Basic Tools for Electrical Work
Put together a basic electrical tool kit so you can handle those electrical repairs, maintenance and improvements yourself. You don't need much and some of these tools will be handy for other things. Buy the best you can afford. They last a long time when taken care of and better tools are more precise and easier to use. Does this Spark an idea?
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Electrical Tape
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You don't need much of this so spend a bit more for the good stuff. The best will be rated for all weather so it will stay stuck when it's cold or hot. The good tape won't turn into a pile of black goo in your toolbox either. Besides wrapping wire nuts and sometimes fixing a nicked wire, you will also use the black version of this to label wires as "hot" when you have to use wires of a color other than black or red for that purpose. It also does not hurt to have a roll of this in white so you can label a wire as a neutral when necessary.
Wire Connectors
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Electricians tend to call these Wire-Nuts, but that's a brand. You tie two wires together with them. Each manufacturer color codes their own. Read the label on the box to find out how many wires and of what size you can connect. Orange, yellow and red are common for household electrical.
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Screwdrivers
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One flat tipped and one Phillips tipped will handle most of the screws you come across. The flat tip will also come in handy for prying covers off boxes and fixtures. Get a couple of each in the smaller sizes--a 3/16 and ¼ in the flat tipped, and a #1 and #2 in Phillips.
Needle Nosed Pliers
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Get these with insulated handles. The cheap ones will break sooner or won't give you much grabbing power when you have to work near the ends of the tips. These are especially handy for bending wire when you have to wrap it around screws.
Side Cutting Pliers
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These long-handled pliers make it easy to cut through electrical cable and twist wires together. They also come in handy as a knockout remover. Be sure they have insulated handles.
Circuit Tester
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The simple versions of these are just a light with a couple of wires. You touch the red wire to a wire or terminal, and the black wire to a ground. The light turns on when power is present. These are fine for telling you if there is power to something, but if you need to find or confirm voltages, you will find a volt meter more useful.
Wire Stripper
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Buy a good one that has the holes for the different sizes of wire. That way you won't be nicking the wire, or your fingers.
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References
- Photo Credit electrician image by Greg Pickens from Fotolia.com
