Building sets for kids

[thisistheshow]

Hi everyone! I'm relatively new here. Love it!

I have three kids, two early teens one early twenties. If they need tools, they borrow mine.

Looking to build them each a small set. I'm in the process of replacing many of my tools with made in USA vintage finds. I want to do a small, made in USA set for each of them. I'm looking for recommendations for what to include. Links to prior discussions also welcome.

So far I am thinking, ... At a minimum


Assortment of screwdrivers.
Some nut drivers, small assortment of ratchet with nut drivers, etc
Hammer
Small crowbar
Assortment of pliers
Good pair of scissors

Any help appreciated!

 

[tjpavlov]

It's not glamorous, but I would add a two foot level to the list. That was probably the most useful thing when we bought out first house.

 

[Juiced06GTO]

What type of work do you want to cover? Auto stuff, home improvement?

 

[nadogail]

For Auto stuff my first set of tools was a 3/8 & 1/2 drive socket set, a couple of Crescent Wrenches, a few hammers, a hacksaw, Screwdrivers, and a set of combination wrenches. This was 1955 and Metric tools were not part of a set of ordinary tools.

 

[Bill T]

In addition to toys at Christmas, I did this for all of my children (two girls, one boy). First Christmas - toolbox. Each subsequent Christmas, tool to go in box. For example, one Christmas might be a few screwdrivers. Next Christmas might be a hammer, next Christmas - sockets, etc... . It was a kind of game-what kind of tool is Daddy going to give us this year. By the time they were ready to go off to college, they had a fair set of tools.
I also taught all of the kids how to use the tools.
My daughters loved the tools. One day, my oldest daughteer, who was away in college, told me, " I love my tools.... I have met every boy in my dorm. I am the only on here with tools. They all come by to borrow tools to fix their cars.

 

[gmcgeo]

Hi everyone! I'm relatively new here. Love it!

I have three kids, two early teens one early twenties. If they need tools, they borrow mine.

Looking to build them each a small set. I'm in the process of replacing many of my tools with made in USA vintage finds. I want to do a small, made in USA set for each of them. I'm looking for recommendations for what to include. Links to prior discussions also welcome.

So far I am thinking, ... At a minimum


Assortment of screwdrivers.
Some nut drivers, small assortment of ratchet with nut drivers, etc
Hammer
Small crowbar
Assortment of pliers
Good pair of scissors

Any help appreciated!

I have put together harbor freight assortments of tools for my kids........ They actually change my oils in the jeep now.

Practical and efficient

 

[niget2002]

The year I turned 16 my grandparents gave me a craftsman 3-drawer toolbox. Then my dad gave me one of the craftsman 'starter' sets to fill it with. It had sockets, wrenches, and screw drivers. Also had a spark plug gap tool.

Still have the box and 'most' of the tools. Box has been re-purposed to hold all my taps and dies now.

 

[kelpaso1]

I did that a few years ago when my daughter was 18 and moved out on her own. I asked her recently if she uses them much and she says almost weekly around the house. One time her check engine light came on and had her stop by so I could get the codes. Code showed a misfire on CYL 1. I gave her the socket to swap #1 and #4 coils and told her to drive it till the light came back on. It did but now code showed misfire CYL 4. So I told her to buy a new coil and change coil #4. She did it herself in her own driveway and it solved the problem. She then asked what program I was using on my IPad to get the codes and data on her car. I told her Bluedriver. That day she ordered it from Amazon, so now she doesn't even need to come to my place to get codes. I also told her what she was looking at on the data screen when the car was running. I explained things like TPS, ECT and what most of the other things it showed. Now when she looks at those things on the IPad, if she doesn't know, she looks them up on the internet. Since she now live in another province as me she rarely takes her car to a shop unless it's big problem to fix. Her and her boyfriend are able fix a lot of things on their cars now by them selves.

 

[mike93lx]

It's not glamorous, but I would add a two foot level to the list. That was probably the most useful thing when we bought out first house.

I agree on a level, but if i had to pick one to give up, it would be my 2 footer. If I can't use a 4 footer, a torpedo almost always gets the job done and it is way easier to store

 

[thisistheshow]

What type of work do you want to cover? Auto stuff, home improvement?

For the older one, I am looking to make a kit for his car and residence. The other two won't be driving for a bit. One of them borrows my tools mainly to work on his computer and build computers. The other occasionally needs a wrench, screwdriver for basic stuff they are trying to do at the house.

 

[thisistheshow]

Thanks for all of the great replies!!

 

[tez929rr]

I’ve thought for a while that this Craftsman set is a great starter set.
Set

 

[Half-fast eddie]

, a torpedo almost always gets the job done and it is way easier to store

Agree … buy a quality torpedo level.

