Wearing Tool Belt On Job?

ApgarNJ

i'm like most guys here, i have mine on most of the time, unless i'm working around finished spaces wehre you can't afford to have something drop out of the pouch and hit a very expensive floor or cabinet etc.
i try not to overload it, just have the essentials, some guys carry way too much in their pouch.

AtlanticWBConst

SIDE POINT: I have a guy that is so cheap....he worked on a framing crew that would take turns buying lunches (sandwiches) for the crew each day:
5 guys, 5 days, 5 lunches....one guy goes out for lunches, no exchanging of cash...efficient.
Well, his turn: Has his mommy make 5 peanut butter & Jelly sandwiches.

Anyways, when I work with him, he always is short on some tools in his belt. I keep telling him to buy them! Still won't do it. So he borrows from other guys....I HATE THAT.
I have a rule: if my belt is unnattended, DO NOT EVER TAKE ANY TOOL out of my belt, no matter how badly you may need it. Because (as experience has shown)... at another time: I will be up on 25 foot staging, stretching out to do a final 'touch' on some trim...need that 'missing tool' ...and.....UGH!!!!....WTF!!..where is that Dam TOOL!!!!???
- Because-obviously, no one ever puts anything back where they got it. (Like that is a revelation to all of you)

Any way:
I keep several tool belt set ups in my field truck:
1.) Leather Drywall belt with Drywall tools (now a days - mainly for checking and fixing improperly installed SR or corner bead)
2.) Leather Framing and General Carpentry Belt with necessary tools.
3.) Light weight canvas fabric belt for finish carpentry and trim with less tools.

Every tool belt is set up with the 'general use' tools in similar locations.

It was a pain to always be dumping out tools from a belt, that I didn't need then & there, but later, for a different job, trying to locate them.

I like having the right 'tool belt' set up for the job. To me, it's like having the right power tool for the required job.

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- Build Well -

Joe Carola

On a framing crew, if a guy has to carry 15 sheets of plywood to the back of the house and I need him to help me with something while he's on his 8th sheet, he is not telling me to wait until he goes to the front of the house and get his tool belt on to help me.

What is the reason to take it off while you’re working? I still don't see one. If anything you should have a tool belt that has a belt on it that helps your back. Keeping the belt on nice and tight is a back support. There is many times where you need help with something and you have to call someone over that are carrying something There’s no reason that if I ask you to help me with something and you can’t because your tool belt isn’t on, unless you just came out of the bathroom.

If you’re a framer and you don't have a hammer, tape, square, knife, nail puller, chalkline, pencil and have to borrow any of those from someone else you will be fired on my framing crew. There's no reason not to have those small items on you, period! Taking a tool out of my pouch without letting me know about and then if I had to use it while i was up on a scaffold and it wasn't there......forget about it!

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Joe Carola

Home Pro

Startin work.. Toolbelt on!
Done workin (and lunch) Toolbelt off!
Framing... Necessary tools in your belt.
Trimming... Necessary tools in your belt.
Doin something else... Have the right tools for what you're doin.
Take your toolbelt off and leave it laying around when it should be on....Nailed to the floor, or rafters, etc. First time, one nail. Second time, more nails. Third time (if they haven't figured it out by then), good luck finding 'em. Leave your hammer, tape measure, etc. laying around... gonna get kicked off the deck. GO FIND IT!!! HURRY UP!!! Sooner or later they figure it out, if not, have a good day!
Simple... Don't waste my time.

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The Home Pro's

old27

[QUOTE=Joe Carola]If you’re a framer and you don't have a hammer, tape, square, knife, nail puller, chalkline, pencil and have to borrow any of those from someone else you will be fired on my framing crew. QUOTE]

...a mandatory "nail puller". Wow.

Joe Carola

Yes, a nail puller. We all make mistakes and fixing them takes time, so if you make a mistake and have to pull the nails out of a rafter because you nailed it on the wrong side of the mark your not wasting any more time jumping off a scaffold and climbing down to the ground and going to the truck and getting a nail puller and then climbing all the way back up to the roof and onto a scaffold.

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Joe Carola

fettycan

I am going to tougher on the guys for not having there tools and going to stock up on knifes and measuring tapes ,pencil's and chalk lines then sell those items to them for a profit of course

kgphoto

Old27,

I think Joe is referring to a Cat's Paw rather than a Nail Puller.

