Basic Hand Tools Made Better

You can teach an old tool new tricks.

Improvements to basic hand tools such as the wrench, screwdriver and hammer make it easier to do-it-yourselfers to do it themselves.

On The Early Show Tuesday, "Rent-a-Husband" Kaile Warren showed Dave Price how far those items have come.

All the tools he displayed sell for less than $30 and enable users to work smarter, not harder, as he put it.

He not only pointed out the changes, he showed the proper way to use each tool, which is important for both convenience and safety.

The key to selecting the best hand tool, Warren says, is finding one that'll do much of the work. That means finding tools with good balance and handles that fit your grip comfortably.

WRENCHES

A wrench is a tool that's usually operated by hand, and is made for tightening or loosening bolts, nuts or anything that needs to turn. Solymon Merrick patented the first wrench on Aug. 17, 1835. The British call the wrench a "spanner."

The physics of the wrench are that it works as lever. There are notches at the mouth for ripping. The wrench is pulled at a right angle to the axes of the lever-action and the bolt or nut. "Crescent" wrenches have mouths that can be tightened to better fit various objects that need turning.

A "socket" wrench has a hollow cylinder that fits over one end of a nut or bolt head. It may include a handle, but is usually used with various drive tools. It generally has either a six-point or 12-point recess, may be shallow or deep, and may have a built-in universal joint.

In addition, face driving sockets are available. These are more durable still, and have the ability to drive a range of hexagonal head sizes, with less risk of damaging the nut or bolt head than traditional "corner" drivers. The benefit of a socket wrench is that once you've placed the cylinder over a nut, tightening is made simple by the ratcheting motion of the tool's handle.

Newer wrenches also feature ratcheting heads, which will enable a standard wrench to act as a socket wrench. There is also a variation of the crescent wrench available from Black & Decker. It's called the automatic adjustable wrench. With the push of a button, the tool automatically adjusts to the size of the nut, making it great for those with dexterity issues.SCREWDRIVERS

The decision you need to make when it comes to using screws is whether to go with slotted, or "Phillips head" screws.

Warren says slot-head screws are better for woodworking, because they hold up better and won't strip as easily as Phillips head screws when you try to remove them.

The downside to slot-head screws is that you aren't able to use a power driver, because the driver tends to slip out of the head and damage surrounding material.

The main reason Phillips head screws were invented was for assembly work. You can use the power driver with them, making the process a lot quicker. The Phillips screw was designed so that the driver will slip out under high torque to prevent over-tightening.

The downside to Phillips head screws is that they tend to strip out easily.

Basically, Phillips head screws are easier to use and will save time because you can use the power driver, but in the long run, slot screws are more beneficial, though they are more tedious to deal with.

Turning a screw, however, consumes time and it can also be tedious on your hands, so Warren recommends getting a ratcheting screwdriver. Most can accommodate various sizes of slotted and Phillips heads.

If you'd rather stick with a standard screwdriver, Warren suggests going with longer shafts for better leverage.

HAMMERS

Man's oldest tool, the first hammer was a stone held in one's hand. It wasn't until the 4th century B.C., however, that man finally became fed up with smashing his fingers and decided to attach a handle.

With a hammer for every trade from bricklayer to shoemaker, more than 250 types of hammers are now available. The typical one is the standard claw hammer, used by homeowners to handle everything from basic construction to picture hanging.

In the beginning, all hammer handles were of wood, but today, they also come in steel, graphite and fiberglass. Many professionals who deal with wood still prefer the wooden handle over other handle types, since it's more shock absorbent (hickory is best), is lighter, and provides good balance.

Steel hammers, a favorite with construction workers for their strength and durability, also have a drawback: They can cause handle "sting." However, new technology has improved on this, with a wood and rubber implant in the hammer head reducing vibration and making the feel of these steel hammers "almost as kind as wood."

Warren showed a new "weight-forward" hammer design from Estwing. This particular fiberglass-handled hammer feels slightly off-balance in the hand, but promises to make driving a nail easier, requiring less effort.