Favourite Tool

As I am shortly to be moving into a new house and uncultivated land, which tools are going to be most beneficial to me? We will be doing hard landscaping, i.e. making flagstone pathways, building archways, erecting fences etc. Not having used electrical tools before, I would like to know which ones you consider will be most useful and why. I don't necessarily want the most expensive or complicated inventions...LOL .......unless it's unavoidable and if you think there is a non-mechanical tool I need please advise me. We will probably have to take down some diseased and damaged trees and clear some undergrowth also. Thanks. :-)

A strong back & a good pair of leather gloves! LOL! Lisa

ROFL - That's not fair Lisa........LOL I want "constructive criticism". But you made me laugh and that's important. :-)

Glad to have made you smile, but that was all I could think of!:o) Lisa

Here are the tools I cannot live without:

Full size pick ax: One side has a flat horizontal blade, about 2" thick, the other side is actually an ax. This is fairly lightweight, but heavy enough to cut the soil really nicely.

Chainsaw: I use a 16" Poulon.

Posthole digger - get the one with the fiberglass handle. It'll be around $20 at Home Depot.

Regular ax - get the one with the fiberglass handle.

Hatchet for the small work - Wal-Mart for $7 (metal handle)

Rounded shovel - get the good one. As Paul James' dad says: "Son... a cheap tool is an expenseeeeve tool".

I get a lot of use out of my cordless 14.4 drill. But, I like to build stuff.

I also have a handheld pick - it weighs less than 1 pound, and I put a hammer-handle on it. I use it to cultivate soil while on my hands and knees. Very handy tool! One end is flat, the other is pointed.

Everyone needs a good knife to strap on their belt. Never leave the house without it.

Pitchfork for moving hay, turning compost, harvesting potatoes, etc.

Cultivator - this looks kind of like a pitchfork, except the tines are half as long, and they are bent downward. I use this to break up the soil a bit before planting, and for turning in compost and other materials into the soil. Useful in places too small for the tiller or tractor.

Is this the kind of help you were looking for?

dave

Hi Louisa: I suppose the best tools for me are the ones DH and I always want when the other one has it! lol

I use a pitchfork thing- has 4 short prongs, that I couldn't live without. I work up the soil with it, use it to loosen grass, weeds in flower beds, etc. Also, a special smaller shovel that has a long narrow lip - I call it the sharpshooter, don't know the real name.

DH has lots of tools, but these are the two that are most important to me.
Blessings,
Grits

I call it a sharpshooter, also. This is one of the only tools that I really want, but do not yet have.

A string trimmer is a good thing if you have to deal with high weeds and useful to cut grass around rocks, walls etc. Get gas powered not electric.
Also consider renting some equipment that you wouldn't use a whole lot like a chipper shredder, but occassionally would be nice to have.

Yes friends - this is exactly the info I'm after. Thans very much and a big thanks Dave for supplying prices and retailers - that's a great help. Now, I want to buy an electric saw for making trellis features. Would I buy a jigsaw? You see, I have hardly any idea what I'm talking about. Will I need a worktable?

louisa, for this kind of cutting, I use a 10" miter saw. I think mine is either Craftsman or Black and Decker (whichever one is sold at Sears).

Trish got it for me for Christmas. I have built an unspeakable amount of things with this (including my greenhouse, compost bin, sieve, and others). Also have plants to make a trellis and this tool will come in handy.

10" miter saw. Check Sears. Should be somewhere between $100 and $150 - well worth it if you think you'll be using wood a lot.

Dave

That's exactly what I want Dave - thanks for the time :-)

A backhoe!...the bigger the better! I bought one a few years ago and would never give it up. Next best thing is a friend with a backhoe!LOL!
I have so many tools, that I would not know where to start. If you're going to do a lot of demolition in the house, a sawsall (reciprocating saw) is very handy. A 7 1/4" circular saw is a necessity. The miter saw is definately needed for trim work and wood flooring. A good cordless drill is very, very handy. Ryobi makes a good one. I have had a 12 volt one in the shop (I am a cabinet maker) for two years. It does just as well as the Porter Cable (more expensive), to my surprise.

Demolition???????? I hope not!! ROFL......This is a new house frank, not qute ready!! Too funny, but thanks, I'll make a note of all this.