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I've got $300 to spend at Home Depot. What tools do you guys recommend to have a good general garage setup?

Right now, I mostly just have tool box stuff. Sockets, wrenches, pliers, etc... I also already have a nice cordless impact wrench.

What should I get? Air compressor? Welder? Garage infrastructure like lighting, workbench, etc?

In order -

Sawzall
110v Mig Welder
Circular Saw
Air Compressor

Cool.

Other things to think about - I don't have a drill or tap and die set. Would you rank those as a priority? Are cordless drills pretty capable these days or are they bulky and weak?

I would definately recommend a good tap and die set but I don't believe you'll get that good of one from Home Depot. Hold off on that until you can drop 80 dollars for a good set. When it comes to taps and dies, you definately get what you pay for and it's worth it to get a good set.

As far as drills. Depends on what you're wanting to do. Today's cordless drills are pretty nice but they will still wear out. If you're just doing misc. stuff here and there get a good 14-18v cordless. If you're planning on doing a lot of work go ahead and get a corded drill. However, if you've made it this far without one ... just get yourself a good cordless drill - and that would rank above the welder but below the sawzall.

Do you have an angle grinder?

I think first you need to figure out what you want to be working on/making. basically just buy whatever tool you need for the job, you will use it again probably.
300 is about what you are going to spend for any mig worth buying, and a used one at that. just the machine, not including gas, wire, hood, gloves etc. so maybe that is out. of course you can go with a crappy flux core machine, but for the beginner I really dont recomend that. the crudeness and lack of versatility of the cheap machines makes them very frustrating for the beginner.
if you really want a welder, get a brand name such as a miller, lincoln, esab, etc.
look on craigslist for a big solid old desk or even a workbench.
power tools:
cordless 14.4 dewalt
4.5" angle grinder(get a harbor freight one for $8 on sale, clean the brushes when it stops working)
sawzall
drill motor(buy a used cheapie from craigslist)
maybe a circular saw if youre making stuff out of wood or cutting a lot of thick metal.
hand tools:
hacksaw
files(get good ones)

A tap and die set is very good to have, but Home Depot probably isn't the place to get it. You want metric stuff, and you want non-overpriced stuff.

I have an 18-volt Black & Decker cordless drill that's pretty capable. I haven't torture-tested it or anything, but I have drilled through carbon steel plate and stainless steel sheet pretty easily.

I think $300 would go a long way towards getting a decent air compressor and some starter tools, which you actually can get for decent prices at Home Depot. Don't even bother with the ones with tiny tanks though.

How soon do you have to spend it? If you can wait a little, they usually have pretty good sales on these things every once in a while. On the right day $300 could probably get you a 26-gallon compressor, some hose, some fittings, and a couple of air tools to start with.

Do you already have a nice barbecue grill? =)

well...coming from a Home Depot Hardware and Tools employee...

If you're going to get a drill and want a solid one that isn't used at "contractor" level, meaning hardcore day in and day out, go with a Ridgid, but if you want the full heavy use drill, go with Makita-much more pricey though-but its worth it, avoid DeWalt drills at all costs-I know I know I know, "DeWalts are good right?" yes they are good, but they are not anywhere near as good what you'll pay for them, you can buy the same quality drill as DeWalt just with a different paint job for easily 25% less.
Or, get whatever brand and battery size your impact wrench is, that way you can use all their batteries interchangeably.

Air compressors are a bit out of the price range(in order to get hoses, tools, etc). And not one of those "oil free" shitty compressors. But if you are going that way, the DeWalt Emglo compressor kicks the most ass of anything made Along with Ridgid's nail guns and Husky's Air Tool line.

I'd go elsewhere than Home Depot to buy welders, some of the stuff is good, but all in all, its not any cheaper than a welding specialist shop and lacks in options, plus, us employees received practically no training on them, so we're of very little help.

You might think about a mitre saw(go with a DeWalt 10") or definitely skid542's thoughts on a Recip saw or circ saw.

