21 HAND TOOL TIPS, TRICKS & SECRETS!! (Hammer/Screwdriver/Tape Measure/Pliers…& MORE HAND TOOLS!)
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21 HAND TOOL TIPS, TRICKS & SECRETS!! (Hammer/Screwdriver/Tape Measure/Pliers…& MORE HAND TOOLS!)
There are more aspects to many of the hand tools we all use than meets the eye. In this video, The Honest Carpenter will show 21 hand tool tips, tricks and secrets that he has used over the years. Perfect for carpentry newcomers and DIYers!
1) Tape measure tabs are supposed to wiggle. (This is called tab/hook travel.)
2) Tape measure tabs can be used for quick marking.
3) Changeable screwdrivers have six functions (6-in-1), not four.
4) Screwdriver bits can be used in drills…in a pinch.
5) You can countersink roughly with a phillips screwdriver.
6) Use needle nose pliers to hammer small nails.
7) Needle nose pliers come with wirecutters built in.
8) Hammer nails at 90 degrees to start…then angle them.
9) Use a scrap board to pry nails.
10) You can pry nails sideways (when surface quality doesn’t matter).
11) Combination squares have a secret marker.
12) Wrench heads are helpfully angled at 22-1/2 degrees.
13) Use a sharp nail set as a drill punch.
14) Speed square can act as a saw guide.
15) Speed square makes a great straight edge for knives.
16) Utility knives better than pencils for marking cuts.
17) Most pliers have a helpful slip joint.
18) Use needle nose pliers to help back out a screw.
19) Screwdrivers help turn eye bolts.
20) Use large screwdriver for offset nailing.
21) Use mini hacksaws for tight spaces.
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Check out our other tool-related videos!
This Tool Helps You Drive Screws (Drive Sleeve):
Pliers As A Bench Vise:
Is Your Level Accurate?:
https://youtu.be/Jyr7HfhOEss
Got a ton of deckmate screws to remove and replace in my deck but they’ve stopped selling the ol’ blue bit!!! Now its another color and these screws are all torx! So your tip using the needlenose for spinners will come in handy. Went on a wild goose chase trying to find the blue driver bits recently. They’re extinct.
One of the most overlooked tricks is using the magnetics of your (quality) level as a stud finder. Just glide it over sheet rock and you’ll feel your magnet grab the nail/screw. There is also the studball tool you can buy that’s even better!
cmon dude get a grip
All your videos are highly informative and very well presented! No difference with this one…
I have been binge-watching them over the past few days.
I am not a professional of any kind (I am originally trained in fine arts, but presently tied up full-time with tedious managerial work!) – However, I have been fiddling around with hand tools ever since I was a kid (I am 52 now). And, I have learnt almost everything I know by either trying-out stuff, or by watching a professional worker – most of them, in my country, hail from the poorer communities – and so, usually have a limited set of tools and equipments to work with.
As a result, they use a LOT of ‘hacks’ – in order to maximise/ diversify the use of each tool they possess!
Of all the tips & tricks in this video (most of which I have seen our carpenters/ car mechanics/ etc use at some point), the LAST one was SPECIAL for me!
I didn’t even know that there actually was a tool such as the "mini hacksaw"!!!
Here in India, we do have a "hack" for the problem – which, even though slightly risky, does get the job done…
When we need to cut something that is inaccessible (even with the "miniature versions of the larger frame type" that @rivolhino has mentioned below) – we simply DISMANTLE THE HACKSAW BLADE FROM THE FRAME > WRAP A THICK COTTON CLOTH TO THE BASE END OF THE BLADE > AND GRAB IT WITH OUR HAND, TO STICK THE CUTTING END OF THE BLADE INTO THE TRICKY POSITION!
When I saw the mini hacksaw tool on your video here, I ASSUMED that it would NOT be available here… but to my pleasant surprise, amazon.IN actually has a NUMBER of them on offer!
It has promptly gone into my "wishlist" for the workshop I am presently trying to set up… Thanks for the tip!!!
Well I watched about 7 seconds of the video then more ads – better luck next time
I’m left handed, do they make left handed screwdrivers ?
Thank you
Thank you for your great videos!
Great information. Thank you.
