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Welcome back to another episode of the Homegrown Liberty Podcast, this is episode 40. Today I’m going to be covering an essentials basic tool kit.

I think there are a couple ways to think about buying tools and building up your personal toolbox and repository of implements. So I’ll kind of be talking about both perspectives, the buy the best and take care of it, and the other perspective of buying cheap and often. I tend to find myself mostly in one of those camps, but I see the value in both perspectives for sure. So I hope by the time we’re done here today I’ll have inspired you to think about your personal paradigm, and decide for yourself what’s best for you and your family. And who doesn’t like talking about tools right? This won’t be a laundry list of product placements but rather just a general list to get you to consider these types of tools, and to help you think about strategies for building up to a comfortable set of tools and getting to where you need to be for your lifestyle and choices. I’ll do a specific episode on my favorites with specific tools and links to where you can purchase them. But this one is just going to be covering a lot of the basic tools and will be a quick overview because man, there’s a lot to cover.

Before we get into the show though, I want to make sure I let everyone know about the mexican sunflower plant cuttings. I’ve probably gotten enough orders to sell out already but go ahead and send me an email with your desired number of cuttings if you’ve been on the fence because you never know, I might have extras after filling all my orders. I’ll keep enough to get my spring stuff started for myself but I really do want to get cuttings of these into as many people’s hands as possible I think they’re that good! I haven’t responded to all your emails yet because I’m trying to keep everything organized and there’s not much point in emailing you guys back to let you know I got your email and I’ve gotten a lot of emails on it haha. So as soon as they are ready to ship I’ll let everyone know who has already emailed me with their total, and get a shipping address and get your cuttings shipped. It will probably take at least 3 maybe 4 weeks to get them rooted so I’ll probably ship around the beginning of November. I didn’t want to take anybody’s money for the cuttings until I was sure that they had all rooted and that I could ship them. I’d hate to have to send back refunds if something happened like, oh, I dunno, a certain 3 year old decided it was perfect dirt to make roads with his little tonka bulldozer and ended up killing all the cuttings. Cause that could happen! So the same week that they are ready to ship I’ll get an email sent out to everyone with payment info, and as soon as I receive payment I’ll ship your plants!

Essential Tools for Your Homestead

When we talk about this kind of a topic, there is so much to cover that it’s a little daunting, and expensive too when you start to add things up. So let’s break things down into a bite sized chunk and see if we can come up with a way to incrementally meet the most basic needs while working towards a fully kitted out workshop you could build a boat in! I think this first kit is a great one to have no matter if you have a huge workshop and every tool imaginable. If you do, GREAT! Go grab a bag or toolbox and make up a small basic tool kit to keep handy.

But first let’s talk about some of the categories of needs so we can get organized and think about this methodically.

• Workwear – These are things you wear that you NEED if you are going to do work
• Measuring – The name says it all, you often need to measure things

• Light – You can’t work if you can’t see
• Power Tools – This type of tool is a force multiplier and can make a massive difference
• Hand Tools – This spans a huge category of tools and we’ll break things down more
  • Pounding
  • Prying
  • Twisting
  • Cutting
  • Grabbing
• Transportation – These are implements that help you move things with less effort

The Basic tool kit

Now when I say basic, I mean super basic. Most of these tools should fit inside a small bag. Most likely these tools are not going to be purpose driven nor the best at any particular job. This kit is designed to get you started, to have easily to hand and make it easy for you to meet most of your ordinary needs. So bear in mind that there are better tools that are sometimes better for specific purposes

Gloves

Get some comfortable gloves. It’s best to get full grain leather gloves, but for this basic kit, just get whatever is most comfortable for you. I say at bare minimum get some of those mechanics gloves. They’re thin and have a mesh back so they’re more breathable and thinner so they’re more comfortable. And if you’re not used to wearing gloves, those thin ones will be easiest to get used to wearing.

Safety Glasses

I know, I know, if you’re a young guy or a tough guy or gal you might think they’re dumb. You’ll think that until you get sawdust or anything else in your eye. It can ruin an hour of work, or at worst, ruin your vision. You only get 2 eyes, take care of them. I say these are 100% mandatory. It’s a major hassle to try and find something like safety glasses the one time you really do need them when they don’t get used very often, so just get a cheap pair and keep them in the bag. At the very least put them inside a plastic baggie or better yet a hard case so they don’t get scraped up and worthless.

Headlamp

There are so many times when you will need hands free light and you will be thanking me when that time comes. It can save blood sweat and tears.

Small Flashlight

Just get a decent cheap flashlight, I like Coast for mid-tier flashlights. But any ordinary smaller flashlight should do the job. I prefer AA powered flashlights because we have invested in rechargeables and we love them!

