ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area too many tools on an electricians belt ?

I've got the Crecent Brand "Toolzall" which is a version of the Leatherman but with the added function of wire strippers for #10 to #22 AWG. Being a Christmas gift from Joe M., and a very expensive one at that, I only use it in emergencies.

But, it is on my side this very moment, right by my Minimag light.

Yup,

Forgot about the minimag. I carry one all of the time too.

What good is an electrician that can't make light where ever he goes?!

By the way, one thing that I carry that I found useful, and so did some others on my crew, is a plastic small parts container. (About $3.00 at the big blue store.)

The one I use is about 5" X 8" with a clear plastic hinged lid and divided compartments.

I added a 1/4" eye bolt through fender washers and a swivel dog hook so that I could hang it from my belt or from a ladder, etc.

I keep it filled with ground screws, wire nuts, redeyes, plastic anchors, #10 X 1" combo head screws, tek screws and some MC straps. Everything neatly seperated in it's own compartment.

I work out of it and fill it as needed. Sure beats digging through a pocket or box, etc. and you don't have to think about gathering the little stuff when your working or when you go on a service call because it's always with you.


[This message has been edited by master66 (edited 11-30-2002).]

When I was working, I used the exact same Klein Powerlite series belt that Fred mentioned. I loved it!

The comment I got the most was "Hey, are you framing a house with that belt?!"

I kept it as light as possible, keeping these tools in it:

Ideal Reflex strippers
Linesmans
Utility knife
3 screwdrivers
Tape measure
Hammer (if roughing)
Needlenose
Mini-Maglite
Volt-pen
Sharpie
Tape


All the other junk lived in the tool box.

I've never used a Leatherman. Maybe time to start?

Sometimes people around me comment on how often I use my Leatherman and how handy it must be.

I always joke that I have wired entire buildings using only my Leatherman. Boring holes through concrete slows me down a bit but hey, it can't do everything well.

We always called our Leatherman our "MacGyver Tool".

Yup, Leatherman even goes to church with me on sundays.

Ahh the good ol days of construction when I could get by with just a few tools in a belt supported pouch!

As a maintenance electrician, you never know what your next call will be. You have to be prepared with a much larger arsenol of tools.

I have one of the Ideal brand leather tool bags, the big square jobs with the dividers, hooks, snaps, etc. I throw the strap over my shoulder. It weighs over 20 pounds! I'll list as many of the tools in it as I can remember.

Fluke multimeter
Wiggy
15 personal lockout padlocks (full sized)
2 gangable lockout clips
T-stripper
T&B crimper
Klein linemans plier (high V coated)
6" X 1/4" straight blade screwdriver (coated)
6" X 3/16" straight blade screwdriver(coated)
6" phillips (coated)
6" holding type screwdriver
10" Mongo straight blade screwdriver (coated)
8" miniture straight blade screwdriver
7/16" Klein nutdriver
combination 7/16"-1/2" box end wrench
Needlenose plier
diagonal cutter
torpedo level
25' tape measure
430 channelocks
retractable razor knife
Klein lineman's knife
small SAE allen cluster
small metric allen cluster
large SAE allen cluster
small torx cluster
a couple alligator clip jumpers
one set of alligator clip leads for the fluke
1 roll 33+ plastic tape
1 roll white plastic tape
scratchawl
8" adjustable wrench (klein High V coated)
handfull of various wirenuts and crimps
half dozen Tye-raps
a 2 "D" cell flashlight

I also have a leatherman, a mini-mag, and a motorola radio on my belt. I carry a pen, mechanical pencil, a pocket voltage tester, a note pad, and a sharpie felt tip marker in my shirt pockets.

Hmmm I must be forgetting something LOL




[This message has been edited by Matt M (edited 12-01-2002).]

may-be i need to add just a few more items to my belt, 10 lbs max....

This is what i carry, Keep the big box on the truck for backup.

I like my big cordoda belt balanced out on each side, tools pertinent to wiring method/rough/finish...

Someone here gave me the good advice (thanks) to try suspenders, which helps me go the distance in a workday

I forgot to mention my light. It's a Stylus by Streamlight. If you haven't got one it's probably because you haven't seen one yet. It is the size of an ink pen, is LED, takes (2) AAAA batteries and lasts for ever. The LED is supposed to be good for 100,000 hours and the light is visible for 1/4 mile. Mine has the cobalt LED but other colors are available. For attic/crawl work I have a Headlight by Streamlight that has one Krypton lamp or you can push a button and use one or three of the LED lamps. It takes 3 AAA batteries and lasts a long time and always shines where you're looking.