[00:00:00] Eric Goranson: It's around the house in hammers. You go, ah, hammer's a hammer. No, I like to have a framing hammer. I like to have a finish hammer. I like to have a demo hammer. I like to have a sledgehammer. You see where I'm going with this? And there's shingle hammers. There's a lot of other things that you can have.

[00:00:22] Eric Goranson: There's axes, there's a lot of different things that are, that are a mix of that, but you don't want to be doing, using your framing hammer for demo. I prefer to use those as two different, cuz I, my framing hammer's important and you can really mess up the waffle head on it. And I like to have a smooth hammer head versus a waffle head for demo.

[00:00:45] Eric Goranson: And if you get the right demo hammer, it'll have like a notch in the handle with a. I've got one that's made by DeWalt that has a NOx in the handle where I can actually twist a stud with it. When it comes to remodeling and renovating your home, there is a lot to [00:01:00] know the We got you covered. This is around the house.

[00:01:04] Eric Goranson: Welcome the Round the House Show. This is where we hope you get the host outta your home through information and education. I'm Eric G. We got a great subject to talk about today. This is something that I've had a couple requests for and it's been a while since we've done something like this. What are the top 10 DIY tools that someone should have?

[00:01:22] Eric Goranson: Whether you're that new homeowner, maybe you're, uh, getting gifts for somebody for a birthday or a new house. What does everybody need for some basic DIY tools? First off, uh, let's talk about where you can get ahold of me around the house online.com. That's the. And you'll be able to find everything right there.

[00:01:44] Eric Goranson: Now we are also gonna be able to go over to Facebook, which is around the House Show, Instagram, and uh, Twitter as well. So you can find me on all of those. And, uh, we'd love to have you, uh, be involved, especially in the, around the House Nation. That is [00:02:00] our Facebook closed group where you could. Those projects that you're working on.

[00:02:05] Eric Goranson: All right. Well, the top tools I think you should have, and one of them is a very important one. I'm gonna put this one up first because it is something that you need to clean up with. Yeah. That shop back. That garage, vacuum, whatever you want to call it. And I know ShopVac is a trade name, but everybody knows what it is, right?

[00:02:25] Eric Goranson: It was kind of the original. You know, I have, uh, there are a lot of different brands out there of these, but you really need this to clean up around the house. It's important to have, it's great for cleaning the car out. Uh, it is something that, uh, is very important if you get a flood. It is great for getting water up.

[00:02:43] Eric Goranson: And quite frankly, you do not want to use your household vacuum to clean up construction debris cuz if you wanna see how to re to just absolutely destroy that. Yeah, try getting some drywall, dust and stuff in it. It doesn't go [00:03:00] well. So that's the key right there. Make sure you have that shot back. Now I have a Husky one and that's just because it was inexpensive and they have a great.

[00:03:10] Eric Goranson: You know, it's a Home Depot brand. It has. It is something I can absolutely abuse. It's inexpensive and in a couple years, if I have to throw it away, I don't feel so bad about it. It's not like it's a Fest tool vacuum or something like that, which is on my to-do list for other projects. But as far as cleaning up stuff, that's what that's really made for.

[00:03:32] Eric Goranson: And so, I tell you what the best way to do is to make sure you get one that accepts the vacuum bags, and you're like, what do you mean vacuum bags? I tell you what bags are cheaper than the filters and for cleaning it out where you can just pull that bag out and throw it away. Once you've done that once, you will never be disappointed on having a bag in there.

[00:03:55] Eric Goranson: Especially when I have got my, like my drywall vacuum. Man, that [00:04:00] thing works great. I put the HEPA filter in there and I've got the bag in there. It makes cleanup so much easier. Of course you can't do that with wet things, but that's easy. And um, you know, that shot vac is great even when you're changing out a toilet.

[00:04:13] Eric Goranson: It is great to be able to suck the water out, tick the bag, put it into wet mode, you know, whatever brand you're using. Getting that water outta the bowl is an easy way to do that. And you don't have to pump it out. You can just suck it up into there and it's a good time to clean that shop back out.

