back in the same place when they aren’t being used. Second, all tools for a specific task are at their point of use. We don’t have the crayons in the nap area or the books in the art area. This is stunning in it’s simplicity. No mat- ter how disorganized you might be, you’re probably already using this model to some degree. For example, if you have a pin kit with a tool well and keep followers, tweezers and shims in it, you’ve got what you need at their point of use. If you put the tools back and put the kit back in the same place when you’re done, it has a home. Think about it. Time is money in this business. How much time will you save if you don’t have to search for your tools be- fore every job? Even more important, how will it feel to get rid of the frustration? As a bonus, you can apply this model to other areas of your life as well. I’ll tell you about a few of the ways I’ve implemented this model with my tools. Later, I’ll show you what I believe is the ul- timate tool bag. I do want to make it clear that some of the things I’m going to show you, like the tool bags and an organizer, are all items that I purchased myself. No one sent them to me so I could write about them. There’s no bias here. I’m telling you about them because I think they are great ideas, I really like them, a Figure 3. The Grid-It organizer, which the manufacturer calls an “object retention sys- tem,” is made of a fairly stiff but flexible board covered in cloth. Grab and Go In the article I wrote on basic tools, I men- tioned that some of my power tools were kept in their cases and some weren’t. That’s because I don’t want to take up an excessive amount of room in my truck with tool cases. I have storage around my rear wheel wells, and there isn’t a lot of room there. I keep my Sawzall, jigsaw, and 4½ grinder there, without their cases, along with a small box with blades for the saws. Extra wheels for the grinder are kept in a separate drawer. These tools, in their cases, would not have fit in the wheel well and would have taken up 3-4 times the space somewhere else in the truck. Other items, like socket sets, my router and a flexible inspection scope, are kept in their cases with the parts and acces- sories required to use them. I keep my Milwaukee 18-volt battery drill Figure 2. This squeeze play tool, used to form door edge mortises on metal doors, is taped to a large wrench that fits the tool perfectly. and my M12 series impact driver, screw gun and drill/hammer drill in a large Milwaukee bag along with their chargers, and regular and masonry bits. In another bag, I have a Rigid battery-operated motor with its char- ger, and three of the tool heads I use most oſten: right-angle drill head, jigsaw head and reciprocating saw head. My Dremel and a die grinder are also in a single bag with all the accessories I normally use. WWW.ALOA.ORG I store the power tools like that so I can pick and choose what I need to according to the job. If I need them all, I take whatever bag I need. I have a Rubbermaid cart on my truck for large installations, and the power tools take up a lot less space without their cases, leaving room for cases of material. Figure 1 shows an example of point of use. This is a pair of knockout tools I use for mak- ing holes in various metal electrical boxes. I use the canvas bag from a home center to store them, and use the carabiner to hang it on eyehooks I’ve installed on my truck’s back doors. I spent a few bucks to get an extra ratchet and the appropriate socket, which I keep in the bag. I did this so everything I need to use these tools is in one bag and I don’t have to grab my full ratchet set as well. Figure 2 is another example: a squeeze play tool used to form door edge mortises on metal doors. I have it taped to a large wrench that fits the tool perfectly. The benefit of the wrench is the large amount of torque I get because of its length. Incidentally, I also have a box/open end wrench that fits cam lock nuts. In both cases it’s easier than fooling around with crescent wrenches, channel locks and Vise-Grips. The socket and the wrench, being the proper tools, don’t damage the bolt heads. APRIL 2014 KEYNOTES 53