Tape Measure

You can probably get by with a small 16’ tape measure. When it comes to these, get a good solid one, don’t cheap out, these measuring tools are pretty cheap and good ones are worth it. Indispensable for measuring, I don’t know how many I have but I can never find one, Get two and put them both in the bag!

Power Drill

This is optional but I think is great if you can afford to add it to the kit. You don’t need to get an expensive one, this is meant for light duty sporadic use and you definitely do not need a top notch drill. So I say get a cheapo drill that will meet your needs without breaking the bank. I have a top notch Dewalt 20V brushless drill and Impact Driver, you don’t need one of those for this kit, just get the cheapest one that will work for your everyday needs. It’s super nice to be able to drive screws or drill holes at the drop of a hat when you need to without going out to wherever you keep a more substantial piece of equipment. I for one don’t want my expensive pro grade tool left somewhere the kids can find it and play with it. So a cheaper version is great for this light duty kit.

Small Framing Hammer

These have almost straight claws and I say 18-20 oz or smaller. This is not the best hammer, doesn’t do framing well, or anything else very well, but it will serve you well enough in most situations.

Screwdrivers

You just need a couple screwdrivers. The most common screwdriver is going to be a number 2 (#2) phillips head, but also getting a couple sized flat head as well as a couple smaller and larger phillips head drivers would be nice. If you want to take it up a notch, stick 4 or 5 torx sizes in there as well. Sometimes it really makes the difference in getting a job done in a timely manner when you have a torx on hand, cause nothing else really works when you need one.

Combination Wrenches

They’re useful for tightening and loosening bolts. You can get a cheap set that will span all your common sizes both in metric and standard for twenty bucks. If you have the money, craftsman is great, but if you’re just making this for a general tool kit to keep in a closet inside the house and not for hardcore work, don’t worry about getting top notch tool quality.

Crescent Wrench or Adjustable Wrenches

Crescent actually sells a good quality pass through adjustable wrench and socket set for thirty bucks, not a bad deal and a huge win when you’re talking about versatility. I’m going to be getting that tool kit soon. But if that’s out of the budget, just get an 8 inch and a 14 inch adjustable wrench. You should be able to get them fairly cheaply brand new.

Pipe Wrench

I like to have a pipe wrench handy but you may not want one, they are very heavy and might not be a good addition but if you are ever working on round materials, a pipe wrench can really come in handy.

Clamps

A minimum of 2 of those smaller quick release clamps can mean the difference between getting the job done alone and needing an extra pair of hands. I do most of my work alone, so clamps have been a major time saver. Definitely a fantastic thing to have.

Pliers

There’s an assortment that I think are almost a necessity. A decent sized pair of Channellocks, probably around 16” would be good. Another 2 smaller pairs of adjustable pliers. And a pair of vice grips, and I suggest the Irwin Vice-Grip brand, they make the best and the cheapos are junk.

Wire Cutters

There are a couple types that will come in handy. I like to have a pair of diagonal pliers, you can look them up on wikipedia to know exactly what I’m talking about as well as a pair of side-cutting pliers, commonly called lineman’s pliers. I think it’s also a great idea to get yourself a pair of needle nose pliers, they normally have a wire cutting feature as well. And if you plan on doing any electrical work at all, I think a pair of wire strippers are very valuable and will save you a lot of time and hassle.

Utility Knife

Sometimes you need to cut tough material and you don’t want to mess up a good knife blade. There are times when it’s just a lot faster to use a cheap utility blade to cut on some soft metal and trash the blade. It’s really nice to have that option. A cutting implement is a must in my opinion.

Two Wheeled Dolly and/or Wheelbarrow

If you are going to get one of these, I’d personally go for the wheelbarrow, but it might make more sense for you to get a two wheeled dolly. I’m not at all a fan of those cheapo plastic transport implements like those two wheeled plastic garden carts, I think they’re garbage, but if it’s light duty and you don’t think you will use it a lot, please go with a cheaper light duty version, there’s no need for heavy duty, pro level equipment when you don’t specifically need it. Both of these tools have been invaluable for me on my homestead for moving bags of materials, bulk materials, boxes, crates, appliances, even loads of lumber can be put on that dolly and used as a two wheeled cart. I’ve moved 20 foot long pine beams that were over 400 lbs with ease by loading them on the cart, balancing it well and being able to roll it like a trailer. One of these can be a real time and energy saver. They’re not just for moving boxes!

