When to Buy and How to Mark Your Tools
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- Опубликовано: 17 июн 2022
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In this livestream excerpt, Adam answers questions from Tested members LexLuthorJr and K about the best time to buy a tool and tips on how to mark your tools as your own. Thank you for your questions and support, Lex and K!
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A special thanks to Tested members LexLuthorJr and K for their support and questions!
Tools are becoming more inexpensive.
And don't last as long.
Life is changing......
Initials with a paint marker on electric tools and a bright Chevrolet orange stripe on us non electric
@@meinkamph5327 i know i tend towards the internet and buy old quality life long tools. The premium brands have a premium price. They are built well they just aren't serviceable anymore
Too bad marking your tools voids the warranty
What’s this you have won thing ? Fake right?
My grandfather would mark a new tool with the date he purchased it and his initials using an engraver, so he knew it was his and how old it was. Luckily, we shared the same initials so when I inherited it, it was already marked.
That is amazing ❤️and your tools will also be inherited
Yes I'm also engraving my tools that way. Shop made tools i have made and selling get the same treatment with a extra makers mark.
Same, although my Grandfather didn't date them. Had to look up the production codes to get a rough estimate. I bought an electric engraver to follow that tradition
I'm glad they ended up in your hands😊
Doesn't solve the identify-it-from-across-the-room part, but once one gets close, it's a solid thing to go on.
My father was a tool and die maker. When I was old enough (maybe 12 years old) to start using his tools, he bought a set of quality tools for me. He told me. "Those are yours. Use them, don't lose them. If you lose them, don't expect to use mine." To this day I have those tools with the exception of one. Later in life he gave me more tools he had extras of. He knew they were going to somebody who would take care of them. He is gone now, and I still have the tools. When I use them, I smile, he is still there helping me!
My dad bought me a set of craftsman mechanics tools when I was about 10 too. They are still my base set today at 46.
Wow, I always wondered how you got those tools. Thanks I really needed to know.
In my aircraft maintenance job the company used to put "micro badges" on all your tools upon hire. To the naked eye it looked like a pencil eraser sized dot of clear epoxy with 3 or 4 pieces of glitter in it. But when the glitter was looked at with a magnifying glass they were engraved with your name and employee number.
As an Auto Mechanic for over 30 years, I would always engrave my name on my tools and also marked them as you have. I've always had a rule on lending and borrowing tools to / from other mechanics. That rule being if your barrow a tool from someone more than 3 times, you need to buy that tool for yourself!!
I got that same reply. Is that a scam?
@@McFly-guitars-n-stuff I also have this reply and have dome doubts it it is a scam. When i contact via telegram my address and phone number is asked.
@@McFly-guitars-n-stuff Also asked to pay $125 to "FedEx" to receive the > $1000 Mac computer that i did won.
Engraving is fine if you want to walk up on everyone using a tool that looks like yours and ask them to let you look at it. Best to mark it in a way that can be seen easily at 12' as Adam says.
I have a 100+ year old wooden hand plane that has initials carved onto almost every face of every component. EG whoever you were it's pretty obvious you either worked with thieves or were a touch paranoid.
My Dad was an engineer, and he had an interesting take on marking one's tools.
He said that marking a tool is a double-edged sword, since it may actually make it more likely that someone would steal it permanently, ie take it home with them and never bring it back.
They can't use it at work and claim that it belongs to them, so they will take it to use at home instead, where it won't matter that it's got someone else's name on it.
An unmarked tool will likely stay in the building, and can be tracked down and 'stolen back' from the thief.
My Dad did mark his tools (they had them professionally engraved with their name in those days) but it's an interesting idea.
Marking only works when your coworkers can be trusted, and 'thefts' only happen by accident.
Apologies if it's already been mentioned: this works for marking rock climbing gear: nail polish. Comes in tons of colors so you can make it individualized. After the color dries, hit it with a clear coat to make it even more resilient. Has worked reasonably well for me on metal tools.
It is basically a colored epoxy. Most are non-electrically conductive; a couple of lavers will protect from low voltage shocks. It will also protect metals from oils and salts from our skin. As long as it is not chipped, it will last years.
Are you able to scrap it off? If not, your idea might be a better option than engravers or hot poking machines
I had an old woodworking mentor who gave me this advice: Buy harbor freight (or cheap) for all "specialty" tools. If you use it to failure, you know you need it and buy a high quality version. If it never breaks, you have a usable tool and didn't overpay. Also, don't buy the absolute cheapest version if it can kill you upon failure!
Bought a large harbor freight mechanics toolset for my oldest son for a college graduation present. Told him as you use them, if they break you’ll know which ones you need to replace with quality tools.
I'd add the caveat to not buy a tool so cheap that the harm it could cause underperforming is more expensive or more time consuming than the money you save from not buying a better option.
I found that when working in a shop with all guys, pink spray painted tools rarely got borrowed and even less frequently wandered off. You might take some ribbing from some of your less secure colleagues but your tools remained with you. :)
Done that with pink for 40+ years and you are right, nobody wants them.
I once toured a show thru Mt. St Mary's college, a girls school near L A. We needed to borrow a pry bar or something. All their shop tools were painted pink. They explained that every time a show passed thru, it would borrow tools and not return them. So they started painting all their tools pink. The loss issue became ZERO. We returned everything we borrowed...
I do red but have certainly considered pink for that same reason. No one's going to be stealing your wrenches.
