"Essential Tools"

[DonRotolo]

For the electrical world:

Solderless terminal crimping pliers - but spend the extra money to buy a ratcheting crimper (about $40), that way every crimp will be perfect.

Cutting pliers (able to cut up to #6 wire, which is about the thickness of a pencil) aka 'diagonal pliers'

Good needle-nose pliers

Good stripping tool. Ideally the "automatic" strippers, which have a spring-loaded system to grip and cut the insulation, not the cheap kind that looks like pliers, nor the 'self-adjusting' kind.

Cheap soldering iron plus solder - $10 at Radio Shack, 25 watts. And please, always wash your hands with soap and water after touching solder!

For the rest:

Safety Goggles - at least one pair for every person. Get the good ones, like the $6 ones at Harbor Freight that have the cord to hold them around your neck. CHEAP goggles are AWFUL to wear and use, and nobody will WANT to use them. Decent goggles are not even noticed, fit over glasses, and you can forget that you have them on - everyone will be willing to use these.

Hearing protection - even cheap foam ear plugs. Don't damage your hearing just yet, wait for college at least... A few double-cord dust masks (the kind with 2 rubber bands, not just one) for every time anyone is making dust. Believe me, if you think tobacco is bad for your lungs, try lexan. Several pairs of cotton work gloves.

Plus hacksaws (and blades), files (flat, round, half-round), drill bits (up to 1/2", plus a few uni-bits), an electric drill, tape measures & rulers, sharpie markers, a center punch, a scratch awl, masking tape, wrenches (as mentioned previously), a ball-peen hammer, a rubber or plastic mallet, a bench vice (as large as you can afford), ratchet or C-clamps in several sizes, a chain breaker for #35 chain, a razor knife, a hot-melt glue gun and glue sticks, screwdrivers in seveal sizes (flat, philips), decent protractor...

That's a good partial list.

Note that there is NO Duct Tape on the list, there's a reason for that.

Don