# Nice tools... leave them at home?



## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

Why the heck would I buy tools and not use them?


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## erics37 (May 7, 2009)

When I buy a new screwdriver I'm thrilled for a week or two because it's nice and sharp and can actually turn rusty screws. Then after it's worn down a bit it's back to the same ol' ritual of cursing and bitching.


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## chewy (May 9, 2010)

They arent going to walk off if theyre strapped around you :whistling2:

Dont lend your tools and dont let them out of your sight, anyone touches your tools chew him out so that everybody sees and nobody will ever ask you again.

Get a toolbox and keep it locked that contains the tools that arent in your belt.


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## Pompadour (Mar 19, 2011)

i agree with chewy. use your good tools and rarely lend them. 

if anyone has ever made a negative comment about my tools... i would not lend them a tool even if it meant their job. you do not get to give me **** about my tools AND borrow them.


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

I will lend my tools out to most anyone that asks, they are tools not my children.

If they break them or lose them I will expect a replacement.


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## Bulldog1 (Oct 21, 2011)

I don't normally buy cheap tools. Who wants to work with crappy tools at home or on the job? :001_huh:


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## slickvic277 (Feb 5, 2009)

I went out and bought the nice expensive insulated screw drivers. They were so nice I decided to hang them right next to my wedding picture! :laughing:


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## Bulldog1 (Oct 21, 2011)

slickvic277 said:


> I went out and bought the nice expensive insulated screw drivers. They were so nice I decided to hang them right next to my wedding picture! :laughing:



I had to replace a lost pair of linesmens. I was at big blue and the 1000V Knipex were 33 cent less than the regular orange insulated handle ones. :blink:


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## slickvic277 (Feb 5, 2009)

Bulldog1 said:


> I had to replace a lost pair of linesmens. I was at big blue and the 1000V Knipex were 33 cent less than the regular orange insulated handle ones. :blink:


That makes sense. :no:


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

Engrave the last (4) numbers of your SS# on the tool in case it grows legs while you are eating lunch..


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## captkirk (Nov 21, 2007)

i never understood the leaving the good tools at home thing..? I usually buy new if it needs it. I feel like im picking up new stripers and screwdrivers every few months.


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## nitro71 (Sep 17, 2009)

Depends what we are talking about here.. Full on Snap On wrench set or just some Klien tools. I would buy Stanley wrenches and leave the Snap Ons at home. Klein or Ideal or whatever. I wouldn't work without them.


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## That's It? (Aug 31, 2011)

I have a closed top tool bag that I can lock. Inside is MY tools. Outside is crap $2 pliers and screwdrivers. Use anything you want on the outside of my tool bag. If I find your hand inside my bag we'll be having a talk.


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## ilikepez (Mar 24, 2011)

I've taken to smacking hands with the handle of a screwdriver when they reach into my bag. A lot of people have a sense of entitlement that boggles the mind.


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## mnelectrician (Dec 1, 2008)

BBQ said:


> I will lend my tools out to most anyone that asks, they are tools not my children.
> 
> If they break them or lose them I will expect a replacement.


I agree. I've never had a problem with people bringing back tools that I borrow out to people. Borrowing out the same tool to the same person everyday would get old fast though.


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## kevmanTA (Jul 20, 2010)

I know what my tool pouch is supposed to look like when it's full, I can tell just by doing a quick once over when the green horn has nabbed one of my Kleins...


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## Vintage Sounds (Oct 23, 2009)

I am not going to use a cheap piece of crap except if it's a beater screwdriver or something. I gotta have the best pliers, screwdrivers, level, tape, etc and also the RIGHT tool for the job. Using less than that would slow me down and get me in trouble for wasting time. I don't like borrowing stuff from other people if I don't have to. It could be expensive but I don't like buying stuff twice just because the first time I bought a cheap piece of crap that broke. Never had a problem with theft, caught the thief the one time it happened and informed the GC who kicked his ass off the site.

When I get my license I will buy myself all new Knipex/Wera stuff and a pair of NWS lever-action side-cutters. Cost be damned.


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## macmikeman (Jan 23, 2007)

BBQ said:


> I will lend my tools out to most anyone that asks, they are tools not my children.
> 
> If they break them or lose them I will expect a replacement.