Yeah, I didn't use spray (in the sign business that's just sloppy) but pink with occasional neon green (just so it's easier to find) always worked a charm. Those who've never walked into a crowded, busy shop picked up a tool someone else was using and walked away without anyone saying a word don't know. Almost always a new hire. It doesn't matter if it's common or you 'only need it for a minute' you never take a tool someone else has marked. Especially from a specialist. There might be a dozen of them in the shop, but that one is marked. At the worst I found myself having to mark sharpies because my work area was between the rest of the shop and the closet where there were boxes of them. That meant every time someone needed one they'd head towards the closet then go "Oh, there's one" and I ended up having to go get another sharpie for the fourth or fifth time that day. Meanwhile, the rest of the shop had literally hundreds of them laying around on shelves, tables and tool boxes. Oh, and if you borrow a roll of tape from someone and the end or corner is folded over so it's easy to find and pull you will be remembered fondly if you return the tape with at least a gesture of folding it in a similar manner. When you use tape a hundred times a day having to spend ten seconds picking and scraping at it with your fingernail is profoundly annoying.
Music to my ears! Oh how this now-disabled 74-yr old former props master, handi-gal, and jill of all trades loves tools!! I come here often to worship in your shop and listen to all your “Shop
Sermons”. I still use the heavy metal tools my grandpa brought with him from Poland. TY Adam for sharing it all!!
Another ole fashioned shop girl! Hooray! Nice to know we are still around.
Those tools must be pretty loud. 😄
@@Voirreydirector may you both keep at it (to some degree or other) for as long as you have the desire to. :)
One of the great life lessons I learned from my Granddad (who built B29 instrument panels, among other things, at Lockheed) is that tools aren't an expense, they are an investment! I still have most of his tools! I took them when he passed many years ago because nobody else in the family had any interest in them ...
Another axiom I live by is I don't borrow anyone's tools and I don't lend mine out! There was ONE exception. Years ago, my next-door neighbor was an ex-dirt track racer. If *I* had something he needed or if *He* had something *I* needed it was no problem, because we both made sure they went "home" when we were done!
If i lend a tool, i make it my responsibility to get it back.
I learnt in primary school, if you lend a pencil or pen to someone, most of the time it won't be coming back to you on it's own.
I lend and borrow stuff all the time, and i can see why things don't get returned. Life is busy.
I'm guilty of never retrieving things, and also guilty of never returning things.
I have my brothers plunge router sitting right beside me as i'm typing this. It's been here for months haha.
I ponder if the ancestor who gets my tools will appreciate that they were carefully chosen and create a set worth more than the sum of the parts. Interestingly I have routinely used tools I bought up to over 50 years ago. And then there's the ones from this week, lol.
I have a wide range of quality among my tools, from cheap HF stuff to your well-known "pro" stuff. If I'm lending a tool that someone is going to be using for more than a day, they're not getting the good stuff. And if I only have one of a certain tool that would be difficult and/or expensive to replace, they're not getting it, period.
My grandfather was an ironworker who would take his tools from job to job. He also had an extensive shop at home with every kind of tool you could imagine. Every tool he had had this particular colour red pain on it somewhere to the point that until I was old enough to know better I just assumed all tools had this paint on it because every tool I ever used did. When I was old enough I realized that all my uncles and aunts and cousins had their own colour for their tools as well. My grandfather passed away 40 years ago and my aunt took over his shop and all the tools in it and the same red colour paint. I have no idea what kind of paint it is or how one can of it could have lasted so long but I dream of the day taking over that colour red and marking all my tools with it as well.
I'm willing to bet if he could have, he would have powder-coated them. Super easy to apply, and is almost indestructible by comparison to regular paint.
Its weakness is UV rays, so it fades pretty quick if it spends a lot of time outside, but a lot of equipment gets that paint treatment because it lasts so long. Apply the powder and cook it at a high temperature to make it stick.
My father could tell you from experience that tool theft changes you. He was a mechanic working for a local diesel engine repair shop. He had a full cabinet of hand tools that got stolen when the shop got broken into. The shop paid him enough to replace most of the tools, but rather than go through the process of buying an entire cabinet worth of tools again, he just quit and started driving a big rig.
Dang, talk about rage quitting! I love it and can totally understand
Not only did they steal his tools, they also stole his job in the end.
Tools (and other items) can be marked for different reasons:
-To proof you are the owner
-To identify your tool from a distance
-To let others know others it is your tool (and how to contact you so you can get it back if it is found.
I heard about someone who did write in all his books 'This book is stolen from ' followed by his name.
Hi Adam, I have to tell you, many years ago we had a new bed delivered and I lent the guys my my Makita 9.6 volt drill to assemble it. A couple of weeks later I went to use that drill and couldn’t find it anywhere but I didn’t make the connection to the delivery guys until about 3 years later when we had a fridge delivered from the same company and the same guys delivered it. I was watching them unload the fridge and I saw my drill in the back of their truck. When I told them that was my drill they denied it and said they had been using it for years and I said I know, about 3 years. “So what makes you think it’s yours” they asked and I replied, because I can still see my f*cking name engraved on it from here. They claimed it must have got mixed up with theirs but they must have been using it with their bloody eyes shut because I had put red paint in the engraving like all my other tools. I laugh about it now and how unbelievable the story seems but I was really pissed at the time. If you buy a cheap zip-tie gun they at least cut the ties off neatly so they don’t cut you open🤬 but you still have the lump to deal with. Cheers Stuart 🇦🇺
i do the engraving and ink over thing also. my first name and last initial.
Pssst, it's Adam, not Jamie 😉
@@wrongtown Ahhh, so sorry Adam.
