What's inside
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What a Compact Site Kit Actually Does
A site kit is not a workshop in a bag. You are not building furniture on site, you are fitting, trimming, scribing, and fixing mistakes so the job can move on without a trip back to the shop. A compact kit should let you pare a hinge, shoot an edge, mark a line you can trust, and keep those tools on your body while you work off a sawhorse or a floor. If a tool does not earn its weight every week, it stays home.
The limit is usually weight and space. Most carpenters can work comfortably with 7 to 9 kg on the belt and in a tote or tool roll. Go over 12 kg and you start leaving the bag in the van, which defeats the purpose. The kit below fits in one 16-inch tote plus what you wear, and covers about 90% of site joinery without power.
Chisels and Planes: The Core Cutting Tools
Start with chisels. You need three, not six. A 12mm (1/2 inch), a 20mm (3/4 inch), and a 25mm (1 inch) bevel-edge will handle cleaning housings, paring door hinges, and easing tenons. A good bevel edge chisel set in O1 or chrome-vanadium steel is enough for site work. You do not need Japanese dovetail chisels or heavy mortise chisels in a compact kit.
What matters is edge geometry and handle durability. For softwood and MDF on site, hone to 25 degrees primary with a 30-degree micro-bevel. Any steeper and you will be fighting the cut; any shallower and the edge folds on knots or brads. Plastic or acetate handles with a steel hoop survive missed hammer blows better than bare wood. If you use a wooden mallet, a plain ash handle is fine. If you use a steel hammer, get hooped handles or you will mushroom them in a month.
For planes, one well-tuned bench plane beats two mediocre ones. A No. 4 smoothing plane at around 240mm long is the best compromise for site use. It can flush a scribed skirting joint, ease a sticking door edge, and shoot a small end grain patch. A No. 5 jack is more versatile in a shop, but on site it is longer, heavier, and harder to use one-handed on a held workpiece. A low-angle block plane is the second plane to add if you have room – it is better for end grain, chamfers, and trimming laminate.
Failure mode to watch: a cheap plane with a thin 2mm iron and poor chipbreaker fit will chatter and clog on softwood. You will think you need more force, when you actually need a tighter mouth and a sharp iron. Even a budget plane can work if you flatten the sole to within 0.05mm over its length, lap the back of the iron, and set the chipbreaker 0.5 to 1.0mm behind the edge for general work. Honing takes 3 to 4 minutes per iron with a 1000/3000 grit diamond plate. If you will not do that on site, buy a plane with a thicker aftermarket iron from the start.
| Tool | What It Covers | Weight / Space Cost | When to Skip It |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 chisels (12, 20, 25mm) | Hinges, latches, notches, paring | ~600g total | Never – this is the core |
| No. 4 smoothing plane | Shooting, flushing, easing edges | ~1.6kg | If you carry a well-tuned block plane and only do light trim |
| Low-angle block plane | End grain, chamfers, spot trimming | ~0.8kg | If every board is pre-finished and you rarely cut end grain on site |
| Shoulder or rebate plane | Tenon cheeks, rebates | ~1.2kg | Skip for compact kit – use chisel + guide |
Keep one small diamond plate (150mm double-sided) and a strop in the kit. A dull chisel is dangerous and slow. Stropping for 20 seconds after every 10 to 15 minutes of heavy paring keeps you from having to fully re-hone in the middle of a hinge set.
Measuring and Marking Without Second-Guessing
Site accuracy is about repeatability, not absolute numbers. Use one tape and one square for the whole job. Mixing a 5m tape with a 7.5m tape can introduce 0.5mm to 1.0mm differences over a metre due to hook play and printing tolerances.
Carry a 5m tape with a 19mm or 25mm blade. The wider blade stands out 2m unsupported, which matters when marking studs alone. Check the hook: it should slide about 1mm (the thickness of the hook) to compensate for inside vs outside measurements. If it is loose or jammed with dust, your inside measurements will be off by that amount.
For squares, a 300mm combination square and a small 100mm double square cover layout and checking. The combination square marks 90 and 45 degrees, sets depth for hinges (typically 3mm for standard butt hinges), and checks square on assembled frames. The double square lives in your apron pocket for quick checks. Add a sliding bevel for copying existing angles and a wheel marking gauge for scribing parallel lines. A wheel gauge leaves a clean knife line that guides a chisel; a pencil gauge tears softwood and wanders.
Marking tools are where cheap is often fine. A mechanical pencil with 0.7mm or 0.9mm lead does not need sharpening and marks the same width every time. A traditional carpenter’s pencil is better for rough timber where a fine line clogs with dust. For knife lines, a single-bevel marking knife is more controllable than a double-bevel craft knife. Keep the knife sharp or it will crush fibers instead of cutting them, and your chisel will not track the line.
Carrying It: Belt and Tote Layout
How you carry tools matters more than which brand you buy. A full leather framer’s rig is overkill for trim and second fix. A lightweight carpenter tool belt with two pouches and a hammer loop is faster and less fatiguing. Look for a belt 50mm wide with a padded liner, not a 75mm rig that rides on your hips all day.
Put marking tools on your body, cutting tools in the tote. Pencil, knife, 100mm square, bevel, and tape stay on the belt. Chisels, plane, mallet, and sharpening gear stay in the tote in a tool roll. This keeps sharp edges off your hips and keeps weight off your back when you are climbing or kneeling.
Organize the tote so you can see everything at a glance. Chisel roll open with edges up, plane on its side (not sole-down on metal shavings), tape and square standing vertical. Add a small plastic box for screws, hinge packers, and spare blades. If you dig for 30 seconds every time you need a chisel, you will stop using the kit.
Failure modes here are predictable. Overloading the belt causes it to sag and swing when you bend, which is both annoying and unsafe on ladders. If your belt holds more than 3kg, move something to the tote. Second, leaving chisels loose in a bag rolls the edges. Even one drop onto another tool can put a nick in a honed edge that takes ten minutes to grind out.
What to Skip and What to Upgrade First
You do not need a full set of six chisels, a No. 7 jointer plane, or a brass-bound straightedge in a site kit. You also do not need expensive layout tools to start. A mid-range combination square that you have checked against a known reference is better than an expensive one you have never tested. Check square by marking a line, flipping the square, and marking again – both lines should coincide within 0.2mm over 150mm. If not, adjust or replace it.
Upgrade in this order: sharpening media first, then chisels, then planes. A good diamond plate improves every cutting tool you own. Next, replace the chisel you use most (usually the 20mm) with a better steel that holds an edge longer in hardwood. Only then consider a premium plane. A $35 block plane with a properly sharpened iron will outperform a $250 plane with a dull iron on site every time.
Keep the kit compact by rule: if a tool has not been used on the last three jobs, remove it. Most carpenters end up with the same core: three chisels, one bench plane plus a block plane, tape, two squares, bevel, marking gauge, marking knife, mallet, hammer, diamond plate and strop, plus belt and tote. That kit weighs under 8kg, fits under a bench, and handles doors, skirting, architrave, boxing, and small repairs without going back to the van.