Tools: A Tool-by-Tool Guide to Choosing and Using 150 Home Essentials - Softcover

Dodds, Steve

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1554070600 ISBN 13: 9781554070602

Publisher: Firefly Books, 2005

Synopsis

A practical reference to 150 power and hand tools.

Whether you have a job in mind and don't know where to start or simply want to feel more knowledgeable at the hardware store, Tools is the ultimate blueprint for getting equipped and getting started. This uncomplicated beginner's reference covers all the essentials.

Divided into three sections, the first covers where to find quality tools and what to look for to ensure years of reliable use. Valuable safety tips include how to avoid power tool accidents as well as guarding against toxins in treated wood, preventing electrical and chemical fires, and more.

The second section outlines eight basic tool kits along with a list of tools for each:

• Home/apartment Kit
• House kit
• Plumbing kit
• Electrical kit
• Machine and metal kit
• Car kit
• Child's kit

The third section is a guide to almost every common hand and power tool. Each page features a photograph of the tool accompanied by a concise, jargon-free explanation. Quick reference symbols identify the tool's relative cost, necessity, and skill level required to use it.

The tools are organized and cross-referenced by task: measuring, cutting, making holes, holding and supporting work, shaping, driving and prying, fastening, sanding, and storage and protection.

Helpful tips suggest alternative tools for a single job. There's also information for setting up and organizing a workshop that includes advice for lay-out, utilities, organizing tools and more.

Tools is an essential reference and a must for every homeowner and crafter.

About this title

About the Author

Steve Dodds is an architect and avid woodworker. He is a regular contributor to Readymade Magazine and lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

An enormous range of tools has developed over the ages. Some are complex and specialized, while others are exquisitely simple. A bartender, a brain surgeon, an ironworker each uses tools to serve their trade. Although this book does not encompass olive pitters, hemostats or drift pins, it does comprehensively cover a range of tools that you will need to build, improve, maintain and repair your home and belongings, as well as use for your hobbies or pastimes.

In today's information era, people's interaction with their surroundings is more abstract and less hands-on than it was just a few decades ago. Even shopping for groceries and produce can be done from a computer. The desire to reconnect with the physical by making or fixing something, no matter how small, has fueled many to join the do-it-yourself revolution.

Everyone, though, can benefit from understanding how hand and power tools are used, even if their tool kit amounts to only a screwdriver and a hammer in the kitchen drawer. It's the first step towards the ability to tackle a maintenance or improvement job yourself, rather than pay a professional or depend on someone else to do it for you.

Sadly, many people do start at a disadvantage because they have not been taught how to use even the most basic of tools correctly. Those who were fortunate enough to have some instruction on the basics of household tools generally had the knowledge passed down to them by a relative or friend, or learned at school or through trial and error. It's a great way to learn, but Dad or your high school shop teacher might not be an authority on every tool. And even the most grizzled veterans have a few gaps in their knowledge.

So whether you are a beginner or you just want to feel less intimidated by the choices and differences in tools when visiting the hardware store, this book provides a solid reference of information from which to start to understand what tool does what task best and why.

With the huge rise in popularity of DIY work, it's increasingly common for private individuals to pick up where the pros leave off and undertake small-scale construction and renovation projects on their own. If you already have a firm base of skills to work from, Tools will help you pick up subtleties, tips and trivia to flesh out your knowledge, and you'll find plenty of information to refer to when it's time to expand your collection of tools.

The resources found in this book can be used by everyone from architects and builders to Jane and Joe DIYer to get cutting-edge information on tools, equipment, materials, cost estimating, market trends and project planning.

Lastly, a few words about the illustrations. The goal is to provide an image that accurately represents a tool or process, not to endorse or recommend any particular brand or specific product. Careful consideration will need to go into choosing the right tool for you, as you'll soon learn. Multinational brands, where possible, are included, but be aware that an individual company's product lines may vary from market to market, and from year to year.

Edition details

• Publisher: Firefly Books
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1554070600
• ISBN 13: 9781554070602
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 224