Tool Snob's 2009 Father's Day Gift Guide

Father's Day is June 20th this year, so it's time to start thinking about getting the old man a token of appreciation for all the times he's bailed you out of jail. A nice new tool seems like a fitting gesture, so we've put together a small list of potential gifts.

Nail Jack & Nail Hunter - Since reviewing the Nail Jack a couple months ago, we've only gown more impressed with the tool. Of all of the items that we look at, not many make it into our day-to-day repertoire of tools, but the Nail Jack certainly has and each day it proves its worth. Our full review is here. Nail Jack and Nail Hunter ($25-$30) at Amazon

Skil 7.2 Li-Ion Power Wrench - We've been fans of this tool for a while. It's a versatile around the house screwdriver/right angle drill that can help with any number of small projects. We also just noticed that Amazon is selling it for $22 which is quite a bit lower than the $60 when the tool first hit the market in late '07. Our full review is here. At Amazon

Milwaukee Hackzall - Like the Nail Jack, the more time this tool spends with us, the more useful we find it to be. Just the other day, it was our main weapon in a vicious battle against the bittersweet invasion into our yard. Later that day, we used it to cut a pipe in the basement. Even for the amount of time we've spent with this tool, we're far from discovering all of its uses. Our full review is here. $175 at Amazon

Rockwell JawHorse - It's hard to explain how useful the JawHorse is. It's an extra set of hands, it's a clamp, it's a work station, and it's a sawhorse. Honestly, it doesn't matter if dad's a beginning wood butcher or an experienced cabinet maker, he'll be really into the JawHorse. If you don't believe us, page through the Amazon customer comments. Our full review is here. $180 at Amazon

Subscription to Extreme How-To - There are a million do-it-yourself, construction, and woodworking magazines out there and of all the ones we've read (and we've read thousands), Extreme How-To is one of the best. The articles are about things you actually do to your house. How to correctly build a fence...how to install crown molding...how to frame a deck...etc. The writing is clear and concise and the advice is all good. They've got a sample issue online at their site. Get one year for $19 or do what we do and get two years for $35. Subscription details at Extreme How-To.

Also, check out our '08 Father's Day Gift Guide (with links to the '07 guide).

May 26, 2009

Tool Snob's 2009 Father's Day Gift Guide