Working more efficiently by collecting all the tools before the job?

[CarbideBob]

...
Hunting for random tools multiple times in the middle of the job is a big time waster.

How many times have you gone off in search or to get this or that?
A even one dollar per minute how much did you spend?
No big deal. 60 seconds or 30 seconds or 3 minutes here or there. It adds up lost income.
Simply moving a rolling tool box from one place to another spot costs real money and is bad.
Yes one has a lot of duplicate tools which seems silly. It pays for itself and plus. All those wasted seconds add up.
Watch the pennies carefully and the dollars will take care of themselves.
Arms reach, 2 to 4 steps max is a theory I believe in.
I have 3 triple stack Kennedy boxes that are mine alone with the label "touch these tools and die". I should only have to go to them very rarely.
I firmly believe that all the stuff you may need to setup or run should be employer provided and organized at that machine.
If they have to go to their own box I did something wrong.
Bob

 

[Gordon Heaton]

Regardless of where you stash the tools for a job put the darn things away when you're done!

 

[Marty Feldman]

...Arms reach, 2 to 4 steps max is a theory I believe in...

That is a completely understandable, and thoroughly admirable theory, Bob. The same goes for all the other practices posted in this thread. Trouble is, considered collectively, the shop life jungle is way too messy for anything more that what the OP is after - just some ideas as to what others do. Hard for me to imagine though that this is going to be of much help to any individual shop. Time Is Money is about as far as I can go when it comes to generalizations.

-Marty-

 

[plastikdreams]

I made a small shelf that hands in the front t slot on the Bridgeport...I keep centerdrills, a .500 countersink, .375x4.000 Thompson rod, pipette filled with Molly deeeeee, and various sizes of carbide endmills .250 and under. It's probably 3.000x8.000x.300 with a few pockets milled in it. Saves a bunch of time.

 

[rklopp]

Regardless of where you stash the tools for a job put the darn things away when you're done!

Not only that, put them away in the same place you got them! My wife just loves to never put things away in the same place twice. I find that I keep tools in oddball places sometimes, but as long as they're in the same oddball place every time, the system works, if only because I am the only one using my shop.

 

[EndlessWaltz]

Alright, tell your boss to hire a guy at 3 figures(typically with a Masters degree) to tell you how to do things. Trust us, all your problems will go away.

 

[plastikdreams]

Alright, tell your boss to hire a guy at 3 figures(typically with a Masters degree) to tell you how to do things. Trust us, all your problems will go away.

3 figures per hour?

 

[john.k]

Employer supplied tools..........when I quit ,all the tools were mine ,even the welder and the big air impact guns (up to1" sq drive).........the upshot of this was the business had zero maintenance tools for the new 'dynamic young guy' ,and simply didnt know where to start.............which meant they had to hire in hourly rate maintenance at prices in excess of $500 per two or three hour simple repair job............They had saved a few dollars not buying tools "because they get lost or stolen"

 

[Seesecurity]

Employer supplied tools..........when I quit ,all the tools were mine ,even the welder and the big air impact guns (up to1" sq drive).........the upshot of this was the business had zero maintenance tools for the new 'dynamic young guy' ,and simply didnt know where to start.............which meant they had to hire in hourly rate maintenance at prices in excess of $500 per two or three hour simple repair job............They had saved a few dollars not buying tools "because they get lost or stolen"

That's one of the reasons I don't expect my employees to have any tools of their own. If they want to use their own tools fine, but I buy everything needed for the job.

 

[Rob F.]

Not only that, put them away in the same place you got them! My wife just loves to never put things away in the same place twice. I find that I keep tools in oddball places sometimes, but as long as they're in the same oddball place every time, the system works, if only because I am the only one using my shop.

Yes, I was thinking this exact thought earlier. I have a few tools that for whatever reason in the past they got orphaned from where the rest of the family is. I sometimes think iit is stupid to keep putting it back here when they really belong there. But that odd spot is its home and is burned into the brain that that is where it belongs.
One such item is some chain vice grips that live near the tool grinder. all the other clamps are far away but those ended up there somehow... A big reorg is going to happen this summer, each machine gets its own box with all the tools needed for it. I have been collecting cheap kennedy & similar boxes at auctions, usually with some tools in them so I hope to have most of the basics covered.

 

[richard newman]

At my shop there's an asshole who never puts tools back after using them. Can never find what I'm looking for, all the allen wrench sets are incomplete, tape measures & utility knives scattered all over.

Unfortunately that asshole is me....

 

[eKretz]

Hi 8InchCaliper:
Some basic rules:
1) Don't have employees
2) Spend a ton of money to have one of everything at every possible workstation
3) Spend all your time organizing and cleaning.

If these sound like asshole comments ...well they are...kinda.
But there is some truth in them.

Some people are pigs and leave a trail of crap everywhere they go
Others are so damned anal they never get anything done.
You have to find your own personal balance.

Mine was to have most everything in my own box and to give everyone who thought the contents were fair game, a good hard Peepee slap so they wouldn't do it more than once.
I had no fucked up tools made that way by sloppy assholes littering my box, but I had no "friends" in those places either.
I'd roll my toolbox around and then set up my little kingdom and put my face down and work.
Everything was set up so I could get it and it made logical sense.
So freshly ground tap drills and perfect condition taps in the same compartment in a drawer, and a compartment for each size.
Ditto for drills and reamers.
And on and on...you get the picture.

