Tools

[Builtf0rdtough]

What would the majority of you say are the must have tools for homesteading/growing? There are so many tools out there. Favorites, Nonos etc. Old style vs new. Go!

[mwilken03]

I use my cordless drill alot!


Farm junkie

[FarmboyBill]

You will find, You will NEVER have enough tools. Well, now that I think about it, I shouldn't say never. You will find that you will never have enough tools till you turn 60.

[jwal10]

Sometimes I just don't have the right tool.
Building and maintenance; I really like my battery power 1/4" hex driver.
Garden; hoe.
Auto; small 12v air compressor.

....James

[Maura]

A wagon. A radio flyer (now made in China) or a ‘garden’ wagon.

[Ramblin Wreck]

A good chainsaw comes in handy for lots of chores. You can saw manually, but the time factor really starts to restrict your efforts on other necessary tasks around the homestead. Whatever tool(s) you deem necessary for your own particular farm/home needs, it is almost always best to spend the $'s to get something of high quality.

[||Downhome||]

I love tools so much I have a whole building just for them, I also never pass on a tool I can afford... I'll take all I can get at the best price I can find!

[idigbeets]

Front End loader
A well made pocket multi tool, knive, pliars, wire cutters, screwdrivers etc
Air impact tools

[OH Boy]

Second that on the wagon, we have a couple of pull-behind wagons for our garden tractor and it seems like we use one or the other a couple of times a week for one chore or another. In the winter I fill them with firewood and pull them into the garage so we have a ready supply of wood for the fire.

[SLFarmMI]

A good riding mower. Because mowing anything larger than a suburban lawn with a push mower sucks, sucks, really sucks!

[TnAndy]

Hmmm...pretty wide question. Depends on what you want to accomplish. One thing I've found about good tools....they cost nothing in the long run due to the money they save you or make you.

For example, in 1991, I spent $15,000 on a Woodmizer sawmill, because I have a lot of timber on my place. Lot of money for us at that time....but I've sawed probably 500,000 board feet of lumber on it over the years.....and I could still sell the mill for 8k if I wanted to ( I don't )

Divide 500,000 into $15,000 and you come up with about 3 cents per board foot for the cost of the saw. I figure it costs another 5 cents/bdft for fuel, blades, maintenance. 8 cents/bdft. That means I turn out a 2x4x8' for about 45 cents, versus 2-3 dollars at the store ( and you have to EARN another dollar or so to HAVE 2-3 dollars after taxes to buy that 2x4)....so my lumber costs on cheaper framing lumber are about 1/10 of a person that doesn't have that tool......and more like 1/20th on cabinet grade lumber....which is why I have NICE oak kitchen cabinets and oak doors and oak trim in my house ( as well as my rental houses )

So what does a tool like that do for you ?

Let's you build your house for a LOT less than the going rate. Let's you build barns and sheds and rental houses ( I built 3 ). In the long run, you'll find a tool like that ( and it doesn't have to be THAT tool ) ends up costing absolutely NOTHING, and in fact, made you a whole bunch of money !

So when you consider a tool....consider what it will do FOR you....how it will help you be more productive, self reliant, and better off than if you did not have that tool.

Then buy it....and get to work !

[simi-steading]

Don't forget the heavy equipment for handling all those big logs to load into the mill..

It all depends on what you need to get done as to what tools you need..

I got my wood tools for firewood... saws, chains, chain sharpener, bars, wedges, tongs, log jack, mauls, splitter.....

Then I got the mowing tools... tractor and bushog, push mower, trimmers, brush cutter, rider..

Gotta work on he house... chimney brush and rods, cordless drills and saws, wired drills and saws, table and band saws, planers, levels, squares, hammers, and all kinds of other hand tools...

Then don't forget all the tools to work on all the other tools.. .

It's an endless list.. I just acquire as needed.. and if I see something I know I'll need and the price is right, I'll get it then too..

[FarmboyBill]

I suppose, once one has as many tools as Ive accumulated over 45yrs, its hard to discern which is the most valuable. It seems to me, that the most valuable one to me, is the one in which I need to do a particular task. It may lay unused for years, but, generally, I know I have it, and more generally, where it is. Tho it may seldom get used, When its needed, that's when its the most important tool I have. That's cause, just having it, allows me to continue to do what I had been doing up to when I needed THAT particular tool. It has saved me valuable time, it has saved me money in which I might have to go to town to buy one and that at a likely higher amount of money than when I bought mine used.

