Appendix D
The following list is not exhaustive but represents some of the more important tools needed for rural self-reliant and community living. It’s likely that some of these tools are simply transitional; you can count on needing and being able to use a shovel in a hundred years, less so a backhoe. Heavy machinery, for instance, is incredibly useful in developing resilient post-peak oil systems today, but will be less affordable and potentially less accessible in the future.
• Knife, chisel, adze, ax
• Rake, hoe, cultivator, flat fork, broad fork, and so on
• Rope/cordage
• Hammer
• Shovel
• Handsaw, pull saw, chain saw
• Scythe, machete
• Barn
• Sockets, wrench, pliers
• Fencing tools
• Wood, engine, metal shop with all basic tools
• Plumbing torch, oxyacetylene torch
• Pipe cutter, pipe wrench
• Wire stripper, cutter, wire nuts, and so on
• Screw gun, drill, backup batteries, and chargers
• Bench grinder
• Hacksaw
• Hoists or jacks, block and tackle
• Tractor and PTO attachments, loader
• Truck
• Horse- or ox-drawn sled, wagon, plow
• Grain drill, reaper, flail, harvester
• Wood-fired oven
• Wood gasifier, pyrolysis/biochar/charcoal-making
• Pumps, sterling/steam engine, wood/masonry stove
• Welder, forge
• Root cellar
• Oil-seed press
• Commercial nut cracker
• Gun, ammo, bow, arrows
• Fishing rod and reel, hooks, line, lures, flies
• Pick or mattock
• Rock bar
• File
• U-bar
• Shears, pruners, clippers, loppers
• Wheelbarrow or cart
• Dibble, planting bar
• Cold frames, small hoop houses
• Loom, sewing machine, needle, thread, yarn
• Musical instruments, art and communication tools
• Computer, Internet, printer?
• Excavator, dump truck, barn, sawmill, tractors, loaders, hydropower-milling
• Nursery, seedbank, library, greenhouses, plant and spore propagation facility
• Yogurt/cheesemaking, distillery, cold storage
• Animal slaughtering and processing, microtextiles
• Methane digestion/biogas, biochar facility
• Wood/metal/engine/machine shop, pottery shop, forge
• Child care, health clinic, theater, gallery, shops, markets
• Biomass-based cogeneration food canning and dehydrating
• Log splitter, chipper
• Generator, solar PV, wind/hydro turbine, inverter, batteries
• Micro–power grid
• Schools, research facilities
• Wind farm
• Manufacturing and processing of all kinds
• Rail, highway, path, mobility systems
• Education, research
Recommended Tools and Materials
• Fencing by Premier Fencing: These fences stand up well, unfurl easily (for electro-net) and seem to be generally made very well. I buy a lot of items like this through Wellscroft Fence Systems in New Hampshire.
• The King of Spades planting shovels: These are fantastically high quality single-piece forged aluminum—worth the $90 or so price tag; should last a lifetime or more. Clean them after use, and treat them well—they deserve it.
• Pruners by Felco and some products by A. M. Leonard for tree work.
• Tool handles by Tennessee Hickory tend to have correct grain patterns and hold up well.
• For off-grid appliances and the like, Backwoods Solar is hard to beat.
• Dripworks is a massive resource that will help you design systems for anything drip-irrigation related.
• The Japan Woodworker, Silky, and Lee Valley for hand-tool and related materials.
• Lehman’s nonelectric: Some of their stuff is cheap in recent years, but they stand by everything without fail.
• Scythe Works, formerly Scythe Connection: the only source for a completely great scythe this side of the Atlantic Ocean. Scythe Supply makes a decent tool, but the handles are weak. Avoid hardware store variety scythes like the plague.
• Frost/Mora knives: hard to beat compared with knives twice the cost.
Tools and Materials to Avoid
• Kencove electro-net: Premier is far superior in every respect and not much more expensive. Kencove’s fences have extra plastic bumps on each connection, with little hanging tabs of material that repeatedly become caught each time the fence is moved. Moving a Kencove fence is like wrestling with a knotted up net compared to a Premier fence, which flows off itself when laid out and rarely snags on itself—when it does, a quick snap of the fence usually frees it.
Kencove seems to have made a good three-joule charger, however, which I own and mated with my own 30W panel (panels via Kencove and most dealers are highly overpriced); I use a Morningstar charge controller to join it with the battery. The power controller on/off dial is defective, however, and spins, such that you have to ignore what it says and simply go by feel for how far high or low it is.
• Most hardware store variety axes and tool handles, especially those made by Truper, which are complete junk: The grain runout is too high on these to make durable handles; you must evaluate each handle at the store to find ones that have continuous grain—often impossible, since most are poorly made. I have not found a good source for these and have even been shipped defective ones by Madsen’s, a reputable professional chainsaw–related dealer in Washington State.
• Most low- and midpriced power tools: I have had very short life spans on Porter-Cable tools, such as their pancake compressor, some DeWalt tools (though many are good). Avoid the cheapest end of the power tool line, such as Homelite saws and similar electric tools—the 25 to 35 percent you’ll save off the bat will cost you dearly in project time, ease of use, and replacing them when they break quickly. In the past five years Delta power machines have gone way downhill as well, and it is increasingly impossible to find parts for many of their basic tools; for instance, drill presses. The pulley ring on my five-year-old Delta benchtop drill press shattered recently, and I cannot find a part anywhere to replace it. Without custom machining a new one, this otherwise good-condition tool is now effectively worthless.
• Most smoke detectors and motion-detecting lights: Buy these carefully. I have not found a reliable brand of either of these.
• Most hardware store variety plumbing parts (such as Gilmour) and many electrical parts are junk. You have to go out of your way to find durable materials for these applications, looking usually to replace plastic with metal. Buy only the best quality ball valves you can afford.
• Most cheap inverters: Find recommendations on these, and don’t go with off-brands. Same with batteries. Steven Harris of Solar1234.com is a great resource on this front, as is Backwoods Solar.