Lotta good tool deals out there nowadays, sometimes from unexpected places. What is everyone's favorite cheap tool find?
Mine is this rubber mallet from the local Dollar Tree. I never thought I'd get a decent hammer for $1 in 2019, but yet, here it is.
![](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/prod.mm.com/uploads/2019/06/04/1559710687_img_20190603_145422_mmthumb.jpg)
ShawnG
PowerDork
6/5/19 12:08 a.m.
Bungee cords and ratchet straps.
Super handy for holding stuff up, out of the way, etc.
Habor freight impact for taking lug nuts off. Do 't know how I lived without it!
TXratti
New Reader
6/17/19 3:32 p.m.
Pocket flathead screwdriver. So many uses, always handy, very cheap.
10 mm socket that I found on my last junkyard run. Now if I could just figure out what I did with it...
Wire Coat Hanger. For the cost of dry-cleaning, I have cleaned drains, secured things, grabbed lost items from behind furniture, replaced a car antenna, made stakes to hold down Xmas inflatables...the list goes on.
![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/82/f9/fb/82f9fb9982237a6731e0e77125c86380.jpg)
I LOVE WIRE HANGERS!!!!
DIYKing
New Reader
7/5/19 3:56 a.m.
In reply to boxedfox :
Looking for a really cheap hammer that I won't be afraid if it breaks...will check on dollar tree. Thankies
My helper is flexible socket. Yeah, they’re a bit pricey, but thanks to them you can remove and install the bolts in hard to reach places.
jgrewe
Reader
7/27/19 10:29 p.m.
LED headlamp. I have a shop full of T5-HO light fixtures and I still end up with my headlamp on most of the time.
These are the best you can buy, and a must-have. ($20) Outperform snap-on
![](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/prod.mm.com/uploads/2019/07/27/1564287826_038548990682lg_mmthumb.jpg)
Don't use these often, but they've saved my butt many times ($20)
![](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/prod.mm.com/uploads/2019/07/27/1564287854_024721012579_mmthumb.jpg)
redco2
New Reader
7/31/19 11:22 p.m.
Woody said:
Chopsticks.
YES!!! I use that to clean the sides of my ac (but adding cotton on top) You can also use it for cooking.
Favorite budget tools? The ones I make myself from stuff I have on hand.
Most recently, a length of all-thread, some steel scraps, and a little brake caliper grease.
![](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/prod.mm.com/uploads/2019/11/04/1572881098_finishing-up-the-driver-side-carrier-bearing_mmthumb.JPG)
![](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/prod.mm.com/uploads/2019/11/04/1572881153_passenger-side-carrier-bearing-needed-a-different-approach_mmthumb.JPG)
Norm
I have no idea how I made it so many years without on of these:
![](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/prod.mm.com/uploads/2019/11/04/1572886085_ga353b_mmthumb.jpg)
TR7
Reader
11/4/19 11:25 a.m.
enginenerd said:
I have no idea how I made it so many years without on of these:
![](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/prod.mm.com/uploads/2019/11/04/1572886085_ga353b_mmthumb.jpg)
And its closely related cousin, a magnet on a stick.
I use this stupid thing almost daily! I picked one up years while walking through the aisle figuring I “might” have a use for it at some point in life.
![](https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/prod.mm.com/uploads/2019/11/06/1573044725_881162a4-6d19-4260-a81c-693310565e52_mmthumb.png)