 

[kelpaso1]

I did that a few years ago when my daughter was 18 and moved out on her own. I asked her recently if she uses them much and she says almost weekly around the house. One time her check engine light came on and had her stop by so I could get the codes. Code showed a misfire on CYL 1. I gave her the socket to swap #1 and #4 coils and told her to drive it till the light came back on. It did but now code showed misfire CYL 4. So I told her to buy a new coil and change coil #4. She did it herself in her own driveway and it solved the problem. She then asked what program I was using on my IPad to get the codes and data on her car. I told her Bluedriver. That day she ordered it from Amazon, so now she doesn't even need to come to my place to get codes. I also told her what she was looking at on the data screen when the car was running. I explained things like TPS, ECT and what most of the other things it showed. Now when she looks at those things on the IPad, if she doesn't know, she looks them up on the internet. Since she now live in another province as me she rarely takes her car to a shop unless it's big problem to fix. Her and her boyfriend are able fix a lot of things on their cars now by them selves.

A little funny to add. She would let her boyfriend use HER tools to "try" to fix his car. After numerous times getting her tool box back it would be missing a screw driver, socket, or wrench etc. She told him these were HER tools and if he wanted to work on HIS car to buy HIS own tools. Haha, I said good for her.

 

[JradM]

The Best Basic Tool Kit for Beginner DIYers

I sought to put together the best starter DIY tool kit – do you agree with these picks?

toolguyd.com

12+ Essential Tools for DIYers and Homeowners

Here’s my take on what every beginner DIYer and homeowner needs in their tool kit. If you’re years past being a beginner, please share your own recommendations and feedback!

toolguyd.com

Those are both good overviews - and read the comments for more suggestions than you can stomach.

Here's some suggestions for the categories you mentioned:

Assortment of screwdrivers

• Wera laser tips - I can find these for $29 for the 6 piece assortment in Canada when they go on sale. Probably cheaper in the USA. If one of your kids wants to work on cars, consider upgrading to the 11-piece kit. These are excellent screwdrivers and surprisingly affordable considering what you get.
• Tekton USA high-torque screwdrivers are another good option. I prefer Wera, but can't knock these. The 10-piece for $36 would be a good start. Unless your kids are really into DIYing, it's doubtful you need more than that to start out.
• Another way to go is with a multi-bit screwdriver. Yeah, there are drawbacks, but you can get decent quality affordably, its easier to have the right bit when you want it and it's less to carry around. Picquic, Rolgear, Wera, Megapro... those are all options to explore. Picquic and Rolgear's long bits shouldn't have access problems.
• For your computer kid, grab the Xiaomi/Wiha precision screwdriver collaboration kit. Xiaomi aluminum handle and case, Wiha precision bits.

Some nut drivers, small assortment of ratchet with nut drivers, etc

• I really don't think your kids will need nutdrivers. That's a tool most people don't use often unless they're electricians. I suggest a small ratchet and socket set instead. For the most part, sockets aren't that different (don't hate on me GJ, I know there's a difference between Harbor Freight and Koken, but you got to be a connoisseur to call it a BIG difference).
• I think Husky offers good value in budget sockets. I'd probably just pick one of the blow-molded sets, sized depending on budget. Gearwrench is a little better, Tekton probably better-still these days. You could probably even Harbor-Freight a set.

Hammer

• For a budget option I would probably be tempted to go with Husky. You can get a decent hammer for $10. Probably best to go with a 16oz smooth-faced claw as a first hammer. I highly recommend picking these in-person though. The grind quality can be quite variable.
• For a person with more significant hammer needs, I'd pick the infamous Estwing smooth-face 20oz steel hammer.

Small crowbar

• Husky or Milwaukee most likely. Having some sort of pry tool is very useful - but how "small" are we talking?
• Crescent has some decent options too - or Estwing even.Estwing used to make a nice catspaw-style that was made-in-japan.

Assortment of pliers

• There's only two options for budget pliers that don't **** - and I'm highly prejudiced in favor of one of them: Channellock and Gearwrench.
• Do not assume you need a 12-pack. Your kids will be much better served by 3-4 quality pliers than 12 lousy ones.

Good pair of scissors

Milwaukee or Fiskars

It's easy to spend a ton of money on tools. If you're buying multiple kits, it could get expensive. I've tried to err on the budget-side of things while also recommending tools that I wouldn't mind using myself. These are not the best-of-the-best, but they aren't junky either.

 

[midorix]

If you have access to Costco, you may want to check them as well. They sometimes have good mechanics set (Kirkland, Dewalt, Titan) along with screwdriver sets and you can also buy scissors for cheap. As others have posted, lot of the "mechanics" set goes on sale at Lowes and Home Depot. I've bought couple sets for my college age boys during Holidays when they move out of my house. If your "auto mechanic" gets serious, the teen may want a torque wrench (i've been using not so expensive Craftsman and Huskies for years).

For those who will do some home repair, they will need hammer, level and drill (with bits/drills).

And for the computer builder, I really like my IFIXIT kit like this one. This is the exact kit I use to repair electronics and computers.

 

[jmj]

Good flashlight and a headlamp.

 

[tool_scrounge]

A multimeter is good. Something of reasonable quality. Not Fluke but not Harbor Freight.

 

[Pig_Pen]

Wranglerstar recently did a series where he was building an almost exclusively USA made tool kit to give to his son. He set his budget at $1,000 but ended up going over.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLu9l40IymKw-VFynFeYmeYZAc9Ba_PGYq