My first tool kit

The lessons your kids learn with a tool kit will last a lifetime. These durable tools should make it pretty far, too.

50 mm putty knife

The small width makes scraping paint a little easier to manage.

Ratcheting magnetic screwdriver

Multiple screw heads in one tool. Plus, the crisp ratcheting action makes driving screws easier and less tiring.

475-mm steel toolbox

Big enough to fit their tools, small enough that they should still be able to pick it up. And it looks good covered in stickers.

Ryobi HJP004 12-volt compact -cordless drill driver

This 12-volt drill packs a punch, but it’s also small and easy to handle.

Stanley Fatmax 20-220 Cushion Grip Multi Saw

Mount a metal-cutting or a wood-cutting blade from a reciprocating saw in this handle and you have a hacksaw and a wood saw, all in the same tool.

Locking pliers

It has a hundred uses, from removing a stripped bolt to acting as a replacement handle on some broken thingamabob.

20 mm wood chisel

An introduction to precision hand tools, the chisel can cut out hinge mortises and shave a piece of wood for a better fit.

Stanley 84-058 4-piece pliers set

Most pliers sets contain tools that are several centimetres smaller than what you would get if you bought them one at a time. Good for small hands.

Safety glasses

They’re going to need those eyes later.

Stanley tape measure

A 3-metre is lighter than a 10-metre model and handles any project most kids will have. Adults, too.

Dewalt DW1177 20-piece black-oxide metal drill bit set

Covers every size they should need until they move on to advanced projects, and the set is tough enough to stand up to beginner’s mistakes that would snap other bits.

30-piece hex key set

The full set is worth a few extra rand, since it reduces the likelihood of your kid rummaging through your tools to find the one hex key their kit doesn’t have.

Rafter square

More than a tool, a square is a geometry lesson. The built world relies on the 90-degree angle. This tool checks corners, helps set up layout string, and does a dozen other jobs.

N 450-gram straight claw hammer

A claw hammer is a tool a kid can grow with. It’ll drive anything from a finish nail to a framing spike. Pull anything, too.

Socket set

No need to get carried away. If they need more sockets, they can borrow one of yours, so long as they remember to put it back.