Author Topic: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)  (Read 23534 times)

BlueStarLizzard

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #25 on: May 17, 2010, 07:42:03 PM »


The temptation to say something unapproriate is very, very high right now...  :laugh:

Brad

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give me explosives, not flip comments.  :P

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PTK

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #26 on: May 17, 2010, 07:51:30 PM »
Are explosively flip comments allowed? What about comments that aren't flip, but are explosive? How about flippant explosives? They tell you off before detonating.

:laugh:
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sanglant

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #27 on: May 17, 2010, 08:40:43 PM »

BlueStarLizzard

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Ryan in Maine

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #29 on: May 17, 2010, 09:01:54 PM »
I agree with the Craftsman tool set and then supplement it from there idea. Even their Evolv brand is a good buy. You might even be able to combine two Craftsman tool sets to get what you need. And remind her that all her Craftsman hand tools (other than bits) have a lifetime warranty.

sanglant

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #30 on: May 17, 2010, 09:24:43 PM »

 [barf]


lol, i just knew about it because i had been looking for one for a 13yo. =D

AJ Dual

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #31 on: May 17, 2010, 11:37:01 PM »
I've been waiting for someone to post the "toolkit" that's a high-heeled shoe (hammer) butter knife (screwdriver) etc.

Now don't get the wrong idea, I wasn't going to do it, but I thought SOMEONE would.  :angel:
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41magsnub

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #32 on: May 17, 2010, 11:41:14 PM »
If the craftsman kit is in your budget then definitely.  I still use the 200+ piece kit I bought in high school, I just have added to it as needed and moved from a plain tool box to a cabinet over the years.  I have another 200 piece craftsman tool kit in an annoying case but which fits behind the back seat of my truck nicely just in case.

Vodka7

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #33 on: May 17, 2010, 11:47:26 PM »
Things I wish I had when I got my first apartment:

Channel locks
Adjustable wrench (actually, two or three of them for good measure, can never find one when I need it)
Box cutter
Assorted phillips and flathead screwdrivers
Assorted pliers
Headlamp
Hacksaw
Flashlight
Drill
Comfortable allen wrench set (seriously, if she's like most 20 year olds, almost all of her furniture for quite a long time is going to come from IKEA.)
Eletrical and duct tape
Hammer
Studfinder
Tape measure
Level
A box or two of nails, screws, anchors

If all that comes in under budget, might be worth getting her a big flashflight for power outages and making sure her fire extinguishers don't need replacing.

sanglant

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #34 on: May 17, 2010, 11:58:02 PM »
I've been waiting for someone to post the "toolkit" that's a high-heeled shoe (hammer) butter knife (screwdriver) etc.

Now don't get the wrong idea, I wasn't going to do it, but I thought SOMEONE would.  :angel:
still have the scars from the last time. :angel:

RoadKingLarry

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #35 on: May 18, 2010, 12:00:40 AM »
Poundy thing, turny thing, squeezy thing...

For the "typical" (  =D ) "mechanically declined" woman -  pair slip joint pliers, 8" crescent hammer, 6 in 1 screwdriver, duct tape, zip ties, baling wire, smaller claw hammer. Anything more capable than that and my wife is going to seriously screw something up and she has totaled a few things with those tools.

If she is actually competent with hand tools celebrate the rarity and get her a serious tool kit.
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.

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Vodka7

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #36 on: May 18, 2010, 12:20:17 AM »
Zip ties! Good call, I've done all kinds of crazy things with zipties when I either couldn't figure out how to do it the right way or didn't have the right fixtures.

sanglant

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #37 on: May 18, 2010, 12:29:12 AM »
best place i've found to buy zip ties. yeah yeah, i post it to much. but really i ain't making money on monoprice. :angel: oh and, never use them for hanging a dartboard. but these are the only way i hang pictures, clocks, posters. oh and i have one by my door for my keys.(it's metal looks pretty good =D)

CNYCacher

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #38 on: May 18, 2010, 01:05:33 AM »
Second on the vise grips.
 
And a low-end floor jack and two-handed lugnut wrench. 15 minutes ago, a lady hit a curb near the apartment. Instant flat.
 
I had the thing changed in about five minutes.
 


Get her number?  =D
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Doggy Daddy

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #39 on: May 18, 2010, 01:13:51 AM »
I remember years ago, not long after we got married, I started putting together a tool kit for my wife.  I came home from work and she had completely dissassembled the stand mixer (a pretty nice, pricey one) to clean it.  I mean competely.  She had opened it up and removed every screw, gear, pin, or belt.  She had no idea how to put it back together, so she just waited for me to get home.  I looked at the puzzle for about 30 seconds, and threw it away.  There was no way I could have figured that thing out!

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PTK

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #40 on: May 18, 2010, 01:18:31 AM »
....damn, I had hoped that was a unique experience. My ex-wife did similar shortly after I had bought her a toolbox - she took apart the microwave, mixers (hand and stand) blender, toaster, coffee maker, coffee grinder, electric can opener (good, I hated that damn disgusting thing), and the electric hot plate.


To clean them.

I got SOME of them back together, but damn. I think most of them were assembled via jigs to hold things in place while machines popped the fasteners into place. =|
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BridgeRunner

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #41 on: May 18, 2010, 01:21:09 AM »
Screws and nails and zip ties and such.  Also assorted wall-hanging stuff, for various types of walls.  

Saw of some kind.  Little hacksaw is handy.

The Craftsman kit.  

I prefer vise-grips over just about any other kind of "turny thing".  I find them easier to use.  Maybe because I kind of have a weak grip, maybe just because that's what my father had in his toolbox, but I love 'em and find them very handy.

