Ok well not exactly but I thought the title might grab some attention.
I’m wondering what everyone carries in their bags? I bring it up because, it seems I am often handing things I carry to someone else who doesn’t have it on them
I guess I probably carry more then most, but maybe not so list what you normally have in your bags for your average day of remodeling or what ever. What do you think should be in your bags at a minimum?
also changes based on task at hand so lets keep it general.
Me:
Speed square, adjustable wrench, folding set of allen wrenches, ~3 pencils, utility knife, tape, needle nose pliers, nail puller, 4 in 1 screw driver 1″ chisel, hammer small container of extra philips bits 1/8 & 1/4 drill bit 1/2 spade bit. 5 in 1 scraper Caulk box and a thin pry bar. and almost forgot… a nail set.
Edited 4/28/2003 1:30:28 PM ET by CAG
Replies
9mm, extra clips.
Must be the boss, making sure his employees aren't slacking hunh?
View ImageGo Jayhawks..............Next Year and daaa. Blues View Image
Speed square, 25’ tape, chalk box, carpenter pencil, #2 pencil, 6-in-one screwdriver, utility knife, lineman pliers, cats paw, hammer, nail set and a 4†piece of 12 ga wire (for poking the seal on glue tubes)
These are the things that are ALWAYS in my pouches. I typically carry more but it depends on the task for the day.
Edit: Why are the fonts wacked on this post??????? I can't get them the same either.
Scott R.
Edited 4/29/2003 12:38:31 PM ET by Scott R.
CAG,
Speed square, "cats paw", 1 or 2 nail sets, straight snips, 1" chisel, 4 in 1 screw driver, tape measure, low angle block plane, linesman pliers, putty knife, 2 or 3 no-mar tips for my nailers, wrench for adjusting Senco framer depth ( the only thing I hate about that gun), and my hammer. That's my everyday. Lots of other things, depending on the task at hand.
Brudoggie
CAG,
Hammer, cat's paw, speed square, 10 in 1 Klein screwdriver, small pry bar, pen, sharpie, #2 pencil, carpenters pencil, two nail sets, tape, chalk box, Klein linesman's pliers, horseshoe nail pullers, utility knife, earplugs, cheap watch, calculator, too many nails from previous jobs that I need to chuck instead of wading through.
Jon Blakemore
Jon
oh sure show us up with your 10 in one....
I use needle nose because linesman won't fit in the slot I have designated for them, a sharpie is always something I am looking for but always forget to put in the bag
As to the nails
I finally got in the habit of emptying them out every night in all but one of the small nail pouches, so I still have a few random nails on me but the others are clear for what ever I may be carrying that day.
Try it you'll like it ;)View ImageGo Jayhawks..............Next Year and daaa. Blues View Image
I've been wearing my bags a lot more now that my house is underway so I recently re-evaluated my "system" and changed the set-up just a bit.
I tried to get all my left hand tools in the left hand bag and pencils, crayons, utility knife, etc. in the right. Didn't work out perfectly but I was able to cut down on my cross reaching a little bit.
I can also now replace the right bag with my "special set-up bag that has separate task tools in it without having to transfer my other standard tools since they are primarily in the left bag. Right now my "extra" bag has solder, flux, pvc primer and glue, striker, tubing cutters fitting cleaning brushes and several copper fittings in it. (guess what I was doing the last time I was wearing it). I have to grab my pencils knife and Channel-Locks from my dropped bag and I'm ready to go.
A couple of tools I didn't notice in anyone else's list:
I also carry an adjustable wrench (ok, so you mentioned that one) and a medium sized pair of Channel-Locks that serve a myriad of functions including stud tweaking. It's the only "stud tweaker" I've seen that will comfortably fit in my bag.
I carry two chisels- one I call my hacker that I use for the rough stuff and one with a little more refined point. The hacker also has a radiused rasp on the back of the blade and a file on the front, flat side. (now if I could just figure out a way to use that file on my hacker chisel when it needs the point touched up... Hmmmm
My cats paw has a flat bar nail puller on the opposite end that I find myself using a lot. One of the most common uses is sticking it under plates and sheet goods to get that initial "finger gap" I need to pick them up.
