Ok, not the best most specific forum for this question, but I figure there's handy woodworky types on here who may be able to help

 

So, I'm the weaving technician at the college I studied at now. So, a large part of my job, maybe as much as half of it, involves running about doing stop-gap repairs and more serious repairs on the college's collection of 32 200-year-old dobby looms. A lot of that time is spent going "now, where did i put my scissors/pliers/hammer/hacksaw/screwdriver" and walking up and down the aisles searching for aforementioned items.

 

So, I need a toolbelt, but there's so many available online I just get confused, I thought a handy type who maybe has job experience in joinery or some other kind of site work might be able to advise me.

 

I need to carry, as a matter of course:

 

1 claw hammer

1 pair heavy scissors

1 pair tiny snips

1 knife

2 pair pliers

1 threading hook

1 eyelet threading hook (a small tool i make out of half a steel heddle for threading shuttles as our threading hooks are too large)

1 measuring tape

some sandpaper

pen, paper

calculator

perhaps a small hacksaw

 

also, I worry about stabbing myself in the gut or the behind with a pair of scissors which due to being repeatedly sharpened have a point which is frighteningly sharp

 

any ideas?

Comments

jander14indoor (not verified)

Instead of a belt, have you considered a small tool box?  That kit wouldn't take a large one.

If you have to bend, crawl, reach over, lay on your back, anything but standing or kneeling I'd question carrying that much on a belt.  Easy to snag and damage equipment, or worse, yourself.

Also, have you thought of having that much weight hanging from you all day?

Jeff Anderson

Livonia, MI

Andrew Kieran (not verified)

That is a good point. I hadn't considered that. There is a certain level of gymnastics with the job. Maybe a small tool box is the way to go.

I also hadn't considered the amount of weight I might be carrying, though I'm sure if it's well distributed on my hips it wouldn't be a problem, i'm pretty fit.

To be fair I could probably get away with carrying less. I'm one of these people that pack the kitchen sink for a weekend camping

ReedGuy

Tool box gets my vote. I do wood working, but everything has it's place at the end of the day. I have a cabinet, toolbox, bench and shelves. Each item goes back where it belongs. I hate searching for stuff. :)

My father farmed for 40 years, grew taters and grains. Every harvest, tools were left lying on the ground, and might be dug up the next year and dicovered on a conveyor belt. With father, everything was in a heap. :D

sally orgren

My guildmates kinda laugh at me, but several have copied me. I fly this canvas tote out with my loom to conferences and always bring it to workshops. This has all the tools I need for table looms including pliers, wire cutters, quick clamps, weights, sandpaper, needles, snap-line, tools for warping, calculator, multi-tip screwdriver, you-name-it. Nothing is worse than paying big bucks for a workshop and have a loom-fail — for the instructor or the students.

The big box hardware stores carry bigger totes to hold your hacksaw, some might even have a rigid plastic liner on the inside. I have also seen canvas totes to line a spackle bucket - that tote has pockets all along the outside for the smaller stuff. The craft stores have canvas totes, some on wheels with telescoping handle.

I also wonder if the right computer bag/satchel would hold the tools you mention, the hacksaw being the biggest? Then it would fit over your shoulder.

I know that a belt would be a smidge more convenient, but a tote that you can place on the ground next to the loom is about as good and won't poke you in the butt with sharp objects. I don't keep this stuff in my loom bench anymore. This is my one "go-to" tool storage and I can take it to any loom on any floor or outside my home without having to "repack" every time.

I think you are on the right track with this idea!

P.S. Wood glue. I have the clamps, but I am missing wood glue!

sally orgren

ReedGuy makes an excellent point. I have specific spots for my tools in this tote, so I can tell right away at a glance if I am missing something. There is also a zippered, slide out drawer on the bottom of this tote that you can't see well in the photos.

sarahnopp (not verified)

Sally, now that you have shared such an exciting photo, we need to know what you consider essential LOL 

By the way, many thanks again for the list of things to bring to my first ever conference this summer. It was a great help. 

JennieHawkey (not verified)

Sally,

Where can this tote be purchased? I love that it is purple!!

sally orgren

I've had this tote a couple of years now, so I am not sure they still come in purple. I have seen newer versions in red/burgundy.

Essential tools? Lots!

Maintenance: many small quick clamps, wire cutters, needle nose pliers, multi-tip screwdriver, sandpaper, and now...wood glue!

For warping help: lease sticks, raddle, two metal rods, snap line (i.e.slippery cord for lashing), small tube of natural carpet warp, scissors, sewing needles, tapestry needle and flathead pins, a piece of leather, small crochet hook, clip-type clothes pins, graphic design tape + sharpie (to label stuff without stickiness), heddle hook, folded-wire threader (a homebuilt tool = tip from Jason Collingwood), mirror, extra shuttles, notebook rings (to hold lease sticks together with a quick "click") and U-clips (to hold heddles off to the side on heddle bars), dipsey-sinker fish weights (in a few sizes, they just snap on or off warps), lupe/magnifier, old nylons & hair bands for tying stuff, slit paper towel tubes (for compact and disposable warp packing), and a ball of t-shirt strips for packing a header if needed.

Demo and other: pen, pencil, notepad, eraser, calculator, name tag, business cards or guild literature, and a tin of breath mints!

If I am helping someone warp, I will bring a second bag with seven or eight plastic 2 pound bottles for water weights, and a pack of cable ties to make an impromptu raddle on the back of their loom if we need one. (Just use cable ties every inch to create the spacing you need for B2F beaming.)

You know, a flashlight or headlamp might also be a good thing to add to an "essential" list. The threading error or loom part that needs fixing always seems to be located in the darkest or hardest to reach place!

Sally

sequel (not verified)

I like the totes that are basically canvas "slipcovered" 3 gallon drywall mud buckets with pockets and so on for all your stuff.  Cannot seem to locate an image on-line right now...

sandra.eberhar…

Tackle boxes come in a lot of differnt sizes and shapes and work really well.  They allow you to make different sized comartments, are light, rigid, and secure (they're designed to be used in boats).  One that has a large compartment for larger items and pull out drawers for smaller ones might work.  I use this type to hold sock knitting tools and exta cylinders.

Andrew Kieran (not verified)

Sally, your tote is totally awesome! :D

 

Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. I ordered tools for the department yesterday, there's not really been any tools ordered for years, so I had a bit of fun in the screwfix catalogue. Soon there will be pliers for the students,chained to the pegging desk so they don't go wnadering. Hurrah!

 

Anyway, I just went for getting a normal kind of canvas tool bag, 1 foot long with a few pockets on the side. Might as well just have more than I need in it, save me going back and forth looking for stuff.

 

Also, for my essential tools, 1 cone of medium weight 2-ply knitting silk. It's excellent for making repair heddles, impossible to break with your fingers, it's got excellent abrasion resistance and it's really easy to work with.

 

On a completely unrelated note, my mother gave us loads of leftover sachets from friends who moved back to poland. I've been using google translate to translate the instructions. brilliant what you can do these days isn't it? Like ask advice for different things from strangers on the other side of the world. Thanks folks :-)