Copyright SlashGear
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. When it comes to big box retailers specializing in home improvement gear, Lowe's is among the best options on the market. The outfit offers an online presence that can give tool buyers plenty of search opportunities and inspiration, and maintains more than 1,700 physical stores. Lowe's is among the most prominent retailers in this area, and with its extensive catalog, including a few in-house brands, comes a smattering of tools and accessory products that will be well known to the typical renovator, as well as some that are a bit more obscure. The ongoing project of maintaining a home that delivers on the comfort and sense of pride that many seek is difficult. There's seemingly always something new that creeps onto the to-do list, and these jobs are frequently sizeable undertakings that require niche, specialized, or even expensive tools. The result can lead to a stratification of tasks, with low-hanging fruit bubbling up to the top. Regardless of the pattern your list of projects forms, there's frequently a need for new and interesting tools, equipment, and accessories when working through jobs. These 13 products from Lowe's can help change the conversation you have with yourself when consulting your to-do list. They all offer excellent support for some important jobs around the house that sometimes fly under the radar. More importantly, they are all things that can inspire a renewed motivation to start and finish a project that will improve your life and home environment. Knipex exists among some of the best hand tool makers around. The pliers builder is a German tool brand with nearly 150 years of operational history to look back on. Knipex makes durable tools that are capable of lasting a lifetime if you take care of them. The brand isn't just a supplier of standard gear, though. Many of Knipex's pliers are unique assets that fill niche gaps in a typical users' toolkit. The 3-Piece set of Knipex Needle Nose Pliers available from Lowe's is a perfect example of the brand's innovative designs. These tools all feature oil-hardened, vanadium electric steel bodies, gripping enhancements like cross-hatching in the jaws, and a snapback function that automatically brings the tool back into a closed position. The build quality of every Knipex pair of pliers I've ever personally held has been phenomenal. I haven't used these unique needle-nose solutions specifically, but they follow the same overall design language as some other tools from the company that take up residence in my collection. Specifically, these three grabbing tools feature unique jaw configurations. One offers an angled nose while another features an S-shaped swirl. The final installment in the set introduces a tiny gripping surface with a claw-shaped carveout in the center. They're a trio of interesting, job-specific pliers that can help tackle numerous delicate grabbing tasks. Home renovators frequently encounter the need to drill straight down into a workpiece. Precise angular drilling is a hallmark of nearly every home improvement project. Whether installing a new set of doors throughout the home or performing plumbing upgrades, getting a hole cut directly through a board, the wall, or elsewhere isn't just a nice thing to have when lining up new components. Minute issues in the angle of your fasteners or holes can make all the difference in the success you achieve or miss. The drill press is commonly relied upon for this task. However, this piece of equipment is bulky and expensive, so many home improvers won't have one at their disposal. The alternative is an attachment. The Milescraft 1318 DrillMate Drill Press Guide is a mobile solution that works with your combi-drill. The tool features a depth guide and bearings that glide easily as you work to install a fastener or drill a hole. It's easy to use; you'll just need to connect your drill to the 'bit' as if it were a typical accessory. Then the integrated 3⁄8-inch chuck below takes on the work of holding the actual bit you'll be using. The accessory features preset angles at 45, 60, 75, and 90 degrees, and features a V-groove in the base plate to support drilling into round stock. Locking pliers are a common sight in the tool collections of numerous users. But locking pliers come in many varieties. Most home improvers will be familiar with longer-jawed options and the classic mole-grip varieties. However, the Triplett 15-Inch Locking Pliers takes nose length to a whole new level. This tool features what is essentially a typical grip section, but connected to an extension piece between the jaws and the locking components. The tool, therefore, provides enhanced lever action to support more intense torque requirements. It's also naturally a valuable addition for those who need to reach far into recessed areas. The tool features a curved jaw with serrated teeth to provide quality gripping power in a versatile format. The tool is also built with heat-treated high-carbon steel and has been augmented with a rust-resistant finish to give it long-term durability in even demanding work conditions. Lowe's notes that the triplet tool is built with a patented design and adds a lifetime warranty to give you a genuinely unique grabbing solution built for the long haul. If you have ever engaged in electrical work, you know the frustration of handling wire connections. This is a task that can't be worked around, and those who are not professional electricians are simply ill-equipped to handle the nuanced set