5 must-haves for the shop that aren't tools?

By J.G. Pasterjak
May 31, 2026
A fairly common question: “What tools should I buy?”

The best answer I can come up with: “The ones that you need for the job at hand.”

But here’s the real secret: Many of the things that make your time in the shop better, more productive and more fun aren’t tools, per se. Sure, they may fit the technical definition, but you know what we’re talking about here: Those indispensable items that make shop time more fulfilling but don’t fit neatly into that socket or screwdriver category.

Here are five important items that I recommend keeping in the shop–after, of course, you pick up a proper fire extinguisher or three.

Let there be… Light!

Photography Credit: Chris Tropea

If our reader surveys are any indication, the average age of anyone reading this means you may be squinting a bit to do so. We feel your pain there. Working under a hood or in a wheel well is a real tax on the eyes, so taking extra steps to increase the brightness is well worth the trouble.

Exactly what kinds of lights do you need in the shop? Answer: Yes to all of them.

When it comes to fixed lighting, too much is never really too much. And while we tend to think of fixed lighting as something that is always located overhead, remember that not all the work you do on your car is going to be from the top down. Fixed lighting from the side or even below can save a lot of squinting and straining when it comes time to focus on that rusty pin stuck in that rusty brake caliper.

Handheld lighting, too, benefits from variety. A beam flashlight is sometimes best for illuminating a deep crevasse under your hood, but other times a larger bar light better fits the bill. Or a light with a magnetic base, or one that mounts on your head, or clips to your glasses.

The point here is that variety is best, and you’ll never regret adding a different type of illumination to your shop arsenal.

Throw in the… Towel!

Photography Credit: Chris Tropea

Another required item in your high-functioning workshop is towels. All sorts of towels. Obviously heavy-duty blue paper towels and traditional red shop rags are a staple of every workspace, but there’s value in pretty much every type and material of towel.

I’m also a huge fan of the “sacrificial” towel. A stack of old bath or beach towels that you no longer care about is a requirement whenever we’re turning a wrench.

One minute you may be using one as a bench cover when dropping a water pump that may or may not be empty, and the next you’re tossing one under a steadily increasing stream of foul-smelling fluid from a component that still contained oil. A stack of old shirts that thrift stores won't take are handy when something spills.

In any case, the real benefit of these sacrificial towels is that you simply feel zero guilt disposing of them after they helped you solve a problem.

Get… Connected!

Photography Credit: Tom Suddard

The troubling fact is that we rarely do any job–large or small–in the shop without consulting the internet at some point. As such, proper shop connectivity is as important a tool as a 10mm socket.

And we’ll also recommend that you not simply rely on a smartphone as your shop’s internet device. For one, handling it with filthy hands is a great way to dirty or even break your likely expensive phone. Plus, the tiny screen can make it awkward if you’re trying to view a wiring diagram or parts chart.

Your workshop is a great place to demote an old home computer, which maybe gets hooked to a demoted large-screen TV as well. That can be a great asset in reading tables or diagrams, quickly ordering parts, or simply asking for advice on our forums.

Clean… Sweep!

Photography Credit: Jan Kopřiva

Even if you’re fortunate enough to have a lift in your workshop, you’re still going to spend some time on the floor. It’s just an inevitable fact of life. Keeping that floor clean is important for being happy and productive in your work environment.

There are no magic bullets here: A shop vac, a leaf blower and a broom and dustpan will serve as your primary weapons against dirt and debris, but we can give a tip or two on how to make those things more effective.

First, you should have a shop vac nozzle dedicated to floors, especially if you use a shop vac on your car. There’s nothing worse than sliding a nozzle across clean upholstery and leaving a greasy streak because it had just vacuumed a dirty floor. Separate your nozzles by use and mark them accordingly.

Next, a small blower or even an air hose can be a great time-saver when it comes to cleaning the floor. It can also reach deep corners and beneath benches. If you are already using cordless power tools, chances are whatever ecosystem you’re invested in has a handheld blower in the lineup. It’s worth the investment if it isn’t in your quiver already.

And every good floor care kit should include a broom, mop and a floor squeegee. Even on porous concrete, a soft squeegee is great for cleaning up moisture or even helping contain spills. It’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity that you’ll find plenty of use for.

 

Last but not least… First aid!

Photography Credit: J.G. Pasterjak

No workspace is complete without a basic first aid kit. To some folks that means brake clean to clean out the wound and duct tape to stop the bleeding. Practically everything you do in your shop can lead to injury, and even injuries can compound if not dealt with immediately. (side note brake clean will make ant bites heal faster, but it burns like hell)

Even if you only do the most basic mechanical tasks in your shop, you’re still dealing with sharp edges, hazardous chemicals and hard surfaces. You should have the ability to quickly deal with minor cuts, scrapes, punctures, burns and foreign object removal. Bonus points for eye wash, and double bonus points for dedicated spill containment. While a spill may not be an immediate first aid hazard, it can quickly turn into one if that spill is slippery, hot or toxic.