[00:04:28] Eric Goranson: Anyway, so that's what I do. That's my first thing is getting a good ShopVac. You do it right and it will last you. Forever. A little bit of care goes a long ways and uh, you can usually find special buy from time to time on those two where you can save yourself a little bit of money. All right, the next one is the multi-tool.

[00:04:48] Eric Goranson: This is probably outside of my drill driver set. One of the most used tools that I have and the multi-tool is that little handheld tool that has that [00:05:00] flat blade. It's like a little flat reciprocating saw blade. What it is great for. Is cutting out electrical boxes in wood or drywall. It is great for doing a flush cut for trim.

[00:05:12] Eric Goranson: Maybe you're putting in hardwood floors or an L V P luxury vinyl plank flooring. It is great for doing stuff and they make sander things for 'em too. So if you need to have a little tight area sander, they work great for that as well. So there's a lot you can do with that. That is a great one. And then buy a bunch of blades.

[00:05:33] Eric Goranson: Blades for metal. It's great for cutting off, uh, you know, uh, a bolt. It's great for all those little things that maybe your, um, your saber saw or your reciprocating saw won't do. It is great for that. I use mine all the time. It is great for doing projects when you have to notch something out, it's wonderful doing cabinet.

[00:05:55] Eric Goranson: So there's a lot of things you can do. That is probably my number one favorite tool that I [00:06:00] use. And there are a difference of them. And let's talk about that for a minute here. With Power Tools as a brand, you know, there are a lot of great power tools out there. I have a lot of, you know, Milwaukee in my garage, but do I have craftsmen?

[00:06:15] Eric Goranson: Yes. Do I have DeWalt? Sure. Do I have some Porter cable stuff? Absolutely. Um, those are all great brands and I've got plenty of those. So the thing is, as I would say when you're thinking about power tools, is to make sure you pick that platform that's going to do what you need. Most homeowners don't need Milwaukee.

[00:06:36] Eric Goranson: Is it great to have? Sure. What a uh, Ryobi do is good a job for you. Ah, if you're only using it from time to time. Yeah. By the way, they're made by the same parent company, but they are different tools. So it's something to consider, get that platform and that way you can have one or two battery platforms depending on what the model is, what the brand is, [00:07:00] and then you can have those same things.

[00:07:02] Eric Goranson: You don't have to buy as many batteries. The problem is, if you've got a ton of different things around, like if you've got a brand of lawn care and a brand of shop tools and a brand, you could have three or four battery platforms that gets really expensive to maintain just in that. So something to consider.

[00:07:20] Eric Goranson: And I'm not one of these that, oh, this one's better than other. They're all decent stuff. You know when you get into the really light duty, like the original Black and Decker stuff, or some of the Walmart brands or Harbor Freight stuff, yeah, it is getting a little bit inexpensive where it might be a good single couple used tool, but it's not something that's gonna last to your lifetime.

[00:07:43] Eric Goranson: And that's the one nice thing I like about some of these brands. You can get those and if you take care of. You can get a lot of life out of 'em. So it's something to consider with that. And, uh, once you go down that list, you can do pretty well. So next one on here that I want to talk about [00:08:00] is a drill and driver set.

[00:08:04] Eric Goranson: And I like to get one that has the hammer drill function on it so I can drill into concrete or something like that around the house. The more options you have with that, the better you are. And so the impact is great for putting in screws also, they make drill bits for impact. Yes. We'll talk about that in the next segment, the difference between those, but you have.

[00:08:26] Eric Goranson: Impact, which is great for putting in screws, putting in deck screws, all those different things. Those are amazing. As well as that drill, which is great for drilling holes, you could put on a, um, you know, you could put on a, a wire wheel on the end of it. You can do a lot of things with the drill, sanding discs, those kind of things.

[00:08:43] Eric Goranson: So you can do a lot with that drill. But to be honest, I'd use my drill now probably 15% of the time, and the rest is my impact. And that's really what makes a difference there. Once you like that little, small compact impact, [00:09:00] especially the ones that I have where they're that, um, chest compact, it, it makes it, you can get into a lot tighter places and it gives you a lot more room to work with.

