Assembling your furniture or exercise equipment at home can be challenging but a lot less painful if you have the appropriate tools.
At Apollo Assembly, we know the importance of a good tool kit for in-home assembly. Want to know what’s in our tool box? Check out these 10 must-have items we can’t live without when assembling projects at a customer’s home.
1. Ratcheting Phillips Head Screwdriver. The cross-shaped depression on a Phillips head screw allows for more torque to be applied than a single-slot flathead. Having a ratcheting screwdriver on hand that can handle different sizes is a must for your tool box.
2. Flathead. A flathead screwdriver has a single blade that fits into the single slot of a flathead screw. Trust us, you’ll need this one, too, in a variety of sizes.
3. Impact Driver. Also known as an impact gun, this tool is highly recommended. Why? It’s fast, powerful, and affordable. Be careful with this one. Ease into the trigger so you have the right torque otherwise you’ll strip the heads rendering them useless for your assembly project. Also, be sure to get a replacement battery so your assembly process doesn’t come to a halt.
4. Hex Key or Allen Key. This is found in most tool boxes and is a super inexpensive must-have. Its small size enables you to get to those hard to reach places that bigger tools can’t access. Remember though, it’s convenient but not an assembly time-saver.
5. Box Cutter. Every assembly technician or DIYer will need a box cutter to quickly get into those ready-to-assemble boxes. You’ll need a retractable box cutter so you can quickly extend and retract the blade.
6. Rubber Mallet. There are tons of IKEA furniture that use wood dowels so a rubber mallet is a must-have to link the pieces of wood together. Metal hammers can damage the pre-made holes in the particleboard, making the dowels less secure. Another tip is to use a white rubber mallet so you don’t leave any skid marks on the furniture.
7. Touch Up Markers. Speaking of marks, keep a few touch-up markers in different colors on hand in case you nick a piece of the furniture during your assembly. Grab a set of 9 for a variety of colors.
8. Small Claw Hammer. Some assembly projects require thin backings that require small pins to be hammered into the furniture. Use a small claw hammer for tackling these types of assembly projects.
9. Adjustable Wrench. Sometimes you just need precision, and a wrench with jaw slides can give you just that.
10. Cordless Drill. Be careful with this one. Some instructions say not to use a drill during your furniture assembly. This is because the average consumer doesn’t know how to use a power tool properly. Don't use high-level power. Setting the power too high isn’t recommended as you could strip bolt heads during your in-home assembly. If there’s a more moderate setting, use that. Just like the impact driver, ease into the trigger so you have the right torque otherwise you’ll strip the heads rendering them useless for your assembly project.
Pro tips: Extra items we love? A moving blanket can be handy for so many reasons. If you’re assembling a desk with a hutch and don’t have an assistant, you can throw a blanket under half the hutch to scoot it across the top of the desk without scratching it. Also, if you’re under the furniture and it’s hard to see, pull out your smartphone and use the flashlight feature to help you during your project.
Now that you know our ten must-have tools, be sure to stock up your tool box. You’ll be able to tackle your in-home assembly much faster than normal when you a well-equipped tool box.