Tips and Tricks

When you’re looking for tools on the cheap, go to garage sales and estate sales. You can get top quality tools for a song sometimes. By no means do I want you to think that you need to go out and buy all these tools new. But I know there will be some of you who have the finances to do so and will want to get everything with a few clicks. So I’ll most likely be finding all the tools I think will be handy for a starting tool kit and set up an amazon purchase list for you guys in the future. I have too much happening in October already to commit to doing it anytime soon but maybe around thanksgiving I’ll be able to get it put together and that way you can at least see some pictures of the types of tools and get specific brand recommendations from me. I’ll set up a low quality kit option as well as a high quality kit option. Which leads me to the next point I wanted to bring up.

High Quality vs. Low Quality

I know some of my listeners are going to be firmly in one camp or the other on this issue. I fall somewhere in the middle and say “it depends”. Personally if I can do so and I know I’m going to use the tool an awful lot, then I’ll buy the highest quality that I can. I’d rather have something that is dependable and works flawlessly. Having a purpose built, high quality tool can make a daunting task into a pleasure, using a poor quality tool can sometimes even be dangerous, let alone be simply miserable to work with. I’ve done jobs with a garbage chisel, and then also used a high quality woodcrafting chisel and the quality makes a HUGE difference. The same goes for drill bits, there’s a place for garbage, cheap bits, and there is also a very good place for a high quality nice implement. When it comes to starting out, I would rather be able to meet a lot of needs with a cheap tool that you can buy at harbor freight. And I can imagine a lot of you guys and gals might want to go there to stock up and get all these tools just to have a cheap tool kit. And ya wanna know what I think of that plan? I think it’s great. Do it! At least you’ll be able to have the tools readily to hand should you need them. However if you’re like me and you do most of the work on your home, farm, homestead, by yourself then you may consider slowly and incrementally replacing those cheapo tools with high quality versions. And this is how I’d go about it. Use them and see how they work, if they’re awful to use and you use them a lot, then put that tool on your list and the next time your budget allows it, buy an upgrade and keep the junky tool in reserve in case you need it in the future. And think of it like this. If you upgrade your garbage tool kit to all good quality and you have a son who is growing up. You can one day hand him a good starter tool kit of tools that were his dad’s. That’s pretty special.

Part of my goal in raising my sons is to teach them how to understand and fix most basic things in life. If for no other reason than to give him the experience and knowledge to be able to ask the right questions and know when he’s getting cheated. I have no problem with someone who says, “I don’t have time or the expertise to tackle a job like this” and hire a professional to do it. There’s a time and a place to get someone to do the job for you. But I really want my sons to have the basics all learned so that when they run into one of those problems, they can at least have the option to handle it on their own, and not be at the mercy of a contractor of some sort. I want to equip them with the ability and skillset to do some plumbing, electrical, HVAC, carpentry, basic repairs, mechanical work on a vehicle. I want them to be capable even if they choose to lead a different life than I choose. That right there is one of the core reasons behind our decision to live this way. Otherwise it would be quite difficult to raise my sons to know where food comes from, to be capable of raising their own food, to enjoy the sweat and the satisfaction at seeing a construction project be completed and to know that they built it with their own hands. There are few things in life that are more satisfying than eating a meal made exclusively from food you raised and prepared. To work in a workshop that you built, to house your animals you raised from babies in a barn you built and to put up hay for the winter that you gathered. I want my sons to grow up to be young men who get a taste of that before they decide what they will do with their lives. I don’t want them to get into the normal first world rut of a mindset and end up miserable at a job they hate. I almost did that and only just barely snapped myself out of it before I got too far down that road.

Anyways, I hope this has been a good little introductory lesson on how to build a basic toolset. If you think I’m missing some essentials, please let me know on the facebook group or the comments section for the blog post! I love to get feedback and to discuss this stuff with you guys. I’m no expert, just another guy learning as I go like we all are. Thank you for choosing to join me on this journey and walk with me. I know I haven’t met many of you, but you are like family to me and I hope we all get to meet up one day. So if you like this podcast, I want to ask you to do a favor for me. If you’re on social media somehow, please tell your friends about the show and somehow get them to listen to an episode you think they’d like. You have my express permission to email episodes to people, burn them on cds, distribute the podcast any way you want. It’s free and will always be free, so if you have them all downloaded and you have a friend you think would like em, put them all on a thumb drive or disc and give them away!

I’ll be around the DFW area the last week of October teaching at the TSP Homestead Skills workshop so let me know if you want to have me do any on site consulting for you while I’m in the area, the cost goes way down when I’m already near your location.    

Alright guys, that wraps things up, I hope you enjoyed this topic, if you want to follow up on this or ask questions, please hop on facebook and join the discussion in the community group, lots of great ideas and encouragement get shared there every day!

Until next week

I hope you have a wonderful day, God Bless. And as always “Go Do Good Things”