[00:09:10] Eric Goranson: Now, when we come back, I wanna talk about the difference here between drill bits with impact. And a drill. And yes, it's not just how they clip in. There is a different design for those that we should talk about today, as well as some of the drill bits that you would use because there are some great ones out there that make a huge difference when you're taking on these projects.

[00:09:29] Eric Goranson: If you have any comments on this, feel free to get over to around the house online.com and send me a message there around the house. Be right back after these important messages. Don't go anyway.

[00:09:57] Eric Goranson: What's up? This is Stick and Satchel [00:10:00] from Stihl Panther and you are listening to Around The House with Eric G. Yeah, we love Eric G and you should too.

[00:10:20] Eric Goranson: Welcome back to The Round the House Show. This is where he helps you get the most outta your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today. Wow. How is it February already? This has been going crazy since the beginning of the year, and I think that's just because we've been really spending a lot of time on producing.

[00:10:36] Eric Goranson: You know my new TV show, which is coming out around the House Northwest here on February 18th, and if you wanna stream that anywhere, just look for the Fox 12 Portland app on your phone. And if you find that you can find it where you can, you can actually stream the television show no matter where you're at in the country off that app.

[00:10:59] Eric Goranson: So you can watch it [00:11:00] on your phone. And, uh, that will air at, uh, 10:00 AM Pacific time on February 18th. So every Saturday, 10:00 AM you'll catch it right there and you can stream it live right there. And then we'll have stuff up on YouTube as well. But that's the place if you want to catch that on your phone or, or any one of those.

[00:11:17] Eric Goranson: Um, You know, different streaming and where you can put an app on your tv, any one of those smart TVs that takes those apps that will work really well for you. We were talking about, uh, drill drivers and stuff, and I just wanna let you know that there are differences, uh, between regular drill bits and impacts.

[00:11:35] Eric Goranson: They run at different speeds. They actually operate a little bit differently. So if you have that impact driver that you're using and you're gonna get drill bits for it, make sure. And get the impact bits for it. That'll work with that. And, uh, that'll make things work a lot easier for you and you'll be, uh, really surprised how well that works.

[00:11:57] Eric Goranson: And, uh, it's all about that. And, and especially [00:12:00] with the different materials, you know, uh, if you're cutting metal, make sure you've got a really good drill bit for cutting metal. If you're cutting into tile, there's those ones that, uh, you gotta be careful with tile. Because I like the hammer drill function, but if you turn that over to hammer drill on tile, you could break that tile.

[00:12:17] Eric Goranson: So it's something you gotta be very careful with. So I actually like the hollow coring style tile bits versus the kind of diamond pointed head ones. They seem to work better for me and cut a lot better. And, uh, cuz you don't have to remove all that material, you're just doing the circle. So it's almost like a little hole saw versus just that pointy tip.

[00:12:39] Eric Goranson: Take a look for those. When you're out there working on tile and stuff, that's a great way to go. And of course, uh, you know, there's a lot of different things out there for different projects, but those are things that are really, really good. All right, the next one is a must have. And before we actually talk about this, let's, let's dive into this question first, and I get answered this a lot.

[00:12:59] Eric Goranson: I'll tap the [00:13:00] brakes on that for a second. I feel that corded power tools are now a thing of the past. I have gotten rid of, I think every corded power tool. Well, I have an exception so far. I still have a corded grinder angle grinder that I have sitting there on my welder cart. Other than that, everything else and a power tool format is battery powered.

[00:13:30] Eric Goranson: And I'm talking, I have a battery powered lawnmower. I have a battery powered pole trimmer, I have a battery powered leaf blower. I even have one of the, uh, battery powered wheelbarrows, power wheelbarrows. So everything I have table saw, chop saw is um, is now cordless. And here's the thing why that this is such a big deal and we have done these tests.

[00:13:58] Eric Goranson: If you take. [00:14:00] A circular saw, which is next on my list, you can cut faster with the battery than you can with the cord with certain saws, especially the Milwaukee one. I can go through there and set that thing up. And we have done competition. Same blade, same saw once corded once. And that battery powered saw, because it has a computer inside of it, it can add extra amps to the motor.