I also carry a small torpedo level and clip four or five spring clamps on the back edge of my left bag for that extra hand I seem to always need when I'm working alone. (most of the time) A couple of them are just big enough to clamp a pair of 2x's together- perfect for tasks like marking top and bottom plates or holding a small board against the chop saw fence.
Now, if I could just find a place to put things like nails and screws... The two outside left bags don't hold enough so I keep having to load up the big pockets and transfer a few handfuls when I run out to make them more convenient to grab.
Of course, I'm not a professional builder like the majority of you guys any more so my system may be totally whacked. Funny though, My bags are actually more well thought out and organized than my desk and office right now... Probably time for a little spring cleaning here too.Kevin Halliburton
"I believe that architecture is a pragmatic art. To become art it must be built on a foundation of necessity." - I.M. Pei -
I have several chisels, I leave the good ones in the box unless I will need them for an extended period of time,
The busted up cheap one stays in the bag so any numb-nuts that decides to pick it up can't damage anything that would require a good solid bitching...
I used to carry a torpedo all the time, but it seemed to be in the way more then not so it goes in on a need basis.
and like you my bags are for more organized then my desk, I've been called anal and get pissed when someone messes up my bags, and I've been called a slob as to how I keep my homework/papers etc on my desk.
View ImageGo Jayhawks..............Next Year and daaa. Blues View Image
Too much. Way too much!
CAG, if that's all you carry, you be a liteweight. As M.S. would say, "That's a good thing."
I wear 3 bags for a total of 10 pockets (not counting U-knife and Pencil slots.) Not going to reiterate the common stuff. I like klien's bullnose wire cutters for pulling nailsand cutting. Carry a recip saw blade w/quack tape handle, bob w/100' construction twine laced to about 12', 10" piece of #4 rerod used to drive nails where hammer won't, and punching thru stuff. Smallest nail bag pouch holds 6-10 ea dw nails, 1 5/8" dw screws, 3"dw screws, 4d-6d-8d finish nails, 3-6 8d duplex, 3-6 16 duplex. Right hand small pouch has small pieces af red, blue, yellow kiel, screw bits 1/8 & 1/4 drill bits, cigarettes.
I do love my leathers. I bought them at a swap meet from a disabled carp in '88 for $25 each. His design, handmade. The left and right bags are mirrored, the back bag is ambidextrous, so I've got room for 4 hammers, 4 U-knives, and 8 pencils. hehehe. Been treating them with Tri-Flo lubricating oil since new, they look like they will outlast me by a long time, yeehah!
SamT
Depends upon the belt, and which tools you mean . . .
Uniformly, too much stuff.
Carpenter rig has two bags, one for tools, one for fasteners. Ok, fastener bag is carrying nail sets, and an awl, and a spare pencil. Tool bag has the calculator speed square as a micro try-square. Usually has a spare battery, too.
Electrical rig is about to become a shoulder bag (if only by default).
Roofing rig is a single bag, with specialty holders for items I do not want to climb off the roof and dig out of the ground.
The MOLLE tactical vest has four mag pouches, a utility pouch, five grenade pockets (1 for compass, 2 smoke, 2 'regular') two canteen carriers, and an M9 holster.
Oops, what that last bit "out loud" . . . ?
I try to keep it limited to Hammer, pencil, knife, and speed square. The rest follows me around in a seperate bag.
The only things I keep in pockets are my wallet, keys, and safety glasses. And maybe a pencil and note paper. All the rest goes in tote boxes, one for tools, another for nails, Simpson hardware, etc. But then again, I'm not a pro..... ;-)
-- J.S.
let's see...
right bag: 25' tape, 16d galv. casing nails (for doors) gun nails, 1 1/2" roofing tacks (for sheetrock in the heater closet), utility knife, and several pencils
left bag: chalk line, 8d sinkers, 12d sinkers, concrete nails, more gun nails/ staples, Gerber Multi-Tool, and sometimes another u-knife and grip-caps (for felting or housewrap)
hammer goes in back
never liked the hammer in the back type of bags, I like mine at my side, I keep meaning to modify my left hand bag where the hammer would hang so I can slip in a full size pry bar but never do it when I think about it.
