borrowing tools in the shop

[GTA Matt]

Working with too many morons has left me disenchanted with the idea of loaning my tools out. I'd either have to hunt them down, clean them off, find them broken or just be plain under appreciated. I didn't buy tools so another guy who overstated his skills and tool inventory during the interview could make money with them. I've worked with a select few guys who I've had an open toolbox policy with, so don't think I'm a total ****.

 

[csargents1546]

Every place that I have worked at, no on e has had any problems loaning tools. The same rule applies, return it promptly and clean. Respect it as you own. When I first started out, borrowed another techs ps pulley puller. Was pushing the pulley back on and broke the bearing. Luckily the tool truck showed up that day. Bought a new bearing and returned it nice and clean. I earned the other techs respect after that.

 

[Jwych]

in my shop we are all pretty good about borrowing but comments get made if the new guy isn't making much effort to building his own set. people have families to feed and house but if you knowingly take a job in a profession that you need to furnish your own tools it's just something your going to have to do. With that being said you can't rack up huge amounts of debt either so I don't get to worked up about tools being borrowed as long as the **** makes it back to my box!

 

[genevabuck]

It is simply economically impossible for a starting tech to not have to borrow tools in today's day and age.

 

[kctyphoon]

i dont work out of a box, all my tools at work live on 2 different trucks.. i put ALOT more effort than most people to aquire tools for work. since tools are suppose to be provided by the compnay, most people wont spend a dime to make their lives any easier, even though i feel like they are just spiting themselves since it just makes their own jobs harder. i feel differently, and im willing to spend my own money and/or put whatever effort i can into getting anything that makes things easier on me and the guys i work with everyday.

i tried doing the "im willing to help everyone" thing, and would leave keys to unlock eveything on both my trucks so guys going in on emergency calls at night could get to whatever i had - if they wanted to use one of my trucks.. so i did, and so THEY did.. people would have no probelm using, breaking, and loosing things that i couldnt even replace. best part is i would have to find out when i needed something, and it was either gone or put back on the truck broken.. same with the truck, - broken winch lines, broken hooks, leaking hydraulic lines, the cab full left full of garbage an mud - all being left for me to come in and clean up, call in for repairs, and everytime going under my name - for truck repairs, tool repairs, new tool orders (that would get denyed anyway), all for my boss to see and assume i broke.. when i complained to the few people doing - that answer i got was "get use to it".. so i said, "no prob, get use to taking your own truck again".. so now, every thing that has a lock on it, gets locked.. from the ghetto bars on the utility doors, to each and every individual lock, right down to the doors on the trailer i use. they cant even get to a shovel anymore.. so now even IF they have to use my truck - they need to take their own **** to use when they do..

 

[MagnumForce]

I work in industrial maintenance and everyone in the plant borrows things as necessary but if I need to borrow something once, I go buy it. Now I am the one with the most complete tool collection in the plant and people come to me for stuff. I kind of like it. Generally everyone is very respectful.

 

[Jarhead0408]

Awesome posts ZRX61. Didn't know the term "punk" had been around that long.

Haha, love those guys.. I picked up a new set of Instinct screwdrivers a few months ago, and the first day, not an hour after Mr. SnapOn drove away, I caught one of our tire guys hitting one of my new screwdrivers with a hammer, to punch a chrysler lug out of a flip socket. Jeez

I would have flipped out!

