Tool selection rules of thumb

[YesIHaveAHammer]

I've realised myself and read we tend to have some rough rules and reasonings to help decide which tools to buy. What are yours?

Mid sized tools
Trying to pick one size of a tool (e.g. pliers) to do everything. Sometimes it works and is what you want for cost or space reasons. Other times you later realise you need a smaller and a larger, so then you've bought 3 instead of 2.

Variation for versatility
When you need more than one of something (e.g. to use at once, or for a separate toolkit), get a different style, model, or brand rather than the same exact one again. In some situations there will be some subtle difference that makes it work better or fit in places the other won't.

 

[zendriver]

I like the "one of everything" approach.

Some jobs, I have used almost every tool I owned.

I don't buy expensive stuff, so that helps from a budget standpoint.

 

[Renegade1LI]

No rules, need it? get it, want it? get it, thinking about it? get it.

 

[larry_g]

Buy stuff that fits your needs. As owner of heavy farm equipment my rules will be different than the guy who changes oil in the suburban garage. When downtime costs then tool selection leans toward good tools with backups. I still use lots of SAE tools so they are kept in place.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[humber2]

I practice selective wrenching.

Whenever I need a wrench I select one.

YMMV

 

[MushCreek]

I buy what I need to do the job, within reason. If I have a tool that can do the job, even if it's not the perfect tool, I'll use that. What to buy, and how much to spend depends upon expected future usage. Tools that get used a lot will be pretty good stuff, where tools that I buy to do one specific job will be cheaper. I needed an SDS drill to build my house, which is mostly concrete. But now that the house is done, the drill never gets used. I bought a Harbor Freight special, and it was sufficient for the job. Before I retired, I was a tool maker, and the tools of my trade were the best that money could buy. As I get older, I'm deciding what to get rid of and what to keep as my projects get less ambitious. They're tough decisions.

 

[tarmy]

No rules, need it? get it, want it? get it, thinking about it? get it.

This here is a true GJ answer….the only real answer to tool questions.

Buy whatever is the best version of what you can afford OP….

 

[dscheidt]

My rule is to buy tools when I know I'm going to need them. I don't always follow that, but I'm much better about it than I used to be. Some of that is that I own, at least according to my wife, an excessive number of tools, and there are very few things I do that require new tools. If I were starting from zero, I'd probably not replace many of the things I have that don't get used, or which are triplicates.