[00:14:34] Eric Goranson: Where that saw that you are using this plugged in is really dumb. You hit the trigger, it pulls the power to the cord. That can only pull so much. Those batteries and the trigger and how they work and the load are so smart with the computer inside, it can pull more power than what's coming through that cord.

[00:14:52] Eric Goranson: So it's something to consider. Now here's the thing, when you're getting into saws, I love, I've got the Milwaukee [00:15:00] Circular saw. It works great. That is a great saw. It works great. There's lots of different ones out there. Um, I've got some new ones. I'm gonna be getting the, uh, fest track saw here pretty soon cause I love that thing, uh, from festival.

[00:15:13] Eric Goranson: But let's be honest, when you're dealing with a circular saw, you want something that's stable and that can be used. And then you want a really good blade. And I've actually changed blade companies. I have gone over to Crescent to use their blades and they have really great framing blades, finished blades, metal blades, uh, demo blades that'll go through both metal and nails.

[00:15:42] Eric Goranson: So if you're doing demo and you don't have to worry about hitting those nails, it's pretty amazing to be able to put a demo blade in. And do what you want with that, cuz uh, it's not going to destroy that blade. Like if you take your framing blade and you put that, uh, framing blade on there and you go hit a couple nails, man, you're taking that thing either [00:16:00] down to get sharpened, which I recommend if you get a decent blade, have it sharpened.

[00:16:05] Eric Goranson: Don't just always throw it away. You could actually get 'em sharpened and it's cheaper than getting a new blade. And then you'll get the life out of it again. So take a look. Find that local sharpening company that can sharpen those. Makes life a lot easier. So it's something to think about and I've got a whole collection of blades.

[00:16:21] Eric Goranson: They work out well, and then you can have the right tool and blade for the right job. So that makes it a lot easier. But yeah, cordless is the way to fly. That's the way. And when you're using a circular saw, here's one thing that I've learned over the years, have an amazing set of saw horses. Something that is gonna work, something is gonna hold everything in the right place, especially when you're cutting sheet goods, man.

[00:16:50] Eric Goranson: A good set of saw horses that are high, so you're not bending over as much or low, depending on how tall or short you are. That works really well and having [00:17:00] those where you can adjust those so you're not bending over, it'll put you in a much safer. And that way you're good to go. There's some great things out there.

[00:17:10] Eric Goranson: There's mobile work tables. There's some awesome things for doing wood working and circular saws that make life a lot easier. So something to think about. Uh, a great set of saw horses. I mean, I've, I had some pla two plastic ones that lasted me a year or two cause I was using 'em heavy and they just didn't hold up.

[00:17:31] Eric Goranson: So now I've got some pretty decent plastic and metal ones or composite and metal ones, and they're quarterly good. Uh, I know people that, uh, were on a budget and they make their own. Nothing wrong with that. The reason I didn't make my own is I like them to fold up and lock in because I am short on space.

[00:17:49] Eric Goranson: And so if I can make it where I'm short on space and uh, save some space, takes up a whole lot less thing. It's no different than like my lawnmower. Why? One of the main reasons I love that electric lawnmower is [00:18:00] it'll fold up and go on end. And so it takes up 20% of the square footage. When I have the gar, when put that in the shed, then I do anywhere else.

[00:18:09] Eric Goranson: And space is key. And if you can fold things up and get 'em outta the way, it makes for a smarter tool. And that works out well for everybody. All right, we come back, we've got so many more little, uh, home improvement, top 10 DIY tools. We've been cranking through these. We've got so many more to talk about as well as we'll talk about, uh, some brands of how they're all related as well, just so you can understand that, because that's a key.

[00:18:34] Eric Goranson: We'll do that just as soon is around the house returns.

[00:18:51] Eric Goranson: Now, not from you. Not from,

[00:18:59] Eric Goranson: [00:19:00] Hey, this is Ron Keel, the metal cowboy from Keel, the Ron Kehl Band and Steeler. We are rocking around the house with Eric. Ray is your best. Welcome back to The Round the House Show. This is where we hope you get the most outta your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today. Well, I wanted to talk, we've been talking about the top 10 DIY tools that you should have in your toolbox, but here's one thing I wanted to talk about is tool brands who owns who, who's related in the family, and so there's a lot of different main companies out.

