Anybody have any good, or at least semi-permanant, ideas for marking hand tools? I know anything can be ground off, painted over, etc... by a thief. I'm just looking to ID my stuff in a multiple worker place.
If you don't mark your tools, I don't need to know.
Thanks! Barry
Pink spray paint - all over. A small id is useless. No one is going to walk off with a pink hammer.
-Jack
Barry,
I used to spray paint my a freakin' yellow so they wouldn't get caught up with other's tools. I have seen guys do the same thing with colored electrical tape (the good stuff).
HTH
rik
Barry,
Me again. I would only paint a portion of the handle of the tool, not the whole thing.
rik
B a r r y B u r k e J r ., decides to chip in.
I use a real bright neon paint color. I have been envolved with jobs that everyone had a different color to mark their tools. It really made for a bright work place and an honest one. HAhahaha :)
Rich
I worked in a pattern shop once where a chronically suspicious guy dipped the handle ef every one of his tools in yellow paint. Nice, neat, all at the same angle. Then he went on vacation.
When he returned, the other patternmaker had dipped his so they were red, at the same angle, and with a thin yellow stripe around the top. It took the first guy almost an hour before he figured out how the yellow stripe was put on the handles.
Lionel
Yup, you beat me to it. Exactly what I was thinking. Day-glo neon pink that says "I'm not afraid if my coworkers think I'm gay."
For just ID puposes with honest folks, I write my last name in Sharpie somewhere you can see when holding the tool. Saw blade guards, tops of drills, etc. Not good for theft protection because it's easy to take off.
If you're worried about tools walking off, spraypaint them one of the "safety" colors and maybe grind an inital into the housing. The downside of this is that you'll have a really hard time getting a return from them if you ever want to. I've bought tools from contractors who were upgrading or replacing broken stuff. Had to spend a lot of time with stripper and sandpaper getting them to look not stolen.
GTO(John)
Do you have a Dremel tool? (or the BD equivalent) If so, they sell a bit for engraving. You can scratch, print, or write in cursive on your metal or had plastic tools.
Some years ago a friend of mine had a chemical etcher. You wrote or typed on a stencil that was about 1" square, then put the tool against the chemical and it ate into the surface. My tools done that way still look good as it has not rusted or deteriorated. I don't know if anything like that is still around. Ed snipped-for-privacy@snet.net
I brand the wooden handles. You can "engrave" metal tools with an "electric pencil" vibrating tool with a carbide or diamond tip. I had an electic etcher that used a stencil and a chemical solution. They may still be around.
Old timers would etch names and designs on metal by covering it with beeswax, scratching in the design, and putting nitric acid over that spot. Also, old timers used a stamp to hammer into the tool.
I've learned that lesson the hard way.
Long-necked screwdrivers with comfortable grips and perfectly sized tips seem to beg, "Use me to open a rusted-shut paint can!" to people who didn't pay for them.
Socket sets seem to come back with a few important sockets having jumped ship.
Power tools seem to come back with gravelly-sounding drives.
Years ago I had roommates that helped themselves to my tools at will, believing that friends were friends when they lent you their tools. And so the best investment I made was a set of sturdy tool chests with locks on them. The only tools I left in unlocked places were the ones they had ruined. That way I didn't acquire the reputation of being a stingy bastard, while I could simultaneously teach them an object lesson, that chisels that had been used to pry up nails were thereafter useless as chisels, etc.
That doesn't work as well on job sites, of course. But mostly my tools stay home.
Just FWIW this drives me nuts!! I used to see guys doing this all the time...buy a brand new pinner or router and then spray it with some nasty colered paint. I never could bring myself to do this to a brand new tool. Thing is, on most jobs I could always identify my tools because they were the only ones NOT painted! Some options: A) Let it be known that there is a terrible curse which decends on anyone messing with your tools. B) Let it be known that you will kill anyone who messes with your tools C) Curse and kill the first person who messes with your tools just so that the others will take you seriously...
DD
"It's easy when you know how..." Johnny Shines
Used to be a rental tool company took the same approach, they painted all of thier equipment a very "stylish" purple. Don't think anybody stole their equipment, but then, I don't think many people rented from them either -- kind of one of the laws of unintended consequences.
Well, from reading these posts, how 'bout this....
Use an engraver or letter stamp your initials in a place that is very difficult to get at to grind away - like the inside radius of a power switch or handle- and just paint the power tool cord and strain relief some ugly color or colors. From a distance, you can prove it was yours and back it up w/ yr initials/
BTW - from what I understand, if you engrave or stamp the metal and the theif grinds it off, the cops, if they are so inclined have a method that will bring the engraving or stamping out even if it has been ground away. Something about how the metal is compressed beneath the engraving and stamping.
This didn't do me a LICK of good however, when I found a dust collector that had been ripped off. The cops took the position that "I couldn't prove that I hadn't sold it".... and yes, the thief was a drug informant.
I wonder how all those cross nails ended up in his driveway.
Hope this helps
John Moorhead
The cheap & simple electric engravers do an adequate job. One made by Dremel is around $15 - 20, or a cheap import from HF for $5.
Unfortunately, since this requires the time of an expert, they aren't going to be doing it when someone steals your screwdriver.
-Jack
Number "C" is the correct answer for those of you still wondering.
I have used bright yellow oil based paint for many years. I apply it with disposable modeling/craft size (1/4") brushes that I buy a handful at a time. I pint size can of paint lasts almost forever. I paint a ring around the handle or a large yellow dot, depending on the item. I try to paint them when I buy them new, so the paint sticks better. I paint on a surface the the tool does not rest on, so it lasts longer.
I started labeling stuff because I worked with father, and we often shopped at the same stores. The paint makes my stuff easy to identify so that I don't take other peoples tools. I also think it helps when I send stuff off to get repaired or sharpened. I do know if it keeps other people honest, but it keeps me honest.
I don't loan out tools any more, either. Very few people care how much a quality tool costs, or how long it will last when you take care of it properly. I also do not want the liability of someone hurting themselves with my tools.
otherwise you can get a engraver, but I prefer the simplest method which is the 12V arcing method.
dave
B a r r y B u r k e J r . wrote:
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