Ah cool. So Bob, can I borrow your Greenlee 885 ? I promise to bring it right back......:thumbsup:


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

astrodoggie3000 said:


> What do you all think? Leave your nice tools at home and take cheaper ones to work, or throw caution to the wind and take only the best. I have started to get some nice tools and have alot of money in them... i would hate to see them walk off. But using good quality tools all day makes the job easier and more enjoyable. What are your thoughts on this?


I like to buy nice tools and destroy them as fast as i can on the job..:whistling2:


That is a good excuse to buy the latest new tool..:laughing::thumbup::laughing:


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## HARRY304E (Sep 15, 2010)

erics37 said:


> When I buy a new screwdriver I'm thrilled for a week or two because it's nice and sharp and can actually turn rusty screws. Then after it's worn down a bit it's back to the same ol' ritual of cursing and bitching.


:laughing::laughing::thumbsup:


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## Wireman191 (Aug 28, 2011)

I make my money with my tools, and the nicer, newer tools make it a ton easier on my body, so good tools go to the job with me.
I have old extras of just about everything though, so if I end up on a site where stuff starts walking legs, I got a special tool bag for that job.


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## knowshorts (Jan 9, 2009)

I would be willing to bet $1.27 that most "stolen" tools are really just misplaced. I have seen quite a few guys get all in a huff that someone stole such and such and then it turns out they left it on top of a tile or a heat pump or something. I think it goes back to caveman days. Grunt, grunt. Men aren't nothing without their tools, so when they are missing, it's easier to blame others than themselves.


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## 480sparky (Sep 20, 2007)

I routinely buy new hand tools. Pliers, screwdrivers, strippers, etc. I usually have one of everything that's in my pouch duplicated twice. One set is absolutely new, sitting in a closet at home. They are there for the sole purpose of replacing the tool I have in my pouch should it become lost, stolen, ruined, worn out or after a failed attempt at working on stuff live.

The other set is the old stuff. It's a graveyard of used tools in a cabinet in the van. It's there for the sole purpose of replacing a tool I cannot locate at the moment but still need, so I use the old one to get me through the day.


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

macmikeman said:


> Ah cool. So Bob, can I borrow your Greenlee 885 ? I promise to bring it right back......:thumbsup:


If I owned an 885 and you asked me I would loan it to you. 

I also know that if you broke it you would make it right, you strike me as that kind of guy.


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## BBQ (Nov 16, 2010)

mnelectrician said:


> I agree. I've never had a problem with people bringing back tools that I borrow out to people. *Borrowing out the same tool to the same person everyday would get old fast though.*


I agree with that last part for sure.


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## Acadian9 (Jun 6, 2009)

One guy I've worked with kept the new and nice ones in his side job tool kit. The old and crappy ones went to his day job. Whats the use in using nice tools once in a while when you could use them everyday? My bread and butter is at work, not at home.


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## Bkessler (Feb 14, 2007)

knowshorts said:


> I would be willing to bet $1.27 that most "stolen" tools are really just misplaced. I have seen quite a few guys get all in a huff that someone stole such and such and then it turns out they left it on top of a tile or a heat pump or something. I think it goes back to caveman days. Grunt, grunt. Men aren't nothing without their tools, so when they are missing, it's easier to blame others than themselves.


That about sums it up. When tools get stolen at work it's a gang box getting cleaned or a shipping container. I don't think anyone would steal one screwdriver or "a" pair of linemens.


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## Lz_69 (Nov 1, 2007)

Sort of; I don't really have any cheap tools but I have duplicates of my basic hand tools so if I knew I was going to be working in a rough environment for a few days I would probably go through them and make sure I was using the use my older beat up stuff.


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

I have some crappy tools, those get loaned out.


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## kf5aeo (Dec 4, 2011)

well, half my bins on my service truck hold my tools and the other half material. no room for my helpers tools. but if anything at all comes up missing, it up to him to replace it. so its his responsibility to pick up all tools on a location as well asnmake sure trash is picked up while the electrician does paperwork.


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## MattMc (May 30, 2011)

So your helper is your tool caddy? I am guessing he uses your stuff? He should be collecting his own set too if he wants any future in this trade.


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## MattMc (May 30, 2011)

What is the point of buying nice tools and just leaving them at home to collect dust...definitely use them, take care of them, and keep them close by take them home every night if there's no job box. When they wear or get lost get new ones they can't last forever.


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## mikeh32 (Feb 16, 2009)

I have some very very high end tools that I do not bring to work. Its not for fear of loosing them, its because I need them to stay clean, and not get damaged.