[00:19:39] Eric Goranson: For instance, T T I, which is a big parent company, they own Milwaukee, rigid Hoover Stiletto, hammers, home Light Heart, Ryobi Dirt Devil Empire, levels A E G, ORIC and vax, [00:20:00] so that they're a little bit different. And I'll say this from my experience working with this company. Other companies tend to use some of the same parts throughout, and the designs are very similar.

[00:20:14] Eric Goranson: Not so much with T T I. They pretty much keep a decent arms length between Milwaukee and rbi. Those are two different brands. They're two different, you know how they deal with it. The Milwaukee hammers are way different than the stiletto hammers, and so that's the big difference there. Now there's another one here, which is a big brand Apex tool group.

[00:20:42] Eric Goranson: Lot of smaller companies that you're familiar with. Weller soldering irons, sata.co, Clearco, Nicholson, wis, you know those really cool SNPs? Gearing Campbell Apex, Armstrong like Jobbox, HK P Allen Jacobs, Peltzer, master [00:21:00] Power Crescent. Crescent Tools, Lufkin, and Excel. Those guys are all different, all small companies and uh, really cool stuff.

[00:21:09] Eric Goranson: Now, the other big behemoth in here, there's a few of them, Stanley Black and Decker. You have DeWalt Stanley Irwin, proto Lennox, Lista Porter Cable. Uh, Bostich Blacken Decker Mac Tools, Vladimir Craftsman and Powers. Now, one thing I have noted and I'm, I'm a no problem with Stanley Blacken Decker many times, and of course in there that with that craftsman, I have taken apart the DeWalt, the craftsman, and the Porter cable drills.

[00:21:55] Eric Goranson: Many times in those, if you find the similar ones, they are very [00:22:00] similar on the inside with the only difference is really being the battery system and the charging system. But the batteries, you tear 'em apart many times are different and I'm not sure about the quality. I do not sit there and go, okay, this is what this is.

[00:22:14] Eric Goranson: I'm not too worried about that. As far as every little piece of quality, I would assume maybe that there's a little better parts in the DeWalt and there would be the porter cable just looking. Price point and maybe Craftsman would be in the middle there someplace, but I'm guessing. But, uh, I tell you what, a lot of the things, if you look at 'em, the parts seem to be very similar between those and some of the other ones.

[00:22:38] Eric Goranson: I'm gonna skip over some of the ones you're not familiar with, some of a lot of the smaller brands, but for instance, Husqvarna Group, you got Husqvarna Polson Pro, um, Garina, weed Eater. McCulloch and a bunch of other smaller brands. Great stuff. And then when you get into K K R, they're pretty [00:23:00] big. You've got Mat, uh, Metabo, uh, hiku, you know, all those different ones.

[00:23:05] Eric Goranson: And then you get over to Bosch. There's another one, Freud, Dremel, roto, Zipp Diablo, Vermont American, and uh, C S T Burger. So that's part of that Bosch group. And then here's one too. That's interesting. Shervin. You got ego skills, saw Hammerhead, Davon, flex Skill, Kura and Tron, and then you have Sunrise, which is Greenworks and Greenworks Pro.

[00:23:36] Eric Goranson: So that's kind of the main big tool brands out there. Uh, and so those are all very similar than that. So something to think about. Some of these are, are very similar and some of them are way different depending. How each company is run. So something very much to think about when you're talking about dealing and choosing those companies and what you wanna work [00:24:00] with.

[00:24:00] Eric Goranson: So speaking about a great tool, having a good hammer or sets of hammers in hammers, you go, ah, hammers a hammer. No, I like to have a framing hammer. I like to have a finish hammer. I like to have a demo hammer. I like to have a sledgehammer. You see where I'm going with this? And there's shingle hammers.