This man is a hero
Thanks, i got into car mechanics as a profession this year and am looking to specialize hand tool use.
AWESOME VIDEO, ESPECIALLY FOR PPL LIKE ME WHO HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TOOLS ARE GREAT FOR DYI-ERS. I WANTED TO GET MY NEPHEW SOME TOOLS HE CAN USE FOR CARPENTRY & THIS VIDEO IS EXCELLENT IN GIVING ME IDEAS. THANK YOU!
They need to add 5/6 to the drive when the rod is removed
Respect
You are what you say you are very honest and it’s totally appreciated. It really is. Your honesty and showing everybody stuff I’m sure you’re making tons of money but you deserve tons of money. Your honesty is the best policy the best policy thank you so much like I said I’m a female living in a home alone here and without you I would have to keep searching on YouTube for other people LOL
All Stores 900,000 Please Lower the price of all Brands of Military Equipment and Local for All Brands of Tape Measure Products and Production Cost Now 900,000 That’s Too Much $$ 900,000 Now The Whole World 900,000 Now 🙏 🤲 🕍 🕌 ⛪ 🛕
Snap-off utilities knife.
A sharp utility knife can be used to cut 1/4" plywood
Use an electric hand planer to straighten or fine tune any cut or edge or joint
Can use a grinder with a metal cutting disc to make fine cuts on wood or trim or tight spaces
Oh my goodness!! So many game-changers! Thank you.
Very helpful
It’s 2024. Time to make a video about 24 tools 😅
Like the needle nose to get screws out bit .that is a useful tip
I’m a DIY Rookie. I learned a ton.
Great man, learned a lot on tool names and how to use them.
Scoring marking finish boards w utility knife, great for reducing blowouts = Nice.
With handy man work so ridiculously expensive now, there is a real need for women to learn how to do basic home repairs and maintenance.
Love this expert. 72 yo diy’er female from Adelaide South Australia. Always learning from this page. 😊
Hope you did more YouTube videos recently than shorts like wood wood, those are amazing but with this longer versions I learn a lot more. Thanks always for all the tips and lessons
if you are dismantling a pallet, and don’t own a prybar, spade shovel works in a pinch
Thanks. I am 75 and I learned a few more things!
70 YO wannabe carpenter lady. I want a mini hacksaw to add to my tool repertoire! 🥰 I just love your channel. Thanks for all the cool videos.
Didn’t know or think of that offset nailing idea. Will file that away – prob means there are tips to do with files, lol. Offset screwdrivers, painful as they are to use, are easy to add to a belt, super small and can get you out of a bind. Great vid, Ethan, thanks.
The 1" or 2" or 3" wide putty knife with the thick heavy blade also called a stiff knife, has 100 uses, it also has a sharp edge for daily situations . You can use a palm sander with #80 or #100 grit pad to clean off the blades on any kind of putty knife or stiff knife.
I am now addicted to these video’s they are so cool and informative.
Good thanks
Great job. I’ll use you A-link whenever I can. Thanks
Brilliant. Thanks
Thanks to you and YouTube what great way share knowledge and earn money💰👍👍👍👍
Great info, thanks for the education!
So useful
Excellent
1:43 You can also magnetize the bits.
Awesome tips!!! Thanks 😊
I’m a beginner DIYer. I’m learning so much from your channel. You explain everything very well.
Great! Some tips & tricks I already used, few new tips & tricks were new to me. My most used: 1.) safe nails and reuse old curved nails hammer them straight again when holding it with your (needle nose) pliers. But this works best with soft metal nails, and not so perfect with hard metal nails (baseboard nails).
2.) when sewing/cutting/drilling clamp the workpiece so that the cutted/sewed/drilled side is free, not laying on other material (table desktop etc), this way you don’t need to waste "sacrificial plate" below it.
3.) Nail holded by pliers when hammering is also good in narrow spaces.
Great video, Great info, thank you 👍😉
Great stuff as usual!
Bob
England
Thanks for sharing! The mini hacksaw tip is new to me, a casual DIYer for some years. Can you imagine my surprise and the "doh!" moment? lol 😆
Awesome stuff!
Hook the tape on the wood , hold onto the blade, pull on it so it is stiff and you can use the edge of the tape to mark a straight line , for marking short lines.