Rulers are used to both measure distance and to draw straight lines. Tape measures are flexible rulers made from cloth or metal and are useful for measuring longer distances and in tighter spaces. Both rulers and tape measures provide similar accuracy, commonly down to \({1 \over 16}\) or \({1 \over 32}\) inch. A steel framing square is made up of a shorter ruler (tongue) and a longer ruler (blade) that meet at a 90° (right) angle. A framing square is often used by carpenters when framing stairs and roofs.

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.

A hacksaw has replaceable blades and is used to cut metal. The blade type is chosen based on the material that is to be cut. Blades with larger numbers of teeth per inch are more appropriate for cutting thinner materials.

Files consist of diagonal rows of fine teeth and are used for fine finishing work to smooth, polish, or shape objects. Rasps are files with larger teeth that are used for coarse finishing work. Both files and rasps are designed to be inserted into detachable handles.

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.