[00:24:27] Eric Goranson: There's a lot of other things that you can have. There's axes, there's a lot of different things that are, that are a mix of that, but you don't want to be doing, using your framing hammer for demo. I prefer to use those as two different cuz I, my framing hammer is important. And you can really mess up the waffle head on it.

[00:24:50] Eric Goranson: And I like to have a smooth hammerhead versus a waffle head for demo. And if you get the right demo hammer, it'll [00:25:00] have like a notch in the handle with a metal handle. . I've got one that's made by DeWalt that has a notch in the handle where I can actually twist a stud with it. It'll actually, a stud will fit in there, and if I need a twist, a stud loose, I can do that.

[00:25:13] Eric Goranson: So having the right hammer is a big one, and that really makes a difference as far as that goes. Now here's the next one here. That's really important, A good set of levels, and usually a level set. I'm gonna have like a six. Maybe a four foot or a three foot, you know, a little 18 to 24 inch one and a couple little small one.

[00:25:40] Eric Goranson: Small ones are great, but my, one of my favorites is if you've got something with a magnet, because if you're working with something metal, it is amazing to be able to set it on there. Like empire, they have one of my favorite levels. I have one that has a lit, so if I'm in, uh, a dark place and I'm trying to level something, I could turn on the L e D light and it's bright blue and I can see it.

[00:25:59] Eric Goranson: [00:26:00] Another one for doing projects that's great is I do have a, uh, Milwaukee one that is digital. And that one's cool when you're working by yourself because you can set it, let's say I'm working on something where I'm g grading it and I need a 3% slope. I can set that to 3% and it'll beep at me when I get to the right spot.

[00:26:20] Eric Goranson: And that's really cool because let's say I'm building a ramp or I'm building something that needs to grade away from the house, or even I'm doing some plumbing work where it needs to have the. If I'm putting a b s drain pipe together and I'm getting ready to glue it, I know that I can glue it when it goes beep.

[00:26:37] Eric Goranson: All right, I'm there. I can mark it, cut it glue. It makes life a lot easier with some of those things, especially when you're working by yourself. Cuz if you can't see that, It makes it really nice. And so, uh, that just charges up via u sb and you can always have that thing charged up. So take a look at levels, l good levels will last you.

[00:26:56] Eric Goranson: And please, please treat your levels like they're [00:27:00] dynamite. Do not drop them around. Do not beat them up. Beat up levels. Don't work as well unless you get really, really good ones. But a lot of those, you can bend a lot of those. You can, um, cause 'em where you've got a real problem. I mean, you can get some really good ones that are pretty tough, but I'll be honest, if you treat that level correctly, it's gonna last you a lifetime and, uh, clean 'em up.

[00:27:25] Eric Goranson: Uh, there's even concrete levels out there that you can screed with and it's like a screed and. Uh, a concrete a level, and so not only can you screen off if you're doing a sidewalk, It's got a coating on there where the concrete won't stick very easily, and so when it starts to dry up, you can go through and do that.

[00:27:43] Eric Goranson: So it's really trick. It's something to consider with that. All right. Hey guys. Uh, before we go out to break here, uh, if you're listening on the radio, thanks for tuning in and, uh, we'd love to hear you on the radio. Feel free to get ahold of that. Uh, station and tell 'em thank you for carrying around the house, and make sure you follow those [00:28:00] advertisers because they're the ones that keep this show on the air.

[00:28:02] Eric Goranson: This is not a pay for play infomercial on the radio. This is a show that those advertisers pay for, same as the ones here in the show as well, and they keep this show going. All right, everybody. Well, we'll be back after these important messages because I've got three more to hit and then we will have covered my top 10 important.

[00:28:21] Eric Goranson: DIY tools that everybody should have. We'll do that just as soon as around the house. Returns don't go.[00:29:00]

[00:29:00] Eric Goranson: Strong gets the end of the show. The drinking down people, it's time to go. It's that time again, it's last call. Last night. Welcome back to The Round the House Show. This is where we help you get the most outta your home through information and education. Thanks for joining us today, guys. Really appreciate it.

