This Father’s Day tools list is a quick run down of my go-to tools from cutting to fastening to organization to storage. If you missed the first list, click here and check out more gift ideas for the DIY dad.
Table Saw
If your DIY dad doesn’t have a table saw yet, or needs one that’s portable, this is the tool I’d recommend for a Father’s Day tool gift idea.
I use the Skil 10-inch portable table saw. Of all the tables saws I’ve seen—and I’v done two category reviews of most of the most recent models—the Skil does the most the best. First, it’s actually portable.
That is not the case with many other models. I can carry it alone, get through doors and up stairs and I can store it easily in my truck. The included folding leg kit is best—forget best, ONLY—in-class saw stand. It’s built into the saw and is super stable. The angled dust chute should be building code. Light, portable, powerful.
Stool
Another handy tool for DIY dads is a step stool or a step ladder.
I have a stepladder. But I don’t always need a step ladder. Sometimes, I need to be just a little bit taller, say casing a door, installing a storm door, or wrapping old porch posts or to reach something at or near the ceiling. When that’s the case, I use the impossible-to-believe-how-handy-it-is Worx Storage Step-Stool.
I don’t store anything in it, though I could—one person mentioned it’d be a good place for first aid stuff. No, I use it as a step ladder substitute when I don’t need to drag a step ladder around. Makes a handy bench to sit down on, too. Solid and well built.
Stapler
I love using narrow crown staples on my trim and assembly projects. Narrow crown staples bite hard and rarely blow out. Yes, they leave a larger hole to fill, but the connection works. Take casing a door. I assemble the head jamb and jamb legs on a table. Or the floor, stapling through the miter in each other. That’s just enough grab to enable me to pick the three pieces up as a unit and install them.
Back in our TV series production days, we sped up the drywall cycle by not using drywall. We’d “panel” rooms with 1/4-inch luan plywood and stiles made from 1-by. Narrow crown staples for the win. We could have a paint-ready room in a couple of hours instead of a couple of days waiting for joint compound to dry. I use it wrapping old porch columns and we used it like crazy on the Acre by Modern Mill privacy screens we build. Mine is a Hitachi, now Metabo HPT. My friend has the newly branded tool and near as I can tell it’s the same gun.
There are endless amount of projects that can be accomplished with this stapler, and many DIY dads would be happy to have it in the workshop of tools.
Tape Measure
Stanley Fat Max 25-footer all day for me. I’ve tried different tapes over the last year or so and have come back to Ole Faithful. The stand-out is what I need. The blades last a good long time (Tip: If you get the blade wet, just pull the whole thing out at the end of the day and wipe it down with a cloth).
And the recoill is, unlike these other tapes I’ve tried, happily sub-sonic. Crisp, easy-to-read markings, even for an OG like me.
NOTE: No, these companies haven’t paid us to mention these tools. And, yes, we may earn a commission on some of them if you click the links, which helps support our website and keeps the integrity in our content. We don’t post about products we haven’t tried and we always share our honest opinion.
Check out more DIY dad tools and gear gift ideas.
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