Tool selections for a small workbench area, not my main one

[thool]

I have all my good tools in the garage, because that's where I do 95% of my work. I have a small basement workshop: 8x2 raised workbench with a 4x8 pegboard. I'm way behind on the basement tool selection, and have cheap HF screwdrivers and an assortment of mismatched hand tools. In order to access my good tools in the garage, I have to walk upstairs, through the house, into the garage, and then back down. I also have a walkout that helps, but it's still a lot of walking and stairs. I ude the basement shop more in the winter due to the garage being unheated.

Most of the work I do in the basement involves hand tools, so I'm looking for input on a decent collection of: screwdrivers, pliers, small combination wrenches (SAE and metric), and possibly a multimeter. I'd like to hang these on the pegboard.

I am unfamiliar with those kits that have many of these and more, and understand it may be cheaper, but I don't want a lot of useless tools to store or deal with.

Can someone point me to sets of each category that meet my needs? I'm not ******** into expensive brands, but tighter tolerances and better durability (the HF screwdrivers I have have soft metal) are big pluses for me. Thanks!

 

[Boogerman]

I similar setup you; make no sense keep cheap tools most accessible location. Good tools pleasure use; **** tools life miserable. Long ago forgot cost these; enjoy use all time.

 

[dacan23]

Yeah I am the same way, have main garage, sub garage set, main house set, basement set.

Definitely many of the items in Boogers pics; precision screwdrivers, hex/star wrenches (T's depending on the type of in house work), small mallet (s), small 1/4 or 3/8 socket set, 1+ knipex cobras, 1 knipex pliers wrench, medium vise grip, medium needle vise grip, diagonal cutter, wire stripper, can maybe get away with a ratcheting multi bit screw driver, small pick set, small punch set, small vise, head lamp, and maybe nut drivers.

 

[mslim]

I know you are looking for a single purchase here for your sub shop but I would still buy "a la carte".

I have a similar set and philosophy to Boogerman. Roller cabs are cool when other guys can "borrow" your tools but in my personal garage I like the pegboard. You can easily see when you didn't put a tool away and most everything is within reach. One hint for a pegboard set up is to look at the line of Triton products hooks. They don't seem to pull out of the board.

I can personally recommend Stahlwille, Wera, Felo, Channellock, Knipex, Facom, Sunex, Wiha, SnapOn and Grip On. I also have some old USA Craftsman but I don't know the current status of their new product. I have a few HF brute force expendable products like hammers and pry bars.

Depending on access and price structure where you reside, I don't think you will go wrong with any of my recommendations.

 

[RTM]

I have a few tools spread throughout the house, saves the trek downstairs. I'd look at what you will do there, and decide accordingly. Per boogerman's example, I don't have a big hammer anywhere outside the garage, but one BP in my tool disassembly area. One area has watch / precision work tools, and a good magnifier. Nothing has big wrenches. Several have a screwdriver, wire cutter, needle nose, etc.

 

[thool]

Right, I'm doing more precision work in the basement: repairing small appliances (shaver, hair dryer, coffeemaker), doing light electrical repairs, fixing a PC, picture frame repair, etc. Having a very nice set of screwdrivers, a plier set, and some t-handles would get me most of the way there. Can all these be had for < $100, with good quality?

 

[JradM]

There's a Xiaomi and Wiha collaboration precision screwdriver set that's pretty good. I keep one in my kitchen junk drawer.

It's easy to spend the whole $100 on just precision screwdrivers, so if your goal is to keep this whole tool set under $100, this is what I would choose. It's about $25-30. Has a nifty case, good selection of bits, nice aluminum handle...



If you need a good multi-bit screwdriver for full-sized tasks, I'd probably choose a Picquic - again, to keep quality high and price low.

Six-pack plus maybe?


If you want dedicated screwdrivers, then hands-down I would go with Wera. You can get a 6pc starter set in Canada for ~$29 when they're on sale, so probably less in the USA. At that price it feels like you stole them.



What kind of T-handles are you after? E.g. Hex, Torx or socket?

Eklind is probably the cheapest high-quality sets you'll get for Hex and Torx. However, I'm not sure you're going to get a full compliment and keep below your $100-for-everything budget. This set is about $65 (metric and SAE hex):



Way cheaper to go with L-keys. Then you might even be able to snag some Bondhus.

Socket T-handles are mostly used for motorcycles, so I'm not sure that's what you're after - if so, Motion Pro.

Pliers... I mean, I basically always recommend Channellock if you want good quality and low price. However, the precision Channellock pliers aren't so cheap, so it depends what kind of pliers you want.

A good basic one is the E346CB 6" comfort grip combination pliers.



And I also highly recommend the e326CB:

 

[JradM]

BTW, you mentioned a combination wrench set earlier. Tekton is probably your best bet there. However, I'd be sore tempted to grab a Knipex pliers wrench - or try that ICON clone from Harbor Freight that everyone is poo-pooing in the other thread (not because it's bad, but because it's a straight Knipex copy).

Alternately the Irega-made Channellock brand adjustable wrenches are very nice. This assumes you have a proper wrench set accessible for when it's needed, but want something handy for those quick jobs.

Also, I think $100 for all of that is probably not reasonable unless you compromise on the quality a bit. I tried to recommend only stuff I think is high quality (though not necessarily the best-of-the-best). Still, I think a rough estimate (assuming you look for sales) is:

• $25 precision screwdriver set
• $25 6pc full-size screwdriver set
• $30-35 for a set of metric and SAE L-keys (Bondhus or Eklind)
• $20 for a set of Torx L-keys
• $25/each for those pliers.

That gets you sort of close (~$150), but still 50% over budget without the combination wrenches.

 

[Boogerman]

Having a very nice set of screwdrivers, a plier set, and some t-handles would get me most of the way there. Can all these be had for < $100, with good quality?

My thinking, no. Depends how define "good". Maybe no need "good", buy $100 HF, Tekton, amazon stuff?

 

[thool]

Thanks, I think I'll hold off on the hex options and the combination wrenches. Priority at this time is screwdrivers (precision and general purpose) and pliers. That's what I need 90% of the time, and walk the stairs until I can round it out better.

 

[JradM]

I stand by my earlier recommendations, but just to give you some options to explore...

You could aim for individual precision screwdrivers - I'd suggest Wera or Wiha. However, for $25 (like the multi-bit set I mentioned above), you are probably only going to get a 6-pack. E.g.:





A set like this is a bit more comprehensive, but it's ~$44:






You could save a few bucks by going with Gearwrench, but I would personally prefer the Xiaomi/Wiha set I suggested earlier. I think it's a great all-in-one solution that won't tempt you to go elsewhere to find your individual drivers.


For combination pliers, I think they're actually a bit cheaper than I expected in the USA. I did some poking around on Amazon.com and you can get this pair for $26 for example:




OR, even better, this NWS pair is ~$28.50. I take back my Channellock recommendation (unless you want to save some money). This is where my money would go:



The matching pair of needlenose pliers is $28.60:


These are all 6" pliers BTW. I assume that's the right size given the tasks you mentioned.

 

[JradM]

For full0sized screwdrivers I think Wera lasertips are still the best bargain for very high-performance. You could explore the options from Felo though. I like Vessel even a bit more, but that's going to put you over budget (you might find a deal on a multi-bit "ball driver", but dedicated screwdrivers add up.

Budget option? Tekton. I prefer Wera, but Tekton would be a good money-saving choice.