[00:29:18] Eric Goranson: It's, uh, you out there that has been doing such a great job of keeping on top of us and listening every single week, and we do appreciate it. Now, coming up here, this next. Month. We have so many great in-depth interviews with some of the latest products coming out that you're not gonna want to miss. So do not miss these next couple months cuz we've got a lot of great stuff coming up and we'll be talking to some very important people out there in the world of DIY construction design and home improvements.

[00:29:47] Eric Goranson: So you don't want to miss that. Now, back to our top 10 really list of tools that everybody should have. F you need more than 10 tools. So I'm just gonna give you my top 10 that I think are really important. The [00:30:00] next one is gonna be a really good screwdriver, multi-tool. Now if you've got the storage space, lots of different screwdrivers, 20 or 30 of them, man, that's handy.

[00:30:10] Eric Goranson: But if you just are trying to get started, that's screwdriver with 15, 20, 30 B. Gets you a long ways. I use mine probably the most because if I'm working on a project, I can have it in my pocket or tool belt and I'm not carrying another dozen tools around with me. So if I need that little, you know, Phillips or the Big Phillips, or the big flat blade or any one of the torques, I've got it in my pocket and it works well.

[00:30:39] Eric Goranson: Nothing wrong with some great screwdrivers and a big tip. One of the ones I do like a lot are they do make. Screwdrivers that are almost like demo screwdrivers with a metal end on 'em so you can actually hammer on them. Those can be really handy when you're using it for taking something apart or you need to pry into [00:31:00] something.

[00:31:00] Eric Goranson: It's like a screwdriver and a pry bar all at the same time, or almost like a little chisel in a way. So those can be really handy. Those make life a lot easier. Now, here's probably one of the biggest ones for doing little projects around. Having a good full set of pliers. I just upgraded mine. I've got the new crescent set, so I've got, uh, the needle, nose, the, uh, slip, joint or gas pliers.

[00:31:29] Eric Goranson: I've got, uh, a handful of different small, large pliers. And I tell you what, for cutting wire, stripping wire to, um, you know, to taking a faucet in a sink or whatever apart, having that decent set of pli. Is like priceless. And mine, I've had some of my other ones for 15, 20 years and I've really noticed that I have worn the teeth down on 'em.

[00:31:54] Eric Goranson: And yes, you can really start to wear those out. Uh, I used these again for the first time. I got a [00:32:00] new set here in the last month. And man, I tell you what, having a good set of pliers that are refreshed, I should have replaced those things a few years ago because mine were fairly well worn. And in that too, if you're gonna go into P Player world, um, I'm a big fan of having some locking like, you know, vice grip style as well.

[00:32:21] Eric Goranson: If you're doing projects kinda like clamps, uh, if you're doing projects, those are priceless because, uh, especially when I've got some big ones that I use for like welding things together. If I'm gonna do some metal work welding, that stuff can work really well and you could hold things together. And, uh, without having to damage the surface, you can basically pinch those together, weld it up, and then pop it off and, uh, you can adjust it and it works out really well.

[00:32:47] Eric Goranson: So that is a key right there, is that really good set of pliers and, uh, new ones you might be due for some new ones. Now, the last one here, and I'm gonna have some, uh, [00:33:00] asterisks here of, of some honorable mentions on my top 10. Great safety gear. Really good safety glasses. Buy some nice ones. Don't go buy the cheap ones.

[00:33:12] Eric Goranson: Cheap ones aren't comfortable. They fog up. You know, your eyes are expensive to care for. Get really, really good ones and that will make a huge difference. And I've got a lot of different ones. I get, um, I've got some of the Milwaukee ones that don't fog up. Those are cool. Nothing wrong with that. I've got some of the more throwaway.

[00:33:35] Eric Goranson: Ones that you know, they're, I tell you what they're, they're cool and they're throwaway, but here's the ones that I absolutely love. I just got these and they're from Strider Eyewear. Holy smokes. These are like things that like Navy [00:34:00] Seals wear out in the. And I was really surprised at how well these worked.

[00:34:09] Eric Goranson: So these are actually made, the brand name is I Formm, so I dash form. These guys make glasses for everybody out there, but these are the most durable, comfortable, safety glasses I've ever had. They're not close. I mean, these guys have like 10 patents on these things and they look good. And they meet all the antsy ballistic standards.