 

[AmishFury]

Haha, love those guys.. I picked up a new set of Instinct screwdrivers a few months ago, and the first day, not an hour after Mr. SnapOn drove away, I caught one of our tire guys hitting one of my new screwdrivers with a hammer, to punch a chrysler lug out of a flip socket. Jeez

this sounds familiar... only luckily it was an HF screwdriver on a chevy lug nut

but seriously who thinks hitting a screwdriver let alone a soft handle screwdriver with a hammer is even remotely acceptable

and if it was a brand new snap-on screwdriver i would have probably hammered it into one of his lug nuts then told him he owes me a screwdriver

 

[Flivver250]

When I started out, I went to the local parts store and bought the basics, all SK. Didn't hurt me too bad. I did have a couple Snap-Ons also. As time progressed, I replaced all of the SK with Snap-On and used the SK as backup. The boss didn't give me jobs I didn't have tools for. Told me there was a lot of shop grunt work for guys short on tools. You get tired of tire swaps, gas pumping, oil changes and rusty mufflers quickly. The boss should have standards for the mechanics and not give out work that exceeds their capacity if they hired them light in tools. Co-worker would have to be mighty trusted to borrow a tool, and would only expect the loan to be a one time event. Can be hard enough keeping track of tools I use myself, I don't want the added burden of tracking my tools that some newbie want to use.

 

[ChevyZ71]

I work in a shop with 7 other techs, we all have a good deal of trust with each other, generally everyone asks to borrow something before grabbing it, I always make sure to clean the tool and at least try to return it in a timely fashion to the person I borrowed from. What really bothers me is when someone abuses the tool they are borrowing, AKA using my chrome sockets on an impact, when they could have just asked me for an impact in the same size. Some people just don't take pride in the tools that earn their living, and they don't think they should treat other people's tools with even more respect.

 

[magicrat]

Just wanted to highlight some goodwill......Been trying to help my brother amass some tools so he wouldnt have to borrow everything at the shop he started working at.....Hes been there 5 months or so....alot of the the techs have given him some nice stuff....Snap on prybars,a matco set of impact sockets, snappy extensions, and a few other tools. Good to see everyone helping the kid out.

 

[248superduty]

I don't really mind if someone borrows a tool but I do keep very good track of my tools. And Once I see that you don't respect them that's it. I really don't care if they break a tool if using it properly. I see it like this, its a tool and they will break. 99% of my tools are lifetime warranty anyway.

 

[RedneckWelder]

Just wanted to highlight some goodwill......Been trying to help my brother amass some tools so he wouldnt have to borrow everything at the shop he started working at.....Hes been there 5 months or so....alot of the the techs have given him some nice stuff....Snap on prybars,a matco set of impact sockets, snappy extensions, and a few other tools. Good to see everyone helping the kid out.

That sounds like a real great place to work.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

Just wanted to highlight some goodwill......Been trying to help my brother amass some tools so he wouldnt have to borrow everything at the shop he started working at.....Hes been there 5 months or so....alot of the the techs have given him some nice stuff....Snap on prybars,a matco set of impact sockets, snappy extensions, and a few other tools. Good to see everyone helping the kid out.

He is well accepted and liked by these Coworkers.... It is nice to feel welcome and appreciated in a work environment.

 

[Lassen Forge]

I recall needing my test light one day, the borrower's response was ???? gosh, I must have left it under the hood of that Buick... That was going to be the extent of his explanation. I replied that the SnapOn truck will be here on Thursday, and those lights are $xxxx.. By the look on his face, you would have thought I had shot His dog... He returned 45 minutes later with my test light...

He must have run like hell to catch that Buick. He would have joined the following club...

"Hey, I can't borrow that, can I?"

Correct. You can't.

Some shops have been pretty good, but there are others you want to put a dash-cam on the front of your toolbox. I don't normally loan tools any more - I used to, but having to replace stuff on my own wasn't worth the loss of time. Too much damage by the overstated underqualified wanna-be mechanics who shouldn't have made it past Shop Rat stage, let alone through an interview.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

He must have run like hell to catch that Buick. He would have joined the following club...


Thinking He did beat flat-rate .. I believe he had to chase that car down at the owner's home or workplace. Lucky for Him, that location was in town..

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

My father (a building tradesman and a union painter paperhanger for 30+ years) always taught me to bring back any tool you borrow, in the same shape you borrowed it. If possible, bring it back cleaner, sharper, lubed, etc. Good advice after all my abuse of his tools when I was a kid..

