Top 20 Homesteading Tools

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10. FASTENERS AND WIRE

If your home is a substantial distance from the nearest hardware store, you can easily lose the meat of a workday driving to town to purchase the little piece of wire or fastener necessary for a safe, secure connection. Stock up on a collection of wire and fasteners any way you see fit - I like Harbor Freight and other discount tool catalogs. You'll want to store an assortment of twist-on electrical fasteners and reels, and spools or boxed coils of wire from fine generator wrap up to three-conductor, insulated 10-gauge household wiring. You'll find that you'll use it all in time - most popular sizes first. Just remember, if you lack the correct size, use the next-larger size for safety's sake.

11. GOOD PLIERS

Remember those rickety metal pliers that rattled loose on a bolt head? Scrap `em. Get yourself two pairs of electrician's pliers with wire-stripper notches and plastic grip coverings. Made from unplated, machine-tooled steel, these quality pliers have concealed hinges and grasp with precision. Be sure to look out for the underside of your middle finger; it can get badly squashed between the handles.

AUTO AND MACHINE REPAIR

12. AIR COMPRESSOR

A gasoline- or house current-powered air compressor and a kit of the most commonly needed air tools (socket wrench, rotary impact wrench, screwdriver, die tool, spray gun, tire inflator, blower and others) will keep you going strong. A compressor will power air tools and spray painting guns, and it's indispensable on those snowy mornings when you find a truck tire flat. As with any tool, get the most capable compressor you can afford. Look through the tools catalogs and check the operating pressure and airflow requirements of the tools you think you'll need. A compressor that can deliver seven cubic feet of air at 90 pounds per square inch will operate nearly any tool. It will even power up an air-hungry impact wrench to deliver more than 1,300 pounds of pressure to remove rusted-on lugnuts from an old tractor (be sure to use special blacksteel impact sockets and plenty of penetrating oil on rusted parts). Air compressors cost from $200 to $300 to ten times that. Airpowered tools run around $25 each.

13. MECHANIC'S HAND TOOLS

However long it takes to acquire them, you should treat yourself to complete sets of top-quality pliers and screwdrivers, open and box wrenches, and ratchet handles and extensions (plus both standard and deep sockets) in SAE and metric sizes. You'll want a range from 1/64" to at least 1 1/2". Get extras of the most-frequently used - thus, most frequently lost - socket sizes (1/4", 3/8", 1/2", and 5/8" and their metric equivalents). Buy a good rolling steel tool chest to hold them and the other tools you will accumulate over time. Good tools (like Sears Craftsman or the Snap-On truck tools sold in any auto-parts store) are expensive, but it is false economy to waste money on cheap tools. Their soft, imprecise working surfaces will bruise corners of nuts, strip threads and get your knuckles skinned. You can save some money by purchasing your tools in sets and by holding out for special offers; check the back of Sears' sales flyers.

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