12 Essential Tools for Every Small Project

With the right supplies and a few good tools, you can tackle small home improvement projects with confidence and ease. Look for quality in the tools you select and invest in a tool bag or carry-all to keep your essentials well organized and easily accessible.

Claw Hammer

Ensure you have this old standby for general assembly and demolition.

Nail Sets

Purchase a variety of sizes to sink nail heads below the work surface, providing for a clean finish.

Coping Saw

This saw has a very narrow blade stretched across a U-shaped frame. It’s the tool of choice for making curved cuts to wood.

Tape measure

You’ll find it useful to have both a 12-ft. and a 25-ft. tape measure on hand.

Cordless drill/driver

This portable power tool makes light work of drilling holes and driving screws.

Levels

A 4 foot bubble level is best used on large surfaces – the smaller torpedo level works nicely in confined spaces.

Combination square

This square is used to position hardware, such as hinges on doors, and to check right and 45-degree angles.

Carpenter’s pencil

The pencil’s flat design keeps it from rolling off surfaces and is used for marking and laying out hardware.

Utility knife and putty knife

A utility knife will handle most cutting and trimming jobs. You’ll need a putty knife for filling holes and patching.

Miter box

Used with a handsaw to cut accurate 45-degree and 90-degree angles. The miter box is most often used for cutting trim and molding to length.

Screwdrivers

Your toolkit should include different sizes in both Phillips and Robertson. Or, you can consider a four-in-one screwdriver that holds four bits—two standard and two Phillips, which should meet most jobs.

Safety gear

Eye and ear protection; dust mask or respirator; knee pads; work gloves; work boots; and, a good first aid kit.

If you find yourself overwhelmed at the hardware store when it comes to selecting brands at different price points, it is always best to purchase what you can afford and then if you find yourself using it heavily upgrade to a more premium version. Last, but certainly not least, you’ll want to find yourself a tool box or another type of storage solution. The last thing you want is to invest in all of these tools and not be able to find them when you want to finally tackle that project of yours!