Tools that changed your life

[thinwater]

Hose pick. Just one time can do it, making an impossible job easy.

[qwert]

A japanese pull saw, just don't use it if there are nails in the wood you are sawing, the exceptionally sharp teeth are fragile. Lightning fast, very thin cuts.

And, a small illuminated magnifier .

[Searles]

Swedish plyers sliding jaw ,used for everything.

[Kd9truck]

Also a magic box, it makes phone calls, give me directions, tells me when it’s going to rain, answers all my questions, is bazillions times smarter than the box that gives me directions in my cockpit and it’s a fraction of the price. It holds all 10k of pictures I have taken of things only important to me, it can play any song. Sometimes I even have a face to face conversation with someone I like like some family (not all),..traffic short cuts, lets me know how the world is incrementally is falling apart. Oh and it has a built in flashlight. And movie camera.

[Messing About]

Following

[BlueH2Obound]

2nd to Oscillating tool. In my case it is a corded DeWalt, but any will do. Perfect for cutting holes in panels for instruments, cuts square corners without the need to drill hole first, then use a reciprocating saw (sabre saw). Generates a LOT less debris because you're removing less material. Use with a shop vac held next to the blade, almost no clean-up. Great reach in tight spaces etc! Overall an awesome addition to my tool inventory.

[Spot]

I agree with these already-suggested tools: hot knife for synthetic fabrics and ropes, oscillating multi-tool with good blades, an assortment of picks...working with them beats working without them.

I would add a ratcheting crimper with interchangeable jaws for electrical connections and the poly-carbide sanding disks for removing paint and resin from metal surfaces. A digital scale is also handy for mixing epoxy and allows for small batches and odd containers without volume marks.

[wrwakefield]

Any of the Wera brand mechanic tools. Very superior in many subtle ways. A lifetime investment, but you will cry if you loose one...

FWIW

Cheers, Bill

[wrwakefield]

As previously mentioned, flush side cutters for cutting the tails off of zip ties without leaving a razor edge behind. Also great for cutting zipties for removal.

Cheers, Bill

[wrwakefield]

The Canadian AutoLoader Screwdriver is my goto when crawling into a space not knowing what screwdriver is needed... Worth every penny...

Cheers, Bill

[wrwakefield]

Any of the DeWalt 20V/60V FlexVolt Battery powered cordless tools (250+ according to mfgr website.) This is the best battery value I have found to standardize on for portable tool selection. (I wish I could use this on my Milwaukee right angle winch grinder too...)

EDIT: The runner-up is the DeWalt 20V battery for choosing as a standard.

FWIW

Cheers, Bill

[wrwakefield]

And of course, we would be remiss not including Festool powertools and portable vacuums.

Cheers, Bill

[Madehn]

Right angle cordless dewalt drill
20 v dewalt oscillating saw
Automatic wire stripper
Long handled wire crimpers for insulated terminals
Real set of lug crimpers for large cable
Extra long handled vice grips with variety of nose configurations
Really good set of cobalt drill bits
Digital calipers with fractional, metric and sae readouts
Electronic wire tracer for tracing wire from one end of boat to the other

Those are my favorites over a multi year refit/ build of a cruiser

Oh one more. A really good angle grinder for cutting stainless steel etc

[BlueH2Obound]

Ferrule crimping pliers, and an assortment of ferrules. Used for terminating wires into electronics like solar controllers, inverters, pretty much anything that uses a crimp down fastener to hold a bare wire end. Makes for a much more positive electrical connection!

[George_SD]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

Care to share make/model details?


Thanks.

This one OutdoorMaster 20PSI High Pressure SUP Air Pump The Shark from Amazon.

Inflates things pretty quickly, has auto-shut off when PSI is reached. I set mine to lower PSI than i want since I don't fully trust its gauge, but it has already saved me from backpain and wasted time.