The latest “Tools and Shops” issue touches upon one of the sad facts of life: Every now and then, someone will try to steal from you.
There are many, many pages written about things like locks, lights, insurance, alarms, and the general level of lawlessness. All this if well and good, but they all miss what I call “The Second Burglary.”
The fact is, thieves never arrive out of the sky, from distant galaxies. They’re folks around you, who know what you have. They also know that business needs, and insurance, will make you go out and buy new stuff.
Many times, I have seen folks be victimized a second time, often within days of having bought new tools.
On balance, I would say that the six months after a burglary is the time when insurance and alarms are most cost effective. The chances are very good that you will be targeted -again- in this period.
Replies
Reno: Two things that I use to help keep my stuff mine are: Shop looks very unlikely to hold much of value and the alarm also rings my door bell just in case I don't hear the alarm or they cut the wires to the siren. KDM
Kenneth Duke Masters
The Bill of Rights December 15 1791 NRA Endowment Member
LEAA Life Member
CRPA Member
"On balance, I would say that the six months after a burglary is the time when insurance and alarms are most cost effective. The chances are very good that you will be targeted -again- in this period."
Another handy tool I'd suggest for this time is a shotgun, loaded with #00 buckshot (not bird shot). We keep ours near at hand in our home. With all the home invasions being committed by illegals in our town now (Phoenix, AZ), it's better to be safe than sorry.
dwolsten,
I figure the NRA sticker on the door of the shop can't hurt either.
Regards,
Ray Pine
I've got a Security by Smith and Wesson sign, Plus a regular security system with all utility lines in conduit, and motion sensor lights on the shop doors. So far only rabbits and coons have set the lights off.
Work Safe, Count to 10 when your done for the day !!
Bruce S.
Edited 7/4/2006 11:08 am ET by BruceS
Bruce,
Security by S&W--"trespassers will be violated".
Regards,
Ray
You forgot to add...."and survivors will be interrogated"
Shoot first, aim well, and then there is only one story to tell at the end.
I grew up in northern Michigan farm country...If you took more than one shot to bring a deer down, dad smacked you for wasting shells.
If you get a reputation that you will shoot to kill, and people know you are a pretty good shot, most of the time they won't mess with your stuff. I found that to be true, had a junkie break into my place only to find that I was aiming right between his eyes as he stood up to look around, and he never showed his face again. Funny how several other folks had been hit and all of a sudden the stuff quit going missing. Must have scared him to death.
Jim,
...Survivors?..
My sign reads " If you can read this, you are in range"
Reno,
As an ex computer security person, I know the advantages of defence-in-depth. I have:
* Nosey neighbours (of the best kind) - better than dogs as they cannot be bribed with a sausage.
* Dense roses, hawthorn and other prickly hedges around most of the place - you can only get in via the dedicated entrance ways. Roses are nicer than barbed wire and work better.
* narrow passages to the shed: you would have to disassemble the machines to get them out.
* alarms on the shed - a shed-only plus one connected to the house alarm.
* a very substantial shed that cannot be dismantled or bored through without a lot of noisy work. It has 2 thick wood walls and a cavity with insulation in it.
* door locks and hinges that cannot be taken off from the outside.
* a single horizontal bar across the inside of each window, nailed on so difficult to remove - even if one were disassembled, machine parts cannot be got past the bar.
* all easily removed tools taken into the house when the shed is locked up, then put in a locked cupboard. I leave then there unless they are going tio beused on a project.
* all tools inventoried and marked with an "invisible" pen.
* 10,000 volts wired to the machines when the shed is locked up (just kidding on that one).
I might add a lockable iron trellis gate in the passage form the house entrance to the shed - irremovable hinges, protected locks and so forth built-in.
Very good point. Man I work with had his home and shop burgled. They took whatever they thought would resell quickly. They didn't even try to be subtle about getting in - just broke through the doors. Insurance payments were made - replacements were bought - centrally monitored alarm system was installed. Four months later, burgled again, same method of entry, alarm went off but burglars obviously knew the police response time, they took whatever they thought would resell quickly. Insurance claims were filed for second burglary and paid and then insurance company cancelled coverage. Now he's out there buying assigned risk house insurance and paying a fortune for it and hasn't replaced anything yet that was taken the second time.