of precision movements required to create a sturdy and long-lasting connection inside a wire nut and many similar connection accessories. With practice, anyone can get good at these wiring tasks, but the DIYer just doesn't work with these elements enough to become consistently proficient. Loose connections are one of the main problem areas that amateur electrical installers will run into when performing home improvement projects on their own. Loose connections can lead to an inconsistent power supply to your devices and pose a fire risk. Fortunately, there is a workaround, and it's exceedingly easy to use. There are a few brands that make locking wire connectors. I am familiar with the Wago design, but Lowe's carries Ideal Lever Wire Connectors that perform the same function. In no uncertain terms, this type of lever wire connector is the easiest and most effective solution you have at your disposal when connecting outlets, adding lighting, and more. They come in many varieties, covering load rating and the number of available connections. A band saw is a piece of equipment that can make a big difference in numerous tasks you might encounter. This is a tool that can help you level up your woodworking skill, and an asset that offers expanded cutting capabilities beyond what your table saw or miter saw can perform. It's worth noting, that the bandsaw is a little more sophisticated than the typical benchtop solution and so a smaller tool that you can come to grips with more easily is likely your best bet if you're just looking for a standard cutting solution in this realm. The Wen 9-Inch Stationary 2.5 Amp Band Saw is a great choice because it matches good performance functionality with a low price tag. This is not a standing floor model but rather a more compact benchtop band saw. Many users will want to fix it in place, but the tool is also a potential candidate for something that can be taken out when necessary and stored in a large tool cabinet when not in use. This cutting solution features a 2.5 amp motor that spins the blade at speeds of up to 2,500 feet per minute. The saw uses 59-½-inch blades and can accommodate widths between ⅛-inch and ⅜-inch. The saw's cut deck allows for up to a 45 degree angle for beveled cuts. The tool is also backed by a two year warranty from Wen to provide an extra layer of confidence. Plumbers' putty is a product that many home improvers will frequently overlook. Those who have worked with PVC and other pipes are often familiar with cutting tools, gluing solutions, pressure-fit elements, and perhaps even pipe-bending equipment. But plumbers' putty remains outside of the mainstream. This solution isn't flashy or exciting, but it does offer an important addition that can improve your work on numerous water-related repairs and renovations. Plumbers' putty creates a hassle-free, waterproof seal. This is essential in installing sinks, baths, shower drains, and more. The Oatey 9 Oz. Stain-Free White Plumbers Putty takes things further than the standard putty. This solution is a non-staining formula that can be used on PVC, plastics, and most other porous surfaces. The putty requires no cure time and remains flexible long after the tub has been opened for the first time. It's an installation material you'll frequently overlook sitting on the shelf in your garage, but the waterproofing it provides is crucially useful when you need it. Needle-nose pliers are an important addition to many tool users' toolboxes. This tool is frequently used in many jobs, and it is often overlooked because it performs a range of basic functions without fanfare or flair. However, this doesn't have to be the case. There are certain tools that you can add to your kit that show off personality and style in a big way, adding just a bit of fun to your daily use of the equipment. The Klein Tools American Forged Series 8-Inch Needle Nose Side Cutters is a great example of a tool that gets the job done well while adding a nice bit of personalization. It features an etched American flag design along the side of the blades and adds a special edition red handle color to the gripping component to show off the tool's American Heritage. It's made in the United States by an American company, and those heritage features shine through here. This tool isn't just a looker, however. It adds extended handles for better leverage in demanding situations and features side-cutting blades near the bottom of the jaws. The two pieces feature a hot-riveted joint to eliminate handle wobble and play, ensuring a smooth movement in the tool every time you use it. Drill attachments are an interesting subset of tools you can find at Lowe's and elsewhere. The Fusion Drill-Powered Cultivator Attachment is compatible with most cordless drills and allows you to transform a standard power tool into an outdoor essential. Any kind of gardening or home planting can be amplified significantly with the help of a cultivator. This tool allows you to easily dig and churn up soil to loosen it ahead of new seeding or transplanting. The tool features an adjustable width up to 8 inches, making it a quality option for small plot preparation and larger garden bed maintenance. It features a cultivation depth up to 5.5 inches and operates in both a shortened mode and full-size mode to make access to ground-level soil easier, as well as raised garden bed elements. The tool also comes with a one-year warranty, and is a solid choice for homeowners seeking to aerate and weed soil and established gardens. When handling electrical work, Home