Adam is really interesting to listen to. It's like hanging out in the shop with an old friend
I learned to mark my tools back in the early 60's from my father. He would mark all his tools by using a file or hacksaw to make three (3) short lines spaced at about 1/8". I made my mark as two (2) at 1/8" - 1/4" space to the third mark. Never had an issue with our tools intermingling.
My grandpa similarly marked his tools with the inscription: I V I. His name was Ted Victor Leifson and when I was a kid I could never understand why. Then one day I asked my dad and he explained that's how all the old timers did it. Simple, much like a cattle brand.
Then he showed me exactly how he did it...using a file on the outside, rounded edge of an open end wrench.
I remember thinking: Wowww.
It all made perfect sense.
I use the same marking pattern! 2 grooves close, the third farther away. It usually never gets noticed (so not tampered with) until I have to point it out.
In the same location helps too, so you know exactly where to glance and dont have to search the entire tool
@@RILEYLEIFSON_UTAH Not a tool guy (when I was around, he did some landscaping/surveying during college) but my dad had a brand-like logo of his initials that he put on his briefcase for quick ID at work or on the carousel for his many airline trips.
I don't work in a shared space, but from time to time I'll take my tools to a work site or a friend's house to help with a project. I found a simple method that works on any tool: I write my initials or name on them with a sharpie, then seal it with a thin layer of 5-minute epoxy. I've also done this with utensils in our Boy Scout "chuck boxes" (boxes of cooking utensils taken on campouts)...those ALWAYS wander from box to box as they're shared. Easy fix and stays in place through dishwasher cycles.
I knew an old navy guy who was a machinist and he was a pink cloth tape guy. His stuff had it all wrapped and when he was doing something sketchy, he wrapped his ring finger in pink tape because it made him slightly uncomfortable but still able to work. It was his way of keeping his things his and reminding himself that he had a family, so if he was going something unsafe he would think twice. Later I found an AVE video and he talks about the exact same philosophy, mark your stuff and be responsible. I use pink cloth tape as an honor to Tim and AVE.
I developed a habit where I use my non-dominant hand when reaching into sketchy places. I figure if I'm going to lose something, might as well still be right-handed in the end.
I paint as well. But I take it up a notch on new tools. I distress and weather them so they don't look new. Like graphite dust in the motor vents so it looks poorly maintained and about to blow. Basically give them the "full Adam".
With tools it’s like edc knives.
Buy once, cry once.
If you have a socket set- use your favorite color nail gel and put it in the stamped numbers on the sockets. Mine are pink. The gel stays very well.
My dads are red. I did his for him. He said it helps him locate the 10mm and 13mm much easier.
One summer I worked as a "Go-fer" for a Plasterer. He had all his tools marked. So I did the same. Being young and cocky, I marked all my tools with the engraving "not yours". Now that I'm older I still mark mine that way, but ingrave my initials hidden somewhere, like on the underside of the battery mag well.
So I guess Jamie's solution was pretty good, he knew which tools were his and other people never borrowed them twice, and if they did you could identify them by their blood on the zip tie. 😁
And the cuts on their hands! And maybe the cuss words coming from their workspace...
an old mechanic taught me once to never cut off zip ties with side cutters. Simply take a pair of linemans, grab the tag end as close as possible and twist. it leaves a nice smooth finish that will not cut you!
Also a pair of flush cut pliers. That's what I use in aviation for all the wire bundles!
Yes, this. Use flush cutters
Bonus marking tip;
Buy a UV flashlight* - use fluorescent paint to mark your tools.
Your tools will light up like a christmas tree if you shine UV light on it.
It's particularly useful in the dark / poorly lit workplace (indoors or outdoors).
And very useful if you've forgotten where you've put your tool down.
Don't want a ridiculous color on your tools?
There's a yellow 'highlighter' Sharpie that can ALMOST invisibly write on your tools.
In regular light, almost invisible.
> In UV light... BOOM! christmas tree.
--
* [At close range (a couple meters), one of those single LED UV keychain lights - (that you get with certain UV activated glues) - will work well enough
Also,
Even a 'DIY blacklight' - (aka 3 pieces of tape, colored purple, purple, blue (with Sharpies).. stuck on the glass of a regular white LED work light) - will mimic blacklight enough to fully light up your tools at a distance.
--
Bonus bonus tip:
I also use this 'UV marking' method for my bikes.
I live in Amsterdam - there's more bikes here than inhabitants.
Finding your bike in a SEA of similar looking bikes can be a pain in the butt.
I've marked mine with fluorescent zip ties - (double function; they also keep the brake / gear cables in place) - and with some distinct UV paint markings.
Again; UV flashlight, shine it past a row of a 200 bikes...
Aaand.. Christmas tree. :)
About twenty years ago, I suffered a break-in where I had many things stolen, including tools. I found them in a pawn shop, but when I reported this to the police, they carelessly (or perhaps deliberately) told the pawnshop owner exactly what to look for, and said thief marked many other items with that same symbol - so the cop refused to seize any of my items saying that other people had marked them the same way. I learned from that point to engrave valuable things with a short combination of symbols that nobody else would be likely to duplicate. Doesn't allow for across-the-room identification, but once seen, these symbols are unmistakable.
I do about the same, but also add my initials, along with taking a photo of the tool, the markings, and the receipt/purchase order the day I get it, that stay backed up via my phone, and on my external HDD when I do my normal offline phone backup, so I have 2 copies, and the digital photos will have the metadata as further proof.
I had a cop tell me one time to put your driver license number on your tools because it’s something they can easily look up, not nothing that be used to too much advantage by the perp knowing your DL number. Not sure now a days if that still holds with how sophisticated identity theft is. Would love to know if this risky these days to have floating out there.
