What's in your tool bag?

As a PHVAC apprentice in 1972, I was required to have a flashlight, adjustable water-pump pliers and screwdrivers — Phillips and flat head. Working with the older PHVAC mechanics, they had hundreds of tools and as we worked on jobs. I had the opportunity to decide which tools I wanted/needed to purchase. Not a week went by without my adding to my tool bag and additional toolboxes. As we did primarily service and installations, each work ticket gave me a clue as to which tools I would pick to place in my tool bag for the initial trip inside the customer’s home. No help from my employers regarding my tool purchases, and I clearly remember some mighty thin paychecks.

I never forgot the hardship those thin paychecks caused, so when I became a business owner, I set up tool purchasing accounts for each employee. They could purchase and charge the tools to the company, paying a fixed amount each week so they could afford them without creating hardship in their personal life. If they wanted to purchase a tool that exceeded their company account limit, we would negotiate a higher weekly paycheck deduction.

When we hired an apprentice who did not have their own hand tools, we would provide them with a starter set: flashlight (most of our employees preferred the headlamp style; 4-way screwdriver; claw hammer; adjustable pliers, copper tubing cutter; PEX tubing cutter; 12-inch and 14-inch pipe wrenches; basin wrench; 8, 10, and 12-inch adjustable wrenches; Teflon tape; thread sealant; plumber’s putty; soldering flux and flux brushes; shark’s tooth sandpaper (because it was waterproof); roll of solder; tube of silicone grease; and a multi-meter. We would discount the cost and go easy with the weekly payments and they could charge additional tools on our company account with the understanding that the weekly paycheck deduction would need to be increased somewhat until the newly charged tool purchase was paid in full. At that time, the weekly amount deducted would reset to the initially agreed upon amount, assuming there was a remaining balance in their company account. If a tool broke or was worn out, turn it in and we would pay for the replacement, which only seemed fair. PPE kneepads; gloves; safety glasses; and hardhat were always provided for free.

Every year at Christmas, I would cash out all of the scrap brass and copper for either a party or cash distribution because it was their hard work that brought those scraps back to the shop. In addition, I always gave our employees tools at Christmas. A bonus, too, and that typically was a week's pay in cash.

So, why do these things? Quite simply, because I came up through the ranks from apprentice to owner, and that’s how I would have liked to be treated. In addition, treating employees as you would have liked to be treated reduces turnover. We were a family, in my opinion, a bit dysfunctional at times, but family nonetheless.

One thing we did not have in the 1970s were hammer drills in our shop. We had star drills that you had to pound with a hammer to create a hole in cement or cement blocks, and many a skinned knuckle were generated when you either missed the star drill or struck it with a glancing blow! Star drills were chisel-hard steel with the business end having a star-shaped bit. After pounding a suitably deep enough hole, a rawl plug was inserted (often needing assistance from a hammer to fully be seated) and then a fastener/support was added with a screw turned into the rawl plug. Star drills came in various sizes so you could insert the small-to-large rawl plugs and screws to lag bolts utilized to holdfast the fastener/support being used. Some smart, clever person invented a rubber boot that fit over the standard star drill that flared out above the grip, and knuckles everywhere cheered. They also had star drills with replaceable bits and we broke more than a few star bits!

In 1979, I decided to go off on my own and pursue the American Dream of owning my own business and be my own boss. A few months before that leap of faith, I attended a sale for a plumber who was retiring. Among the materials and tools purchased that day, were power tools that included a Hilti hammer drill. I finally could put star drills in the rearview mirror! Decades later, Hilti ran a contest to find who owned the oldest hammer drill and the local Hilti sales representative submitted mine for the contest. Bear in mind that my Hilti hammer drill was decades old in 1979 when I won the bid at auction and it was now well into the 1990s. Unfortunately, Hilti couldn’t determine how old my hammer drill was, so no prize for me.

Tool purchases were a constant over my five decades as a mechanical contractor. As you know all too well, those purchases evolved to incorporate electronic ones that became an essential part of what we needed to remain competitive and, in many cases, to aid us in protecting our customers' very lives. One that comes to mind has to be combustion analysis with my first ones being chemical dumbbell-like canisters through which we pumped the byproducts of combustion. My bosses, at that time, darn near had a heart attack when the invoice arrived. It was, however, an easily justifiable purchase because it enabled us to fine-tune combustion and ensure a higher degree of safety for our customers. Years later, a good friend in the industry, Alan Mercurio, stopped by my office to “persuade” me to upgrade to an electronic combustion analyzer. He was insistent I upgrade and, like most mechanical contractors, I was quite content to stick with what I knew and was familiar doing. Alan gave me a used electronic combustion analyzer and once we began using it, there was no going back to the chemical dumbbells. Alan now heads up PPATEC, a trade school where he continues to give back to our industry.

During one trip to ISH in Germany, Bill Spohn representing Testo presented us with a discounted price on a combustion analyzer after we toured the factory in 2005. Its primary advantage was the replacement sensor was pre-calibrated and in a sealed package to ensure it would not deteriorate while sitting on the supply house shelf. No longer needing to send our electronic combustion analyzer in for new sensors and calibration meant no downtime for us! We eventually ended up with four electronic combustion analyzers and Testo was the preferred one my techs liked to utilize.

This column was sparked by my old friend Bill Spohn, president and CEO of Tru Tech Tools, who reminded me about my initial first Testo 330i electronic combustion analyzer. It was great catching up with Bill, and he continues to do a great service for us in the industry by providing competitive pricing on high-quality tools and Lord knows, we all need tools we can rely on to last for decades.