[PNWest]

To begin with, I like a good sharp shovel, trowel, hoe and ax. A well made bow and leaf rake. A chainsaw, hand clippers and lawn mower with a bagger.

A well balanced hammer and a set of screwdrivers in flat blade and Phillips.
Hand tools are a personal preference, some using manual and some electric.

It would help if you narrowed down the OP. Inside tools, outside tools?

Good quality tools are a joy to use and have available.

[whiterock]

In garden, a good hoe( cotton hoe) and a good file to keep it sharp.

[farminghandyman]

I have farmed close to 40 years now,

and have lived on this farm all my life,

grain and cattle,

lots of fencing, and farming,

first you need to know what your wanting to do,

to choose the tools that will do you the most good,

in my operation, the in my farming the front end loader on a good tractor, (I have had a front end loader on a old 1955 MM U) it worked and helped with things but until I rebuilt it and put it on a JD 4020 did I have a loader that was worth any thing,

another tool was the power beyond on the hydraulics, (allows me to tap in to the hydraulics for the loader, and other attachments),

and one of the other tools I wished I would have invested in when I started was post driver,
a few weeks ago I put in over 50 4" to 5" wood posts, in about 5 hours of time, no digging no tamping and all my self and the driver on the tractor,

Yes I had a post hole auger digger, no comparison,

on the farming end a reliable tractor, and some good equipment, (not new but good).


but like I said a lot depends on what your trying to do, just a few head of animals no wood post driver needed, a good two handled post hole digger is all I would spend money on, but if you 10 miles of fencing to keep up there very nice,

I would figure out what you need to do and build in that direction,

my old 78 one ton long bed with hoist bed is a very useful tool,

general hand tools, power tools,

[Builtf0rdtough]

This was mainly to see what people have found to be the most handy as well as just to get good conversation. So far I've got a riding mower, drills, saws( electric and hand), hand tools, hammers, pressure washer. I'd have to say my new drill is my favorite. Tons of uses for it, then circle saw. Of course I do love my lawn mower. I'd like to get a front end loader, but that's way out a my price range.

[clovis]

I've been accumulating tools for years.

My faves, that might not show up on a normal list:

Klein side cuts
Sawzall, both corded and cordless. A brush blade is worth it's weight in gold.
Brace and bits. Awesome tools for when you have a few holes to bore.
Picquic brand multi-bit screwdriver. The Picquic brand drivers are fantastic, IMO.

I also second the thought of buying the best tools that you can. I took a some heat for saying that, as well as suggesting a certain brand of tools, on another thread, but generally speaking, that is my belief.

Sometimes spending the money for quality and getting the right tool pays off in spades. I once was repairing and restoring plaster walls, and couldn't get a decent finish on the top coat. I finally dropped almost $20 for a good wall trowel, which almost killed me at the time. "$20 for a trowel?", I kept asking myself, and I seriously considered returning it.
But, I'll tell ya, that trowel worked wonders, and makes the job so easy. It gave me super nice finishes that required very little sanding, and thus, saving immense amounts of time, and my sanity.

Do you need a $20 trowel for filling tiny nail holes on an apartment wall? Nope. The $3 trowel will work well for that job.

I know that not many people here are restoring plaster walls, but you get my point. Sometimes spending the money for professional or better grade tools will pay dividends forever, and sometimes, the cheapest tools in the store will work just fine.

[clovis]

Originally Posted by simi-steading

I just acquire as needed.. and if I see something I know I'll need and the price is right, I'll get it then too..

That is the same philosophy that I've used over the years.

Once upon a time, Sears used to run a weekly deal on a tool, usually around the $10 mark. I think that there was about 2 years that I made my way to Sears almost every week to pick up that tool, mostly because it was a killer deal, and I knew that I would need it sometime down the road.

We have a Menards store here, and I used to shop their weekly deals too.

I have also been going to auctions for years, and have been able to buy tons of cool and unusual tools that I always wanted, but could never justify the expense. A set of crow's feet Craftsman wrenches cost me about $3 at an auction, and I have bought industrial quality C-clamps for almost nothing.

[Gravytrain]

First and foremost, my tractor and FEL, hands down. Then attachments for that tractor: finishing mower for smooth pastures, brush hog for the rougher areas, and carry-all is used daily. Other implements are used less often but save a lot of labor, like plows, discs, subsoiler, broadcast spreader, planters, etc.

Then, pocket knife, cordless drill/driver, sawsall, sledge hammer, claw hammers, fencing tools, shovels, rakes and hoes.