@@jbshrop Not risky for you. It would blow up on the thief copying your mark onto other tools because he's got no legit reason to put your driver's license number on other tools.
@@CommodoreFan64 Cameras are so cheap and it makes filing insurance claims and police reports super easy. Takes all the stress out of a loss.
Many manufacturers offer an online service to register the tools you bought from them, with serial numbers etc. Often they grand an extra year of warranty.
This can be very helpful, when you have to proof the ownership.
I would also recommend taking pictures of your tools and to make sure you note the make/brand name/model/serial numbers.
I’ve been in the construction business most of my life 25 years, it was pretty common for tools to disappear for various reasons. For some reason 2 foot ladders were a hot item for people on job sites. I got sick of losing 2 foot ladder, so I spray-painted mine pink. I spray-painted that ladder 10 years ago and still have it to this day.
especially for smaller tools like files nail polish is a great way to mark tools too! My mom was a watch maker and she marked her tools with nail polish and then etched her initials into the tool's metal as a backup
One thing my father did that I’ve adopted as I’ve started building my own shop is that everything was sharpee’d with “Stolen From [your name here]”. Mostly because if anyone ever stole his whole toolbox their next stop would be the pawn shop and the last line of defense was hoping the pawn shop owner realized how bad it would look to have a full set of Milwaukee with “stolen” written all over it. 🤷🏼♂️
9.6 volt makitas were the very first practical cordless drill, the first one that I remember having a clutch and the tool to have back in the 8 bit days. I worked for a window company and we provided one for all of our installers. 9.6 volt Makitas and fax machines completely revolutionized the way we worked over the course of one summer in the late eighties.
My grandfather would paint all his tools yellow. Like the WHOLE tool! He was a roofer and constantly had different people working for him. Day one for a new hire he would say "my tools are yellow, if you paint your tools yellow they are now MY tools. Pick a different color or a different job." I thought he was being really weird, but when I was older and worked in jobs with tools I got it! I miss him.
I mark my tools in work with cheap bright Pink nail varnish, i find nail varnish last longer than spray paint (which i use when I'm stuck). Also bright pink means you can spot one of your tools a mile away and it's also a great anti theft method because masculine men don't want to use a pink tape measure, tools started to disappear less once i switched to pink,
As a female in the field I feel this on another level my tools would wander off everywhere painted them bright pink on a dare once. None ever went missing ever again that wasn't from my own stupidity!
I use purple as people do not like that color as well and it happens to be one my favorites next to black.
As the only girl in my shop The guys in my shop never wanna use my tools cause they’re marked pink and sparkly.
@@HankScorpio64 I lost a cord because another guy used also used purple.
My dad used to by pink lighters back in the day for the same reason.
Another problem with zip ties is that they can be nipped off, and then you have no proof of ownership. I used colored electrical tape to mark climbing gear, along with sharpie markers on webbing, which worked well. I use spray paint on power tool cords to make it easier distinguish this tool from the rest of the cord and extension cord.
Don't use standard sharpie markers on climbing gear, *especially* not on textiles. Here's an excerpt:
_Tests done by the UIAA Safety Commission and some rope manufacturers have shown that marking ropes with liquids such as those provided by felt-tipped pens can damage them; even with those markers, sold specifically for marking ropes. The test results have shown a decrease of up to 50% of the rope strength, more correctly: of the energy absorption capacity of the rope (expressed by the number of falls in the standard test method in accordance with the UIAA Standard101)._
_Therefore the UIAA Safety Commission warns against marking a rope with any substance that has not been specifically approved by the manufacturer of that rope._
@@tissuepaper9962 wow- I had no idea. Thank you.
I also mark ropes and webbing with sharpie, but only at the very end so any degradation is not an issue. Hard gear I mark with nail polish. I used to use electrical tape but it would eventually gum up and start falling off. Nail polish is pretty bullet proof.
The only problem with electrical tape is that it falls off with any real use, I've found far too much tape in cracks that's fallen off of cams and stoppers. Nail polish is a good alternative, though it helps if you keep it on a low wear area.
@@tissuepaper9962 That report is a decade old at this point. Rope and sharpie materials have changed to the point that it is probably fine to use a sharpie and defiantly a dedicated rope marker. I recommend the channel HowNot2 they did a break test on this. While not expansive in the number of samples they didn't find any reduction in strength.
Paint your tools neon pink and you can tell they are yours a mile off
another tip is add secondry markings in unobvious places because some thiefs will try to hide your marks e.g. i tend to write my initials on the backside of the blade on a tape measure or inside the battery compartment of tools
Inside the battery compartment is a good idea!
I usually write my name in white into the battery compartment of power tools because that's the place where the mark wears off the least.
I had once the batteries of my drill mixed up with someone else's. I had only 4Ah batteries and suddenly there was a 5.5 Ah battery. I said: you must have taken one of my batteries by mistake. I will keep yours until I got mine back.
That was all cool, a couple of days later we switch them back.
But months later the word spread out to me: Do you miss a battery, because we have one too much?
I was like: No, everything is fine.
There are still honest people. But I think, just because I kept track of my stuff and was fair to give them their better battery back. They were aware of me having the same tools and honest enough to reach out for me.
10-4 on the neon pink! Not tool related, but years ago when I had to travel for work and check my luggage in for a flight, I always put a R/C battery Velcro strap in neon pink on the handle. It had my phone number written on it in a hidden area. Imagine standing at the baggage carousel looking at dozens of identical Samsonite carry-ons going by and people trying to figure out which was theirs! I watched the incoming doors and could spot mine instantly! Just stand there until it got to me and grab it! ;)
I also used to use a soldering iron to put my initials on plastic tools...
