Must-Have Tools for DIY Beginners

Must-Have Tools all DIY’ers Should Have

If you guys have read some of my other posts on the blog, most likely you know by now I’m all about the DIY life.

It only makes sense that the tools used in DIY projects are also mentioned here on the blog!

Over the years DIY has become a loved hobby (cough… obsession) of mine,

I like to DIY furniture I find in the free section on Craigslist or things I find on the side of the road or in alleyways.

And I enjoy sharing my DIY projects with you all,

like these Hanging wood nightstands and this Scroll Wall Art you see here

It’s a really awesome feeling taking a piece of furniture that someone has given up on, and breathing life back into it with some DIY fun.

AKA a power tool in your hand!

I must be a total weirdo but part of what I love about DIY projects are the sweet power tools I get to play with.

It makes me feel like a hardcore bad***

but of course also,

Creating something you’re proud of to display in your home for years.

I love used furniture, unlike the furniture in stores, every piece tells a story, has history and was a part of someone else’s life.

The projects that you create have the potential to become things you can be passed down to your kids, or maybe they’ll just be a good conversational piece.

The point is I really enjoy doing DIY projects whether it’s rehabbing a piece of loved-in furniture or creating something completely new.

DIY as a hobby has recently gained in popularity for many

The DIY community has grown quite a bit in the last several years.

It’s easy to see why

You get that great feeling after you’ve finished (power tool still in hand), you explore your creativity, plus you’re able to save a ton of money!

Heck,

people even make a business out of it and make money!

With this in mind, I was reminded of when I first started out

I’d be looking through my Pinterest feed and saving Pin after Pin of DIY projects I was anxious to try

Unfortunately, they’d just sit in my boards forever a tease because I didn’t have the proper tools and materials to do the job.

It was overwhelming trying to figure out what projects were too ambitious to tackle at first, or knowing what tools would be most important to buy for a beginner like me.

There are so many questions that would come to mind…

What tools should I get first?

What brand should I buy?

Why was there such a big price difference between them all?

All these tools talk about the amount of power they all have, how much do I actually need?

Was it really that important that tool A had this additional feature that made it $20 more expensive than tool B that didn’t have that feature?

In the end, I’d get discouraged and put all the projects I wanted to try on the back burner.

Not being confident enough to make the necessary purchases I needed to get the ball rolling.

I know that this is a common situation for beginner DIYers starting out, just like it was for me

So I thought I’d dedicate today’s post going over a list (of what I think are) must-have tools for the beginner DIY’ers toolbox.

Including some commonly used supplies!

The tools you should have in your toolbox really will depend on what kind of projects you’re tackling.

For instance,

I wrote a post where I share how to re-create this DIY Scroll Wall Art, that I was seeing all over my social media account.

This DIY project does not require the use of a table saw.

However, if you’re doing DIY projects like my Hanging Wood Nightstands, there are some power tools that really come in handy.

Keep in mind

Even beginner DIY projects will sometimes require the use of power tools early on.

So let’s get down to the List of Tools all Beginner DIYers Should Have!

You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised how affordable these tools can be.

You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to get the ball rolling.

In fact, you shouldn’t spend too much until you know you love DIY projects and plan on making it a pretty frequent hobby.

Even then a lot of the beginner tools will suffice.

The Brand

I am a huge supporter of Ryobi tools.

Their products are incredibly affordable and are great quality for the price you pay.

In fact, with the exception of a couple of my tools, all of my power tools are Ryobi brand.

Before I continue,

I want to quickly make it clear that this is not a sponsored post, I am not getting paid to promote Ryobi tools or the products I mention.

Everything I’ll be recommending in this post, I’ll be recommending because I’ve personally used them and I truly love them.

However, there may be affiliate links included in this post, and if you use the links I provide to make a purchase I may receive a small commission.

However, it will be at no expense to you what so ever.

If I receive any commission from a purchase you make, you will not be paying any more than if you didn’t use my links.

Alright, moving on…

Some of these tools below I purchased in a set because it was cheaper to buy the kit, plus it included a bag to put them in, but you can buy these separately.

Power Tools

Electric Staple Gun – Ideally a power staple gun. The one I have here but honestly any gun will do, but a manual one will start to hurt your hand after a while so I highly recommend an electric for maybe a few bucks more!
Ryobi Cordless Sander (Battery Not Included)
Hot Glue Gun with 30 Glue Sticks
Critter Spray Gun

Ryobi 4 Tool Kit – This is the exact Ryobi power tool kit I got and I LOVE it! All the tools are cordless, which you’ll realize is a real plus when working on projects. It includes:

Power Drill
Table Saw
Reciprocating saw
Flashlight
Plus a charger (Batteries are separate but you should get at least 2 the saws eat up a good amount of power, also the higher the AH the better I have this 2-pack)

The one additional thing you’d need to buy separately for this kit is some type of drill bit and masonry set it doesn’t need to be a big one but should include the basics. I have this one: Ryobi 31-Piece Drilling and Driving Bit Kit for Wood, Metal, Plastic, and Masonry.

Unfortunately, the kit only includes one Flat-head and one Phillips-head attachment.

This set is the one I bought along with my kit and should include more than enough pieces to get you through any of your DIY projects.

I highly recommend buying the tools in a kit, rather than the tools separately because it’s cheaper.

There are a lot of other kits I looked at before choosing just the simple 4-toolset.

After spending a lot of time researching and figuring out what functions all the other tools provided, I decided anything bigger was unnecessary and a waste of money for what I’d be doing.

The Power Drill is SO important,

even if you’re not a DIYer you should really have this in your toolbox anyway, for hanging or building.

I had to use it for my DIY Hanging Wood Nightstand project.

The table saw is something you will use less often for more craft-like projects,

but again for projects like the Wood Nightstands or bigger DIY projects, it’ll be necessary.

The kit also includes one starter blade for the table saw, and one blade for the reciprocating saw so you won’t have to buy those separately either.

I have a project I’ve been meaning to do.

It’ll will require both the table saw and the Reciprocating saw.

A headboard

As you can see from one of the photos above, my bed does not currently have a headboard attached, I’d really like to make one.

The Reciprocating Saw is great for projects that require the need to saw irregular shapes or make non-straight type cuts.

Honestly,

the Flashlight wasn’t necessary, but I didn’t have one so I thought what the heck why not!

The tools in the kit are all 18V ONE+, there are higher powered tools but this has been plenty of power for all of my projects.

As far as the Stapler, Sander, and Critter Spray Gun, what can I say, SO SO SO handy!

Especially for furniture rehabbing specifically, I use mine for every furniture project.

Maybe not the stapler for every project but it’s really great for chair reupholstery.

The Spray gun is great because it cuts down on the amount of time spent on painting so much.

A project you’d paint by hand that would normally take easily a couple hours could be reduced to minutes.

Same goes for the Power Sander.

The Hot Glue Gun is something I think almost all households have anyway, there are not really specific projects to use it with.

But when the time comes you need it and you don’t have one, this is the tool that’s really irritating when missing because you know almost every household in America has one stuffed in their junk drawer or craft box somewhere.

Ok, now on to supplies

Non-Power Tools

Polyurethane
Paint Stripper
Wire cutters
Plyers
Mod Podge
Wood Glue
Lime away – furniture cleaner
Selection of commonly used colors of choice, I always have black and white on hand
Drop Cloth
Painters Tape
Paint brushes various sizes

Alright, guys, this is my list of must-have Tools and Supplies for Beginner DIY’ers