improvers often become excessively frustrated over one particular weakness in their wiring game. The basic approach to pulling cables involves running a single strand of wire through the attic, wall, or flooring area that you're trying to introduce new cable to, then taping the wires you actually want in that location to the end of the successfully placed length. You'll then yank the whole thing back through the target area and hope the entire assembly makes it out the other end. I can personally attest to the frustration that comes into the picture when trying to run wire without any additional support tools. There are all kinds of complications hiding in the construction of even the most basic walls and floors. Add to this a fickle flimsiness in even rigid wire, and you run into a task more reliant on a hope and a prayer than actual skill or know-how. The Wide Steel Fish Tape from Klein Tools is a ¼-inch wide spring steel made with a high carbon content. This delivers a flexible probing tool that offers enough firmness not to let you down when you run into the first obstacle in your journey. It features a plastic tip with a slim profile to reduce binding and catching, and works with a sloped handle to make rewinding the length when you're ready to start pulling easier. The Qeetex 880-Pound Mesh Steel Garden Cart and Folding Dump Truck is a cross between the typical steel mesh utility cart you might be familiar with and the functionality of a wheelbarrow. This solution features the physical build specifics of a utility garden cart, but offers the ability to dump a load out onto the ground. It operates with a 180-degree rotating handle and rolls on four 10 x 3.5-inch all-terrain tires. The cart also includes removable side panels that allow you to customize the material handling solution to whatever job specifics you might have in mind. The cart offers a load capacity of 880 pounds, easily handling significant transport demands. The cart itself weighs 50 pounds and employs a reinforced, welded frame with a four-corner support structure. In short, the tool is ready to take on any demanding conditions you might throw at it. Ladders aren't a surprising or even exciting addition to any list of tools a home improver might need. There's just no getting around the requirement of adding height to your stable of equipment. Whether you're climbing up on the roof to tackle gutter cleaning or installing crown molding up near the ceiling, numerous tasks you'll engage in involve working areas that rise well above head height. A basic ladder is essential, but the Xtend+Climb ANSI Certified 15.5-Foot Aluminum Telescoping Extension Ladder takes things further. A telescoping ladder offers a supremely space-saving treatment to a time-honored solution. If you don't already have a ladder in your garage, investing in a telescoping ladder first might be a great way to keep your equipment in excellent organizational condition while also bringing in an important tool. Telescoping ladders are also particularly interesting because they don't feature the same A-frame opening mechanism. This means that you'll be leaning the ladder against something when you use it. The result is smaller product overall. This ladder offers a 19.5-foot reach height that is more than enough to easily tackle things like holiday light installations on the exterior of your home, access to the roof or a ceiling hatch to get up into the attic, and more. Cutting holes in any kind of workpiece can be tricky. Drill bits are the obvious solution for smaller holes, and they can support cutting through material from a variety of stock. However, as your demands become more complex so too must the tools you use to cut holes. The Malco HC1 Hole Cutter Impact Drill Attachment is to larger metal cutting as the hole saw is to circular wood requirements. This tool features an adjustable cutting element that works in coordination with your drill. The hole cutter allows for diameters ranging between two inches and 12 inches, and there's an SAE and metric diameter gauge included on the pivot slide. The tool can cut through 22-gauge galvanized steel and is built with a lightweight aluminum frame. The accessory cutter fits into your drill like a standard bit, and upon applying pressure and engaging the drill, you'll naturally start to trace the outline of the cut. The cutting heads spin around and easily shear through sheet metal for an accurate and consistent end result. The Walensee 35-Inch Steel Spike Aerator is a manual lawn maintenance tool that puts total control into your hands. Aerating your lawn is an important task that can dramatically increase the health of the soil and root system beneath the green aerial growth. Aerating the grass allows for an increase in vital nutrients, oxygen, and water to penetrate down into often compacted areas. Essentially, this tool is a handle and foot pad that supports a collection of spikes. It features 15 spikes arranged in a rectangular pattern, making the job quicker and easier. Many tools of this nature feature a single row of spikes, but this solution's layout makes the job significantly less time-consuming. This is a solid core aerator, so it's ideal for routine use rather than specialized applications. The tools are built with an iron construction and a powder-coated finish to give them a durable overall quality and help them resist rusting. This is a tool that every homeowner should have at their disposal, delivering added root and soil health to the lawn for a greener growing season every year.
