# Tools stolen



## chewy (May 9, 2010)

I have had things stolen but not my whole kit yet. 

Dont let them out of your sight.


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## Big John (May 23, 2010)

Ayuh. I lost most of my hand tools a couple years ago when they cleaned out a side-box on my truck. I had murderous day-dreams about catching the bastards for a good couple weeks after that.

What really sucked was that there were so many individual tools I couldn't remember them all to go re-buy everything so I only discovered I didn't have something when suddenly I needed it on a job.

-John


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## Bbsound (Dec 16, 2011)

I had mine and my very well equipped helpers bags stolen out of my truck once. $3000 later we were back in shape.

Oh, and your boss will tell you its not covered under his business insurance, and your homeowners insurance will tell you its not covered because they are used for work....................now I am getting all pissed off again!!!!!


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## Sparky J (May 17, 2011)

^^^^^ x2 on the murderous dreams John.
It sucks depending on where you hold them all you can do is make it hard to open an very loud at the same time. That said people will get something if they want it enough.


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## Acadian9 (Jun 6, 2009)

I've had 3 hammers stolen. I then bought a little 12oz hammer that I forgot outside one night, came back in the morning and no-one touched it. Seems like no-one wants a hammer that little kids would play with.


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## Edrick (Jun 6, 2010)

Sent a guy on a job for the first time alone, forgot a whole bag of tools and they were gone by the time he returned.


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## chicken steve (Mar 22, 2011)

Highvoltage9 said:


> I haven't had any tools stolen yet but how many of y'all have had your tools stolen. What are some easy ways to prevent tool theft and I don't mean thing like always hold them and never loan them.:laughing:


a stick o' chaulk.....









~CS~


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## jza (Oct 31, 2009)

I have nightmares about getting my stuff stolen.

Tips? Never leave them out of your sight. It doesn't take long to pack your bag and put it over your shoulder before you leave for lunch or whatever. Also, I take my stuff out of the truck every night. I've had two cars broken into and I know how it feels to be violated by a thief.


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## jimmy21 (Mar 31, 2012)

I've had tools stolen twice and got them back both times. Actually the recent time the police still have them, but I assume I will eventually get them. 

1st time, I gutted my house before I ever lived in it. Somebody broke in, in the middle of the night. They used our wheel barrow and took a TON of tools. About every hand tool and power tool I owned and some that were borrowed. Cops just followed the wheel barrow tracks to where they stashed everything. No arrests were made

About a month and a half ago my detatched garage was broken into. They stashed everything in the alley. I'm living 4 hours away and the house was in between renters. My moms bf drove by and noticed everything in the alley. He locked the garage back up with the intention of securing the garage better after work. When he returned, after he got off work, the theives had already returned and broke in again. I drove down that night filed a police report. The next day I went to the pawn shop and told then what was stolen. They had two of the items. Oregon requires ID and to hold everything for 30 days before selling anything. That gave the police a name. They found that guy and he cooperated and took them to his storage unit. He was arrested for 2 felonies and 2 misdemeanors. These theives only took what they could carry in a shopping cart but it still added up to easily over 1000 (for a felony)


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## Chris Kennedy (Nov 19, 2007)

Highvoltage9 said:


> What are some easy ways to prevent tool theft


Sell them and stay home.


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## fondini (Dec 22, 2009)

Bbsound said:


> I had mine and my very well equipped helpers bags stolen out of my truck once. $3000 later we were back in shape.
> 
> Oh, and your boss will tell you its not covered under his business insurance, and your homeowners insurance will tell you its not covered because they are used for work....................now I am getting all pissed off again!!!!!


You need a rider on your homeowners


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## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

How to keep your tools from being stolen,

Paint them pink.

Complain about the crappiness of your tools so no one will ask to borrow them.

Use someone else's tools, leave yours at home.


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## Wireless (Jan 22, 2007)

Bbsound said:


> I had mine and my very well equipped helpers bags stolen out of my truck once. $3000 later we were back in shape.
> 
> Oh, and your boss will tell you its not covered under his business insurance, and your homeowners insurance will tell you its not covered because they are used for work....................now I am getting all pissed off again!!!!!


I put a Ryder on my renters insurance to cover work tools.