I had a neighbor who would pawn his tool box all the time, and then borrow my tools when he needed to work on something. I lost a great Craftsman adjustable plier (old fashion chrome with slick black handles), an older Stanley compass (I still miss), a folding ruler, and probably other stuff I don't recall.. He borrowed my chain saw once and ruined the chain and the guide (still need to replace it).

I learned this lesson: Allow people to borrow your tools. Look them in the eye as they take it from you and tell them "I expect it back in the same shape I am loaning it to you, and as soon as you're done with it (and how long will that be?), return it personally to me. If you cannot abide by that, you'll have to buy your own..."

 

[RalloZ35]

I'm just a starting tech, not even out of school yet. But I pride myself on having the tool, I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Being a younger guy, I don;t make great money but I best my *** to afford tool. Now I don't have the specialty things like, compression testers and pullers, but shops I have worked at have supplied it... However, at my current shop I HATE lending tools and the other guys that work there don't take the pride I do in my tools. I treat them with respect, the other guys there have cheaper tools and don't care much. And if you borrow my duracraft wrench and smack it on something when you're done? I wont be mad, but when you take my Matco wrench and smack it on something that pisses me off.. Or put a 4' pipe on my 3/8" drive dual 80 that really irks me off when you return it broken... Nothing gets put back.. thrown on top of my box is about as close as it gets, and the amount of things I have to go search for... No more for me till I see some respect to my tools.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

I'm just a starting tech, not even out of school yet. But I pride myself on having the tool, I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Being a younger guy, I don;t make great money but I best my *** to afford tool. Now I don't have the specialty things like, compression testers and pullers, but shops I have worked at have supplied it... However, at my current shop I HATE lending tools and the other guys that work there don't take the pride I do in my tools. I treat them with respect, the other guys there have cheaper tools and don't care much. And if you borrow my duracraft wrench and smack it on something when you're done? I wont be mad, but when you take my Matco wrench and smack it on something that pisses me off.. Or put a 4' pipe on my 3/8" drive dual 80 that really irks me off when you return it broken... Nothing gets put back.. thrown on top of my box is about as close as it gets, and the amount of things I have to go search for... No more for me till I see some respect to my tools.

Woa,,, You pile anything on the """"HOOD""" (lid) of my tool box,, I'll treat the Hood of your vehicle the same dayhm way.... If you want to borrow a tool, ask, and I will hand it to you.. When returning my tools, place them in front of my toolbox, or on the bench.. Stay out of my tool box unless I specifically ok it... I will put the tools back myself, thus ensuring they have in fact been returned, and are clean and undamaged..

Needn't be a hard *** nor a dumb *** ,, just cover your ***

 

[302]

A guy let me borrow his thread file today, even let me take it home to fix something in the driveway. I'm buying him a beer and buying my own thread file when I get paid.


That thread file saved my ***. Keep the situation in mind when you're deciding whether or not to let someone use your gear. Might make the difference between someone being the pig or being the farmer.

 

[RalloZ35]

Woa,,, You pile anything on the """"HOOD""" (lid) of my tool box,, I'll treat the Hood of your vehicle the same dayhm way.... If you want to borrow a tool, ask, and I will hand it to you.. When returning my tools, place them in front of my toolbox, or on the bench.. Stay out of my tool box unless I specifically ok it... I will put the tools back myself, thus ensuring they have in fact been returned, and are clean and undamaged..



Needn't be a hard *** nor a dumb *** ,, just cover your ***

I lock my box at night not because stuff will be stolen but I will come in the next morning and my tools scattered..

And I just had to steal that quote for a signature!

Needn't be a hard *** nor a dumb *** ,, just cover your ***

 

[Kellyblues]

If you have to borrow something more than a couple times , you probably should buy.That's the way I did and it worked out well.

