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A complete tool kit sold in a tool box
which contains an RFID tag. The tools
included in the kit al have an RFID Reader
imbedded in them along with a small
circuit. The features are as follows.
When the tools are not placed back in
the
box within a predetermined amount of
time, an
integrated buzzer begins
beeping
at short regular intervals. There are 2
buttons on the tool itself: a reset timer
button, and a disable buzzer button. The
reset timer button will allow you to reset
the timer for those jobs that take a little
longer than normal. The disable buzzer
button keeps friends from destroying the
tool you left at their house after it begins
beeping. There is also a section on the
tool for identifying the owner. This way,
if
you're helping a friend fix something and
leave your tool there, he will find it when
it
begins beeping, press the disable buzzer
button, and call you to inform you of the
whereabouts of your tool.
Since the reader built in the chip will
require power, each tool has a moulded
dock in the box which will charge the
internal battery in the tool. This provides
another advantage in that when you start
hearing the beeping, you can look in the
box and clearly see what is not in its
dock,
and therefore know what you are looking
for. The box itself will have a power
supply that plugs into the wall, but will
also have a small backup battery to make
it portable.
[21 Quest]'s smart box
SmartBox
I like mine better... [bleh, Sep 28 2007]
Pull key reel- if you've never seen one
http://www.ontimesu..._item_PMC04990.html
[NotTheSharpestSpoon, Oct 02 2007]
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Annotation:
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It sounds like an awfully complicated
solution. I've found that it's simpler to
just buy new tools whenever I can't find
one. For some tools (screwdrivers,
radiator bleed-keys, blocks and [for
reasons I can't fathom] needle-nosed
pliers), I've now reached a state of
equilibrium whereby, in looking for the
one I've just lost, I find one that I'd lost
last time. Equilibrium for planes,
hand-saws and power tools might seem
more costly, but in fact far fewer of
these larger items are needed to attain
equilibrium, because there are fewer
places in which they can be lost. |
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In fact, I propose Buchanan's
Conjecture, which is that the total
amount of money spent on any given
type of tool by an individual during a
lifetime is a constant: you buy and lose
many more small, cheap things than big
expensive things. |
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That's an interesting conjecture. So the
amount I spend on hex wrenches in my
life will equal the amount spent on
mitre saws. I don't know about that,
and I'm pretty sure you'd have to qualify
that with a particular profession or
hobby. |
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I do agree, though, that this is a
complicated solution to a simple
problem, and I currently have the same
solution as you, I look briefly, then just
say screw it at buy a new one.
Interestingly, I also have a hell of a time
finding my damned needle nose pliers.
They were actually the inspiration for
this idea. |
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P.S. I found them today, but I'm pretty
sure I still didn't put them back in the
tool bag. I'm a bad person. |
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Pick a wall. Paint it white. Hang every tool you have on the wall. Draw an outline around it with a black marker. |
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Those 5 gallon bucket tool bag things are good for transporting the tools temporarily, but when you're done, back up on the wall with everything. |
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Now you know where it goes and you know what is not there. I have ADD and people think I have OCD, but I know where my tools are. |
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I know where the tools go, and when I
go to look for something I know its not
there, but I still don't know where it
*is*. I don't see how your solution will
help that. |
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I'm not the most clean or organized
person (an enormous understatement).
Because of this, i typically will grab a
tool to perform a task which takes
longer than I am using the tool. Hence,
by the time I've completed my project, I
have forgotten what all tools I used and
where I put the ones I did use. Even if I
inventoried all my tools and checked
the inventory when I completed the job,
thats not going to help me find the pair
of pliers that fell behind the
entertainment center while I was
mounting my piezo powered-
automated-custard shooting- machine
with a cat/ buttered toast gyro-
stabilizing
mechanism next to the TV (it was a
complex installation, I forgot that I even
had the pliers out). |
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EDIT: well I like mine better, its more
portable. It's not often that I'm working on
a project in an actual workshop. |
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I've gone for the [nomocrow] "Board o' Tools" solution but without drawing the outlines of all the tools. This does cut down on tool hibernation and so I suggest Buchanan's Conjecture doesn't hold under these circumstances. However, an interesting finding is that where Buchanan's Conjecture is valid, it is also unaffected by the quality of the tool: Thus, I have an electric sander, which cost me £6, and an electric jigsaw, which cost £10. They're both crap but OK for the one or two jobs I bought them for. However, they will last precisely 1/3 of the time that similar tools costing 3 times as much would. |
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//Heh... you know I was just being
facetious, right?
