The Kit
People have asked about the toolkit, and here it is.
This is the box, a Pelican 1450.
This is the top tray. It contains the tools that get used most.
This is the top tray out. The top tray contains, of course, allen wrenches- Bondhus Balldrivers, inch and metric. I curse everytime I use the inch because nobody should use inch parts on metric equipment, damn them. The black teehandle is a 4mm wrench which is useful on the sheet metal of 99% of Japanese and European machine tools. The channelocks are certainly self explanatory, as are the needlenose, the wire cutters, and the five way screwdriver. The pliers on top crimp wiring ferrules, the orange tool on the bottom is a stab for wire termination, the vertical piece on the upper right is a small almost watchmaker sized screwdriver. The electrician’s scissors may be the most useful tools I own- those are Italian, and I will be very upset if anything ever happens to them
In the bottom:The Fluke is also self explanatory. The Vise Grips– well, sooner or later you got to hang onto something. The Crescent wrench, of course, is standard, as are the padlocks- standard safety type locks. The specialty crimpers are for the Amphenol type headers used on the circuit boards of the machines, and the long screwdriver is used to get to the attachment screw of Fanuc circuit boards. There is a sharpie and under the sharpie a china marker.
Separately, There is also a socket set. A few small very custom tools for very specific uses that have their own toolbox, with the measuring tools- calipers, micrometers, dial indicators etc. But these are the critical tools that go everywhere.
I don’t carry a cheater because everyone has a piece of pipe. I don’t carry a hammer because everyone has one.
Well thought out set.
I need to do something like that to a box one day. Just never have need for the same tool more than once, beyond screw drivers and pliers.
Working on tool making machines, I would think this would be invaluable.
Which one of those is the Spanner? Can’t fix Imperial Standard without a proper Spanner!
Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX
That looks strangely like a Navy tool kit… :-D
I am not organized for myself, but if I’m not squared away at work I’m in trouble
Your selection certainly reveals a lot of what you do for sure. I about have to carry the things that you can find on your job sites because more often than not, I am using my tools on the side of the road and I’m the only one with any tools at all. So, a hammer, complete sets of sockets, a complete set of combination wrenches in SAE and metric plus some more common ones (often you need two) and so on.
Oh, and baling wire and duct tape. Never leave home without it!!!
Nice tool kit. Quality tools (Bondhus, Fluke, etc.) pay for themselves pretty quick. I hate cheap-ass tools, although I have some, particularly items that get a lot of wear & aren’t as critical.
How often do you calibrate your precision tools, Og? When I worked in a machine shop, I checked my mics & calipers daily: weekly was required, but I was milling motorcycle brakes, & I ride. I’m now a calibration tech & have learned the value of regular cals, partly by seeing how far things can drift. That looks like a 120- or 170-series Fluke. Yearly cal is a good idea, esp. if your employer pays for it, or you can write it off. If E, I, & R aren’t critical (you just wanna know if it’s live, not how much) it’s a lower priority.
Budd: I calibrate mikes and electronics myself, digital calipers don’t live long enough and Interapid dial test indicators get calibrated each year.
If you can ever find a FLUKE tech, get him drunk. He may just tell you something interesting about calibrating Fluke True RMS meters.