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2019 Fall Home and Garden
video magazine "The tools that make the job"
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[September 27, 2019]
I
grew up in a very tool-poor environment, probably because my father
was not handy and did not intend to create or repair anything. Our
entire tool inventory consisted of a Sears crosscut hand saw with a
plastic handle (missing a screw), 2 standard screwdrivers with green
handles, a Sears hammer with a rubber handle, a Phillips
screwdriver, and a Sears circular saw complete with a factory-dulled
blade. Though my father did not intend to repair anything, over the
15 years that I lived in that house, things did need to be repaired.
By the way, we never had any difficulty finding any of our tools.
They were always at our next-door neighbor's house because he
borrowed them and never brought them back!
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 With such a limited inventory of tools, our
ability to do household repairs was extremely limited. Notice that
we didn't have any pliers, any plumbing tools, any electrical or
decorating tools. I think this went along with my father's nefarious
plan that he wasn't going to ever do any plumbing, or decorating, or
fix anything electrical.
Although my two brothers and I came from the same gene pool as our
father, we were not like him at all. We wanted to take things apart
and build things and when we were finally mature enough maybe even
take a stab at fixing something. But we were hampered by the tools
we had access to. The hammer and a standard screwdriver became a
hammer and chisel, the hammer and Phillips screwdriver became a wood
drill, and the back of the hand-saw became a straight edge (probably
how the screw came to be missing). The result was that either the
job was poorly done, the tool was ruined, or we were injured.
Having the tools that are engineered for the task makes all the
difference in the world. Fifty five years ago there were fewer tools
on the market; now there is a specialized affordable tool for almost
every task. Having access to the right tool can allow you to create,
repair, and even engineer solutions for life's everyday existence. I
now have such a significant inventory of specialized tools that
rather than not having the tool for the job, storage and
organization are now the key issue. BTW - if you can't find the
needed tool that you know you own, it is equivalent to not having
one.
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In this issue of Home and Garden, the amazing LDN
writers address this subject: the tools that make the job, and
together with some fantastic YouTube videos show you how to do some
really cool stuff.
Enjoy!
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