Power tools -friend or foe? Not worth it to me!  

Hadn't thought of that but yeah, great point! YOu don't really have any control with a power tool. But hand cranking you can count on!

My husband bought me this one electric screwdriver - said that's all I need. It only turns the screw, doesn't go through wood or anyting, so really all it does is if you have a screw you need to wind into a bolt. Rather useless as most things that come unassembled you have to go through wood or something. So I said, it isn't "enough", so next year for Christmas he got me the "next step up for the little wifey" and this one still hardly goes into anything. I usedi t recently to hang some pictures ... what a nightmare! I pulled out my handy dandy dollar store screwdriver and got those pics hung in minutes! Throw in the dead battery problems and good grief, just crank it by hand! PRoblem solved!

Sounds like something useful - whats the deal with a ratchet? heard of them, but dont know what they do - is that the one that has the longer handle in the parrell position instead of straight up and you pull it back and forth instead of twisting? And what do you do with a Dremmel? My husband has one he uses all athe time for certain things at his work bench but I dont' know what I'd do with it around the house - what am I missing?

Those long ones you mention used to be called Yankee Screwdrivers and in their day they were quite handy (I still have one!), but ratchet drivers have come a long way since then. When you turn a regular screwdriver around 360 degrees then you have to rotate your wrist to get the next turn and after a while that gets tiresome or if you are in a difficult place it is hard to position the head of the driver right each time, so ratchets are great because they let you hold the screwdriver in place and keep turning without all that wrist wrenching. My favorite is shaped sort of like a small pistol an the handle stores all the extra tips, but they have straight ones, too, that work just like regular screwdrivers. But the kind you use are better for prying lids off paint cans, you know.

The Dremel? Besides doing my nails, lol? For one thing, I like to hang many of my kitchen utensils, but for some reason many manufacturers don't seem to know the handles need hanging holes. Whenever I buy a funnel or strainer or whatever kind of gadget, I use my Dremel to make a nice hanging hole and then I braid ribbons and run them through the hole to make pretty hangers. The other thing I use my Dremel for most often in making holes in the wall to put the little pastic anchors in that you pound through so the screw doesn't pull out of the wall board. Then, too, I'm always making little things that need drilling, cutting, or sanding, and those are jobs the Dremel does best.

Your nails? You use a Dremmel for your nails?! Never heard of that but I gues, why not! They have the little pads and such - now that I think about it, probably does a good job!

Yankee Screwdriver - that is funny! I like your Ratchet way better tho. Maybe I'll ask for one from christmas. I am always using a screwdriver for one thing or another and when I can't find one, I use a table knife! We women have to be creative!

Actually I originally bought the Dremel to do fill-ins on acrylic nails years ago, but it is a bit of overkill for regular manicuring probably. If there is an Ace Hardware store near you they almost always have wonderful ratchet drivers in their sale bins, and lately I've seen some nice designer ones obviously marketed for women. Some are better than others, so it pays to pick a few up whenever they are on deep discount and keep the ones you like best and toss the rest. If Santy doesn't bring you one, there are always the inventory clearance sales after Xmas and at the end of January.

I would love to learn and do wood crafts! I do anything that uses a needle except knitting. I crochet and didn't see a need to learn the same thing twice differently!