Patrick Hoyne mentions using nail polish; I'll second that! I'll also add that I always mark my tools in (at least) two places: one obvious one, so I can tell from across the shop, and one subtle one that only I know about. A great spot for this is on the part of the tool or battery that is covered by other half of the tool/battery once the battery is inserted.
This significantly reduces my concern about using removable paint to mark my tools. I once caught someone red-handed; they had removed my name from my heat gun and were trying to walk out with it, and I simply asked them what color the secret dot on the inside of the tool was! More commonly, when I've suspected someone might have "permanently borrowed" a tool, I can surreptitiously check a hidden spot and quickly disprove that theory, which has probably saved a friendship or two from a hurtful and false accusation.
On a bigger scale, I used to work for a company that used purple road cases instead of the typical black cases with white spray paint lettering that you see in EVERY single Rock concert behind the scenes documentaries. It was to differentiate between Christi Lites and FM Systems cases and others. It helped a lot on big shows...
I was watching this on my Xbox and actually logged in on my phone just to say that, as a Scot, hearing Adam describe zip ties as “shite” completely tickled me. 😂🏴🤘🏻
My wife saw my expression as I listened to the second question about marking your tools… humble devastation. I knew absolutely the Savage was right. I reached over the side of the sofa and pulled up a toolbox and showed her my tools marked with gooey blue electrical tape.
Tomorrow I head to the hobby store for a couple cans of outrageous spray paint to better mark my tools.
Thank you Adam.
“…reprove a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.” Proverbs 9:8b-9
In the military when someone worked on an airframe they had specialized tool racks. Before any flight, the tool rack was inspected ensure all tools had been returned and not left on the aircraft.
I have contrasting inset foam, similar to aircraft manufacturing to ensure it was evident a tool is missing. The hole of a different color pops.
FOD kills.
Stupic Google/RUclips. @DaveInPA2010 wrote "FOD kills". Google "helpfully" added a translate to English link that gives you the incorrect "THAT Kills." FOD is a well known acronym in aerospace for "Foreign Object Damage". Like a wrench left inside a jet engine, or you eating lunch where you should't and some crumbs get inside a relay
I work in shops that supply most of their own tools, but occasionally I will bring one of my specialty tools in for a specific job. I usually just throw my initials on the tool in sharpie or paint pen so everyone knows who to ask if they want to use it and denote that it isn’t a shop-owned tool. My grandfather had a branding iron made for his woodworking projects so some of his tools were branded with that.
I agree 100%
If I need a tool more than once a year I buy it…..
Or if I think it’s cool I buy it…..
Or if its on sale and I might use it one day? I buy it…..
Or if it’s the same brand as my other tools I’ll buy it…..
OK I’m the first to admit I’ve got a problem!
But I’ve got a lot of tools!!!!!
heck you probobly even have the tool that can fix that problem!
now which one was it...
Glad to know I'm not the only one with that problem. I've bought tools I was pretty sure I may never even use. LOL
Me too
I made a very custom "brand" that I mark all my tools and more. It started when I needed to mark kayaking gear (we all had similar PFDs and paddles so it came in handy to identify them). It then evolved to my climbing equipment and even my landscaping company.
The brand was a unique combination of a few letters merged together. I made multiple methods to apply it to different materials including a hot-metal brand for melting/burning it into things, paint stencils for spray paint/airbrushing, and for smaller items I would just use a permanent marker.
I have been using this on everything since 2005 and it seems to work pretty good.
You could say that it became your brand. 😛
In my own shop, I engrave my signature and year of purchase with a vibrating carbide tool. My 1/2 - 9/16 inch craftsman box wrench from 1966 was the first. My GrandSon knows the technique and appreciates the "history" of my tools - which will all be his some day.
We marked our tools the same way when I worked on a ranch. The tools lived in our individual work trucks, so they rarely migrated, but it was still helpful to keep track. When I first started working there, I just inherited the color that came with my assigned truck. When it was caught fire I got to pick the replacement color, I picked purple. It humors me thinking about the next guy who got my tools since my coworkers thought my tool color was funny.
My dad marked his tools in pink. Everyone made sure they didn't get his gear.
@@MichaelRainey totally agree. I used to spray paint my tools in not just patterns like what Adam talks about but neon colors ie green pink purple etc. I would also mark with an engraver a pattern of numbers letters and shapes. Didn't always work in preventing but certainly helped in recovery which in a couple cases led to termination of the employee who stole it. I also had a pocket notebook and couple of pages in my organizer that listed the model color combination serial number and engraving. For my really expensive tools I also took photos.
@@anaetachandler8699 I was just mentioning photos in another comment.
Purple historically was the color of royalty. They should have been honored...your highness LOL
I’m 27 and my son turns 8 this year, I’m starting to buy life time tools as well. Marking them with the hope that my lil dude will use the same tools as me is such an underrated feeling!
i use the welding paint pens from tractor supply, want to say Hobart or Miller brand, picked it up as a trick from an old mechanic who would mark the parts he replaced with the miles and date and his shop before the car left, to verify it later for warranty work, chemical and grime resistant and takes some serious stuff like MEK or sanding wheel to remove it. use it on my toolboxes and cordless tools, for my smaller stuff i still do initials engraved onto the parts
I'm a mechanic for a living and we had a saying similar to yours but it was "if you borrow a tool more than once, then you should probably buy it because you'll need it again"
As a little kid, my Dad went through his doubles of hand tools and put white paint on the extras, and those became mine. I'm over 40 now and it makes me smile every time I pick up a screwdriver with some white paint on the handle.
