Table of Contents
Spring is not just the time to clean your home. It is also the time to renew, reform and restore. That gardening project you put off last fall? Those garage projects you wanted to do all winter when it was too cold to work there? Now is the time to stock up on tools and equipment, but you need to act quickly if you want to close a deal. Home Depot spring black friday ends after April 28 and Lowe’s spring Festival ends after May 1 and there are still deals on many of our favorite gear from favorite brands like DeWalt, Milwaukee, Ridgid, Klein, and Kobalt.
Special offer for Gear readers: Get CABLING for only $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com, complete Gear coverage, and subscriber-only newsletters. Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.
Tool Offers
The Gearwrench brand is my favorite entry to mid-level tool brand for chrome hand tools. Made in Taiwan, these sockets, combination wrenches and ratchets have excellent manufacturing tolerances, meaning less slippage and potential damage to bolt heads. This kit comes only with 1/4 and 3/8 inch sockets and ratchet handles, not 1/2 inch, but that shouldn’t matter unless you’re working on large projects, like car axle components. . or build a terrace. The organization box is also great, with sturdy sliding drawers and integrated handles that make lifting the heavy box easy.
An impact driver is a power tool that provides rapid, repeated forward strikes while rotating on a bolt or screw head. Works great on stubborn screws and bolts that may be too rusty to remove without a power tool. An impact driver typically fits small screws and bolts. Similarly, a hammer drill offers the same thrusts but is designed to drill through tough materials that could choke a regular cordless drill. This combo kit includes two batteries and a charger, so when you use one to dry, you have another to use while the first is charging.
An impact wrench is similar to an impact driver in that it uses repeated forward thrusts to loosen stubborn bolts, but it tends to be more powerful and designed for larger bolts. I’ve used one to loosen rusted suspension bolts and engine bolts enough times in the garage to consider it a godsend for heavy mechanical work.
The cordless drill is possibly the most versatile power tool in a homeowner’s toolbox. Not only can it drill, but it can also be equipped with screwdriver bits for Phillips, Torx, triple square head screws and hex bolts. A similar 20-volt DeWalt has been my go-to for years, and the XR version adds a brushless electric motor for longer life. The speed is adjustable from 650 to 2000 rounds per minute, which is useful because you won’t need high RPM all the time. The ergonomics are perfect. I’ve spent hours at a time with an ergonomically identical DeWalt without pain in my hands. The small LED in front of the trigger illuminates dark work areas pleasantly.
If I were to “hypothetically” say that I have drilled over 100 holes in the walls of my apartment (and if my hypothetical landlord wasn’t reading this), I would tell him that these inexpensive drill bits performed excellently when drilling before the war. drywall, which at my place is a particularly thick 3/4 inch. I’ve used these bits to repair a couch frame, build wood furniture, and drill metal picture frames, and they are the best value out there. They come in various sizes that have never left me wanting.
Gearwrench offers the best value in tools. I tested this 12-piece screwdriver set earlier this year and loved how well the Phillips screwdrivers fit into the screw heads. That means less slipping which can damage screws and make them nearly impossible to remove or reuse. The rubberized handle is also comfortable for long periods of time.
Garage and Patio Offers
Do any wood work, even if you are cutting boards, and need a miter saw. The problem is finding a stable and safe place to place it while using it. Choosing a stand is vital because a miter saw is dangerous when it is unstable. I have always been impressed with Ridgid stands. Mounting brackets are quick and easy to use, and structural parts feature robust materials that don’t require cost cutting. This stand can hold up to 400 pounds, which is enough for a miter saw.
A stalwart tool in any workshop, whether you’re cleaning up after a woodworking project or washing the car, is the shop vacuum. It’s a supercharged cousin of your household vacuum cleaner. It can vacuum wet dirt, thanks to its built-in drain, as well as dry dirt. Ridgid makes my favorite shop vacs because, with 5 horsepower available (for this model), it has no shortage of power to vacuum up big messes; Included hose fittings fit securely; the wheels slide easily; and I have never had a break while on duty.
Maybe it’s the number of times I’ve climbed a Werner ladder and No They fall down, but when I need to buy a new ladder, I almost always choose Werner. This 8-foot-tall model is made of thick, durable fiberglass that helps reduce some of the weight when you move it and supports up to 300 pounds. There’s a magnetic tool strip on top, along with a paint can holder and a slot to hold a drill or hammer.
Leaf blowers aren’t just for fall. They can be a big time saver when you want to clean up grass shrapnel left after mowing lawn edges, for example. Gone are the days of a bulky, smoke-spewing gas-powered leaf blower. This cordless electric model from Kobalt moves 630 cubic feet per minute of air, which means it offers plenty of power and weighs just under 9 pounds. A battery and charger are also included.
Other tool offers
Being able to measure the electrical current flowing through an outlet, car battery, or similar is essential when working with electronics. Klein is a long-time stalwart on tools designed specifically for electricians. This multimeter measures up to 600 AC/DC and 10A DC voltages and comes with cables and GFCI outlet testers. If all the dials and screens seem complicated, don’t panic. The included instructions will tell you how to set everything up and it’s much easier than it seems at first glance.
It’s easy to find a decent utility knife, but hard to find a good utility knife. I’ve used tons, from Craftsman to Stanley to no-name brands on Amazon, and the Fastback is my favorite. The replaceable blades are sharper than other brands and you can easily open and close the blade with one hand. You can store a spare blade in the handle and there’s a holder for common-sized flathead and Phillips screwdriver bits. A battle opener and wire stripper round out the features list.
Stanley makes my favorite tape measures in their Fat Max series, but these DeWalt tape measures are almost as good and, hey, they’re on sale. I would say they have earned the right to use “heavy duty” in the name of it, because I have used some on some job sites and the thick plastic casing can withstand a lot of abuse. One of the few differentiators between tape measures is their ability to extend without collapsing. DeWalt’s thick tape accomplishes this well, so if you need to stretch it 10 feet across the room to measure something (which is quite common), you’ll have far fewer headaches with this than with a cheaper tape measure.
Plastic trigger clamps won’t be the clamp to use for the heaviest jobs, but they may be the clamps you use most often. More times than I can count in a month, I need a third hand to hold something steady while I work on a project. From fixing a bracket in an awkward spot while screwing it to keeping your hands free when cutting something, you need some clamps in your toolbox. With 100 pounds of clamping force, these will be more than capable of handling many small, everyday tasks.