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## knowshorts (Jan 9, 2009)

I had my tools stolen from a job site in LA. They torched a hole in a 40' container to gain access. Drilled through the locks on a gang box. Moved aside two 1/2"-4" Greenlee KO sets and grabbed my toolbox and another guys pouch, along with 3-4 Dewalt cordless drills.

What pissed me off the most was the contractor. Super told the Foreman to send us both over to Harbor Freight and bill to the company account. After we told him where to stick it, he said fine, just turn in receipts. So, I drive home and grab my spare set of tools so I can work that day. That afternoon I replace my tools and am down close to a grand. I turn in my receipts expecting reimbursement on the next paycheck. Not only did I not get reimbursed, I was not paid for the Tuesday that I found out my tools were stolen.

After about 2 months I finally got paid. It really sucked, because almost immediately I knew I didn't want to work for these guys anymore, but I had to stick around until I got paid.

Take your tools home and make sure they are insured.


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## McClary’s Electrical (Feb 21, 2009)

I carry 25,000 in tools and 5,000 in material in transport theft insurance. It would really suck if they did it, but someone could steal my entire truck and I'd be ok.


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## jimmy21 (Mar 31, 2012)

knowshorts said:


> What pissed me off the most was the contractor. Super told the Foreman to send us both over to Harbor Freight and bill to the company account. After we told him where to stick it, he said fine, just turn in receipts.


That is ridiculous. They wanted you to replace your Klein, greenlee, craftsman, etc tools for harbor freight junk? Glad I've never worked for such a mickey mouse outfit.


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## NJELEC (Oct 19, 2010)

I got hit this past November and I'm still pissed. Broke out the window of the van, let themselves through the man door between the seat and out the back. Only grabbed what they could carry....my tools and testers. What bothers you the most is the tools the were perfectly broken in, and the small tools you might not even realize you have until you go to use them. There is only so much you can do to protect yourself from theft. My case I opted for cameras and alarm for deterrent. What I would give to have caught them....


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## Shockdoc (Mar 4, 2010)

I took a loss early this year......the government is taking a loss to make up for it.


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## 347sparky (May 14, 2012)

Had my bucket of tools stolen a few years ago. Lost my original pair of kliens from when I started in '89. Biggest Item was a company fluke DM. Contractor reimbursed me for everything I lost and gave me another meter. Had about $400 bucks in hand tools plus a new pouch.


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

Highvoltage9 said:


> I haven't had any tools stolen yet but how many of y'all have had your tools stolen. What are some easy ways to prevent tool theft and I don't mean thing like always hold them and never loan them.:laughing:


Don't worry that _*WILL *_happen...:laughing:


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

chicken steve said:


> a stick o' chaulk.....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


:laughing::laughing:


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

mcclary's electrical said:


> I carry 25,000 in tools and 5,000 in material in transport theft insurance. It would really suck if they did it, but someone could steal my entire truck and I'd be ok.


All new Milwaukee stuff..:laughing:


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## ilikepez (Mar 24, 2011)

decent locks and insurance is about all you can do. you might want to take a couple pictures of what all you have from time to time.


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## jimmy21 (Mar 31, 2012)

I keep talking about taking inventory of all my tools and taking pictures of everything, but I never do it


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## erics37 (May 7, 2009)

Haven't had any tools stolen but that's partially because I'm really anal about storing them. If one is missing I can sense it.

However, I am my own worst enemy when it comes to tools disappearing. I have a wrench or three at the bottom of aeration ponds in various wastewater plants up and down the coast.


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## Vintage Sounds (Oct 23, 2009)

Had a piece of crap labourer kid try to steal my razor knife. I walked up to him, grabbed it out of his hand, and went back to work. He whined and claimed his dad gave it to him "that morning", despite the distinctive notches I cut into it. He couldn't explain where those came from. The GC fired him that day. Lol. Guy had it coming anyway, he took an hour to sweep two rooms and had to take 5 smoke breaks in the process.

My favourite Bosch cordless drill was stolen out of my garage recently. Had that since the start of my apprenticeship, and it survived all kinds of rough use. A week later, after I'd bought a replacement, it magically reappeared in my garage, in close to, but not quite the same location as where I'd left it. No explanation, and definitely not misplaced by me. At least it's back. I love that drill and the new one I bought doesn't have as nice of a trigger feel as the old one. It does have more power and weigh less though.