I hate caps, I always seem to puncture myself grabing them or some numb-nuts leaves a few on the ground and I end up tapping across the ground for a while before I pull it out. View ImageGo Jayhawks..............Next Year and daaa. Blues View Image
Cornelious Aloyisous,
Did I get the spelling right?
Let's see tape, 1 or 2 pencils, scribe, note pad, speed square, 10" renovators catspaw, demo chisel, 6 in 1 screwdriver, slipjoint pliers, tweeter(elec. sensor) nail set +/or pin punch, utility knife, 2 folding diamond hones Estwing 16 trim or 22 framer both smooth faced, cell phone, beater dikes, saftey glasses if there not on my head and a bout a half a pound of saw dust.
Usually though, my pouches are hanging some where nearby, unless I am framing or siding or roofing or demoing or rocking or running wire.
Got the builders airlift rig from duluth trading co. recently. They are nice and about half the price of occidentals etc. Can't see spending $100+ on bags I would rather hang from a nail
When I trim I clip my tape to my pants and put a Dixon Ticonderoga Hard behind my ear and shuffle between the mitre saw the finisn naile and the lumber pile.Mr T
Do not try this at home!
I am an Experienced Professional!
milkbone for the spelling
Dixon Ticonderoga Hard hunh?
View ImageGo Jayhawks..............Next Year and daaa. Blues View Image
I'm a leftie.
Left bag; Glue bottle, 6" Adjustable wrench, Horseshoe type nail pullers, Utility Knife, Two Ticonderoga #3's, One framing type pencil, 1/4 sheet each of 80 grit and 100 grit sandpaper, Cell Phone.
Next to that in the back is the hammer holder. Easy in, easy out.
Back bag; Speed square, combination square, Big screws and nails, stud detector, 1/4" junk chisel kept sharp with the belt sander. (No, the belt sander is not in the bag), and sometimes calculator.
Right bag; 25" tape, (Remnants from my framing days), 4p, 6p, 8p, 16p nails, 4n1 screwdriver, three nailsets, #2 phillips and square drive tips in magnetic holders. smokes and bic. misc. screws depending on what I screwed yesterday. OH, and yes the good pound of sawdust in all the bags.
Two weeks into using the bucket boss builders rig. Dropped the small tape pouch and added the third bag. Kept the leather belt. (Couldn't find the style of bags I've been using for several years so had to adapt.) They are lighter but hotter.
Learned a long time ago, carrying a #### foot/cats paw, only makes you look bad!! LOL
Jack.
Edited caused they wouldn't print another word for cat. pusy with another s
Edited 4/28/2003 10:03:53 PM ET by JackWoody
DTH... Lumber crayon.
Rt side.. 1" cheap chisel. Mini bar. Cats paw. Chaulk line box w/ 50# Dacron. (no chaulk) Klien linesman Pliers. (9"blues) Fine pont marker. Extra pencils. 2/32 & 5/32 nail sets. Punch. Bevel square. Scribe. 6 in 1 driver.
Cntr Back. Hammer
Lt side. Speed square. Chaulk box. (w/ chaulk) Utility knief. Pencil. Note pad. 6cc's. Nail gun strips. 30' tape.
Shoulder. Lasered Sig .357 auto w/ two 15rd mags.
Just added that today... Sounded like a rough neighborhood.
CAG,
I hate the hammer in the back, too, but my bags don't have hammer loops and my waist is too skinny, er, svelte to put a hanger on the side. If I'm actually nailing stuff I like it on my right side, but if I'm toting lumber or doing fast-pace stuff and moving a lot I keep it in the back and out of the way.
I have to ask though, why all the cat's paws and flat bars you guys carry in your belt? Geez, I almost have to put a written request in to my boss to get out our nail puller. And God help the poor new guy who gets the cat's paw out to pull nails out of bracing ;-)
P.S. Forgot to add the Speed Square in the left side.
The nail puller you ask?
Ocassionaly someone (me) or no one, (much more frequent :) and not me) will put something in place where it ought not be.
One guy was making fun of me calling it a rookey bar until said person needed it and I wouldn't share and he had to go to his truck....
I used to be too skinny to get a belt that would fit tight enough, now I'm nice not so solid 36 and it fits beautifully lol....