There used to be a scam where people would steal your car battery. Then they came back two or three days later to steal your "new" car battery.
Lataxe, on my drive over to Oregon this weekend, I passed a construction trailer on a lot that was under excavation. The boss had parked the excavator in front of the trailer, parallel to it, with the back hoe resting on the platform just outside the front door. Wasn't any way anyone was dragging big tools out that front door, LOL!!!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Girl,
I do park the automobile in the driveway, which blocks all access to the shed. Could I swap it for, and travel about in, an excavator? Well, big-yellow-thing-driver was one of my "I want to be"s when I was a sprog; but unfortunately they only do 2 miles to the gallon and I am too mean for that.
Still, it would go with the Dewalt routers and one would have no trouble in the traffic jams......
But how do you see yourself with such a Big Toy? I used my special software to generate a pic from my imagination. (Actually, its the sister of a friend, who is a construction engineer - but that could be you, that could).
Lataxe, Big Yellow Toy Lover.
Just the ticket for hauling wood home too.
Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
D,
Yes, you can get a small wood in the back, including all the roots, soil, mushrooms and critters. Also any gamekeepers that might have been about.
If I was going to meet my demise in a traffic accident, this is what I would want to run me over. It would be quick and final; also, there's something about those boots and that helmet to which I am unaccountably attracted.
Lataxe, developing a fetish for big-yellow-things
I used to sell big machines for a Caterpillar delalership. Those big machines get stolen, too. So, that contractor may come back one day to find all his tools in the trailer, but his 'lock' missing.
For instance:
http://www.cegltd.com/pages/news/stolen.asp
That Cat 950G listing is a 39,000 pound machine.
Probably the only sure way to protect a shop is to get the equivalent of the Trunk Monkey for the shop:
http://www.trunkmonkeyad.com/4qt.htm
BTW, the server for the above URL is painfully slow, but worth the wait if you're not familiar with Trunk Monkeys.
Pretty funny clip. :)My goal is for my work to outlast me. Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
Dang, Trunk Monkey rules.When doing repair work for a Property Management company, the first time I had to have both deadbolts and knoblocks re-pinned, I did not have any temporary locks to install, in my absence.So rather than make two trips, I penned this note and stuck it to the front and rear entry doors.Harold, one of your pet rattlesnakes has worked itself out of it's cage, again. This is strike two. Should there be a strike three, I'll call Animal Control, first.
Arlington, Texas (The dash in Dallas-Fort Worth)
Practice...'till you can do it right the first time.
Many years ago there was a jewelry shop in California that had had their front window smashed a couple of times. The owner could not afford really heavy duty security, so he bough a couple of tarantulas and let them wonder freely i(and quite visibly) n the front window. No more smash and grabs!
Bob
I want a trunk monkey for my place. Where can I get one. Will I need the equivalent of a concealed carry permit? Please rush all relevant information ASAP.
I know a guy that had his lawn tractor stolen when someone broke into his garden shed. Took the tractor and anything related to it also. His insurance replaced everything and told him it would happen again so he went out and purchased a camcorder and monitored the shed when he wasn't home or at night. Sure enough one night he came home from a night out with the wife and got 3 guys on tape stealing his new tractor. It seems a landscape service was helping themselves to whatever they needed from a lot of people in the area. The three guys ended up in jail and the owner (one of the 3) lost his business, his wife (divorce), over it all.
I do like a story where the good guy wins.
Install a Southern Wireless Security Sysstem in four easy steps.
1. At a second-hand store, buy ####used pair of mens work boots, size 14.
2. Put the boots outside your shop door on top of a copy of Guns and Ammol
3.Place the largest dog dish you can ffind beside the above items.
4. Leave a noteon your front door that reads something lide,
"Bubb - use your key. Big Mike and me, we went to get more ammo
and pick up Cletus. Bavk in 15 mins. Don'tdisturb the Pit Bulls! They
just been wormed and are in a really nasty mood."
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