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## manchestersparky (Mar 25, 2007)

Had a company van broke into back in the early 90"s. They moved my tool pouch, and 2 tool boxes full of tools to get to the power tools. They took 2 milwaukee sawzalls, a milwaukee 1/2" hole shooter drill, Metabo Hammerdrill and my cordless drill kit. Boss replaced everything including my cordless.

Years later I was with a company that had the building they were working in catch on fire and 80% of it burned to the ground. The building was an old wooden courthouse that was be renovated. There were about 100 + workers there that day. 
There were 20 electricians and some of them had to haul ass out quickly, leaving everything behind.
The owner of the company asked all the workers to give him a detailed list of the tools they lost due to the fire. Everyone turned in a list with hopes of replacements. The owner then told the guys that he would order the tools on each persons list and deducted a percentage of the cost from every paycheck until they were paid for. 
Heres the crappy part - the owner turned in the tool lists as tools lost on his insurance along with the company items lost. He said it helped when it came to paying the deductible. Crappy if you ask me. Glad I was miles away from that job !


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## svh19044 (Jul 1, 2008)

I'm way more likely to lose my own tools before someone steals them. And IF someone did steal them, I would probably just write it off as me losing them.


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## LARMGUY (Aug 22, 2010)

svh19044 said:


> I'm way more likely to lose my own tools before someone steals them. And IF someone did steal them, I would probably just write it off as me losing them.


So what is the address oif the job you are working on now? 

:jester: :whistling2: :laughing: :laughing:


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## bubb_tubbs (Apr 15, 2012)

I have pretty distinctive hand tools (everything is European manufacture and pretty rare on our jobs) so I've never had a problem knowing exactly who took them so I could steal them back.

I also write my name on the inside of the battery cover on my DMM and T-1000 so guys don't initially realize it's marked.

All my stuff is covered under my insurance though, so it wouldn't be the end of the world if a bunch went missing.


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## niteshift (Nov 21, 2007)

Some good info.below. Like the Texas abbrieviation RATT.


*Stopping Smash & Grab Theft*

Smash-and-grab thieves typically target fleet vehicles when drivers are making deliveries, picking up cargo, or making a service or sales call to a business. The driver, focused on the task at hand, may leave the windows down, the door unlocked, or a laptop in plain view, planning to be out of the vehicle for a “minute.” It takes a less than a minute for a thief to reach in and grab the valuables and be off to his or her next victim. 

One of the keys to stopping opportunist thieves is to make it more difficult to commit the crime. “In order for a thief to burglarize or steal a vehicle, they are going to have to get into the vehicle. So, the Reduce Auto Theft in Texas (RATT) Task Force advocates any technique that will make it more difficult for a thief to get into a vehicle in the first place,” said Michelle Lanham, program manager for RATT.

There are a number of ways fleets can deter smash-and-grab thefts, according to Lanham. “The darkest legal limit of tint on vehicle windows is definitely recommended when it comes to preventing burglary,” she noted. “Safety glass and shatter-resistant window film is another. Both keep a vehicle window from shattering easily if someone attempts to break in. Vehicle door lock reinforcements are another option.”

However, Frank Scafidi, director of public affairs for the NICB, noted tinted windows will only go so far in discouraging a thief. “They only deter the low achievers among the smash-and-grab crowd because you can still see inside through the windshield,” he said. “Now, metal mesh is my favorite. It is a good, secure option, but expensive if you have a fleet to consider. But, what is the risk of theft without it? Then it comes down to a cost-benefit analysis.”

Both Lanham and Scafidi agreed that vehicle caging is among the best theft deterrent options when guarding against smash-and-grab criminals. “It might be best to have a heavy-duty internal cage type protection and untinted glass; let the knuckleheads see they’d need a cutting torch and asbestos gloves to reach the ‘treasure.’ Then, even the idiots might realize that it’s not worth the risk,” Scafidi said.


edit, they target anyone, crime of opprotunity.


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## Holt (Jun 20, 2011)

erics37 said:


> Haven't had any tools stolen but that's partially because I'm really storing them anally . If one is missing I can sense it.
> .


Fixed :jester:


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