If you love nothing more than doing a bit of DIY, you have come to the right place. Below you’ll find a helpful guide on some of the most essential tools and supplies you’ll need to be successful in your DIY endeavours.
PPE
Safety first is always a smart way to operate, and that is why PPE or personal protective equipment comes first in this post. However, the types of PPE for DIY will differ depending on the tools and materials you are using.
For example, if you are drilling or cutting things then protective goggles are a must. Handling unfinished wood with splinters, or metal with sharp edges? Then gloves will be necessary. Steel-toed shoes or boots are also a smart idea as they will protect your feet if you drop anything heavy. Lastly, investing in some overalls that will both protect your regular clothing and ensure there is nothing to get caught on materials or machinery as you work is a smart idea.
Hammers
Hammers are an essential tool for the home DIY enthusiast. Made for hammering nails into position they can be used for a variety of projects from fixing things together, to shaping softer materials like metal, and even demolition jobs.
Of course, you’ll need to choose the right hammer for the job. Indeed, hammers for different tasks will look very different – an example being that a demolition hammer will be much larger and heavier than a hammer used in drive-in standard nails.
Drills
Owning a drill is also vital if you want to be successful at DIY, and while you can still buy the hand-operated kind, electric drills are usually much more convenient and powerful to use. Drills have many functions and can be used to make holes, as well as drill in screws to fix things together. Indeed, combing screws with electric drills provide you with a much stronger and more long-lasting join than using alternatives such as nails.
Saws
Saws are also a vital element of any DIY kit. Again they come in both manual and electric versions, and there are wide variety on the market all designed for different tasks. For example, Circular saws or buzz saws as they are also known are electric saws used to cut large flat sheets of materials like plywood.
Jigsaws come in both manual and electric versions and feature a long thin blade that moves vertically instead of horizontally. Jigsaws can be used for cutting many different types of materials from shelving to flooring.
Then there is the infamous chainsaw. Much safer to use than most people think as long as proper safety precautions are taken, chainsaws are good for heavy-duty cutting jobs like cutting through railway sleepers, and tree branches.
Sanders
Last of all, a piece of kit you will need for a successful DIY is a sander. Sanders come in all shapes and sizes ranging from a simple block of wood that sandpaper is wrapped around, to electric belt sanders that can deal with a much higher volume of use, and provide a more effortless experience. The trick to choosing the right sander is to always make sure that you have the right grain of paper, and always go from course to fine for the best finish.
