I typically avoid Sears, but Craftsman hand tools are generally of very high quality, and I would certainly recommend them. They won't break (and if they do, Sears will replace them without quibbling), and you'll never need to buy another set again.

Hell, most professional shops don't have the variety of tools he uses.

There is a PBS show called The Woodrights Shop with Roy Underhill. Unfortunately it is not shown on any of the PBS stations in Southern California. Roy's carpentry is a tad old fashioned -- doesn't use pesky modern conveniences like electricity or wood from saw mills -- if it was good enough in 1840, it is good enough today. I always found a lot more interesting that Abrams.

One thing I remember is how they did wood floors without milled wood -- the floor joists were not even and neither were the flooring planks -- so you adzed notches in the planks to fit the joists! And then you used hand planers on the top to get an even floor. [I seem to recall a painting somewhere of 20 men planing a floor in a French Royal Palace.]

Well, I made my first major purchase last night. A Ridgid 18v Lithium Compact Drill/Driver and a Ryobi 90 Piece Drill Accessory Set. Got the Ridgid because of the lifetime warranty on the drill and the batteries and it felt right in my hand. The bit set I had no idea on but it seemed decent and I had some ofther recommendations for Ryobi. Done some stuff with them already, very nice so far.