I use acrylic artist paint dabbed on a section of the tool that won't make too much contact with anything.
It works pretty well, and if it wears off, just apply some more
My old boss used to take a soldering iron to imprint/initial our drills.
To avoid zip tie skin slicing, take a pair of linesman pilers and twist off the end zips. It will leave a clean smooth surface everytime.
One way I unwittingly marked my power tools as a commercial electrician was to use a brand-Ryobi, where everyone else used Milwaukee-that nobody else used. They did the job I required of them well enough and their bright color scheme allowed me to see them through wall studs even across a whole floor.
As for tools you need, I used to work on heavy equipment and a standard wrench or socket set came with your regular fractional sizes. The first time I started a job on a backhoe or excavator I noticed that I was missing a certain size.
I ended buying, I believe 3 different 32nd size sockets and combo wrenches. And of course sockets and wrenches above 1".
As for marking, I always used paint. I'd fill in the engraved areas with red paint, mark screwdrivers and other tools with paint somewhere on the tool.
We were cash crop farmers for many years so had a lot of common size hand tools. My dad would hit auctions in the winter to cheaply restock the tools that would get lost in fields or "walked away". His tools that he always kept in his pickup he would generally grind some portion in an area that didn't matter from a strength perspective.
Thanks for tool buying rules of thumb. Also I learned about the stage which is interesting. Lots of good info overall. You deserve another syndicated show.
I usually use a razor blade/exacto to carve my initials somewhere discrete like inside a battery compartment. Then, if there's any question of who the tool belongs to, I can point out my initials. I like that it is a quick, easy, low impact way of marking, though after Adam's story about the Supervisor questioning him, I can see the advantage to having a very visible marking scheme.
I worked in the family business as an HVACR tech. My dad had bought an electric engraver when he was getting started and just like him my tools were all marked with my initials AKD and/or my name. Some tools, primarily the company tools, would be engraved and larger ones such as ladders would also have our company name stenciled on with paint and usually at least one of our labels that we put on the units when servicing or installing. I never had to worry about any of my co-workers, but on some big jobs with other trades especially with companies we didn't normally work with you had to be careful.
I haven't used zip ties for tool marking, but I have used them just to mark the limits of the handles so my fingers catch on something so I don't end up getting pinched. I always use a flush cutter on my zip ties, I've also been known to sand them down a little (round the edges off)
Some military and aerospace jobs require engraving or laser etching of each tool, traceable to the person or even the specific toolbox globally. In industry I used my last initial followed by the last 4 of my SSN. You can't see it from a distance, but it is undeniably yours. If I were on a job where tool mix-ups were likely I would probably just use orange survey paint.
I had the last four of my SSN as my password for the time clock at my first job. Can't believe that employers abuse our national PIN (that wasn't meant to be one) as much as they do. Or writing it on an application and just handing it to someone... completely insane.
At least nowadays most job applications are online and have standards for data protection
Paint pens and filling in embossed regions. And definitely use spray paint. My guys are told to choose 2 colors, 3 if the 2 are similar to someone else's, and get to painting and filling. It is always rough having to paint new purchases.
Man, that would be sweet though. "Today, your job is to mark ALLLLL of your tools with your color scheme, and help out where needed. That's it. That's all you do today, because next week when you want to borrow Bob's Whatchamacallit, Bob's gonna ask you a very important question: "where's YOUR Whatchamacallit"?
I’m currently going to school for aviation maintenance, which we received a set of nice Matco tools. Being the neat freak that I am I had to label and organize my tools as much as possible. I ended up putting my initials on using a label maker, I know the residue might stick around but it’s a tiny little spot. I’m glad I didn’t do anything permanent though because I have had multiple instructors critique me on the fact that we should never label our tools because if someone on a job borrows one and just so happens to accidentally leave it somewhere in an engine nacelle and for it to cause an accident, who gets blamed, the owner of the tool. I begrudgingly said that the labeling was only for school since we all have the same set and I don’t want them to get mixed up, and I will probably take them all off once I am in the field.
I like the stripped paint idea, most of us though, are in general construction trades where intentional theft is the problem. What I have done is what a cop once told me is best from their perspective, was to engrave your driver's license number on your tools. If he stops a suspected thief and sees a DL number on a tool he can quickly and easily run that number and get your name, address, etc. If it is stolen, he now has actionable proof to make an arrest and for prosecution. Also, if you find an unknown tool in your truck with a DL number on it you can ask a cop to run it to get the owner's location to return it.
@@samTollefson Definitely a scam
@@samTollefson Definitely a scam. I also reported the reply as "unwanted commercial content or spam."
Anyway, great idea about the DL!
@@JonesNate Thank Nate, I appreciate you!
Hi Adam, You mention that nasty glue that is so hard to remove - the answer = Rubber Cement Thinner! aka N- Heptane. One brand I am familiar with is “Bestine”.
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I was first introduced to this when I was hand drafting ink on Mylar film (civil engineering). It’s great for removing ink from tools, even “permanent” ink.
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Even gets bumper stickers glue off, and if used carefully won’t damage the car finish.
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I really enjoy your content, keep making and I will keep watching! Cheers from Scott in Seattle :-)
Ah, the venerable Makita 6095d...so many fond memories associated with that tool and (clearly) still remember the model number having learned it building sets in high school theater
Also, the yellow reflective film used on Yield signs is tenacious & easily spotted! I’ve used this for years. Even recovered stolen items marked with this and my name and phone #. Thanks 4 creating! - Scott
When my lads were small, they had to have tools just like Dad’s. I was an OR nurse, so I obtained tape used in marking surgical instruments. It can handle autoclaving temps so it could handle what small boys could dish out.
