All-Purpose
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CRAFTSMAN BENCH GRINDER
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Warning! Tool-buying is addictive. Avoid the impulse to fill your cart at Home Depot with that electronic level and a three-horsepower router. Rather, a few basic hand tools should be the bedrock of your workshop. Start with a full range of screwdrivers; you don't want to strip the heads of screws by using a driver that's too big or too small.
Stanley, which has been making hand tools since 1857, offers a 15-piece set for $18. While you're at it, pick up one of Stanley's plastic-headed hammers ($15), an invaluable addition, especially if you follow the cardinal rule of sporting-equipment repair: Never use a metal-headed hammer. Next you'll need a few things from an unlikely source—Oxo.
Known mostly for its appealing line of Good Grips kitchen implements, Oxo has brought its ergonomic-design ethic to bear on tools, and the company's 25-foot tape measure ($16) and utility knife ($12) are particularly pleasing in the palm. As for pliers, which can straighten bent crampon teeth or thread the wick of a camping lantern, Craftsman's set ($30)
includes a slip joint, needle nose, diagonal cutter, and arc joint; this premier line of tools from Sears is guaranteed forever.
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STANLEY PLASTIC-HEADED HAMMER
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If you're going to build your own workbench, install a Peg-Board, or just frighten the cat, you'll need a drill. Milwaukee's 18-volt Power Plus Cordless unit ($209) is one to drool over. It's powerful and has a keyless chuck that so you can swap bits without having to mess with a conventional tightening tool. For small sanding jobs, try Black &
Decker's new Mouse ($60), whose snout can get into places other sanders can't.
No workbench is complete without a vise, an extra pair of strong hands to hold parts in place while you flail away on them. One with a five-inch opening, such as the D5 Vise from Columbian ($60), is more than large enough. Finally, Craftsman's eight-inch wheel Bench Grinder ($145) may seem like a pricey luxury—and it is—but in the long run
it'll save you time and money. When tools get gunky, filthy, and nicked, you can tune them with one of the grinder's stone wheels or clean them with a wire wheel attachment. Plus, it's fairly entertaining to watch the sparks fly. (Just be sure you've got some Dr. Science goggles.)
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