Any suggestion on a basic toolkit for a typical non-mechanical liberal arts college boy going off to live in the dorms for four years away from home?
I'd like to order one item (case + tools together as a single unit) off of Amazon or whatever where it would contain the basic screwdrivers and hammer and pliers but maybe not wrenches (he has no car).
Just stuff he'd need working on his computer graphics or around the dorm.
Everything he needs
Most any of these kits, under $30, should do OK. Unless there is some special computer tool he needs, or he runs into plumbing problems. They would be separate.
You'd be better off asking here: sci.electronics.design
You didn't ask but this is a public forum and I'm a rickety old guy full of advice, some of it might be useful. 40% of the kids entering college don't graduate. 40%. of those don't end up in careers requiring college degrees. They used to call them trade schools. Electricians, plumbers, etc. can get off to a good start at one. There's a farm equipment dealership in Nebraska that will pay for the schooling plus guarantee a job after graduation. This one is in Milford, NE. It's close to Lincoln so he can find coeds from the University of Nebraska to keep him company.
Nut drivers. There are lots of fasteners that have a screwdriver slot but are easier to manipulate with nut drivers.
Look this one up at Harbor Freight . On sale for $ 29.99. Not the best tools, but I keep one in my truck all the time.
There will be plenty of nut drivers in his freshman class.
And they will manipulate *him*.
What do you mean working on his "computer graphics"?
And working around the dorm?
Is he getting a dual degree? Computer Graphic and Janitorial Science?
You need to get out more often. Everything, including Mr. Coffee pots has weird screws including Torx, Philips, straight blade, and in the coffee pot case tri-wings just to make life difficult.
I can't remember the last time I saw one of those slotted hex heads. That doesn't mean I don't have a collection of nut drivers around here someplace.
Lowe's, Ace, or even Harbor Freight have kits with one handle and a variety of bits that for the weird things you'll run into if you're, say, replacing a battery in a Nuvi.
2 days ago I installed a dryer vent for a neighbor. The 4" hose clamps had slotted hex heads. ;-)
My Milwaukee multi-tip screw driver (love that thing. I have 1 in the shop and 1 in the garage) has both the nut driver and screwdriver bit. I used the nut driver.
Once I scrolled down far enough, Google eventually showed me Nuvi as a model of Garmin GPS.
Kits suggested look good and are cheap but does he need that much. A Swiss army knife or small multi tool could do a lot and not take up dorm space.
My first tool was a nut driver, to fix a noisy box fan.
Yeah, just an example of electronic devices that sooner or later need a battery transplant. Some make it impossible but even the ones that do don't make it easy. Of course, a non-mechanical liberal arts student will throw it away and ask Dad for the money for a new one.
I've got a Swiss Army Knife that I found alongside the road in my junk drawer. I've had it for years and finally found a use for it. A local kombucha brewer distributes the product in old style longnecks and I realized I don't have a bottle opener. It worked better than Channellocks.
I've got a couple of Leatherman tools around here someplace. I've used them in a pinch but I've really wished I had a real screwdriver or whatever.
I apply that to more than programming.
I think my first was a block plane. Not counting basic hammers and such.
When we sent our daughters off to college we bought them each one of those inexpensive tool kits, a simple small case with the basics.
The very first day they were in demand, because nobody else had brought tools and most of them had some kind of furniture to put together.
I bought one of those multi micro driver sets because I didn't have a torx small enough to fit some of the screws in a quadrajet carb . I've since found several other things that those drivers are useful for .
Wait, what?
I probably have half a dozen, including the wall-mounted, gargoyle-shaped one next to the hot tub.
And I don't even drink beer anymore.
He will have to go some to accomplish what Clarence Thomas has.
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