They’re now 34 and 30. Many of my tools still have the instrument tape in place.
Dear Adam, I wanted to Thank you for the RUclips Videos, I am a Maker (Wood Is my Medium of Choice at the moment) and Your videos on Orginization, tools, and perservering have inspired me to take my Making to the next level. You are a True Inspiration. Thank you So Much! A greatful Fan!
I used to spray paint my tools pink. Apparently No one in the shop would try and keep a pink tool 🤷♂️ before that, no matter the color, they would still go missing
Back in the 90s, the man who is now my best friend's husband always bought pink lighters, because in the 90s no Albertan male would ever steal a pink lighter. :)
For almost all tools, there is a bit of polymer plastic/rubber somewhere. I use a fine point wood burner to melt my initials and then fill it in with an odd color (silver) paint pen. On an all metal torpedo lever, a Dremel’d initials followed by a paint pen
I work in residential construction and constantly deal with different trades being in and out of the job as well as my coworkers all using the same brand of tools. We mark our stuff with initials on the battery and the tools where the battery slides into the tool. Then on the top part of the battery. Kind of discreet but helps us not get confused.
When I was working at my college shop, I "borrowed" padded grip tape (the stuff that goes around the handles of tennis racquets and hockey sticks) in orange and purple from the sports department. A couple of winds of that around the handle of the tool worked great. It didn't come off, cleaned up nicely if it ever got dirty, was visible from the other side of the shop, and also added a little bit of padding and extra gription to my tools.
+2 for “gription”!!!
I used to be in charge of a shop and definitely had the problem of tools wandering off. The shop was on the ground floor, and the admin people on the second floor would think nothing of wandering into the shop and grabbing whatever they thought they needed for some random issue at their desk. And of course they would never return them. Everything was spray painted fluorescent pink to help me spot tools under piles of paper on desks.
For the awful duct tape adhesive residue, I would recommend Bestine. It's the solvent that used to be used in rubber cement (heptane), and it does an amazing job of removing anything sticky from tape or labels.
Adam, Thanks for the tip, I use colored ceat shrink, rubber bands and yes, colored duct tape too! I found naphtha works well to remove the glue gunk.
I use and LOVE blaze orange 550 cord. Mark/lanyard all my tools with it. No paint, no tape....completely different from what other people use. And? It's soft and not in the way.
I also put it on all my knives and optics. When I'm hunting and cleaning an animal, easy to set something down and lose it. Almost lost my laser range finder in the desert a few years ago. The blaze orange lanyard allowed me to find it under a sagebrush when I moved on to a different location and forgot it.
My dad, back in the day, used to use a fine tipped wood burner to melt our initials into our tools. I agree with Adam tho, its nice to be able to ID your stuff from across the room with a bright paint job
For my spanners I've filled the embossed text with paint to make it easier to read and stand out a little, Nobody else has hot pink text and my tools don't wonder too far.
A couple items don't take paint well at all so I've used a graffiti ink that stains to write my name then used cloth tape (camera tape) to add the colour.
Fingernail polish (lacquer) in a wild color works great for hand tools and especially sockets or really small tools. I have sockets that I've used heavily since the mid-90's and they still have fingernail polish on them!
When I worked as a trim carpenter, we would ALWAYS mark our tools with initials/logos/something unique. We usually just used permanent markers, but we would always mark them several places. Somewhere obvious so we could quickly tell it was ours in case someone else on the crew had the same tool, but then we always would mark on the labels because the only way to get rid of the marker would be to remove the label. Marking the same label as the serial number is a good place because "upstanding" pawn shops wouldn't (or shouldn't) buy tools with the serial numbers removed. We would also mark somewhere reasonably hidden like under batteries or something, but then we would get really creative. If you can peel back part of a rubber grip or a drill, or underneath blades on a chop saw, where no one would ever look those make good places. It's hard to argue a tool isn't yours when your unique logo is on the tool and ideally you have a police report listing the tools. Thankfully never had any stolen, but we would always lock them up as best we could because construction sites are popular places for thieves.
My habit is to use a paint marker and run them over any engraving in my tools to color the letters/numbers. Dipping it in paint remover or scraping it out with a knife is really the only way to take it off. Super easy to identify if no one else is using that color or tactic. Red is my go-to color, but in a pinch I like to use colors that others are unlikely to use (like pink). Plus the aesthetic from the colored letters looks very sharp. As an added bonus, finding/reading the size of a socket or wrench is much easier because it stands out.
There were carts at the ends of the rows of shelves in my college library that said "A mis-shelved book is a lost book! Please return books here, not the shelves." A library volunteer would go around and put them back.
I apply this to my tools and ask borrowers to put them on the bench for me to put away.
Great Videos!! Ive branded my drills with a piece of tig welding rod bent into my initials.
I have a 1-3 part process. I like anything that i use as marking to be functional as well. Tape off the end with masking tape (if its a tool that has functioning parts like a drill or a crescent wrench) spray the grip end with spray adhesive go by instructions normally its wait for it to be tacky then I wrap it self adhering tape or grip tape. I prefer purple. Gives you a good grip and no men like purple or pink. Also the tape lasts a couple few years before you need to cut it off and reapply.
I’m part of a large workforce that has more than a few tool thieves so what we have come up with is for large common tools such as the flashlights were issued and other things you put a design on it with paint markers so that even from across the room you’ll be able to tell that it’s yours and theirs no need to go up to people and ask to see a tool
I once worked solo in a project in a scene shop, and brought my aluminum yardstick, which had two price stickers from a regional home center, that had gone belly-up more than a decade before. I figured that would be enough to distinguish it from their yardsticks. It turned out they had THREE identical yardsticks, with the same price stickers, in the same two locations!