Also, check the combo kits near the front of the tool corral, some are down in the $300s for a 3 or 4 piece set, best bargin(just do NOT get Ryobi ever that stuff is the biggest piece of garbage ever made!!)-at a training event I was able to blow the motor on one in under 2 mins doing the job the same battery drill of another brand was easily able to complete.

Also-consider getting a RotoZip-very handy tool, its like a Dremel on crack, their small and pretty powerful, and have lots of uses.

Hope that wasn't too long for ya...hit me back if you need anything else.

Don't settle on an impact gun. Spend the few hundred bucks and get an Ingersol Rand gun. I have a junky one from Home Depot, and it can't loosen the easiest of bolts.

If I had $300 to Home Depot, I'd get a BIG compressor, or trade someone for $300 to spend at Sears. Craftsman tools are a good investment. Not as nice, or durable as Snap-On, but the lifetime warranty is a really good thing to have.

It's always nice to have a dremmel. Get the big kit, it's worth it.

But, you could always sell the gift certificate for cash for more goodies on the Legacy.

p.s. this was my 800th post (woohoo)

For $300, I would just get a real nice electric impact gun and corresponding set of impact sockets. Search my posts for the word 'impact' and see the one I got.

It's really, really come in handy many times already.

Yes...don't buy a welder for $300!!

Any of the Lincoln machines that HD/Lowes sells are not near the quality of the ones that you would buy at a place like Airgas or Industrial Welding Supply.

An industrial Lincoln 135 (which is what I bought last Thursday btw )

will run you $600 for the machine, about $170 for a 92 Cubic Foot bottle filled with 75/25 Mix, then you would want a 11lb spool of wire, which is $40, and a hood, which if you get a good one is $50 at the lowest.


I am a proponent of the Rotozip and Sawzall recommendations...I use both quite a bit on the Leg-er-cy

As was mentioned earlier, cheap welders aren't good. The crappy $100 ones are just sad, $300 can't be much better.

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Great recommendations, guys. Right now I think my favorites are the air compressor, drill, or the rotozip/dremel set.

I've already got the Dewalt heavy duty cordless impact but I'll eventually have to get an air version too, because the cordless is so damn big you can't fit it in front of any bolt in the car except the lug nuts! A friend of a friend designed it for Dewalt so I got her signature on it. Another really close friend is doing Dewalt's 36V line. Both female engineers. Who'd have thunk.

AWD_addict wrote:As was mentioned earlier, cheap welders aren't good. The crappy $100 ones are just sad, $300 can't be much better.

$300 buys a used name brand, which in some ways is better than new. you buy a $300 used lincoln, you sell it for 300 whenever you want to upgrade or whatever. you buy a new one for 500-700, you take that big hit when you want to sell it. most of the nice ones are fully rebuildable and pretty durable anyway so no real worries about getting used. plus you can find the folks who bought a welder and it just sat in the garage with like 1 spool of wire through it, ever, a lot of those out there.

Mine was one of those "sat in the garage" cases, and it was still $600

Granted it is immaculate...and 5 months old...with a bottle and cart

Milwaukee has their 28V line, if you're gonna get that high of voltage...36V it'll be so heavy you might as well just get the corded drill and fight the cord instead...

You obviously haven't seen Sam's guns.

206er wrote:$300 buys a used name brand, which in some ways is better than new. you buy a $300 used lincoln, you sell it for 300 whenever you want to upgrade or whatever. you buy a new one for 500-700, you take that big hit when you want to sell it. most of the nice ones are fully rebuildable and pretty durable anyway so no real worries about getting used. plus you can find the folks who bought a welder and it just sat in the garage with like 1 spool of wire through it, ever, a lot of those out there.

Sounds like a good way to trade up. I think he was looking at new ones, I've never seen Home Depot sell used stuff.

I try to avoid home depot. I was talking about finding them in the paper or craigslist.

Right, that's probably how I'll get a welder too if I ever get around to it.

funny, Im going to look at a millermatic challenger 172 this evening.