Gift Ideas
Over $100

JUST TOOLS !

HammerZone's HandyManly Gift Guide

By Bruce W. Maki, Editor

Also See: Index... Under $10... $10 to $25... $25 to $50... $50 to $100...
What If He's Already Got That Tool?...

Splurge Gifts:

Gift Ideas - Tools Over $100:

Any serious power tool that the handy guy wants... if you know what he wants.
Fein Multi-Master or competing brands of oscillating cutting tools.
Set of GOOD-QUALITY cordless power tools, such as Makita or DeWalt 18 volt, Milwaukee V28, etc. Beware of low-power cordless tools, especially circular saws, which run out of juice quickly.
Pneumatic nail guns, such as a brad nailer or finish nail gun.
Bench Power Tools: Miter saw... table saw... 4"x36" belt sander. Those were the first 3 bench power tools I bought, in that order, way back in the mid-90's. All Craftsman, and I still use them.

Small Air Compressor:

I bought this Craftsman 1 Horsepower air compressor at Sears in 2006. This compressor has a cast iron cylinder sleeve, which lasts forever. However, this compressor is oil-lubricated, which means the oil needs to be changed periodically. Also, if you leave this machine out in your cold garage in winter, the oil gets thick and the compressor struggles to get started. But once it has run for few minutes, it's fine.

There are many oil-free compressors that are excellent values.

Small Craftsman air compressor with cast iron sleeve.

Air Compressors From Amazon

Oil-Free
Light-Duty

Oil-Lubricated
Medium-Duty

Cordless Impact Driver:

I bought this Makita 12 volt cordless impact driver in 2003, and by far this is the power tool I use the most.

Makita has replaced this tool with an 18 volt impact driver which you can see on Amazon.

Tool Chests:

This Craftsman roller cabinet and tool chest has ball-bearing drawer slides that open easily, even when loaded with heavy tools.

I bought this set at Sears in 2006 for $400 (on sale). It was a Christmas present to myself.

This is a great gift for anybody who is a serious mechanic. It sounds trivial, but the smooth-rolling drawers make work a lot easier when you are tearing apart an engine and you need to find tools quickly.

I also own similar-sized economy-grade tool chests/cabinets that don't have ball-bearing drawers. They work okay for light-weight tools, but if I put any heavy tools in those deeper drawers they are hard to open.

Craftsman tool chest and roller cabinet, with ball bearing drawer slides.

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