Tiny screwdrivers.  Often need 'em for glasses, electronics, computers, etc., if the idea is truly all-purpose tool kit.

Level.  Quite cheap and very handy

Stick a sturdy pencil in there.  

sanglant

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #42 on: May 18, 2010, 01:32:34 AM »
little hacksaw is AKA a coping saw. oh and i forgot the swiss army knife. a cyber tool is sweet.

Regolith

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #43 on: May 18, 2010, 05:21:36 AM »
the cute option. =D

My mom got one of those, in pink, because she wanted a set of tools my dad, brother and I wouldn't use (and eventually lose).


Didn't work. 


Though, to be fair, we lost far fewer of those tools than out of other tool kits.  I think it's because the hot pink was easier to see, and hence find again.   :lol:
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Doggy Daddy

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #44 on: May 18, 2010, 06:49:01 AM »
Quote
....damn, I had hoped that was a unique experience. My ex-wife did similar shortly after I had bought her a toolbox

Would you ever have believed there could be so many little parts in a mixer?   :O

DD
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a walk-on part in a war
for a lead role in a cage?
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erictank

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #45 on: May 18, 2010, 07:41:25 AM »
the cute option. =D

My wife had a grey & blue version of that set, pretty much, before I moved in several years ago.  They were surprisingly good for cheapo tools.

That purple is UGLY, though.

Re: what to get -

I concur with the previously posted Craftsman tool kit plus additions. 
- I'd go with a good flashlight using common batteries - either a multi-AA or multi-D, depending on how big you (or she) want to go.  For in-tool-kit storage, the AA would be a better fit. 
- Metric AND SAE allen wrenches - you can get flip-out handles with a variety of sizes in both styles for cheap at Sears which take up no more room than a ring of regular allen wrenches and are IME easier to keep track of than loose wrenches or ones on rings (although I see the Craftsman kit has two small sets of loose wrenches - so this would be one I'd drop if necessary for cost). 
- Another adjustable wrench (different sized from the one in the kit), and perhaps a moderate assortment of box wrenches (I would drop these for cost consideration, if necessary - you can do almost anything necessary at home with a pair of adjustables that you can with a set of box or crescent wrenches, IME). 
- A pipe wrench, probably 12" size. 
- A pair of vise-grips. 
- Duct tape. 
- A small assortment of screws, bolts, nuts, nails (you can frequently get little multi-compartment sets of fasteners and hangers - this would something else you might tell her to get, rather than including in your gift toolkit). 
- A pair of channel-locks (how much are those little slip-on covers to keep them from damaging pipes and stuff?  Then again, I've gotten along fine without 'em...). 
- Precision screwdrivers might not be a bad idea, either - I use mine a lot (tell her to buy some if you need to drop for cost).

- More than anything else, get her leather gloves that fit. 

Those, and at least a good bit of the above, and she ought to be able to handle almost any basic household repair.  Adjust as necessary for cost, as I know my total there would go over $200 for everything.

If you want to spend more, add a powered screwdriver or drill/driver of some kind, with a bit kit - Black and Decker rechargeable screwdrivers are cheap at Wally World, or you could get a more powerful cordless drill/driver at Home Despot for not too much more (or maybe even at Wally World, come to think of it).  Actually, maybe better to go with an actual cordless drill/driver and drill bit set, with an extra battery if you can afford to do so (or just tell her to buy her own).

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #46 on: May 18, 2010, 07:56:33 AM »
I was once gifted one of those cheap home tool kits.  Had a bunch of stuff, and I tried intergrating it with my tools.  Most of them broke.  Only have the hammer and the measuring tape left.
Most of my tools are craftsman.  Need to venture to sears in the next day or two and buy a new 12v drill setup.
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RoadKingLarry

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #47 on: May 18, 2010, 11:10:56 AM »
Screws and nails and zip ties and such.  Also assorted wall-hanging stuff, for various types of walls.  

Saw of some kind.  Little hacksaw is handy.

The Craftsman kit.  

I prefer vise-grips over just about any other kind of "turny thing". I find them easier to use.  Maybe because I kind of have a weak grip, maybe just because that's what my father had in his toolbox, but I love 'em and find them very handy.

Tiny screwdrivers.  Often need 'em for glasses, electronics, computers, etc., if the idea is truly all-purpose tool kit.

Level.  Quite cheap and very handy

Stick a sturdy pencil in there.  

There we go, proving the stereotype, Vicegrips are "squeezy things".
How can you ever expect to "use the right tool for the job" if you can't properly ID a tools function?

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Samuel Adams

lee n. field

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #48 on: May 18, 2010, 11:15:20 AM »
Quote
There we go, proving the stereotype, Vicegrips are "squeezy things".

OK, vicegrips are tools that allow you to carefully crush small objects.  Just enough to crack that walnut.
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coppertales

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Re: Well-stocked small toolbox (for a girl)
« Reply #49 on: May 18, 2010, 11:19:45 AM »
Costco has a real nice set of tools for sale for 99 bucks.  There is just about anything you can possibility need for a toolbox.  Sears has nice tool kits that go on sale from time to time.  Me, I have mostly Craftsman, Sears, tools, but now if I need something I stop at Harbor Freight.  Being 66 years old, the lifetime warranty is just not that important any longer.  They may be reasonable but have a good warranty anyway.....Stay away from the top shelf tools like Snap-on, Matco, etc.  Unless you are a professional mechanic, the price is not worth it.  Besides, they are sold by a truck vendor.  There is no store...chris3