Over the past year or so I have come up with some ideas for some tools and materials that might just make our lives easier. Anyone have any idea what I do next?

Build a prototype, patent search, find a shop that will make them, refine the idea, and look for a market. And contact a laywer to discuss licensing of patentable portions, and copywrites. Not sure of what order that is all in...

See a patent lawyer first. Discuss the idea with no-one and certainly don't put any ideas or designs here or in any other publication. Don't talk the ideas through, or show prototypes to friends, relatives or neighbors. If your idea gets into the 'public domain' first, your patent application will fail.

Best of luck!

Alan

Could one of the tools be a x-ray goggle that one would wear and see behind the sheetrock?

I wish.......

Edward

Maybe it's a magnet that hooks a snake from the basement to the attic for pulling homeruns...

Sheetrock? Who'd use x-ray glasses to see through sheetrock?!!! Jimmy Carter?!

"magnet that hooks a snake from the basement to the attic for pulling homeruns..." done that.... Magnet on a string, on a fishing pole, on a string on a fishing pole, throw magnet across drop ceiling, down walls to cathch another string with a washer on it, or another magnet, retrieve lost linemans, stud/screw/nail finder, keep everything in place in the bags, and pouches... I love magnets!

X-ray goggles would be neat! Although I have thought of getting in the GPR market. (Ground Penetrating Radar) Better than X-ray for floors and walls made of concrete....

Anyway, it can be done... Look at these guys.... All started with an idea.... http://www.maxistools.com/ http://www.no-dog.com/ http://www.rack-a-tiers.com/

If you intend to actually manufacture the thing yourself, you better get some legal advice (and insurance) concerning product liability, as well.

Even if you can't see any possible way for a user to hurt themselves with your product, some moron eventually will, and they'll hire some bottom-feeder lawyer to go after you...

Sad, but that's the society we live in nowadays.

  http://www.uspto.gov/patft/index.html

Wireless,
I would highly recommend getting the book..,"Patent it Yourself" by David Pressman.
He's a patent attorney.
It gives step by step instructions, tells you how to do your patent search, and even has all the forms you'll need.
He even gives advice on marketing your ideas.
I don't mean to sound like a commercial but, it's helped me alot.

I know a guy who was actually successful inventing a couple things and making money. He says you really have to arrange your own manufacturing and distribution if you want to make money. The guy who invents stuff seldom sees a dime if he trusts a manufaturer not to knock him off or a distributor not to rip him off.

You will probably get knocked off anyway and if you don't have pretty deep pockets for lawyers the other guy will get away with it.
At least that was his experience.
The secret is to actually get a marketable product in the field, with a reasonable cost of product and a reliable supply chain before the copycats can get a foothold.

Gfretwell makes an excellant point.
Having a patent will not insure you against someone else taking the idea from you.
All it does is give you a vehicle for litigation.
Whoever has the deepest pockets will usually win.
One of the tricks I know of is to keep your patent pending. The minute your patent is actually issued, it becomes public knowledge and anyone can change one little part of it and claim it as there own. two ways to avoid this are to word it so well that it covers every possible angle and to keep it pending.
While pending, you application is not public record so no one can actually tell how much is covered by the language in it.
Only a fool would try to modify the idea and manufacture it without license to do so if they don't even know what is covered by the patent.