When I first started out the old guys had a list they kept for you. If you borrowed the same thing more than twice they would share the info with the tool truck. Most of the time it would be the only thing the truck would sell you since the old guys had been spending money with then for fn years. As I advanced through the years I passed that concept along.

When I was a line technician in a multi tech shop I learned it was not the same everywhere . Some places it was really family oriented and if you were respectful of people and their tools you get what you needed if you didn't have it. I worked at a large national chain place once where the guys wouldn't loan anyone jack ****,but they would rent it to you.

At my industrial job its completely cool. We all lock our boxes but if someone needs something we all share for the most part. But most of us have been on the same shift together for over 10 years also. I have keys to 2 other guys boxes and they each have keys to mine. These are guys I would trust with damn near anything. The company does not buy our tools,we do.

My automotive repair I run the last half of the week its just me so I don't have anyone asking. I have friends that borrow stuff from time to time because I've got loads of automotive specialty tools. Things I don't loan are my torque wrenches or my scanner.

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

I absolutely detest, hate AND loathe even borrowing someone elses tools...

Lockheed had the right policy...

https://scontent-lax1-1.**.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/318169_3501694033838_314952032_n.jpg?oh=0d6938a807e459051a7979f98eae38a9&oe=56596F5F

Amazing detail and sage advice.. How old is that manual?? I was waiting to see a "sign here if you agree" page...

 

[WhiffySpark]

I lock my box at night not because stuff will be stolen but I will come in the next morning and my tools scattered..

And I just had to steal that quote for a signature!

Yep - I paid for my tools you can to. I have a new policy. If you need a basic tool you're SOL

 

[Jsf721]

I don't loan my core tools. ***** when the set is incomplete. I have an older cheap set that I loan out. I'm no pro and my friends don't know the difference. It gets them by. I try to take a picture on my cell of em with the tool to remind both of us they have it. . I delete upon return.

 

[Dust Devil]

I don't loan tools to people that can not afford to replace them.

That said the only other guy in the shop allowed to touch my stuff is the shop owner.

 

[Dust Devil]

Amazing detail and sage advice.. How old is that manual?? I was waiting to see a "sign here if you agree" page...

this is beautiful

 

[redwrench60]

I don't mind lending tools out in the shop to those that respect them. Old hands in the shop were kind enough to let me borrow when I was starting out. But.....make me chase it down or tear my stuff up and don't make it right? You're ******* blacklisted.

My only rules are: return them to my hand when you're done, not the end of the day and my tools don't leave the shop.

 

[mperry985]

I don't mind lending tools to anyone as long as they return it in the same condition they got it in, and I have a huge Snap on epiq full of snap on stuff, expensive, but I have no reason not to trust you until you give me one. I have cut off several people in the shop and people know me, and my OCD lol, and know not to borrow without asking first

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[03protege]

I just like how down South they say, "Hey, Can you borrow me a tool?".

Anybody ever hear this? I gotta good chuckle first time I heard it.

Guess I'm too far North

 

[66354dream]

I used to borrow tools from the senior mechanic and treated them as my own while using them and returned them **** and span, I made damn sure I would buy the tools I borrowed as soon as I had the chance though and made sure he knew I appreciated him being generous by buying him lunch once in a while and even brought him a case of beer once or twice, I was lucky because I know quite a few mechanics out there will not lend ANY tools.

 

[georgiadave]

Vega was owned by Lockheed, and absorbed into Lockheed in 1943. They built the Ventura Navy patrol plane and B-17s on licence from Boeing, among other things.

 

[Dennis Leigh Henry]

Vega was owned by Lockheed, and absorbed into Lockheed in 1943. They built the Ventura Navy patrol plane and B-17s on licence from Boeing, among other things.

Interesting.. I'm always amazed what I learn here on the GJ...

