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Tools for DIY and Home Repairs - S

This page of our A to Z of tools for DIY and home repairs is for tools with names beginning with the letter 'S'.

• Safety glasses or goggles - Protective eye wear should be worn for any work that produces dust or particles at high speed.
• Sanding - Generic term for using abrasives on surfaces, either by hand or by a sanding machine.
• Sanding block - Shape for holding abrasive paper during sanding.
• Sanding discs These are used with a moulded rubber backing disc in an electric drill to sand wood. Available in various grades of roughness. They remove material rapidly, but can scar the wood if you are not careful.
• Sawhorse - A four-legged trestle used to hold wood when sawing it.
• Scaffold tower - Sectional scaffold frames built up to provide a stable working platform.
• Scraper - Tool designed for removing unwanted finishes or coverings on wood or walls. Narrow-bladed scrapers are for paint, wide-bladed ones for wallpaper.
• Screw extractor - This is a useful tool for removing bolts or screws with damaged or sheared heads. A hole is drilled in the centre of the screw and the tapered extractor, which has a lefthanded (reverse) thread, is screwed in using a spanner. The force that is applied will eventually remove the screw.
• Scriber - A pointed instrument for marking a workpiece by scratching.
• Seam roller - Used for flattening the joints of wallpaper.
• Self-grip wrench - Also known as a mole grip, this has jaws controlled by an adjuster to exert great force on objects.
• Set - Angle at which saw teeth are bent to give clearance in a kerf.
• Shave hook - A scraper shaped for removing old paint from mouldings. The head can be triangular, pear-shaped or a combination of the two.
• Sliding bevel A useful tool for marking angles which may need to be repeated elsewhere, this tool works well when used with a try square.
• Skarsten scraper - Tool for smoothing wood surfaces or removing paint, available in long- and short-handled versions with a selection of blades.
• Smoothing plane - There are many different types of wood plane, both metal and wood, but the basic metal smoothing plane is the most useful and versatile.
• Socket spanner - Usually bought in a boxed set, but are also available individually. Available in a range of sizes - metric and imperial. A socket spanner needs to be used with a ratchet handle.
• Soft jaws - Fibre or soft metal covers which fit over the jaws of a vice to protect the work.
• Soft solders - Any low temperature solders.
• Solder - Alloy of tin and lead. Also, to join the surfaces of metals together with fused solder.
• Spirit level - Vial containing liquid and an air bubble fitted into a holder, which can be of a number of designs and sizes, for checking levels.
• Spokeshave - As its name suggests, this was originally used on the spokes of wooden wheels. It is very useful for cleaning up curves.
• Spot board - A spot board is a piece of ply or chipboard about one metre square used as an aid when laying bricks. You support it on bricks and use it hold your mixed-up mortar conveniently close to hand.
• Steam wallpaper stripper - Use a steam wallpaper stripper if you have large areas of stubborn wallpaper to remove from a room. It is usually best to hire one.
• Steel rule - Accurate tool for measuring and laying out. Can also be used as a straightedge.
• Steel wool - Matted steel strands used as an abrasive for smoothing metal and wood.
• Stillson wrench - Heavy-duty wrench with a moving jaw operated by a nut, for gripping round objects.
• Straight edge - A metal or wooden strip one of whose surfaces can be used to draw an exactly straight line.
• Sugar soap - An alkaline preparation, available in crystal form to be mixed with water, which is used to clean and degrease painted surfaces.