[RESOLVED] Theft of tools from Makerspace!

Automotive
#1

Arrived at the space this morning around 8 am to to find that the Automotive tool box was stipped bare of all 3/8 ratchets, and half of the sockets, pliers cutters etc are all gone!
Most of the hydraulic floor jacks are gone, 50% of the 1/2 drive tools are also gone.
Turn the corner to the general tool rack and there is not a Ryobi cordless tool or light to be found

Rule 15 is very clear “As with all other DMS tools, DMS members may not remove any automotive tools from the premises. There is no borrowing of DMS tools permitted for individual members, removing a tool will be treated as theft.”

Assuming this is not a real theft and should not call the police, What the F is going on, and who gets banned from Makerspace ?

#2

Probably taken with permission for the Lemons race. Rule 15 allows tools to be taken with chairpersons permission

3 Likes
#3

@TLAR @dallasmagna

Is @wandrson on the money? That’s the sense I get, given the timing.

#4

They’re at 24 hours of lemons with the permission of the president , board, auto chair, motorsports chair and logistics chair. I left one of every tool at the space BTW

4 Likes
#5

There we go. Problem solved.

As an aside, I recommend any automotive tinkerer put their hands on this Craftsman tool set before Sears goes extinct:
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-254-pc-mechanics-tool-set-with-75tooth/p-00950254000P?plpSellerId=Sears&prdNo=13&blockNo=13&blockType=G13

(Usually on sale for $160 or less)

If I’d had to rely on DMS tools alone, I’d have been stuck under that Mazda for a lot more than 2 days.

1 Like
#6

Yup, we took em. Permission, virtually all duplicates. At LeMons race now, doing GREAT.

10 Likes
#7

Really where is posted ?
I can see taking a single small set of tools, but we are stripped bare.
zero 3/8 ratchets and one 17mm socket for three of us to share this morning
How can a group of what say 6 makers take a majority of the automotive and common tools ?

Might be time for the Lemons chair to purchase a set of tools for the lemons group
I don’t see how it is OK for one lemons team to interfere with the 20-30 people that would like to work in auto on the weekend and god knows how many in the general area are scrambling as all the cordless tools are gone and 95% of the screwdrivers are gone

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#8

15104374436171258410187
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“One lemons team”

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#9

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“One lemons team”

2 Likes
#10

The problem is less that they took all the tools, and more that a bunch of tools have gone missing. As to why it’s “okay” for the DMS racing teams to get tools instead of anyone who shows up at the space this weekend, the chairpeople of the respective committees have total authority over what happens with the tools and supplies in their jurisdiction. If Tom says they go, they go. If you don’t like it, run for auto chair and say “no” next time.

I still say, plan on bringing your own tools for the most part. I recommend only relying on the DMS tools for specialty tools. General sockets, wrenches, and ratchets, you should have your own. The way Craftsman is going, you’re looking at like $0.60 per tool with a decent set.

5 Likes
#11

For the record - Chuck asked me months ago when the motorsports committee was formed if I was going to force him to buy his own tools.
I said “no” but “don’t take everything” because there are folks that do car work and other things that require the use of tools from Automotive.
If as Carey says - All of the 3/8" ratchets are with the race team - well then that is not reasonable and we will have to adjust what is fair for both committees. If not then we have a theft problem that needs addressing.
My view on theft of any gear or tool in any part of the space should be dealt with by a hanging or a trip to Walter’s “Old Sparky” but that is just my opinion.
Thieves are the scum of the earth - see “oxygen thief”

4 Likes
#12

I packed two 3/8ths ratchets BTW

#13

Tom, this is the epitome of be excellent. Personally, I have every reason to believe @LukeStrickland when he said he left behind at least one of everything.

I am also not surprised when @careyritchey says items are missing. It has been awhile since the Lemons team has left, and considering so few of our members actually put tools back where they got them, so it could certainly appear they are missing.

Over the long term it would probably be a good idea for motor sports to acquire their own tools, so the borrowing doesn’t highlight how bad our members are at putting things back where they belong.

2 Likes
#14

I would certainly hope we don’t have a problem with deliberate theft of the relatively cheap ratchets and sockets in the auto box, because that’s just sad. I’m more apt to believe things like that have ended up outside the auto square, broken and sheepishly hidden, or inadvertently forgotten in a vehicle. I know I nearly made off with a 13mm impact socket because my dad left it on my rattle gun when he packed it into the Jeep- luckily in my tired haze I had the thought “since when is that square drive so long” and realized the socket was still attached.

Still, it’s undeniable that tools have gone missing and are at best unorganized. I’m still trying to think of clever ways to ensure when there’s a place for everything, everything ends up in its place.

#15

This would be a good place to put a reminder that theft from a 501c3 is a felony. We are working on having RFID lockers to check out tools. Unfortunately they seem to walk away more often than the past. This could be a simple case of putting things back in the wrong place or breaking a tool and tossing it. Statistically it’s all three. Be advised thieves will be prosecuted. If you break a tool report it here or let a chair know. That’s not a problem because it’s part of 1600 plus people using tools over and over. Things break. That. said, thank you @TLAR for going to get more tools today.

6 Likes
#16

I did buy a few more tools for the auto area

There is a set of fine tooth ratchets in the black box - 90 tooth, lifetime warranty 1/4", 3/8" 1/2" drives. Most that know me - know I prefer non US or European made tools due to the poor quality from China, but I make exceptions for those made in Taiwan - these are far superior to those typically made in other far east countries.
They were on clearance at Lowes - marked down from $60 to $30, plus another 10% off for my military ID card (unlike some - I do try to spend membership money wisely.

10 Likes
#18

I cannot do modern craftsman nor horror freight.
Next time either of you are up at the space I’ll demo “why” horror freight wrenches are pure shite and more of a problem vs a solution.
A demo based on facts not Internet myth

1 Like
#19

China also manufactures iPhones, which, as much as I hate using them, have some pretty fantastic industrial design and QC. It’s not about where you build it, it’s about how you spec the quality control. Craftsman is still ahead of the Chinese manufacturing curve for QC, based on my abuse of their tools alongside Husky, Pittsburgh, Tekton, and Kobalt.

Still, I have to say there’s a place for HF tools. We had a tech at the Honda shop I worked at who would only buy HF tools. He had at least 10 of everything. Whenever he’d break something, he’d dump it in the bin and grab the next duplicate. Bevo was the only one at the shop who wasn’t in at least 5k of debt to the tool truck man. Of course he was also the only one breaking more than 3 sockets a day doing basic maintenance on new-model Hondas, so take that as you will.

In any case, I like the hand feel of a Craftsman tool. They’re nicer to use in my opinion, than any of the comparably priced tools. And they do seem to explode a bit less than the Hazard Fraught variety.

2 Likes
#20

And per news reports they do so, in effectively slave labor camps…

Also, ‘spec’ the quality control when your a multi-billion dollar company (Apple vs Sears) is very different from an also ran. There was a battery company in the same building I was in (Austin, TX) that I used to chat with the employees during lunch breaks. They had to have about a thirty percent rejection rate. They were able to work with that because they had a high margin product… Tools are not a high margin product, unless you are Snap On or its ilk.

Your HF example is interesting. There is the financial aspect (break even point), but there is also a safety issue. The wrong tool breaking at the wrong time could cause a serious injury. A hospital bill will easily exceed the 5K debt of the others. Everyone needs to make their own choices, but the consequences can be quite complicated and certainly not easily anticipated.

#21

This thread reminds me of the Fellowes

http://www.manufacturingnews.com/news/11/0415/Fellowes1.html

3 Likes