Need toolbox for my pc, suggestions?

[acidosmosis]

I need a toolbox for pc technicans and want something that is of pretty decent quality, different length screwdrivers, screw retreivers, wrist static discharger, etc. Anyone know where I can get this type of thing off the net?

Thanks guys.

 

[acidosmosis]

I found this http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Merchant_Id=1&Product_Id=11788 on www.newegg.com for $48. Tell me what you guys think.

 

[Vehementi]

Most likely you won't be able to find an all-in-one toolbox for all your needs. Besides, building your own can be as fun as building a PC

How To Assemble The Ultimate Toolbox

That link should help.

 

[StormBringer]

Experience builds the best toolbox. It is a waste to carry a toolbox that if full of stuff you never use. It would also cost more to buy that toolkit then, never use many of the tools while having to buy stuff that it didn't include. The most common items would be a multimeter, a nutdriver set, a few screwdrivers of varying lengths and a set of pliers. A set of discs with utilities, drivers and other commonly needed files is also a "must have". I also keep a CDROM drive and a floppy drive handy, just in case.

I would suggest you get a large carry box (Toolbox, tackle-box, or EMT box) and fill it with the items you think you will need all the time. then add the items that you may not always need but are needed for particular situations. Lastly, add the items that you don't necessarily need but will make things easier.

Many items you will find that you need won't come in any kit, rather they will come to you as you get experience and watch/listen to other technicians. Things like a pencil(the eraser and the lead both have many uses)

 

[acidosmosis]

I have been doing this for about ten years and am very experienced. The biggest problem I come upon is finding a non-magnetic screw driver, having to touch the case as much as possible to discharge static, etc. The case I found from <a href="www.belkin.com">Belkin</a> would come in very handy for me. The only thing I would never use is the small vacumm. I dont know about you but a can of air doesn't last long with me. It is such a handy tool hehe. I am going to buy this toolset and if I need something else I will buy everything else seperately. Right now I just have a large problem with not having the right screwdrivers handy and something to hold screws in. I also plan on buying things such as Artic Silver III to add to my set of handy gadgets. Check out this link, it is the toolset I decided on.

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProd...ion_Path=/Root/ComputerAccessories/ToolKits/#

Although I am going to search for it elsewhere for a lower price.

 

[Tarkus]

For me it's a 4-in-12 screwdriver, needlenose pliers, diagonal cutters, wire strippers and surgical clamp (roach clip for those old enough to understand the reference). A multimeter, soldering iron and heatshrink tubing of various sizes is also handy.

Don't worry about magnetic screwdrivers unless you have floppy disks laying all around. I used to have to wear antistatic bands at an old job. Touching the case is just as easy and effective to me. It's become a natural action when working with electronics. I don't even think about it. Been doing this stuff for almost 30 years. God, I'm old!

 

[acidosmosis]

Dont worry about magnetic screwdrivers? You sure???

 

[StormBringer]

Well, I wouldn't lose sleep over it, just hit it with a hammer a few times and it should lose its magnetic field(seriously) I would invest in a couple of non metallic ones though because if you use one with a magnetic field near an EEPROM or other magnetically sensitive device, you will kill it.

 

[PHATMAN5050]

What devices are considered magnetically sensitive. I have built many computers and repaired even more with my magnetic screw drivers, and I have yet to mess up a drive or anything. Even if I attempt to use a normal screwdriver, I end up pulling out my magnetic one to end the chasing game between the screw driver and lost screw.

 

[SNGX1275]

I've dealt with several opening and closing/adding removign hardware with magnetic screwdrivers, and never had a problem. Maybe I'm just lucky. Aside from banging the screwdriver with a hammer you can also heat it up on a gas stove or something to help reduce/eliminate its magnetic properties.

 

[Rick]

Yes, do NOT worry about magnetic screw drivers. I've used some very powerful ones in computer repair and they have never damaged any components.

However, I have something better than a magnetic tip.. It's a plastic "pen" looking device called a "claw. It almost looks like a skinny siringe. You push down on the top and three wire claws come out. They wrap around the head of the screw and there's 0 chance you'll lose it while starting/picking up your screw. It's also useful for dropped jumpers and picking non-magnetic things up.

Example:
http://www.houseoftools.com/product.htm?pid=12616


Another useful, uncommon-to-the-household tool is the telescoping magnetic pickup. It telescopes outward like a TV/radio antenna and has a very powerful magnet at the end. I'd keep it away from sensitive areas of your computer though because the magnets on these are usually strong enough to pull a chair around the kitchen with.
http://www.houseoftools.com/product.htm?pid=12615


If you are JUST getting into computer repair, you might even want to buy useful tools for the "future" like network cable crimper, soldering iron etc... It really depends on what your expertise is and what you find useful.

Here's part of my tool kit right now:

Even though this is a 145 piece toolkit, there are still things missing - But thankfully I have a second set for odd-jobs. This thing gets the job done for the most part though and would be a great beginner/intermediate toolset for just about anyone.

The problem is, it has been discontinued and you can't really buy them anywhere but ebay anymore.
If you are interested in this toolkit, search for "Curtis 145 piece toolkit computer" and something will probalby pop up.

I bought this for 45 dollars a while ago and it was totally worth the money. The tools are of "good" quality, not great quality. The plastic casing is not bad, but I'm sure we all hate these little "snap in" cases. I've found it easy to replace a number of these tools with higher quality tools though, although what you see in this picture are the originals for the most part.

It did not come with an anti-static wrist strap though.. And the vaccuum (like almost any you will encounter) kind of sucks (ironically).

Your best bet is to probalby build your own tool kit IF you are really, really, really into computer repair. If you just plan on repairing computers once a month or so, then a casual kit like this is fine.

 

[Rick]

Originally posted by PHATMAN5050
What devices are considered magnetically sensitive.

Your device ROMs and hard disk most likely.

The chances of your killing a device sensitive to magnetic fields isn't likely with a common screw driver.. But things like magnetic pickups and more powerful magnets might... Well... I've made it a point not to find out.

 

[StormBringer]

I know several people who use old Craftsman screwdrivers and they will hold a magnetic charge very well and it can be quite strong. I also remember a college instructor who made it a point of using a magnetic screwdriver to erase some EEPROM chips just to show what NOT to do.

Sure, in most cases you probably aren't going to damage anything but it is best not to temp fate. I don't worry as much about these things when working on my stuff but when I'm at work or working on someone elses stuff, I tend to be more careful than I "need" to be.

 

[acidosmosis]

Thanks for all the info guys. As long as I've been doing this (always worked on my own computers) I made it a point to not use anything that is magnetic. Although once, way back, when I had a 386sx 40mhz computer running DOS .. lol.. I was using a flashlight with a pretty huge magnet on the side and erased my entire hard drive. Wasn't cool. Although back then my hard drive was about 40 megs ;-). That was about 8 years ago though.

Lately I have been getting into this type of thing a lot more building my own computers, and I do a lot of pc repair at work. I work for an Internet Service doing pretty much everything from web design, to writing company policys, to marketing, to pc repair.
We have a small 14 peice toolkit at work that is my co-workers kit and I hate it. I need something of my own. For the most part I plan on building my own kit, but I want a small kit (somewhere around a 65 peice) to start out with and then I plan on buying a larger toolbox to put the tools in, and other miscelleanous things such as a can of air and artic silver III.

Thanks for the input