Replies

1. 
   GaryW | Sep 30, 2006 09:37pm | #1

   paol,

   In 35 years of professional woodworking I've been ripped off 3 times. The first was when I didn't lock the VW van, went into a hardware store, and found tools missing when I returned to the car. Loss:  about $500. Three years ago my $1000 laser walked from the home I was working in. No one reported seeing the thief. Then in June, a thief broke into the back of my new Tundra 4-door pickup, which was parked in my locked condo garage. He made off with $6000 worth of tools, parts, camera, and iPod paraphernalia. Homeowners and car insurance doesn't cover the loss of a professional's tools, and my contractors insurance for tools would have been really exorbitant, because some thieves use it to replace their worn out tools.

   My truck is alarmed now, with a remote opener that also sounds an alarm if the truck is touched, and I'm armed and ready to catch the bast***. Burglary is a nasty fact of life. Insurance is a joke. Alarms can be overcome by smart thieves. So now I never leave anything in my truck overnight - not even the face of my Alpine radio. I guess I'm paranoid.

   Fortunately my expensive shop tools require take a fork lift to remove them from the leased building. If I was paranoid about lighter stuff, I'd bolt it to the floor. I have double bolts on all the doors and I'm careful to lock them all when I go home at night. Once, however I wasn't, but when I returned two days later, the door was open, all the lights were still on, nothing was missing, and I said a prayer of thanks for the lesson.

   I suggest you use due diligence, set an alarm and be ready to call the cops before pouncing on a perpetrator with a baseball bat, and self insure.

   Gary W

   gwwoodworking.com

1. 
   paol | Oct 02, 2006 07:41am | #2

   Hi Gary, Thanx for sharing your experience. I think it's time to check on what homeowners insurance will pay, and think about inscribing tools with my SS number where and when appropriate, Beyond that, pictures of tools and records of purchases MAY be helpful, but a SHRIEKING alarm system sounds like it will be the best insurance. Whenever I see 3-4 power tools for sale on ebay, along with the extension cord..... they look like they just left a worksite..... I think they are either stolen or, maybe.... someone had a all-of-a-sudden inspiration to work at a different vocation.

1. 
   GaryW | Oct 02, 2006 07:55am | #3

   Paol,

   Your best bet is prevention, not recovery.

   Your chances of finding your ssn inscribed tools is next to nil. I've visited four flea markets in the last few months, ebay, and craigs list, and the local yocal cops don't pay any mind to recovering this kind of stolen property. I only inscribe my tools with indelibly marked initials to let job site folks know they're mine.

   I've a motion sensor in the shop, my truck is alarmed, and I carry a big stick. I didn't think about it much until it happened to me. Car alarms used to annoy me, , but I sleep better knowing that little blue light is blinking its warning to potential thieves.Gary W

   gwwoodworking.com

2. 
   JohnWW | Oct 02, 2006 07:10pm | #4

   Virtually all tool thefts are off of job sites, or out of trucks or occasionally out of commercial shops in industrial areas.  It is rare to hear of someone breaking into a home shop to steal tools, if for no other reason than it is unlikely that a thief would even know that they are there to steal.  You should talk to your town's police, they, more than anyone, can tell you what the reality is where you live. 

   Also cabinetmaking tools aren't nearly as easy to sell for a quick cash as are tradesmen's tools, and most thefts from homes are made to get cash to support a drug habit, not because the thief wants your tools.  Someone breaking into a home is much more likely to be looking or electronics, cash, or jewelry that are easy to carry and easy to sell.

   So unless you are in a high crime area where break ins are common ,you probably don't have a lot to worry about and  personally I wouldn't deface a nice tool with crudely inscribed ID numbers. 

   Your home owner's insurance should cover your tools, if you aren't in business, but talk to your agent about whether they will be valuing the tools at their replacement cost or, as is often the case, at a discount because they are "used", which will leave you well short of getting enough money to replace them if they were stolen or damaged because of fire or flooding.

   John White  

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   Edited 10/2/2006 12:22 pm ET by JohnWW

   
   

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   Edited 10/2/2006 3:45 pm ET by JohnWW