Posted on 06/29/2009 7:24:38 PM PDT by ChocChipCookie
Single-handedly, my husband, the Paranoid Dad, has kept our local Home Depot in business for the past decade. He owns just about every type of tool and home project supply imaginable . That collection of tools could make a huge difference in our very survival if we ever had to leave the safety of our home in an emergency. Often, however, hand tools are overlooked when families have to quickly bug out.
In our home, my husband is the pro when it comes to his tools, so he is the one to determine which tools to pack up in an evacuation. Whoever the tool pro is in your home, it's worth planning ahead so you have the right tool for whatever situation you encounter. I asked the Paranoid Dad for a few minutes of his time, and here are his suggestions for a "Bug Out Tool Kit".
First, pack the basics, no matter where you're headed. In fact, it would be worthwhile to have duplicates of some of these, and keep a small tool kit in the trunk of your car. If you have just one set, keep them in a kid-proof tool box. I can't tell you how many tools have disappeared from our garage because one kid or the other decided to "fix" something and never returned what they borrowed.
These are the basics the Paranoid Dad would pack up first.
1. Claw hammer. This multi-use tool can be used from hammering nails to demolition.
2. Set of screwdrivers, both Phillips and straight. There should be different sizes of each type. Larger screwdrivers can be useful for prying and chiseling.
3. Pair of lineman's pliers, often called by the trade name, Kleins. These are especially useful because they combine the flat surface of regular pliers with a cutting edge. Make sure your pair can cut through steel in case they're needed to cut through wire or nails.
4. Utility knife, aka box cutter, with extra blades in the handle.
5. Wood saw and a hacksaw. The hacksaw can be used to cut through steel, plastic and wood, but the wood saw is useful for cutting through large branches and small trees.
6. Crescent wrenches in two sizes, small and medium.
Once the basics are in place, a few additional tools you might add are files, prybars, box-end and open-end wrenches, and channel locks.
Include other tools specialized to whatever disaster scenarios are most likely in your neck of the woods, such as a small axe, a chain saw, or perhaps a soldering gun.
Handyman tools are just part of what should be packed. Common tools for simple vehicle repairs as well as repairs to bicycles, motorcycles, and even wheelchairs should also be considered.
A final category of tools are those used by anyone in the household who relies on them for a living. An electrician may want to pack his collection of specialized tools, likewise for a carpenter, a machinist, mechanic, or a plumber. These are usually quite expensive and during a long evacuation period, they might come in handy for earning money while away from home.
If you'll be making purchases to complete your tool kit, look for tools that can do more than one job (multi-use) and kits of tools in multiple sizes.
The problem with an emergency, is that you never know beforehand exactly what type of "job" you'll encounter. Take time now to inventory what tools you already own, which tools are necessary to acquire, and then put a plan in place so you'll have what you need, when you need it. Bob Vila was right when he said you need the right tool for the job. If the job is ever survival, you want to be sure you're equipped!
The claw hammer should be of a rip claw design, It’s almost straight, and can be used for shredding lumber, digging, etc.
I never see anyone mention a handful of nails. Seems natural to me.
I have an old 1980 Ford van. I put things into it as I go along. It’s my shooting vehicle when I go down to my lease.
Here’s a list of thing I had to take out of the van when I moved my toolbox from work last week. The engine hoist was used to take it out. A forktruck was used to put it in.
The list of shooting stuff from the van.
Full pack of fifty IDPA targets
One plastic pail of wooden blocks for targets.
One garbage bag of bowling pins.
Dueling tree.
One hanging steel plate
five foot folding table
Three foot folding table.
Tool kit
Bench rest table
About three hundred piece of brass that were rolling around
Stapler
Three packs of paper targets
Entrenching tool
The folding chair was in one of the station wagons so I didn’t take that out.
portable tolet and TP.
ummm - no corkscrew?
Ach, forgot the flint fire starter in case the lighter fails. Trivia, did you know some butane lighters apparently have a hard time starting in thin air, say above 9,000 feet? It actually helps to have two, holding one down venting fuel and using the striker on the other...
Thanks. I forgot.
Also in that van was a lunch box that I didn’t remove. It has toilet paper, sunscreen, insect repellent and a box of bandaids.
Somewhere else in that van is supposed to be a first aid kit with enough serious stuff for gunshot wounds. It’s probably too old by now and should be replaced. It’s kept in a 30 caliber ammo can.
LOL! I want one!
Hand drill/bits
Spax tool
Wire ties
Double bit Michigan axe
Split maul with wedge
Biggest bow saw you can get
Pickaxe
Post hole digger
Good size 2 man saw
A sickle
Various corses of sharpening stones
Metal files
Hand winch
Different kinds of shovels
Assortment of prybars
Hand tiller with root cutter/puller
Self Reliant/Survivalist ping list
thats awesome
Long term , lifelong goal of mine is to be able to have hand tools for working metal, wood, earth, masonry, glass etc as well as mechanical tool sets for repair. I make it a hobby and am now aware one can never have too many after I see such new items as Stanley’s FUBAR wrecking bars. They are my must have in all sizes new and improved tools .....:o)
... Then pioneering tool sets such as appleseed mentioned with augers, brace and bit, slicks, chisels, rough cut saws, adz’s, ax’s, hammers, mallets, gouges and proper stones for maintaining the edges. I have a very small forge I made from plans on the net a few years ago that will let me repair and make metal parts,knife blades , sand cast etc. As a teen my job in the family was woodcutter. I gathered and cut a few face cords a day and after they dried for a few I split all but the worst with a double bit ax. The rest was done with a wedge and a sledge hammer as the wedge maul was not something we owned.
Primary goal for my small shop was to get as many hand tools and the skills to use them and maintain them properly with good organization and storage. My secondary goal is to have all the power tools, fixed and portable as well for fabrication and restoration abilities. Life time hobby yet when I see a garage sale I walk thru it fast looking for old tools. Used to pick up old craftsman tools that were broken and take em back for replacements at sears. I am persona non grata there now for that reason.....:o)
Gardening hand tools I have were my parents with minor repairs and some new handles and such as well and new and improved tools we have made and bought over time. I have a 27 year old troybilt tiller that still runs like new and a chipper shredder that turns yard debris into good mulch / compost materials. Some leaf blowers and vacuum’s, power washers and both power hand pole saws for tree trimming. As I get older the hand tools are more backup due my laziness or aches and pains from old injuries barking at me for such . Hand tools are for special projects these days and very very important to me yet don’t get as much use as they should.
Always buy quality be it old or new and restore the used or abused tool if it’s damaged or suspect.
Great thread Cookie !
Stay safe !
Um, hold on, I know it’s here somewhere.
What’s that, a Swiss Army Accordion ?
ROTFLMAO!!!
It has seven blades, three types of pliers, three golf tools (club face cleaner, shoe spike wrench, and divot repair tool), 25 flat- and Phillips-head screwdrivers and bits, saws, wrenches, and more.
It also has a bicycle chain rivet setter, signal whistle, 12/20-gauge shotgun choke tube tool, combination fish scaler, hook di sgorger, and line guide tool, cigar-cutting scissors, laser pointer, tire-tread gauge, toothpick, tweezers, and key ring and lots more.
It measures 3 1/4 inches by 8 3/4 inches and weighs 2 3/4 lbs (not exactly going to fit in your pocket), and costs $1,195 (about £600).
http://www.gadgettastic.com/2007/11/19/the-worlds-biggest-swiss-army-knife/
If the electricity is out, so it the soldering gun.
Everybody needs a decent socket/wrench set with US and metric.
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