I didn't gather what I needed for each job...it was already there in my box.
I bought gauge blocks and gauge pins and diamond wheels for the grinder and hubs to put them on and lathe tooling and collets etc etc etc.
Coworkers thought I was bonkers, but I was working contract and I could get a mold build out faster than just about anyone else and it wasn't because I was standing in a bigger pool of sweat...it was because I never had to leave the mill to get a collet or a wrench or a tap or whatever.
I had step drills I made for drilling waterlines with the pipe tap counterbores already on them, I had runner cutters already made up and subgate cutters already made up and bottle thread cutters already made up...I had to make almost none of the stuff that every body else had to spend time on.
It cost a fortune to set up that way, but it really paid off.
I don't think I ever once went looking for an Allen key...co-workers spent hours rummaging for the one that was missing from the shop set.
Fuck that! I had a few sets in my box and I'd keep them complete and in good shape always.
Nobody got to touch them but me...my Peepee slapper was always close to hand.

When I set up on my own I had to buy only the machines...everything else was already there.
I have no employees and I don't want any!

Cheers

Marcus
www.implant-mechanix.com
www.vancouverwireedm.com

Marcus, I've got a sticker in one of my top toolboxes that you'd probably like:

 

[michiganbuck]

If a shop has space a personal push cart can be handy.

 

[Limy Sami]

At my shop there's an asshole who never puts tools back after using them. Can never find what I'm looking for, all the allen wrench sets are incomplete, tape measures & utility knives scattered all over.

Unfortunately that asshole is me....

No it's not it's ME

 

[plastikdreams]

If a shop has space a personal push cart can be handy.

Because my bench is halfway across the shop I use a small cart. I keep .3125 endmills up to .750 on it, parallels .250 and .03125 thick, cutting oil, ratchet, indicol, edge finder, vise stops, 1.000 insert cutter, 2.000 and 3.000 shell mills, drill chuck. Chick vise underneath, and in the pocket some clamps and 2 screw Jack's.

Theres space for stock or extra tools I lay out drills from smallest to largest and/or couple them with taps or counterbores.

There's also space for my Kurt vise on top.

 

[jccaclimber]

If you can't afford to take the time to get the daunting number of tools together up front, can you afford 2x that much time to do it bit by bit during the job?

It may be that your tools are not sufficiently available/are too hard to get to from the start.

 

[Mtndew]

For all you guys that keep all their tools and gear together and ready for the job etc etc etc, .............. perhaps you could enlighten us mere mortals as to how you walk on water?

Your personal tool box should be right next to the machine you're running.
It should have the essentials. Center drills, drill index (your own personal one), calipers, micrometers, etc..
And over time you will acquire some frequently used end mills that can stay at that machine or in your tool box so that you can pull them out while setting up the next job.
I'm in a job shop, so constantly swapping out tooling is second nature.
We weren't able to full equip all machines, but over time we have enough of a tooling supply to make our operators happy and more efficient.

Is my bench clean and organized? Oh hell no, but I know where everything is at lol.

 

[rons]

Even though I have a toolbox on wheels with many essential items, there are many other things that I would need to gather.

And this is another example, while working on a complicated part on the manual mill, I would need to gather many different fractional drills, letter drills, number drills, end mills. After collecting all that, I noticed I need all the matching collets, making more trips. After that, I found myself needing something else for setup, such as a gauge block. Then I noticed the coolant bottles were empty...and after the job, I would need isopropyl alcohol, rags, go no-go gages, sandpaper, the mating part etc etc etc, there are easily 50+ items. I'm trying to create a "master tool list" that has everything we use for reference before the job, but that seems tedious as well. Another thing I tried was breaking it down into smaller tasks, such as for when squaring the block, only collect tools for that operation.

I've been working in the shop for a few years, but I just started thinking about these things seriously like a year ago, how do you guys manage the tools? Thanks!

In your situation I would use portable tool boxes and store them on top of your rolling cart. A light plastic type.
I use one for painting, one for plumbing, electronic workbench tools.

Sort of like your rolling cart is the Enterprise and the small portables are like space shuttles docked on top.

 

[8InchCaliper]

If a shop has space a personal push cart can be handy.

I have a Lista toolbox on wheels that has bunch of drawers that hold most tools I need, and it has a work surface on top, but lately one of the castor wheels is broken, so being unable to roll it easily, I put a bunch of stuff on a push cart, which has the basic measuring tools, deburring tools etc etc, but I keep finding myself going back to the Lista toolbox for odd things like a mirror or a piece of shim, a cart is good for small jobs, but not up to the task when it comes to more complicated stuff IMO.

 

[Limy Sami]

In your situation I would use portable tool boxes and store them on top of your rolling cart. A light plastic type.
I use one for painting, one for plumbing, electronic workbench tools.

Sort of like your rolling cart is the Enterprise and the small portables are like space shuttles docked on top.

And Scotty's your best buddy - yeah?