Of course our wooden vise kits make an excellent Christmas gift, but if you are in the market for something a little different, we’ve compiled a list of general tools that we use and highly recommend. We are part of Amazon’s affiliate program and earn a small commission if you click through the links and make a purchase. Just click on the pictures to check them out.
Aerokroil Penetrating Lubricant: Far and away the best kind that we’ve used. If you have any bolts that have developed a ‘vintage patina’, this is the stuff to use. It’s more expensive than the other stuff but it will save you hours of frustration and prevent you from scaring your neighbors and small woodland creatures away while working on your vehicle. If it can’t get a bolt loose, it’s time to break out the torch.
Maximum Impact Bolt & Nut Remover Set: I (Nick) have a ’95 Land Cruiser project vehicle, more project than vehicle unfortunately, and these have been very helpful in removing 25 year old rusty bolts and nuts. When combined with the Aerokroil above and an impact wrench, there are few bolts that I can’t get loose. At $29.95, these are a crazy good value if you do any kind of wrenching on cars.
Bondhus Allen Wrench set: We really like this set because they are top quality and the Metric wrenches are gold and the Imperial are silver. We have several of these around the shop and the color difference helps us keep things organized. Bondhus makes excellent T-handle wrenches as well as torx and other style drivers. Made in the USA as well.
Trusco Tool Boxes: These are quality Japanese made steel toolboxes. I have a couple of the smaller ones and the one in the link above is great to keep a small basic toolkit for around the house tasks or in your trunk. It’s also my go-to as a kids first toolbox; small enough for them to handle yet something that will last into adulthood. They also make smaller box style ones and larger toolboxes with cantilever lids.
PB Swiss Screwdrivers: The king of screwdrivers. They are made in Switzerland, the steel is excellent, the tips are precisely ground and the rubber grip is formulated so that it is still grippy even if you’re hands have some dirt or oil on them. Great for automotive or maintenance work. Two thumbs way up.
Grace Screwdrivers: Well made wood handled screwdrivers. These are a great option f you aren’t planning on using these with oily hands. Good steel, comfortable grips, properly shaped tips, good value and made in the good ole’ U S of A. They also make all kinds of specialty and gunsmith screwdrivers.
Unscrew-Ums: I was driving a screw into the hard maple face frame of a kitchen cabinet base that I had already installed and the head snapped off just below the surface. What to do? I didn’t wan’t to drill a big hole around the screw so I took to the interwebs to find a solution. I was skeptical but I bought the individual size that I needed for the #8 screw and it actually worked. You chuck it in your drill, run it in reverse and it begins to cut away the threads leaving the screw shaft intact. The slit in the side allows it to expand a bit and the spring action combined with the saw teeth at the tip grip into the top 1/8″ of the broken off screw and back it out, leaving a mostly intact hole ready for the replacement screw to be installed at a lower clutch setting.
If you are looking for good ideas for books, here is a link to our list of recommended books on woodworking and machining: https://www.lakeerietoolworks.com/pages/recommended-resources
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