10 Essential Garage Tools

It’s not always simple to reach your goal; however, once you get to the point where you are in a position to construct your garage, there are plenty of things to think about. What kind of DIY are you planning to do in the space, and what’s the budget? These are the most critical questions, and the two other requirements will influence the first. Even if space and budget are a little limited, there’s still plenty to be done, and it gives us a perfect chance to complete this list of our most-loved garage tools and equipment that can be used to prepare your garage for the future.

Air Compressors A pneumatic impact wrench can make easy work of the most challenging bolts. It can sound incredibly cool. However, making that workshop roar requires the help of an air supply (not even including the cordless electric impact wrenches available on the market). A compressor can open the world of pneumatic tools in addition to the fact that shop air can be used for other purposes like blowing the dust away and powering paint sprayers. The compressors for automobiles (and the air equipment they power) are reasonably priced, making this an ideal option to add to your home garage.

Electric Wrenches A torque wrench is crucial to tighten your belt, which you shouldn’t skimp on. Moreover, every well-equipped garage should include a few different sizes stored away to give you a good deal. There are several torque wrenches, but the click or beam wrenches are the most commonly used. An axial torque wrench includes a gauge that displays the torque strength currently applied to the nut, and a click wrench permits users to set an amount they want and click when the nut is adjusted to that amount. Other electronic torque wrenches permit users to set the desired torque amount by using a set of buttons and an LCD display. They will sound a beep after the excellent value has been attained.

Creeper Forget carpet pads. Forget cardboard boxes. And forget your kid’s skateboard. Graduate to the major leagues with the Torin 4-Position Headrest Shop Creeper. This Cadillac of creepers has an adjustable headrest that keeps you at the perfect angle during work. The padded surface was designed to save your back and keep it comfortable. And the six rotating caster wheels maximize mobility as you move around the floor. Your girlfriend had trouble pulling you out from under the car before? Boy, she’s in for a challenge now.

Floor Jacks Even if you have lifts like those mentioned earlier, having a good floor jack in your garage is ideal. Instead of setting a vehicle in the lift, you could raise one corner, which is especially helpful if you’re trying to find the possibility of a punctured tire or any clunks in the suspension that is coming from a specific corner of your vehicle. Jacks are made to help to lift your car quickly. However, you must adhere to safe operating guidelines. You should not only raise your vehicle on a level, flat ground, but an essential element of safely lifting is using stand-ups for your Jacks and wheel chocks to help stabilize your vehicle.

Drill/driver and Set of Bits No garage is complete without a good power drill and a set of bits to accompany it. Milwaukee has thought of every possible challenge you might face, and they came up with a solution in one neat little box. Well, two boxes really. The M1 1/2" Compact Brushless Hammer Drill/Driver feels light-weight at 3 lbs., but one squeeze of the trigger reveals that it packs a serious punch. The motor delivers 500 in-lbs of torque and up to 450 rpm in low mode, and it delivers up to a whopping 1,800 rpm in high mode. The 95PC Drill and Drive Set comes with drill bits, hex bits, Phillips bits, Pozidrive bits, slotted bits, square bits, TORX bits, and nut drivers. Phew. All in—you guessed it—95 pieces.

Inspection Cameras There are many applications for cameras for inspection, from looking into the interior of your engine to looking for a bolt that is difficult to see. They’re typically expensive tools; however, nowadays, you can purchase inexpensive cameras which use your smartphone as a display. If your friend is complaining about an engine part that he cannot see, then you’ll be prepared to come in and save the day.

Grinder The project rarely goes as planned. Sometimes the part that’s supposed to fit doesn’t. Other times you need a slightly bigger hole than you thought. These problems can usually be fixed with a little metalworking from a simple grinder. Dremel leads this category. The Dremel 7700-1/15, 7.2V MultiPro Cordless Kit is a lightweight, cordless, easy-to-use solution to solve otherwise difficult problems. The motor spins at 10,000 or 20,000 rpm, which is plenty of power to conquer most jobs.

OBDII Code Reader It's time to show the "check engine" light who's the boss. It can cost around 70 bucks just to have your local mechanic run a diagnostic test. On the other hand, The Innova 3100 CAN/OBDII Diagnostic Tool allows you to diagnose the problem yourself. Plug this device into your car’s on-board diagnostic port, which can be found under the dash somewhere near the steering column. It tells you exactly what’s wrong on a screen that’s about the size of your smartphone. This code reader works on just about every car built during or after 1996.

Flashlight If you can’t see it, you can’t fix it. A flashlight comes in handy even at high noon in a well-lit garage when you’re working in all those nooks and crannies. And keeping a reliable flashlight handy is essential for nighttime roadside repairs. Redline by Nebo is the perfect size to comfortably fit both in your pocket and in your hand. The high-powered 2185 LUX LED bulb has three intensity settings. The flashlight has an adjustable convex lens and a magnetic base, which can attach the flashlight to your car. Keep both hands free while receiving all the light you need.

Pressure Washers Some people are content with washing their cars by hand using the aid of a bucket of mild detergent and wash gloves, while others can put it through a drive-through following a fill-up, while others aren’t able to clean their vehicle in any way. But cleaning your car regularly will ensure that your car is in good shape over the long haul, especially in areas that require salt in winter. A pressure wash is one device that can make cleaning your car faster, simpler, and much more affordable over the long term. In addition, after you’ve completed your dirty engine repair, it’s a mess, and the ability to blast your engine compartment with the pressure washer can make an enormous difference in how you check for leaks after the work is completed. This is an obvious choice in our view.