Tools In The Dumpster!

sage

So last week I was an my job site and I saw the Handyman throw a Hitachi hammer drill into the dumpster. At the end of the day during clean up one of my employees retrieved it and asked me if I could fix it for him. I said I would give it a go. Turns out, the only wrong with it was a loose wire to the trigger. Gave it back to Travis the next day and said "good as new".

Yesterday, the handyman sees Travis using His drill, or Travis's drill depending on viewpoint and has a freaking bird and is blowing up on him. Since the handy man will likely be around for the rest of job I didn't want any bad blood (or for any of our stuff to disappear) I asked Travis if he would give it to the handyman. He reluctantly did.

Question? Do any of you throw tools in the trash so quickly? (if you do where do you work? ) Wouldn't you investigate to see what the problem is or send for repair? Or do most of you opt for the dumpster and shelling out more $$$.?

Not a very handy Handyman IMHO.

Just another little thing that bothered me.

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-Lead from the front, or dont lead at all-

A+Carpenter

One mans trash is another mans treasure. I would have kept the drill and told the man you would rent it to him.

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JustaFramer

I aquired two worm dirves that way also a air hose and two chords. A guy I worked for banko'd his corp so he was getting rid of some junk. The guy Steve referred me to a GC he was working for. So I was now a utility carp and he was the sub-framer. Any way he had my brother clean out his cargo trailer and tossed quite a few stuff. I took the saw's one needed a chord the other a table. The chords were in good shape no nicks or cuts. The air hose need a male fitting. Funny thing is I only spent a dollar to fix the hose. I found a short chord that had been cut fixed one saw. I was on another job a guy replaced his steel deck with a bosch and just tossed the deck in the scrap pile.

I take the saws on the the framers jobs and he never say's a word. He is a paper contractor now mexican piece crews do his bulk.

Humble Abode

LOL
I have always tried to fix busted tools first. As a very last resort I would take it into our local tool repair shop. Espesially a Hitachi, Those are some expensive tools. A $22 black and Decker power drill... maybe not so much.

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Just because some of us can read and write and do a little math, that doesn't mean we deserve to conquer the Universe. Kurt Vonnegut, (1922 - 2007) from the Novel 'Hocus Pocus'
The NAPP
Milwaukee Painting Contractor

A+Carpenter

I take the saws on the the framers jobs and he never say's a word. He is a paper contractor now mexican piece crews do his bulk.[/QUOTE]

Man isnt this the truth for most of the south and north now? I struggle to work sometimes just to see it done the right way.

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DecksEtc

That guy doesn't deserve that drill - especially a Hitachi! But, I can see why you did what you did to keep the peace. If I were you, I'd invoice him for the repairs you did - see how he likes that!

Generally, when it comes to the electrical components, I don't repair my tools myself. Sure, I'll swap out the cord (especially when you're dumb and cut the cord on the circular saw when you're coming down the ladder after cutting off a post top - lesson learned!) but I wouldn't mess with the "insides". I leave the things I don't know how to do to those that do.

Also, a lesson for Travis - he should have left that drill at home (or in his truck) and made sure he never brought it out around the dumb a$$.


Adam, I agree with what you said but I wouldn't even have offered to rent it to him - he obviously doesn't know how to respect the tools he has - JMO.

Teetorbilt

Nothing gets the heave-ho without an examination, of course I like to take things apart just to see how they are made.

A fried armature in a small tool usually spells doom, nearly everything else is worth fixing especially if you can DIY-it. Adding in repair shop labor can change a lot, so can the age or condition.

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sage

I have acquired quite a few tools this way myself: two drills, two sidewinders, a Hitachi framer, and more. This was just the first time that I ran into this scenario. Obviously the Handyman was just storing the drill in the dumpster because his handy ass didn't have time to fix it at the moment, I could tell how much he cared about this prized possession by the care he took when winging the thing into the dumpster and by the choice words he used with my employee. Travis, my employee, told me that the guy called him a thief, I personally saw the guy throw the drill in the dumpster He was lucky he didn't get a mouth full of bloody chicklets courtesy of Travis.

I guess my point is, don't throw your stuff away (especially the tools that are your lively-hood) unless your sure that your done with it and don't care to know it's fate.