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## MattMc (May 30, 2011)

I actually have a set of snap on tools, my dad was a millwright and I inherited them. Most of them stay home all the time, when I get an actual garage I'll work on cars with them.


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## astrodoggie3000 (Aug 2, 2009)

I have alot of tools that i ordered online that would be a pain to replace. The days of going to the local store and finding what you want are long gone. My wife tells me i have a taste for hard-to-find tools... i think i just want quality, well built tools, and Home Depot doesn't carry them sometimes. I could load-up the bag with Klein screwdrivers and replace them every month... or i could order Wera drivers online and hope they don't walk away from the job. This was the point of the thread.


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

Since we are years behind the rest of the world, when I buy tools I use them at work. 
We have to supply 99% of what we use. Only the specialty tools are gov supplied. 
Even then it seems they would rather we use a star bit to cut a 1/4" anchor hole then supply a hammer drill and mason bit. 

Every now and then management screws us over and we take all but our basic tools back home for awhile. Man does productivity drop like a rock. 
Our tool list is smaller then my grandsons Christmas toy list.


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## sbrn33 (Mar 15, 2007)

That doesn't sound like the goverment jobs around here. I see these guys in the supply house all the time buying new stuff. "Oh gee we need to run a 2'EMT 50 foot, better order us a new Greenlee 854."


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

sbrn33 said:


> That doesn't sound like the goverment jobs around here. I see these guys in the supply house all the time buying new stuff. "Oh gee we need to run a 2'EMT 50 foot, better order us a new Greenlee 854."


Not this fed agency. We are a public works center and our tradesmen have to supply our own or use the old equipment. 
We are a messed up agency. Our tool list did not include a hacksaw but did list star bits up to 7/8. 
I have been asking for about 20 years for a set of punch dies to use on pushbuttons. It sucks to pop the next smaller size and file the opening bigger w/ a notch. 
I love my job but hate the system. It's feast or famine with work. Right now it's famine with no budget. We are doing fill in jobs to keep busy. I would rather charge all day long, it makes time go faster. 
Some co-workers stick to the tool list. Those are mostly the outside former union hires we have. Me I'll spend the $$ and buy what makes life easier for me,, with in reason.


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## Schultz134 (Jul 25, 2010)

I bring the best I have to the job to make my day easier. Including carrying my own personal 12v Milwaukee Impact Driver in a holster. People ask me to use that A LOT! Some people get upset that I carry personal power tools but when its $100 for an impact driver, I don't see it as something that I broke the bank to carry. I don't do it to show people up or work faster, I do it so I don't have to use a screwdriver every 2 seconds, or so that when I'm putting in Tapcons I don't have to constantly swap drill bit to 5/16" driver. 

I have a tool bag twice the size of the one that I carry onto the job with extra tools. I usually buy the best screwdrivers, strippers, linemans, level, etc. but then go cheap when it comes to files, ratchets/sockets, *****, needlenose. When a tool gets worn out, or I simply decide I want a new one, the old one gets retired to the trunk bag. 

Basically all of my pocket tools are top of the line because I don't care to work with cheap crap. All of the other tools in my bag that I "might" need are lesser quality. I lose tools more often than I'd like to admit, but they do walk also.


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## TooFarFromFenway (Jul 15, 2011)

B4T said:


> Engrave the last (4) numbers of your SS# on the tool in case it grows legs while you are eating lunch..


I wouldn't recommend that. Imagine how many times you've been asked to confirm the last 4 of your social......

I use my address and the first letter of my street. 

1631T


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

TooFarFromFenway said:


> I wouldn't recommend that. Imagine how many times you've been asked to confirm the last 4 of your social......
> 
> I use my address and the first letter of my street.
> 
> 1631T


The best number to engrave on anything you want back is your DL number. 
That is the only number that the police can trace and it stays the same across state lines. 
It is not considered a personal identification number that has any value in identity theft as all DL numbers are public information.
Works for tools, TV's and anything else.


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## rltomkinson (Aug 6, 2011)

I worked in two different facilities for several years in each place. Since I was in the same place every day, I had a lockable tool cabinet with all of my good tools in it at work. The cheaper tools, that I bought when I first started out, I left at home where they were less likely to break or get worn out.


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## 3D Electric (Mar 24, 2013)

Zombie thread!


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