Articles · Topic
Articles about Tools
18 articles across 3 sections
Section
Self-Reliance
Hand Tools
The ten essential hand tools, safe use fundamentals, sharpening and blade care, and the five knots every household should know.
Fasteners, Fabric, and Repair Materials
The consumable materials that make repairs stick. Screws vs nails vs bolts, wall anchors and the stud rule, adhesives and surface prep, tapes and sealants, fabric and gear repair with three essential stitches, and the stocking approach that keeps them on hand.
Garden Tools: What You Need to Grow Food
The garden tools that turn soil, manage plants, and move material. How to choose quality digging, cutting, and hauling tools that last decades and make the work easier on your body.
Home Maintenance Systems
HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and structural maintenance. The seasonal checklist that prevents expensive failures and the judgment for when to call a professional.
Power Tools and Safety
Essential power tools for homeowners. Safe operation, personal protective equipment, ladder safety, and when power tools are worth it versus hand tools.
The Right Toolkit for Where You Live
What tools you actually need depends on where you live. The apartment closet toolkit, the house toolkit, and the acreage toolkit, each built on the same ten-tool foundation.
Self-Reliance
Twelve domains of household self-reliance. Water, food, energy, shelter, medical, communications, transportation, tools, skills, fitness, land, and avocations.
Tools That Outlive You
Manual tools worth keeping for life. The buy-once philosophy, three categories of essentials, honest picks with real prices, and the mistakes to avoid.
Waterwheels
Overshot, breastshot and undershot wheels reach 75 to 85 percent hydraulic efficiency, better than their reputation and traceable to a mathematically incorrect 1704 analysis. The real drawback is rotational speed. Where a wheel beats a turbine, and why direct mechanical work suits it better than generating electricity.
Section
Gear and Buying Guides
100 Things Every Homeowner Must Know
The Family Handyman's short-answer reference for the hundred household problems that come up first. Why we recommend it and how to buy or borrow it.
Best Hand Tool Set
Three household hand tool sets compared: the Stanley 65-piece, the WORKPRO 322-piece, and the Apollo 39-piece. Why piece count is the least useful number on the box, and which set fits which household.
Energy Books
The best books for household energy resilience, backup power, home systems, and keeping small gas equipment running. Buy a copy, or find it at your local library.
Hand Tools: The Complete Buyer's Handbook
Why misuse and poor maintenance cause more hand tool injuries than cheap construction, what the markings on a wrench do and do not tell you, what ASME B107 covers, and whether to buy a set or build one.
Lumintop Tool AA UV Review
The Lumintop Tool AA UV is a pocket-sized 365nm UV flashlight with a professional-grade ZWB2 filter. It reveals what cheaper blacklights miss. Here is what it does well, where it falls short, and who
Small Engines and Outdoor Power Equipment
Step-by-step care and repair for generators, chainsaws, snowblowers, and every small gas engine your household depends on. Library Journal starred review. Why we recommend it, what readers say, and ho
The Backyard Blacksmith
Lorelei Sims
The Complete Do-It-Yourself Manual
The standard American home repair reference since 1973, updated by Family Handyman editors. Covers electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and all major home systems. Why we recommend it, what still holds up, wh