// |
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//I've gone for the [nomocrow] "Board
o' Tools"// like I said, I'm rarely working
on a project in an actual workshop, so it
would be some time before I'm back at
the tool wall to replace and inventory
the collection. I still have the same
problem. |
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This isn't intended for professionals or
serious hobbyists who have an entire
wall to dedicate to tools, but more for
the occasional handyman or just for a
box of tools to have around the house
for occasional use. |
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//they will last precisely 1/3 of the time that similar tools costing 3 times as much would// |
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I'm not much of a carpenter or do-it-yourselfer, and the hardest part of any job I undertake is finding the tools my family has hidden in odd places over the course of the past six months since I last used the toolbox. |
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Yeah, sure, it's the kids. |
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(I did once find my daughter digging in the sandbox with a brake piston compressor.) |
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// hardest part of any job I undertake is
finding the tools my family has hidden in
odd places over the course of the past six
months since I last used the toolbox.// |
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Exactly my problem, except I'm the one
hiding my own tools from myself. |
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There is also what I call the "Batman Method." Drill a hole into the handle of every hand tool that tends to lose itself. Attach heavy duty keyring to each one. Buy about 20 pull key reels (or more if you've got the girth) and stick 'em all on your belt. Everytime you are going to use a tool, attach to one of the pull rings. Not only will you not lose your tools but you will be one hot looking handyman. |
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Jingle jangle jingle- be still my heart! |
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I hope its the subtitle that makes you
think of your idea and not the actual title. |
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If you don't care enough about your tools to take proper care of them, or even keep track of them, you don't deserve to have them. |
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//If you don't care enough about your
tools to take proper care of them, or
even keep track of them, you don't
deserve to have them.
// |
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I take good care of my real tools (power
tools) but its hard for me to care too
much about my pliers and screwdrivers.
I never really had a strong attachment
to hand tools with the exception to the
Gerber Clutch I carry with me
everywhere. That one I take good care
of. |
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Like I said, I'm not a professional
handyman, or even a real strong
hobbyist. I use my tools as I need them
for odd jobs around the house. please
forgive me, Mr [hobo], for not going out
of my way to respect my 5 dollar needle
nose pliers. I am sure you've never
misplaced a tool in your life. |
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[bleh], if you don't care about the $5 needlenose, why go to such great lengths to secure them? |
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If you really use a tool (not a machine) it become an extension of your hand. When that is missing you really feel it. |
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Why did I think this was gonna be a sex thing? |
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This is an elegantly over-complicated solution to a real problem. Utterly bun-able. |
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//When that is missing you really feel
it// |
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I feel frustrated when I can not find a
tool I am looking for, but no real
attachment to a particular tool. I am
merely trying to solve my problem of
not putting things back where they go
with technology rather than self control.
Hopefully the technology will induce a
learned behavior which will carry over
to other areas of my life, but saying
that nothing I would do or make with
tools is worthy because I don't put them
back where they go is simply wrong. I
am often so much more concerned with
the final product that I loose sight of
the tools used to reach it. |
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" If you don't care enough..."
Geez [nuclear hobo], you sound like ubermom. My husband is horrible about putting stuff away, so I spoiled him and pick up after him, but I have MY system of putting and he has *snicker, snort* his system. |
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Well I must say in spite of his chaotic behaviour he definitely deserves his full set of hand and power tools. amen. |
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I really like [nomocrow]'s suggestion about painting the outlines. |
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//the bottoms of the drawers were covered
with a black rubbery foam about 1/4 inch
thick, and cutouts were made for each tool
to fit into one,// |
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Which is exactly what I suggested the
charging dock for each tool be, so that
when you look and see that a tool is
missing, you know to go back to where
you were and seek said tool by listening for
the beeps. Conversely, when you hear the
beeping, you can go to the toolbox and see
what is missing, and, therefore, know what
it is that you seek. |
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no no no. the drawer is no good. this is much too complicated now. Beeping good. drawer bad.
If he's looking for it, it is because he plans to use it. So after that, it's either lost again or tossed onto a shelf. (or my dresser, or the back seat of the car) |
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sorry, it's getting to be a sore subject. |
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[21] Doesn't point out that this is far more important on a flight line than it is in your basement. Those five dollar needle nose pliers can be sucked into and destroy a hundred thousand dollar jet engine. Every tool taken onto the flight line needs to be taken back off the flight line. FOD isn't funny. |
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[21] I knew that you knew. I just thought others should understand that you weren't dealing with an anally retentive control freak who had no justification for these actions. Personally I want obsessive compulsives cleaning up the flight line. |
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//Beeping good. drawer bad. // |
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the idea is for a portable box, not a
drawer. |
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I actually agree with [MaxwellBuchanan], he had it right the first time. |
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