT slip joint trash.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097C98LCT?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
Nut drivers and combination wrenches are fine from Harbor Freight at this point.
Channellocks are absurdly handy so get 'em. (Worth remembering is with tools like Channellocks it's very common to need two but only have one handy, the reason for the second being holding one item whilst turning the other. I avoid exact duplication and always own at least one of the largest size Channellock.)
Scraper - Get whatever they use since they specified a brand presumably they've a model in mind.
Torpedo level - Whatever works.
Continued
Plumb bob, chalk line, flex tape = need not be expensive. "Wrenches, socket set" is vague so find out what you will use. You can buy wrenches and socket sets/u-joints/extensions as you learn what you want and owning a set doesn't mean ya have to bring all of it.
Paracord (bright colors preferred) and small steel carabiners are great for keeping sockets and box ends of wrenches together in a tool bag. I use paracord loops for many tasks which reveal themselves when you have it handy.
Chisel - Get a LONG one because reach = control. I hold my chisels using visegrips so I can safely get violent and avoid my hand blocking the view during awkward tasks. Buy a decent chisel but remember they're a very consumable tool if used often. Know how to sharpen them quickly (autism not required).
Visegrips - 10CR style preferred for the jaw and cutter style. Later on I would get someone who welds to weld a ~4" long ~ 5/16 bolt to the adjuster screw at 90-degrees to the adjusting screw head as a T-handle. That does two wonderful things. It's a spinner you can quickly use with or without gloves for fast adjustment and as a T-handle it gives a very fricking large leverage increase over a much more awkward manual squeeze. I mod all of my many visegrips that way. No matter how strong you are it works much better than a manual squeeze. All my equally experienced and ancient mech and techbros love mine and either mod their own or I do it for them since it takes about five minutes.
Square (shank style) screwdrivers are so you can turn them with other tools. I'd wait to see what others use so you get the right size and length for your job.
Ask questions! Good techs love to share knowledge.
No rush on banding cutters. Find out how much you will personally need them. If rarely you can use aviation snips but that requires more effort. Ancient trick to shear steel bands using two Crescent style adjustable wrenches side by side turned in opposite directions.
what is this job listing for?
those tool recommendations are all over the place
I noticed that too. Thanks to texting it's now customary to avoid posting details especially on PrepHole. It's so consistent it has to reflect entire lives indifferent to thinking in detail, poor buggers.
PrepHole is so bad it's horrifying. Posters post "my car" because they don't understand why details matter and that every vehicle is not the same.
The info I posted works for any job using those tools though so it's a safe bet.