Hi all, I'm a long time lurker 'decloaking" to add to this tool theft conversation.
Some years ago I had a very expensive tool box, amongst other items, stolen from my garage.
What the thief didn't realise was that I had gone to the trouble of using a dremel to engraved my licence number in every single socket, ratchet, etc, in the toolbox.
The police called some time later to advise they had recovered my tool box - it had appeared in a pawn shop some distance from my house.
I visited the shop and was also able to find my stolen lawn mower and weed whacker. When I claimed ownership the pawnbroker didn't even bother to argue. They weren't engraved.
If I were to go through the process again I'd try to find some way to chemically etch my drivers licence number into the steel. Engraving took a very long time.
Also, regarding pink paint; here in Australia - at least where I work - so many tradies have splashed pink paint over their tools to prevent theft that it nullifies the advantage. We do have some quite flamboyant work sites though :-)
Personally I don't yet have a remote block to build on, but this is one of the things that has been at the back of my mind for some time. I see tools being 'lost' at work constantly, so I've been forced into the sad realisation that when there is opportunity someone will take advantage. Leaving a large quantity of expensive tools unattended is really just asking for trouble here.
The only solution I have come up with for dealing with the issue when it arises for me is to perhaps convert a cheap old bus into a mobile workshop/toolshed. When I have to leave I'll either take the bus, literally, or relocate it to somewhere I know it'll be safe.
Oh and my dog would sleep in the bus overnight when I'm on my build site. She is a Rhodesian Ridgeback, so she has a very mellow temperament but is fearless when needed (in South Africa Ridgebacks were used to hunt lions) and is an excellent alarm system with a throaty, loud and scary bark. Ridgebacks owners will testify to how discerning the breed is as a guard dog; the rule or thumb is 'if your Ridgeback is barking, investigate immediately'. They don't bark without reason nor, generally, at phantoms, passing cars, wildlife, etc. In this sense she is by far the best guard dog I've ever had - and an excellent companion generally.
Cheers,
Blake
Greetings,
We had bought a metal shed to store our tools in, when we first bought
the property. There were no building on the property and we lived over
an hour away while I was building the place. We had put aircraft cable
on the doors so they couldn't just be slid to the side, but they just
busted up the building to get in. We had a lot of problems with petty
theft, until we got the coydog. Amazing how well that has worked. I
will never live without a dog again, at least not out in the country.
She pays for herself.
Bright Blessings,
Garth & Kim Travis
www.TheRoseColoredForest.com
Bedias, Texas
On 11/9/2012 3:07 PM, JayH wrote:
> I find the stories of theft worthwhile, and I encourage anyone wanting
> to share their theft story to do so. I think reading about these thefts
> is very educational to anyone considering starting a construction project.
>
> However, a theft story doesn't end with how items got stolen, and the
> frustration with the authorities.
>
> The story continues.
>
> Spaceman, Kim, and anyone else...
>
> Please give details exactly where were your tools when they were stolen?
> How were they stored? Were they locked up? If so, please describe how
> they were locked up and how the thieves defeated the lock.
>
> What have each of you done since you were robbed? What steps have you
> taken to increase your site security? What recommendations do you make
> to others that will help them keep their tools secure?
>
> While it is clear that it is extremely unlikely... as in practically
> impossible... for your tools to be returned to you, I encourage you take
> this crappy event that has happened to you and make at least a teeny
> tiny bit of good come from it. Educate the rest of us on Papercreters
> how we can all protect ourselves from suffering the same fate.
>
> I keep coming back to building a tool shed.
>
> Papercrete walls can be extremely strong and durable. Far more durable
> than any standard shed construction. That combined with the strongest
> steel door from a scrap yard and the biggest baddest deadbolt lock can
> go a long way in creating not just a toolshed, but a tool BUNKER.
>
> I realize that no structure can be 100% secure.
>
> However, we can take steps to make a shed so strong and secure that
> thieves will have such difficulty that they will decide to look for
> easier targets down the road.
>
> --- In papercreters@yahoogroups.com
> <mailto:papercreters%40yahoogroups.com>, Garth & Kim Travis <gartht@...>
> wrote:
> >
> > Greetings,
> > I found my local cops useless as well. When my tractor was stolen, I
> > had to fill out the report three times, as they kept filing in the
> > circular file. My insurance company couldn't get a copy before they
> > chucked it. At the time, we were immigrants, no green cards yet, just
> > work permits. We got zero protection from the law.
> >
> > My theft problems stopped when we brought Miss Dusty home. She is half
> > coyote and every scum bucket in the neighborhood is terrified of her.
> >
> > I did have my pretty pink tools stolen, it didn't help. These days, it
> > is rare the farm has no one here, that also helps.
> >
> > Bright Blessings,
> > Garth & Kim Travis
> > www.TheRoseColoredForest.com
> > Bedias, Texas
> >
> > On 11/9/2012 11:45 AM, spaceman wrote:
> > > When I was burglarized five times in six weeks, the best the county
> > > mounties did was take a cell phone photo of a tire track. They reduced
> > > my extensive list of $15,000 worth of tools and electronics to a one
> > > line - "various tools and appliances" and the detective assigned to the
> > > case never contacted me or returned my calls. The fifth time I had them
> > > out here a supervisor showed up with the rookies and said he had
> noticed
> > > I had been hit five times and he thought he might should come by.
> > > Knowing through the grapevine about which gang it was and even where
> > > they live, I tried to get some action and answers for why nothing is
> > > done with the common knowledge. These thieves set up at the local flea
> > > markets and I have found some of my tools there. After some discussion
> > > he started threatening me, saying "right now we are treating you as a
> > > victim, but that could change." I invited him and his clowns to gtf off
> > > my property and never come back. Someday I'll come home and catch the
> > > thieves here, and I will be armed and dangerous. Oh, they stole my
> > > security cams, too!
> > >
> > > My neighbors didn't know I lived here for several years. I don't
> think I
> > > can count on neighborhood watch :(
> > >
> > >
>
>
>
> No virus found in this message.
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> Version: 2013.0.2793 / Virus Database: 2624/5884 - Release Date: 11/09/12
>
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