__________________
-Lead from the front, or dont lead at all-

Peladu

Down the street I have a neighbor guy who’s retired from the Railroad, he’s in his mid 80’s. When I have had enough with a tool, and if one of my guys don’t want it. it goes to him. Every once in a while he will wave me down and have the tool fixed, but every time I have to tell him that its his tool, I don’t want it back. He has his grandson, set up a garage sale, and he dumps them off that way. For this reason, I will (job) dumpster dive for a tool. It keeps him busy and his mind active.

Other then that, I agree with the member that said your guy should not have brought the tool back to that job. But me, call me arse, I would have not given him the tool back, especially if I seen him pitch it with his own eyes. My tools don’t grow leggs because I keep them either in the truck, or locked gangbox when working around others I am not familiar with.

My 2¢

sage

That's the second time that I heard that he should not have brought the tool back to the job. I think I will take that bit of advice, and pass it on, in order to avoid similar situations from occurring in the future.

__________________
-Lead from the front, or dont lead at all-

Mike Finley

Damn! Don't mean to get on you, but you made your employee give his drill to the handyman? I would think your loyaltys would lay with your employees who make you money and keep you in business rather than worrying about some jack ass handyman who you probably will never see again getting his panties all bunged up because he got made a fool of by his own actions. I know if my boss stood up for me I would appreciate him and my job more. As far as tools go, it depends on the price and quality. My old Craftsman rotozip I use for drywall cutting took a crap on me, I tossed it out gladly (I did hate that thing!) and purchased a nice new Dewalt 18vt cordless. I was looking for an excuse I guess anyways so that probably doesn't count.

Bukemdano

Good call to keep the peice. Easy come, easy go. But what a dumbass for throwing it away

sage

Ya. I was waiting to hear that. Nothing that I didn't think to myself already. I told my employee I would take care of him, and I will. As for the other guy I did stand up for my employee and tried to diffuse the situation without any casualties the best way I could think of. I had a talk with my employee after the fact for the reasons that you stated Mike. He understood. He's a long time employee, and friend. He knows what I'm about.
But he and I did stew about a little, together over a couple of cold ones. That's why I posted the story, still stew'n about it a little.
Again, I definitely hear that point loud and clear!

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-Lead from the front, or dont lead at all-

Mike Finley

Glad to hear it Sage, I figured there was more to the story.

King of Crown

Im constantly throwing air hoses away, big fat extension cords, busted in half-racks of nails, but i cant imagine throwing away an hammer-drill.

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Real nice guys

jmic

Sage,
You did the right thing in my opinion, but what I would do now is go out and buy my employee the same or what ever brand I knew he liked hammer drill and give it to him ( what the heck he's going to use it on your jobs anyways) It'll show him that you appreciated that he gave it back to the jack a$$ handy man. What a Bozo!

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Joe

mdshunk

From where I'm sitting, I'd say Sage needs to go out and buy his laborer a Hitachi hammer drill, and then apologize. How gutless can you be? Sorry so blunt, but good help is hard to find. I'd back up my guy on this one without batting an eyelash, and tell the moneybags handyman that throws away tools to go pound sand.

Gutless? Yeah, that's what I said.

Speedy Petey

Sorry Sage, I'm on the side of "you should have let Travis keep the drill". The jerk who called him a thief should have been made to eat those words, especially since you were a direct witness to the dumpster drop.
That word is NOT taken lightly on the job site and should be used only in extreme cases or with absolute certainty. This A-hole knew full well Travis was not a thief! Yet he used intimidation to get his drill back. One which he never deserved in the first place!



On the tool dump issue, I have heard of this many times on bigger union jobs. One guy I know got a FULL hydraulic knock-out set because a J-man was not using it right and got fed up with it, so he tossed it, dies and all. Perfectly fine tool. This is one of many stories I have heard. Never having worked union I guess I've missed out on some things.

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mdshunk

I've seen guys throw out company tools, planning to retreive them after dark. It's a slick way of stealing tools without taking them home in your lunchbox. I've been on several lead removal/rehab jobs in which the demo crew was made to use heavy clear plastic trash bags, in an effort to keep the tools out of the trash. I think demo crews are mostly guys that were picked up that morning at the labor service, which may (or may not) make them more likely to want to scarf up a sawzall or drill or something.

6stringmason

I would have used it right in front of him and if he said anything tell him where to go. He had no right what-so-ever askin for it back and you should tell Travis to go tell him he changed his mind and wants it back. Keepin the peace is bull. Everyman for himself. I doubt he would have done the same had the roles been reversed.