oldschoolcraft
Well-known member
What items would you include in your mobile handyman toolkit, that you keep in your vehicle for when things go wrong? I'm talking stuff that you wouldn't carry inside the client's house with you because it's something that aren't expecting to use, and maybe you only use once per year, but when you need it, it's a life saver.
I'm considering some of the following:
My vision is my main toolbar is a medium size handyman kit that has the 90% basic tools to most things. If I'm planning a specific job, I have trade-specific boxes like plumbing, electrical, etc but those stay home unless I plan to use them. Then this second Level 2 Emergency Tool kit comes with me every time but stays in the vehicle. I dont want to walk around with a tap and die set that I might only use few times per year.
Some things I'm thinking are a length of nylon webbing and some carabiners or other ways to strap things. There's occasionally some weird scenario that comes up where I need to temporarily secure one thing to another for a variety of reasons. Moving some large object. Holding something in place by myself as I drill into it or put a fastener through it. I used a nylon strap to apply traction to an engine motor mount to get the last bolt to line up.
I'm thinking of adding two vice grips to this kit. I did have one pair of vice grips in my main 90% kit and I realized I was only using the vice grips for weird odd jobs like fashioning a 6" piece of sheet metal into a washer and needing to drill a hole in it while the vice grips secured it. Which would fall more into the Level 2 category. I dont show up somewhere planning to improvise a large washer from scrap sheetmetal I scavenge. Maybe this level 2 kit should be called a "half assed kit" but I like to think of it as a "get the job done" kit, since I do this for free for friends, family, and girls I'm dating and I dont drive around with a fully stocked van.
A friend of mine who is a professional handyman said he loves having a ton of different sized washers in his kits.
The overall goal is I show up with my medium size Veto bag that has 90% of the tools to do a variety of jobs. It's not fully loaded out, there's improvising afoot, I wouldn't want to use it to plumb 20 sinks in one day, but I could use it to plumb one sink on occasion.
But then, something goes wrong, and rather than me give up, I go back to my vehicle and grab this second bag or box that has a variety of lifesaver items in it that might save me a trip to Home Depot or worse, save me from saying "sorry I can't do this" after I've already started and made a mess.
I'm considering some of the following:
- Tap and Die Set
- Extractor Set
- Variety of glues
- Various lubricant
My vision is my main toolbar is a medium size handyman kit that has the 90% basic tools to most things. If I'm planning a specific job, I have trade-specific boxes like plumbing, electrical, etc but those stay home unless I plan to use them. Then this second Level 2 Emergency Tool kit comes with me every time but stays in the vehicle. I dont want to walk around with a tap and die set that I might only use few times per year.
Some things I'm thinking are a length of nylon webbing and some carabiners or other ways to strap things. There's occasionally some weird scenario that comes up where I need to temporarily secure one thing to another for a variety of reasons. Moving some large object. Holding something in place by myself as I drill into it or put a fastener through it. I used a nylon strap to apply traction to an engine motor mount to get the last bolt to line up.
I'm thinking of adding two vice grips to this kit. I did have one pair of vice grips in my main 90% kit and I realized I was only using the vice grips for weird odd jobs like fashioning a 6" piece of sheet metal into a washer and needing to drill a hole in it while the vice grips secured it. Which would fall more into the Level 2 category. I dont show up somewhere planning to improvise a large washer from scrap sheetmetal I scavenge. Maybe this level 2 kit should be called a "half assed kit" but I like to think of it as a "get the job done" kit, since I do this for free for friends, family, and girls I'm dating and I dont drive around with a fully stocked van.
A friend of mine who is a professional handyman said he loves having a ton of different sized washers in his kits.
The overall goal is I show up with my medium size Veto bag that has 90% of the tools to do a variety of jobs. It's not fully loaded out, there's improvising afoot, I wouldn't want to use it to plumb 20 sinks in one day, but I could use it to plumb one sink on occasion.
But then, something goes wrong, and rather than me give up, I go back to my vehicle and grab this second bag or box that has a variety of lifesaver items in it that might save me a trip to Home Depot or worse, save me from saying "sorry I can't do this" after I've already started and made a mess.