Mill a slot or slots with an abrasive wheel in a motor tool. Dip the end of each tool into something like Plasti-Dip (www.plastidip.com). This creates a rubberized coating and is available in a number of colors expressly to help color-code your tools
Tool Identification Who’s got my nippers? – by Vince Pugliese
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M
ore years ago than I care to remember, I was a student working one summer for a professional modelmaker, you know, the kind that makes architectural models and prototypes for designers. It was a dream job as I was getting paid for doing something I really loved. Trust me, those old craftsmen really knew their trade – there is a world of difference building for pleasure and building for a client who has to do a presentation for a multi-million dollar housing project! One day one of these fellows came back from lunch with a brand new XActo number 2 knife (the one with the thicker aluminum handle). He took
it out of its package, walked over to the drill press and proceeded to drill a pair of holes in the handle. Must be some sort of trick to improve the balance of the knife or something I thought to myself. So I asked, “Hey, why are you putting holes in a brand new knife?” “Well, at a previous shop there were almost 20 of us and I kept losing knives (and presumably other tools) to guys who would just grab the nearest one and not return it. I got fed up and started drilling 2 holes in their handles so I could tell right away which ones were mine.”
something easily recognized, unique and at least somewhat permanent. My friend from long ago liked the permanence of drilled holes, but you might try any of the following suggestions: Drill a unique pattern of holes in the handle.
One last thing: you may want to get together with your buddies at the club and decide who will use which color or pattern to “brand” their tools, maybe even recording the decision. After all, it could be confusing to see two X-Acto number 2 knives with identical ownership marks next to the junction you’ve been working on.
Figure 1: A red “plastidip” coating on my tools makes them easily identifiable in a tangle of tools next to a layout.
For club members, tool ownership can be as important as it was to my professional model building friend. I’m pretty sure that while no one intends to make off with someone else’s pliers, in a many tooled confusion it can easily happen. Take a page from my friend’s book and start marking your tools – as Robert Frost wrote “Good fences make good neighbours.” The marking should be Figure 1
Page 95 • Mar 2012 MRH The Tool Shed, page 1
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