My tool drawer 12 years ago contained the following: a
hammer, needle-nosed pliers, and a Philips screwdriver.
That's it.  If I needed a flat screwdriver, I used a butter
knife.  If I needed to measure something, I used a ruler.
If I needed to drive a screw, I asked my neighbor to do it
for me.

This situation soon changed when I got married to a
journeyman electrician, and we moved onto 4 mountain acres
to start building a house - using our own hands. If I had
only known how much I didn't know, I would never have
believed we could do that.  But we did.  We built the
house, and then we built a greenhouse with garden shed.
Next, we constructed a free-standing shed.  Our crowning
achievement was when we finished the timber framed barn.

We added the necessary tools to our collection as we added
buildings to our 'homestead.'  At the beginning, my husband
gave me utility knife, measuring tape, good hammer, and
speed square along with a tool belt to carry them.  It was
a birthday present soon after we had begun building the
house. I appreciated having my own set of tools to carry
with me.  Using these, and my newly acquired chop-saw
abilities, I was all set for a while.

As I developed my confidence using power tools, the range
of house building tasks I was willing to do increased.  I
quickly came to need a screw-gun of my own and a manageable
circular saw, (our 1970s Skil saw weighed a ton and had a
temperamental switch).  I began dropping hints for my next
tool present: a DeWalt five-piece cordless kit.  Happy
birthday for sure!  My new DeWalt kit included a cordless
drill, light and strong circular saw, reciprocating saw
(saws all), and high powered flashlight, all together in a
handy case.

Along the way, adding equipment to our collection and
learning how to operate all of it, I figured out some
important principles for using, maintaining, and buying
tools.

When buying tools, keep in mind this principle: never
cheap-out!  It definitely doesn't pay.  I learned the hard
way that even for tools we use rarely, such as our
acetylene torch, we were better off just spending the extra
money to get a quality tool from the start.  If you go for
the cheap tool, you're certain to regret it because you'll
have the hassle of replacing parts, if not the whole item.
Cheap tools will break or have inferior performance,
wasting materials and your time. This is true from paint
brush to nail gun.  Do yourself a favor and make the extra
investment in the first place.  You'll be glad you did.

Using tools.  Here's the central principle: use the right
tool for the job, and then stay within the operating
guidelines of that tool.  For example, my strong but small
circular saw is able to cut a green 4 x 6~ if I were to
force it and the battery were fully charged. However, that
is not what the little saw is meant to do. I could
permanently damage it, mangle the post, injure myself or
someone else by using the tool for something it isn't meant
to do. Use the right tool properly and you'll be more
efficient, and have more enjoyment of the process.

About maintaining tools.  Well, consider this.  Once
you've made the investment and you've gotten into the habit
of using the tool properly for the job it's meant to do, if
you also put a little attention on maintenance, then most
good tools will last a life-time.  Keep it simple and do-
able.  For most tools, all you have to do is keep them dry,
blow the saw dust out of them before you put them away, and
keep them in a safe place.  For battery powered tools, keep
the batteries fully charged for a long life and better
performance. Keep blades sharp on saws so the motor doesn't
have to work as hard.  Generally, take care of your
investment.  If you just do a little maintenance as you use
each tool, you're all set.

Amy Gilsan is a frequent contributor to <a
href="http://fmptools.com">FMP Tools Newsletter</a> , the
best on-line tool information resource. Amy's archive of
articles is found at http://www.fmptools.com/

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