[00:34:36] Eric Goranson: They are flexible, they're hard to break, and they give you great protection. Uh, and I'll be honest, some of the cheap ones, when they're curved, I get. Ice strained because of the curved lenses, right? My eyes get tired and so these here, they've actually designed them to reduce that ice strain and fatigue, and [00:35:00] they've also got UV protection built into 'em, and that no distortion in the optics of it is key.

[00:35:07] Eric Goranson: And then they've got anti-fog coatings. That is like priceless. Who has ever used a mask? It's like through pandemic times, you're in the mask and you're a glassware. I'm sorry. Life is miserable when you have to wear a a mask and it leaks around your nose and it's just you're fogged up a hundred percent of the time.

[00:35:28] Eric Goranson: But having something that's comfortable that fits well and protects you. You are golden. So, uh, that's over@iformmeyewear.com. They're one of my favorite ones. And you can buy, you know, a few of those in last years. So these guys do home improvement stuff all the way up to the tactical and military. So they've got a, a, a long thing, long list of things that they do.

[00:35:54] Eric Goranson: So something to consider. And then here's the last. [00:36:00] That's on here. Another asterisk that I have, uh, that I wanted to talk about, really some good ladders, something that's rated for you. You know, having that six foot step ladder is a key, really. You want to have a ladder that's gonna go up as high as you're comfortable going up and as high as you need to go up mixed with something.

[00:36:27] Eric Goranson: If you have that old wooden rickety ladder, time to let that thing go. Fiberglass is the way to go, especially when you're working on electrical things. Fiberglass can be tough and having the right ladders and knowing how to use it. And so we're not gonna get into the whole safety speech on it, but there's nothing more dangerous.

[00:36:47] Eric Goranson: That's the most d. Thing out there is being on the ladder. More people get hurt on ladders than they do with power tools, even table saws. And I know plenty of people that have [00:37:00] nearly died or have died because of a ladder accident, and most of these people were below 12 feet high. So, Plenty stuff happens.

[00:37:12] Eric Goranson: I know people that have fallen off eight foot ladders and I, and I've almost lost friends that way. So it's something to really think about. And so that's the key right there. Hey, message me over on Facebook round the House Show, and if you want, uh, over there, or you can hit us somewhere at, uh, around the house online at my website.

[00:37:30] Eric Goranson: And if you've got something that you think is one of your favorite tools, I'd love to hear back from. So send me a message over there and, uh, next, uh, next couple weeks, we'll see if we can put that on the show. If you send me it, uh, I'll, uh, give you a shout out in the show. If you want to hear your name on here, we'll do it.

[00:37:46] Eric Goranson: So tell me what your favorite tool is and uh, what it is and I'll read those on the air for you and, uh, maybe we can have a little bit of debate and then, uh, you know, we're not gonna get into debris. I don't wanna go. DeWalt is better than [00:38:00] this, or Milwaukee's better than this. I don't wanna get into the, the Forge Chevy Dodge Toyota debate.

[00:38:05] Eric Goranson: Okay, guys. But, uh, I think that's one of those things that can be really important. Well, we've got some great shows coming up here as well. We're just not gonna get into that negative stuff. But coming, coming forward, I've got some great stuff, some interviews that, uh, down here this week at Design and Construction Week, I've got some great stuff coming ahead.

[00:38:23] Eric Goranson: Everything from, uh, our friends at DuPont. We're gonna talk tile with Dow Tile. We're gonna be talking with Simpson Door. Uh, we've got a lot of great people that we've talked to that are gonna come up on the air in some great interviews and, uh, it's very exciting to see what we've got coming ahead here in February and March four.

[00:38:46] Eric Goranson: Around the house, so I really appreciate it. And make sure you get over to that Fox 12 app if you're outside of the Portland area here, anywhere in the country. And, uh, you can find that and, uh, catch the TV show here on the 18th. All right. The music's in the [00:39:00] background. That means I gotta go. Thanks for listening to Around the House.