What Tools Will I Want?

[ssullivan]

Flexible grabber tool - check
Makup mirror - check
Forehead mounted LED flashligh - check
(holding a standard flashlight like you are talking on a phone and cooking works ok if in a pinch)

1 gallon wet/dry vac - check

No need for cordless drills or other expensive stuff where the battery goes dead after a while. Have a good electrical system on board and all power tools become "cordless" and can be used for hours on end.


Funny the things people posted to have. I have every single one of them... and then some. In fact, nearly all the weight in my port hull is tools.

[never monday]

whatever you decide the tally will be....double it.

[Maren]

Originally Posted by Jay Jennings

My question is, what kind of tools do I want to hang on to so I don't have to repurchase them when we get onto a sailboat? Things like socket set, wrenches, and screwdrivers seem obvious to me, but its things like electric tools (rotary saw, sanders, biscuit joiner, jigsaw, drills, etc.) that have me wondering.

In your opinion, which of those kind of things am I going to want to hang on to?

You're asking other guys what tools you want to keep?!? Let me help you out here.

Yes ... to all of them. Even the masonry bits. Even the transit level. Even the compound mitre saw. In fact, you're going to need more.

Now you just need to figure out how to store them in the keel and make them the ballast.

Let me know if you do. You will make a lot of guys very happy. So happy we would probably make statue in your honor.

[Morgan Paul]

I say take as many as you can. You might need some extra cash and you can always make a few bucks working on houses.

Good luck man.

[GordMay]

A CRUISER's TOOL GUIDE

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer is used as a kind of divining rod to locate expensive parts not far from the object we are trying to hit.

ELECTRIC HAND DRILL: Normally used for spinning steel Pop rivets in their holes until you die of old age, but it also works great for drilling mounting holes in fenders just above the brake line that goes to the rear wheel.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the chaos principle. It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Used to round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your garage on fire.

WHITWORTH SOCKETS: Once used for working on older British cars and motorcycles, they are now used mainly for impersonating that 9/16 or 1/2 socket you've been searching for the last 15 minutes.

DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your drink across the room, splattering it against that freshly painted part you were drying.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans rust off old bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light. Also removes fingerprint whorls and hard-earned guitar calluses in about the time it takes you to say, "Ouch!"

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering a car to the ground after you have installed your new front disk brake setup, trapping the jack handle firmly under the front fender.

EIGHT-FOOT LONG DOUGLAS FIR 2X4: Used for levering the car upward off a hydraulic jack.

TWEEZERS: A tool for removing wood splinters.

PHONE: Tool for calling your neighbor to see if he has another hydraulic floor jack.

TROUBLE LIGHT: The mechanic's own tanning booth. Sometimes called a drop light, it is a good source of vitamin D, "the sunshine vitamin," which is not otherwise found under cars at night. Health benefits aside, its main purpose is to consume 40-watt light bulbs at about the same rate that 105-mm howitzer shells might be used during, say, the first few hours of the Battle of the Bulge. More often dark than light, its name is somewhat misleading.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the lids of old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splash oil on your shirt; can also be used, as the name implies, to round off Phillips screw heads.

AIR COMPRESSOR: A machine that takes energy produced in a coal-burning power plant 200 miles away and transforms it into compressed air that travels by hose to a Chicago Pneumatic impact wrench that grips rusty bolts last tightened 60 years ago by someone in Springfield, and rounds them off.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to cut hoses 1/2 inch too short.

[Morgan Paul]

Thanks Gord for posting that. I needed a good laugh this morning.

[stevensc]

A Ridgid brand strap wrench w/ aluminum handle (for filters, pipes, shafts, and large nuts), A magnet on an extension to pick up items dropped into the bilge, small LED light which clips onto the bill of a cap. an assortment of clamps.
The only way to know you have too many tools aboard is if the boat sinks.
Steve

[witzgall]

Here are some tools that we have used since our boat purchase last November:

Drill
Dremel Tool (Zip bits, Cuttof, Polishers)
Jig Saw
Belt Sander
Palm Sander
Random Orbital Sander
Heat Gun
screwdrivers
electrical crimping tool, wire stripper (proper ones)
Sockets, wratchets
Several Adjustable wrenches
Tea Kettle (Heat water to soften water hose)
Pop Rivet gun (big and small)
taps
Scrapers

I am surely missing things.

Chris

[Daddy's Dream]

That was great Gord. You must have talked to my neighbor after he supervised my last big project on a car last summer.

He forgot to tell about the volt ohm meter I have with the built in safty function. The leads glow red and warm your hands any time you go from reading ohms to reading voltage and forget to change the selector switch over to voltage.

[Roy M]

I LOVE this site. I would add the following: search the swap meets or e-Bay for an old fashioned breast drill or eggbeater drill. Put it in the bilge until your 12 volt Panasonic drill motor and its companion tool, the 12 volt impact screwdriver, run out of juice and you forgot to charge the batteries off your battery bank. Then, you can use virtually all of your drill bits and accessories (countersinks, hole saws, rasp bits, etc.) whether or not you have electricity. Don't forget some extra batteries!

[Microship]

I just splurged on the Makita LXT407 kit. This is their new lightweight lithium-ion power tool line, and the kit has the hammer drill, impact driver, reciprocating saw, light, charger, and two batteries. It is astonishing, and I've already been through a few projects on the initial charge. The case that ships with it is way too big, but they need to be tucked away in sealed places anyway... I use kayaking dry bags so they can snuggle into tight spots more flexibly.

Since I have a wood stove and expect to be scrounging firewood on occasion, the saw will be very useful there. And I chose a set of Milwaukee cobalt bits because I have a steel boat... they are pricey but work extremely well in a range of materials.

(Having said all that, I still agree with Roy... a brace and bit plus an egg beater are a very good idea.)

Cheers,
Steve

[GordMay]

Premium Drill Bits:

Titanium drill bits are High Speed Steel bits, which have been
coated with titanium nitride.
Titanium drill bits have a hardness of approximately 64.5 to 65.5 Rockwell C, but the titanium coating is much harder ,at approximately 82 Rockwell C. If you sharpen a titanium bit its performance will drop because the coating is gone on the tip; however, you still have the benefit of the titanium coating in the flute of the bit and on the sides of the bit. It will still perform better than a standard bit.

Cobalt bits are not coated, they are cobalt steel through and through.
Most cobalt drill bits are made of M42 cobalt steel, which has 8 percent cobalt content. The Rockwell hardness is approximately 65.5 to 67 Rockwell C.
If the gold surface colouring wears off (or is ground off in sharpening) on a cobalt bit, it is still solid cobalt steel, and it’s still as good as a new bit.

To prevent "walking", 135 degree "split point" bits are recommended for drilling metals.