Assembling DIY tools

I have been privileged to have a couple of hours to myself courtesy of a generous annual leave that I have been granted by my employers.

I have taken the opportunity to fulfil some outstanding personal commitments which could not be undertaken due to the demands of my work. I thought this would be a good time to take a number of do it yourself projects head-on.

But the couple of days that I have spent so far, have in some cases resulted in frustration because, I did not have the necessary tools to help me push the DIY agenda forward.

You may understand the pain of using modified tools in a project when the same job would have taken lesser time and effort.

I have learnt that it is not good practice to purchase tools when job is in progress. I recall some years back when I was looking for a six-pound hammer and I was shocked to learn that the cost of hiring the tool multiplied by the number of days was giving me a figure higher than the cost of purchasing a fairly used hammer.

While not entirely dismissing the idea of hiring, for there are instances where hiring may be ideal, owning tools makes DIY convenient as you work at you own pace.

In short, a DIY enthusiast should have a basic tool box containing multiple sizes of screw drivers and Allen keys, you never know the size and shape of the screw you may encounter.

Your tool box should also have a set of hammers, no two hammers are the same, every size of a hammer has its usage hence the need to have hammers of different sizes to serve in different situations.

A pair of pliers is also a requirement in your toolbox. Shifting spanner, commonly known bobojani is another handy tool when fastening and unfastening bolts and nuts.

Somewhere in your tool box place a piece of sandpaper and a rag to help you in projects that require some form of cleaning.

In case you may want to know where I learnt all this, simple, I observed how my father, a mechanic, provided a set of tools for our home use when we were young.

Wishing you dear reader a week full of activity because DIY is the only way we can make it done perfectly. n