View ImageGo Jayhawks..............Next Year and daaa. Blues View Image
4,
Just to get off the subject a hair. I just ordered from Duluth Trading, the Rolling Gate Mouth. Its a bit bigger then my Kennedy box but way lighter and WITH WHEEEELS. 22 pockets inside and bunch outside, some with zippers.
Getting real tired of trying to lift that Kennedy box loaded with tools. My wife can't even pick it up so what good is it? LOL. It has lasted me about 20 years so far but I dread thinking about lifting it up a flight of stairs.
Be an old bag
Namaste
Andy....PS I noticed you know which thread was deleted. Wonder if we'll see you know who back here again. Any bets on how long? I say one week tops!
In his first interview since the stroke, Ram Dass, 66, spoke with great difficulty about how his brush with death has changed his ideas about aging, and how the recent loss of two old friends, Timothy Leary and Allen Ginsberg, has convinced him that now, more than ever, is the time to ``Be Here Now.''
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
That thread was deleted? Hmmmm.... makes me sad. I was hoping it would stay to remind you know who how much we loved him!
ah man the whole thread was deleted lol, was wondering how long that would take, I was getting a bit viscous I guess
I just bought another, similar to your Kennedy box? not familiar with that.
because I got sick of the bucket weighting in at 1000 lbs. View ImageGo Jayhawks..............Next Year and daaa. Blues View Image
Was hoping that thread would be deleated, I was having too much fun last night, Couldn't help myself!
Now back to the real world
Jack.
Edited 4/29/2003 7:30:44 PM ET by JackWoody
speed square, utility knife, various pliars, screwdrivers, screw gun bits( updated to impact) alot of left over drywall screws and nails to poke my hand on....
Darkworks: Its all 'bout da squilla
Hey Cag, Have you taken the Human Sexuality class at K U. I graduated in 84. I never took it. Lately it has been in the news.
Leigh,
No I personally haven't taken it, my roommate has as have several of my friends. I didn't see the O'Riely show but I'm guessing he had not nice things to say about Dailey??
Frankly in my opinion it's a bunch of B.S. and the state legislature needs to pull their collective heads out of their collective A$$ and try to come up with something a little more important to worry about then what a well respected, and much awarded professor is showing to 18+ students who have elected to take his class.
Do they really think these students have not seen or done everything being shown already?
Neil
Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, Professional build the Titanic.
Edited 5/4/2003 11:24:24 PM ET by CAG
I have to ask though, why all the cat's paws and flat bars you guys carry in your belt?
Not to answer for CAG, but "you gotta have 'em."
You need two skinny bars to lift moulding, or when removing casing that is not to be destroyed. There's two. A catspaw will lift nails better than the claw of the hammer, so it is needed too. That makes three.
I have a flat bar for finish nails and brads, a catspaw for commons, and a bent bar for wide headed fasteners (ok, and there was a very cute itty bitty catspaw in the sale bin that was a "gotta get that" impulse buy--yes, CAG, you are not alone in impulse purchases).
I also have a short gorrila bar for when I know I'm demolishing things.
Two pencils, U-knife,speed square, 30" tape(fat max), lumber crayon, shark grip(cats paw), chalk box, hammer( death stick hatchet ) some 16s and some galv.8s. I use my knife as a chisel and my cats paw as a nail set.
Dog
Nunya!
Only my wife knows.
LOL
Seriously, all I carry anymore is my Leatherman (I die when I lose it so I now own 2 pairs), a Sharpie Marker, and an ink pen.
BUT!
My fully loaded tool bucket is always close by my side! And believe me, it is LOADED! Names like Snap-On, Malco, Stanley, Midwest, Klein, Channelocks, Ridgid, etc. It is my baby. I load it in the back of the blazer when I go to church. Never know when I will be the hero of the hour because I got that oven to working again at a pot luck. It happened.
Ever rip off a plumber? Here is your chance. Buy these $80+ Tub & Shower faucets for a measley 20 bucks plus shipping. Click HERE to rip him off!
My fully loaded tool bucket
Which is a great idea. Was drug to a "pre antiques emporium" (flea market). Saw what looked like the top tray to Paul Bunyan's toolbox. It had a couple of eyes at the end of the handle, and a very nice strap to balance across a shoulder. "Ten bucks? Got Eight." "Sold!" Dump the project in the tray, and tote to the project location. All stray bits or extra trip items go back in the tray (very nice to find that "extra" brass screw from two days ago).