 

[Zeroek]

I loan my tools to pretty much anyone in the shop that I know well. I have a lot of tools other guys don't. And there's a few things I haven't got that I have to borrow but I hate asking. There's one of the newer guys that will ask me everytime "why did you buy that tool? You probably won't even have to use it". He was talking about a bearing splitter. Not long later he was wanting me to bring it over to help him get a bearing race off a hub lol.

 

[magicrat]

I think in alot of shops there is no choice......the senior mechanics do the big jobs and the "kids" use there tools to do the little jobs that come in and out.....if not the cars would just sit which is not feasible in a high volume shop.

 

[crewchief888]

i always tried to help out a new (young) hire, just starting out.
i was young once and didnt have a whole lot of stuff when i started, the more experienced guys made suggestions as to what i needed to have, i bought them as i needed them..

an experienced mechanic asking to borrow tools? i dont think so.

many of the tools i use on a daily basis, you just cant run out to a big box store and buy.

i typically have several conversations with every young'un that comes in the door, about what you need to expect to buy in the near future.

ask to borrow a phillips screwdriver? you might get it one time, but dont ask again....

anymore i wont loan anything to anyone who's been there for more than 6 months.

earlier this week, machine came into the shop with some drive motor issues, kid was completely lost, again (this is a common failure, and he's done this repair multiple times)
he had to be told again how to isolate the problem, and asked to borrow the same JIC hyd caps & plugs he's borrowed in the past.....

when he didnt get them this time, he was pissed and spent the rest of the day whining to the service manager...

i bought and paid for my tools, you can too...

 

[joeyd01]

I Often lend tools out and dont have a problem doing so, but if you are not willing to lend tools back if i may need them then you dont get my tools anymore. I have a lot of bigger tools due to coming from a heavy equipment shop not at a equipment rental shop stuff is a bit smaller and most guys only need them once in a blue moon

Sent from my VK810 4G using Tapatalk

 

[2ndGearRubber]

I think in alot of shops there is no choice......the senior mechanics do the big jobs and the "kids" use there tools to do the little jobs that come in and out.....if not the cars would just sit which is not feasible in a high volume shop.

Kids can buy a craftsman set, and do LOF/Rotate all day. When they get some tools, then they can do some actual work. I'll do 4 cars at once, and it's not uncommon for me to do 75%+ of total shop dollar output. My record week was nearly 90%. Plenty of LOFs for those who want to piss money away on light bars and stereos. I'll work myself to death before I give up good work to morons who can't even do half the job without borrowing. For the love of god, after being in the industry for nearly 2 years, if you don't have a god-damn serpentine belt kit, then you're ****-outta-luck!




Just got a new lube kid, he's decent, rosedale graduate, but has like zero tools. Day 7, and I'm already getting testy. He'll get paid tomorrow, "buy some tools" bitching, will begin soon. Leaves a trail of tools where ever he goes. I'm buying a bucket to start collecting them in, as he isn't the only offender. I find pair of pliers and a wrench sitting on a vice-stand that hasn't been used in 2 days? Off to the bucket.

 

[WhiffySpark]

I work with someone like that. Except for he's 45 years old and leaves **** everywhere. Throws cigarettes wherever he pleases. Refuses to clean his own messes up. Drops **** everywhere thinking someone else will pick up it. Ties up our 18k drive on for days at a time for dumb ****

 

[Vigo]

As an instructor at a vocational school i basically loan out tools all day and every day and have seen the full range of results. It definitely comes down to respect, so if you have a problem lending stuff to your coworkers here and there, it probably means you have a problem with your coworkers not respecting you. There are lots of ways to address that, but refusing to loan out your tools, while certainly protecting you from loss, is not going to address the problem of increasing your regard among the people you work around. Obviously some people are projects that just arent worth taking on, but i think in general if someone else is short on tools and you are not there's probably an opportunity to offer some helpful advice or guidance on getting what they want, or where they want to be if you're there. Could be as simple as texting them some links to reasonably priced high quality tools or referring them to Garagejournal.com so they can develop their own tool shopping addictions.