Gone are the days of a dad having to gripe at their child while they try to repair something in the fading light, as the kid fails over and over to hold the flashlight steady enough for their old man. When things go wrong on the farm, you won’t get to choose the time of day, so it is best to be prepared. For an added bonus, since your kid won’t have to hold the flashlight, they can get in there and get their hands dirty to help with whatever it is your working on. I personally prefer a rechargeable model, as we can never seem to keep enough batteries around the house, but there are still plenty of good options that take AA or AAA batteries.
These handy little carts go by a couple of different names, but I fancy calling them “Utility Carts” as they can serve for about a hundred different purposes. Even though we have a UTV on our farm, we still find ourselves pulling out our cart to tackle a lot of our smaller tasks: Hauling firewood or feed, cleaning up the yard, doing landscaping or gardening, etc. It is perfect for jobs where they tractor or UTV would be too much, or when it’s wet and we don’t want to tear up the yard. They also make lots of jobs more feasible and enjoyable for the little ones, and will inevitably turn into a radio flyer as soon as the work is done.
Without a doubt, the tool on my list that I use most often is a pocketknife. A few years ago, I would have thought it crazy to carry a knife on me, but now I feel lost if I don’t have mine clipped on my pocket while outside around the homestead. My husband, on the other hand, swears by a multi-tool, and while I do often ask to borrow his, I don’t think I could get used to carrying one on me. Maybe women need more pocket room on jeans like men.
Of all the tools on my list, our cordless Sawzall is probably the one that surprises me most by how frequently I use it. I think at this point I might even be making up reasons to use it. Any job that requires cutting metal, lumber, drywall or composites can be tackled with a reciprocating saw. I just recently began work on clearing an old fence row, and I can promise you that having my Sawzall with a pruning blade has made it a lot easier.
Nylon slings, or “chokers” as we call them on our farm, are not a tool that you will use often by themselves. However, we keep slings of various sizes in the farm truck, the UTV, and on the tractor at all times. A chain big enough to handle a lot of jobs on the farm can be a little too cumbersome for some people to work with, especially the kids. These slings weigh next to nothing, and with the “eye” on each end, they’re also easy to attach.
We’re all aware of duct tapes reputation as the go-to for fixing something up in a pinch, but around the farm you will inevitably find yourself needing something a little hardier for your quick-fixes. This is where our trusty roll of 14-gauge tie wire comes into the picture. Trust me, when you have something that needs to be secured, but doesn’t necessarily have to be pretty, grab your roll of tie wire and get it taken care of.
While a snatch block might be the most obscure mention on our list, if you ever find yourself in need of one, it just might be the most important. From needing to hoist a big deer for processing, or God forbid getting a tractor unstuck, make sure you have one of these in your tool box and let physics do all the heavy lifting for you.
This entry on our list is my husband’s, but I can definitely agree that it has it’s
uses. While a welding machine isn’t a tool that just everyone knows how to use,
its not too difficult to figure it out well enough to get jobs around the farm
accomplished. There is a number of cheap 110v MIG welder options available,
that can seriously open up the possibilities for your home repairs and fabrication.
You don’t have to live on a farm to want a fire in the fireplace, but if you do have some land with trees, you’re not going to want to be paying for firewood all winter long. Any model of log splitter will cut down on time and energy of
harvesting your own whether it be powered by diesel, electricity, tractor PTO, or even elbow grease. It’s always better to work smarter, not harder around the
farm, and these allow you to do just that.
10. WD-40 & a Small Sledge Hammer
When dealing with moving parts, at some point a time will arrive where you have neglected maintenance and things are no longer working the way they should be. That’s where the penetrating oil and a mallet come in. Not only will this combo succeed in getting things moving again, they’ll allow you to work out some frustrations while you’re at it. A win-win.
