A joint created by soldering is not as strong as a weld and not as strong as the original metal.

Rulers are used to both measure distance and to draw straight lines. Tape measures are flexible rulers useful for measuring longer distances and in tighter spaces. Rulers and tape measures provide similarly accurate measurements.

A ratchet (or socket wrench) is a wrench that applies torque in only one direction with a handle that can be moved back and forth without losing contact with the fastener. A ratchet uses variable attachments called sockets which come in a variety of drive sizes based on the size of the opening that attaches to the ratchet. Sockets with the same drive size will vary in the shape (six-point, twelve-point) and size of the nut opening that attaches to the fastener being tightened or loosened. Smaller point sized sockets are stronger and can apply greater torque while larger point sizes allow easier alignment.

Electric drills utilize a chuck to hold the drill bit. A chuck's size indicates the largest diameter drill bit that will fit. A chuck is tightened and loosened using a chuck key.

Micrometers provide accuracy to the thousandths of an inch and come in outside and inside varieties. An outside micrometer is used to measure outside thickness, such as the diameter of a bolt, while an inside micrometer is used to measure the inside dimension of an object, such as the diameter of the hole of a nut or the width of a channel.