[So you've drilled through your own hand] it could be worse...it could be the 2nd time today and there were witnesses.

Also, don’t use your first aid supplies for anything but first aid. Sure, that medical tape can come in handy for your projects, but buy another roll for your toolbox instead of pilfering the stuff that needs to help keep your blood on the inside.

And restock those first aid supplies as soon as you use them. There’s nothing worse than rushing to your first aid kit for a bandage that isn’t there while you’re actively oozing....
but you do still have that stack of old shirts back there to keep the blood from dripping on the floor, don't you?

 

So You've Drilled Through Your Own Hand

By J.G. Pasterjak
Dec 10, 2022

Congratulations! You’ve joined the elite club of people who have, through their own carelessness or inattention, drilled through their own hand while working on their car.

You know this because when you stopped drilling, the hand that was holding the drill dropped neatly to your side where you store it for future use, while the other hand–the hand you were using to support the back of the panel you were drilling through–mysteriously stayed in place. So did the drill itself, stuck as it was through the metal and your hand meat.

Drilling through your own hand can be a confusing and chaotic time. We’ve prepared this handy (Ha! Get it?) guide to assist you in the aftermath.

1. Confirm that you really drilled through your own hand. Upon drilling through your own hand, there will be several signs. The first will be disbelief and denial. “Surely that was someone else’s hand back there,” you will think, and possibly even say aloud, but it will soon become readily apparent that no one else is present. The humiliation is next, but it will only mask the physical pain for a few seconds, so savor it in its purest form while you can.

2. Find a scapegoat. Next to my shop is a donkey. I mean, he lives there, he doesn’t just stand there at random. It’s technically the neighbor’s donkey, but his… pen? Paddock? Donketorium? Whatever you call the area where a donkey lives is right across from the front of my shop.

So when his particular human isn’t around, he’s usually at the fence begging for donkey treats and keeping a watchful eye on my progress. As he is the perfect foil, whenever a mistake is made in my shop, the resulting crash, bang, pop, fizzle or scrape is usually followed by a loud “Dammit, donkey!” clearly indicating where fault actually lies. The overspray got on the windshield not because I am a sloppy masker, but because the donkey was silently judging me.

Upon hearing my cries, the donkey usually responds with a noise that sounds half like mocking laughter and half like derisive deflection. He’s wise to my schemes by now, but quickly shifting the blame from me to him lessens the psychic burden. Side note: For you city folk who have never heard a real donkey before, they sound exactly like your drunk friend doing an impression of a donkey. Sometimes it sounds like "ha Ha dumass"

3. Now you must act. First, forget about finishing this project tonight. Any reason is good enough to stop work, drink a beer and watch a game on tv instead. , In fact, any upcoming plans not directly related to wound care or gauze replacement are pretty much out the window. No, it’s time to summon help. For most of us, this will mean calling an ambulance. Hopefully your phone is actually on your person with no dead battery and not just slightly out of reach of your free hand on the charger inside the house. Drilling through your own hand somewhat limits your mobility, what with the drill bit tunneling through so much tissue and hopefully no bone and pinning it to the back of the panel you were supporting. 2X4's are cheap . 911 won't be.

Anyway, it’s about now that you begin wishing there were two emergency numbers you could call: one for regular emergencies and one for really embarrassing ones. I’d be more than willing to spend a couple extra bucks toward my deductible if I knew I could expect a certain level of discretion from my rescue professionals. Or maybe I will wrap a blood soaked rag around the phone to disguise my voice.

Let’s face it, 911 dispatchers aren’t always stupid, and they’ve seen and heard it all, especially if you are a frequent caller. When they say, “911, what is your emergency?” and use your first name, you are really in trouble now. and you say, “I can’t really say,” they can tell just from the timbre of your voice that your genitals are hopelessly trapped in a pool vacuum fitting while the rest of you is casually nursing a poolside drink like nothing has happened. I’d be willing to bet that after 10 years on the job, a good 911 operator can determine the exact object irretrievably inserted in a caller’s butt based on the first 5 seconds of awkward stalling.

But summon help if you must, and when the paramedics show up, there’s pretty much one course of action they’re going to take. They’re going to cut that precious panel–the one you so lovingly supported with your own flesh–around the drill so they can free your hand and deliver the whole mess to the hospital for proper separation and billing.

Next time either have faster reflexes or learn where the reverse switch is on the drill to save the 911 call.

You wanted to drill one simple hole, but because you didn’t take proper safety precautions, you ended up with a whole mess of sloppily chopped sheet metal to replace. Which reminds me to plug next month’s column: “So You’ve Welded Through Your Own Fingertip.”