My own marking color is what I call "Radioactive Snot Green", which is essentially a flourescent chartreuse, or at least as close as I can get to it. Barring that, I'll use forest green and white, which was my previous mark. Most ofvthe time, it's spray paint, but I've also marked extension cords with a green wire and a white one, (ground and neutral, from electrical cord) spiralled together, near the plug end.
Plasti-dip or heat shrink on anything with rubber handles (color code and enhanced insulation), hockey stick/ tennis racquet wraps for anything that will be swung (color code and better grip)... I also tend to like shorter handles on my hammers (working in confined spaces), so I usually cut them to around 5 inches below the head of the mallet if they are timber handles. Power tools: paint and gutted paracord wraps.
The bright colors help a great deal on site when I'm cleaning up the end of the day/job.
Marking wise I use paint markers for small stuff, spray paint on bigger stuff, Sharpie for short term. And on very rare occasions I stamp or engrave my initial. My site colours were pink and green stripes
I personally use zipties to mark my tools but I have a pair of flush cutters and knip the end off so that the zip tie isn't sharp anymore
Yep, many easy fixes for that issue.
Don’t forget to label all the batteries and chargers! I use the engraving tool to etch my name, in plain sight, where you would clearly see it while using it. Then, some clearcoat over that, if it’s metal, so the letters stay shiny as a patina may form around them. I’ll use a contrasting colored paint on a plastic tool. Paint goes just in the lettering, not covering the whole tool. Does not wear out quickly, looks professional.
@Message me on Telegram 👉 AdamSavagesTested hi
As a retired IBEW electrician I found that many in the trades didn't permanently {engrave} but would kinda {paint or tape} mark their tools, but when working as a motorcycle mechanic, everyone did. It was explained that a Craftsman #2 phillips, was anyone's unless it had a distinguishing mark on it {could be initials, a star, anything}. Later I carried that habit & it saved the guy's I was working on had gang boxes stolen over the weekend. Klein tools started showing up in pawn shops with ESD on 'em. It is a good habit to get into, but it can be a bear {any idea how many sockets you have?} to start after a while into it.
Damn fine philosophy regarding tools!😁👍👏👏👏🎯
I use primarily hand tools so I usually use colored shrink wrap. Finding it large enough to fit over some power tool handles might be tricky.
I always used the spray paint method. A ziptie tip is to twist the end of. It seems weird but it doesn't leave a sharp edge near as bad. Also I have used electrical tape to mark tools as well. Not as bad as duct tape but it doesn't last as long and has an almost greasy residue. But not as permanent.
I bought a cheapo «as on TV» engraving tool at Mr DIY in Thailand. Used it to mark my stuff. Engraving won't shout at you from across the room. It's more subtle, and possibly the best way to mark something in a hidden spot, make it hard to obscure. But I still think it's a good idea for some applications.
I’m new to this whole taking my tools to my work. I started wrapping electrical tape around everything. To prevent losing things but also because I’m very protective I don’t want to steal someone else his tool. Have gotten some letter punches for the future
My dad is an electrician and once told me a story about a ladder he'd brought to a work site. He had to walk away from it for a bit and it was missing when he came back. When he finally found it, like 3 other people had stolen it from each other. Names in sharpie all over. When he tried to take it back, he had to yell at the guy and show him his own name *carved* into the side.
I work in construction and when I started someone told me not to use tape or zippties or anything easily removeable or changed. So i went to harbor freight and bought a $5 engrave and use that.
Yep that's what I use, along with a little custom logo, plus I take photos of the tool with the markings, and the receipt the day I buy it, that get backed up on my phone, and when I do my normal offline phone backup to my external HDD for further proof if they ever get stolen.
So I learned that 3:17 "Don't ever use tape under any circumstances" to mark your tools, instead 7:08 "aluminum tape or metallic tape is another great way of maybe making a very visible part of your tool that makes it stand out " :P
I think he's going back because usually metal style tapes don't use the same glue as duck tapes which are usually the style people use for colorful marking.
Duct tape adhesive is horrible! I believe that is what he meant. Gaff tape does not leave the same residue.
@@thelast929 Even gaff tape gets gnarly after being left on something for a year. Maybe not as bad as duck tape or electrical tape but still not good.
I use an electric engraver on most of my tools. In addition, I also use hi-vis gaff tape so I can see it at a distance. I’ve used paint in the past, but it gets dirty. The tape is easy to replace. I work in the entertainment industry, so a lot of people have that same tools on a job.
I COMPLETELY AGREE about marking ALL your tools. My mark was two green lines and my name. All my tools were marked with a paint pen, but if I didn’t have time to mark a new tool or if I bought the tool while on a job, I would temporarily use green pinstripe tape that I kept in my toolbox for that purpose.
Once a year, a month before my biggest annual show, I would spend my spare time in front of the TV refreshing the marks on ALL my tools.
Oh, and my rule for buying a new tool was - If I have to borrow it from someone three times (in a day or a year) then I had to buy my own at the first opportunity. There were times when the company I contracted to would ask to borrow a tool from ME because they forgot to put one in the show kit. 😆
In the military we marked our tools with that nasty colored tape. I hated it. So I brought nail polish in and marked all my tools in bright pink. Everyone always knows those are my tools. I have never had an issue with mistaken identity. It lasts forever and comes in every color. And now they have needle tips so you can write with the nail polish. So I write my name in bright pink nail polish. It works for so many things now.