For those who are unfamilier a Nail Puller is about 18-24 inches long and looks sort of like the map of Italy, ie flat boot shaped. It has a pinching claw and a heel to use as a fulcrum. Does a nice job, but heavy and awkward to carry around on your belt. :-)

If I have a lot of nails to pull I may start them all with a cats paw, but I finish them with my 3 foot crow bar. I feel the need to save my strength and wrists.

Joe Carola

Nail puller, Cats Paw...same thing around here. They come all different lengths and 18-24 inches is not what I carry. Mine is about 10" long. It weighs practicly nothing.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=228013

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Joe Carola

old27

I knew he was talking about a cat's paw. To lighten the tone of this, one guy I worked for used to say, "Go get your drinkin' buddy out of the truck and blah blah blah..." Of course, he was referring to a kitty paw.

The intention of my above post was not meant to insult you Joe, but I just thought that firing a guy for not having a cat's paw in his pouch was a little drastic.

Joe Carola

You can't look at it as just firing someone for not having a cats paw. Having all the items I mentioned above in a framers pouch is what I've always had since the first framing job I've ever had and those always seem to be the most used tools and they're right there in your pouch.

Plus that type of nail puller is like a pry bar and I use it all the time for things. It's a small item and it can fit in any pouch. If the guy just doesn't buy one then he's just not listening and is going to be nothing but trouble.

I've never had to fire someone over this because it's a non issue, everyone just does it. It's makes life easier.

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Joe Carola

Travis77

Yep,,, tool belt on the whole day is the way i was taught,,, even if i was handing up rafters and the other guy was on a scaffold running the ridge and for some reason wouldn't have any gun nails and would ask if i had any and i'd tell him,, "I have my bag on don't I",,,lol and handed him a couple of clips,,, meaning with my tool belt on I always had what i needed.

DaveH

Toolbelt at all times loaded with the tools you anticipate using during the work span. I have fired many guys for not wearing there belts. If you are doing work in a finished area you should definately not be carrying a large amount of tools in your belt. Always be careful around finished walls and cabinetry. Accidents happen, repeated accidents get you fired. If an emloyee is an hourly worker I explain to them in monetary terms how much it cost me a year for them to go looking for tools I.E. 20 minutes a day times five days in a week times 52 weeks in a year = 86 hours a year for looking for tools! at $15 an hour thats $1290 x a four man crew that's $ 5,160.00 per year for no toolbelt! Now who wants a raise?

nailhead

Well, I guess I go against the grain here, but I don't wear bags generally.

I work by myself and do mostly small int remodel/trim stuff. I carry with no bags: hammer holster with old maglite holder in the middle which holds pencil, mini flat bar and nailsets (check it out, works great) tape measure holster on other side. Knife, chisel, painters 5in1 tool in back pocket, speed sq. sometimes. I have a clip on leather pouch for fasteners.

Sometimes I wear my Grizzly hook on my belt (beats the heck out of those drill holsters) for cordless drill/trim gun/drywall tape if needed while on a ladder. Everything else is in a bucket or bag right there in the room if I need it.

Wore bags for a hundred years doing production framing/outside trim.
The lighter the better on my poor back for me.

joasis

Pretty interesting for all the different veiwpoints on a simple thing like a tool belt. I do not require a tool belt on unless it is needed. When the guys are up on the steel, an apron, tape, marker, and drill clip are all that is needed...framing, they wear a belt....rocking, apron....it all depends...

N.E.Bldg&Rest.LLC

Yeah, I never understood a Framer or Remodeler that doesn't carry one.
Like Joe said "we all make mistakes" what do you guys do when you have to move something? smash it with you hammer and if that doesn't work use a bigger hammer?

It all comes down to this:
If you don't wear your belt and carry what you need for the job at hand then you are a lazy, unproductive amateurs that do not belong in the trades and should look for employment at McDonald's.

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"Man is a tool-using animal. Without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all."

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)

N.E.Bldg&Rest.LLC

If someone did that to my tools or toolbelt I would be in prison for beating the crap out of him

__________________
"Man is a tool-using animal. Without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all."

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)

drywall

when i sheetrock yes got the bags on...but when you spackle ...(laughing) there is no bags...been a finsher for over 15 years..my dad taught me. and i love him for it!!! theresa

DaveH

I agree N.E. I would have use every one of those new craftsman tools on the guy's head! And then the tool he used to piss on them!