These are the two toolbags I drive around with most of the time. They let me handle most of the general maintenance and light carpentry tasks I come across. They used to all be jammed into one bag, but it got too heavy so I split it in two. At one point I weighed the handtool bag and it was 28lbs. The other one's about the same, they make for a balanced carry.
Lefthand side is the "Drills Bag" that has battery-powered tools Usually just the two drills (drill for drilling holes, driver for driving screws,) but sometimes circular saw, jigsaw, and angle grinder as needed. I find metal bits on the jigsaw are often nicer than the angle grinder for cutting metal. Righthand is the "General Hand Tools Bag." It's made by CLC and you can find them on ebay. I chose the one with the most pockets.
"Drills Bag"
-
Drill and Driver 18v battery tools, with a spare battery
-
the driver has three holster slots on the tool
-
double ended phillips and flathead driver
-
double ended Torx T-25 and T-20 driver
-
a 3/8" socket driver that matches my socket set
-
drill bits (the yellow & black case) plus some masonry bits in the little blue-cap tubes
-
driver bits. (the blue & red case) I put a good deal of effort into selecting and laying out this set. it includes most common sizes, plus a harbor freight security bit set that I cut to fit into a general purpose box.
-
angle grinder discs and jigsaw blades, stay in there all the time. The cutting discs often break though as the bag gets knocked round, I need some kind of case for them, or maybe the angle grinder should have its own dedicated case.
-
WERA little hand screwdriver case. A recent addition I don't go to that often, but has long driver bits which can be useful, and backups of some bit sizes
-
little torpedo level, because this is a kit for hanging pictures
-
Construction screws (red case). 3 1'2" and down, 2 1/2" are most common, small screws are critical too. As are washers that match the heads, for occasions when you need to screw something down where the hole is larger than the screw head
-
Sheet metal screws (clear case).
-
Included in top picture: 18v battery Circular Saw, Jigsaw, Angle Grinder. These are only carried intermittently as needed.
Hand Tools Bag
Hitting, Bending, Prying Tools
-
hammer, crowbar
-
one small round punch
-
"cat's paw" nail puller/micro-crowbar
-
paint scraper / prying tool
Cutting tools
Morakniv utility chisel (the green one)
-
Stanley chisel in an occidental plastic chisel holster (the yellow & black one)
-
folding razor knife
-
flat scraper style razor knife and spare blades in a little case
-
hacksaw blade on that little aluminum handle
-
two files, big and small
Pliers and grabbing tools
-
big and small crescent wrench
-
crescent brand nail-pulling pliers (red handle and cam on side). great and rare tool.
-
some long curved-end needlenose pliers for reaching down into places
-
electrical wire strippers/cutters
-
nippers style wire cutters. also good for nail pulling
Cleaning Tools
toothbrush, wire bristle brush, rag, little pipe cleaner
Turning Screws & Bolts Tools
-
14 in one Klein HVAC screwdriver
-
two long thin flathead screwdrivers. Semi-disposable, used for prying more than driving screws
-
bahco micro driver set. Good for fitting into super tight spaces.
-
Bondhus Allen wrench sets: red is metric, yellow is standard
-
Socket set, that I've had for about 17 years without losing one piece. (green case)
Measuring Tools
-Stud Finder, a very good one. That's the yellow thing with the green level bulb on it.
-
speedsquare
-
Klein multimeter
-
25' tape measure, and 100' big tape measure.
Marking Tools
carpenter pencil
black sharpie
silver sharpie paint pen (not just a plain silver sharpie marker, those never work) paint pen.
- chalkline
Little Fiddly Tools (leather pouch)
-
pen light (made by Coast, has an even, uniform beam)
-
little hooks for pulling things, mechanic's hooks, like dental picks
-
tiny little metal ruler
-
Milwaukee brand sharpie marker
-
Klein little eyeglasses multi-end screwdriver
-
a couple street sweeper blades (small metal shims for bending into shape as needed)
-
petzl headlamp
Fasteners
-
zip ties
-
electrical tape
-
rubber bands
-
gorilla tape isn't with this kit but is kept nearby
I hope you put some thought into your own kits, whatever they are, whatever they're for. Tools become affordances, and the affordances you've internalized shape how you see the world.