Naturally, when the exBiL "had my tools stolen from his {uninsured} truck" (for nose candy), my box was holding said tools. [Insert colorful diatribe against thieving in-laws here.]
Was in another store and saw a plastic bin with a handle. Smaller than the Bunyan box, but deeper. Designed to stack, so it has "feet" that hold better on a slope. Has 2 needlenose, 1 diagonal, 1 medium channel-lock pliers; combo screwdriver, allen wrench set, and a yankee driver. Rounded out with a Gerber needlenose multiplier, and a box (mostly) of single-edge razor blades.
Here`s a very general everyday list:
hammer, tape measure, pencil, speed square, 4 in 1 screwgie, 1" sharp chisel, 1" dull chisel, utility knife, small pair of channel locks and a pair of end nippers.
Thats it....works for the everyday. Once the job becomes specific, I add tools as necessary.
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
"DO IT RIGHT, DO IT ONCE"
Hammer
flat bar
bevel
speed square
15 in 1 Cully screwdriver
blade wrench
nail set
box knife
pencils- 2-3
1" chissel
25' max steel tape
ALOT of sawdust!
Bob
"Rather be a hammer than a nail"
ALOT of sawdust
That always bugged me for some reason, maybe it was the pulling a handfull of saw dust out in someones home while grabbing for something.
Since we are on the topic of whats in your pants, give your bag a blow job every night or two :)
I hook up a nozzle to my compressor hose when I'm done for the day and get the dust off my tools and out of my bag, keeps the back of my jeep a little cleaner. And I know you like clean...View ImageGo Jayhawks..............Next Year and daaa. Blues View Image
ROTFLMAO- Man you crack me up! I Know the duster routine........................
Stick it in yer bags and blow sawdust all over YOURSELF ya mean!
It may keep the back of your Jeep clean but the back of your drivers seat looks like a sawmill.:-)
When I blow out my bags the misses thinks I've really been workin hard.
Now if ya really want to put that duster to some good use, stick it in your shoes on a hot day.
Bob
"Rather be a hammer than a nail"
The boots just dont appreciate a good BJ like the bags do :)
Here's a free tip.... Take the bags OFF before you blow the air in them..... View ImageGo Jayhawks..............Next Year and daaa. Blues View Image
ROTFLMAO- You mean you take your bags off? Now how you gonna look like a carpenter w/o your bags on?
Come to think of it ..............?
Might just be just a little easier gettin that seat belt on before I head home.
I'll try that next time.
Thanks for the tip! Bob
"Rather be a hammer than a nail"
Bob, you gots ta take the bags off to get a proper blow otherwise you just don't have access to the whole thing..
:-)
NeilNever be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark, Professional build the Titanic.
Alot of guys I work around have these skinney two pocket jobs, and one guy I know wears the local builders canvas bag. I'm a finisher in a framers belt. I found this 5 main pocket nylon bag that has four electical style organizers in one of the big bags and a large center bag. I wear the thing backwards with suspenders.
16oz Estwing, combination square, drywall saw, 3/4" chisel, homemade 1/2" round nosed chisel, side cutters, small prybar with mini catspaw on the other end, large blade olfa knife, reg blade olfa knife, low angle block plane, 18ga nails (various lengths), 3 sizes of nail sets, 3" screws, 2½" screws, 1¼ screws, Piquic Multi screwdriver, various other bits, a folding clip for a battery gun on the belt, a pencil sharpener clipped to suspenders and a bottle of glue in the center pocket.
Turtleneck
Its not a smile- its a cramp
22 oz Japanese framer or steel Vaughan hammer
long cars paw
short cats paw with chisel end very hand
saw wrench
torpedo level
Klein rebar pliers
6" vice grips
olsa hb utility knife
chalk line
dry line in old chalk line case with 8 oz plumb(when needed)
speed square
folding dozuki saw ( faster than getting sawall out most days.
picquic six in one screw driver
leather belt worn backward because one loop broke
pencil
codura bag for everything else I may need
also 2.25 common nails, 3.25 common, 2.25 duplex,3.25 duplex nails.