Ag. Shop tools

In my High School Ag shop we have less useful tools then the math class. Our shop doesnt even have a ratchet. We have all these big wrenchs that are atleast over an 1 or 2 inch size that was given to use by the local factory. We basically have a bunch of sockets with no ratchets and a bunch of wrenchs that are useless on almost all of the projects we have.

This is not that we dont have money, but it last a week and then people steal the usefull stuff. The world has really gone down hill when we steal tools striaght from our own schools.

P.S.- This is tractor related because my project is a Allis WC and now i havew to do that at home cause we have no tools! :x

my old ag teacher used to paint all the tools pink...worked pretty good, the sad thing is I bet the sports teams budget would cover a harbor freight set or two.

We have the same situation where I work. As soon as a set of tools is bought, someone takes what they want from it.

You are correct about the world going downhill. Sounds like your instructor(s) need to get on the ball and be a little more observant. When I was in school, (back when the world was still flat), our ag/shop instructor checked off every tool that someone was using and checked it back in when class was over. The tool room was locked when there was no class in the ag. building. We seldom lost a tool. And good luck on your project.

As an Ag teacher I can agree with both of you. Your teacher should be doing more about stopping/keeping on top of this. Also there are a lot of kids out there (and adults) who will do whatever they can get away with. Have you heard the phrase "evil is what happens when good people do nothing". There comes a point where the good kids need to stand up (as the good adult citizens need to) and say enough's enough and let their peers know that wrong is still wrong. Be careful how you do it though.

BTDT - Sounds like you need a check out system. No return = No passing grade.

Ya a few weeks ago there we're a few guys in my class trying to figure out how they could steal a 200 pound anvil. The best idea,"Dude, we can put it in my backpack and carry it out on my back." I just laughed at those guys thinking they could carry 200 pounds out on their back, and scrap it for drug money.

We had all the tools on shadow boards mounted on castor wheels. Nobody left the class at the end of a session till everything was back on there, then the shadow boards were wheeled into a locked cage at the end of a session. All the tools were painted a particular colour depending on which shop they belonged to, so every one knew which workshop they were from.

We had shadow boards with a locking cover. At the
start of class they were unlocked and inventoried
at the end of class they were inventoried and
locked. One class had a pair of pliers come up
missing, the teacher announced we were still
responsible for the shop work but wouldn't have
access to the tools or be allowed to work in the
shop until the pliers turned up. After a week of
paperwork and written assignments one of my
friends brought in a pair of pliers from home so
we could get back out in the shop. One class I was
made the cabinet foreman (inventory taker) the
list said we had 23 screw drivers, all the
screwdriver holes/outlines were full- I was bored
and counted screwdrivers, guess whoever set up the
cabinet couldn't count past 22 'cause that's all
the screwdrivers that were in there.

(quoted from post at 04:26:20 02/29/12) In my High School Ag shop we have less useful tools then the math class. Our shop doesnt even have a ratchet. We have all these big wrenchs that are atleast over an 1 or 2 inch size that was given to use by the local factory. We basically have a bunch of sockets with no ratchets and a bunch of wrenchs that are useless on almost all of the projects we have.

This is not that we dont have money, but it last a week and then people steal the usefull stuff. The world has really gone down hill when we steal tools striaght from our own schools.

P.S.- This is tractor related because my project is a Allis WC and now i havew to do that at home cause we have no tools! :x

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Sadly, some people steal and some people destroy what isn't theirs. If someone gets away with either today, they'll try it on a larger scale tomorrow. Some people don't have an ounce of respect for something that isn't their own, and some never will.

At least you still have an ag shop. I went to a high school that was built in the middle of a cornfield. It had no ag class, no ag shop, and no local FFA chapter while I was there. In the late 90's the construction class turned the part of the ag shop that had been unused for over a decade into a weight room so the high school would have an excuse to provide a "teaching" position to a new football coach.

Most of the metal and wood shop machines when I was in high school (1996-2000) was what survived from when my dad was in high school ('67-'71). What wasn't worn out was destroyed by then current or past students. Some idiots would try to take the teeth off of the gears on a South Bend lathe on purpose. We didn't have a tool room, tool boards, etc, because we had few hand tools. A couple of screwdrivers, files, crescent wrenches, pliers and a hand hacksaw or two was about all that could be had in the metalshop. Nobody ever seemed to know of what happened to all of the hand and specialty tools from the ag shop. They probably went home with someone or several people over the years, and I wouldn't blame this all on students, either.

The school's logic wasn't much better. A 10 lb. box of welding rod was supposed to be enough for 20 kids for a semester. I must have welded a dozen broken desks back together as my welding project because there was no other material available to work with.

Best wishes for you and your WC. If you do bring your own tools to school, stamp, paint, or somehow mark them so you know their yours. Take them with you when you leave each day. If someone will steal from the school, they'll steal from you.

AG

My high school shop used the same system and I worked on jobs that used check out.

Stop and think about it. They did you a favor. Now you know how the real world works. As for the teacher, all he cares about is how much he gets paid and his retirement. He should be fired just like most of the polititions.

Check your local fire Dept.,they tend to accumulate tools. While I was on the local Dept. I noticed the main equipment compartment had some things that didn't belong there. I removed everything and put back only what belonged. I had a pile left over, including two 3/8 socket/ratchet sets. (There had been three) The deputy had just added one a week earlier. Easier to buy new than look a little to find what you already have.

Stealing tools is not a new problem in school. Shop teacher would assign a student to be in charge of the tool room. All tools were hung on the wall and at the end of the period, all tools had to be accounted for.

Taught Ag for 35 years. When I come to the department tools were everywhere and many missing. Admin said I had to go to School Board for extra budget. They let me buy good tools and boxes to lock them up at the end of each class. Everything had its place and student that unlocked the chest was responcible for checking and locking. I can't remember buying more than a few small items that got lost. I found that other teachers, janitors and non students that borrowed things to use in other parts of the school were the big problem. Took care of that problem by buying cheep tools from yard sales and other places that they could use. The AG students really appreciated never having to search for a tool and today you go to their shops and their boxes are organized. Don't blame the students---someone is not doing their job!

Latest phrase is "bug out bag". Looks like you will have to carry your tools into and out of the class each day a rather sick world.

In this area a teacher is between 60 and 100 thousands a year - so counting tools is not on the front burner. My friends subs and get 100 dollars a day for around 5 hours.

Hey man at least you have an ag section at your school. At my high
school, I am ridiculed for "wasting my life" with tractors and
farming and no course related to agriculture is available...People
don't realize where their food comes from anymore and don't
respect hard working farmers. Maybe one day... :/
The Downcast Aspiring Farmer

My nephew, after his Airforce time, went to
aircraft technical school, to get his A & P
license,(Airframe and powerplant) On the first
day they had tool trucks there from Snap-On,
Matco, Mac. I said "There will be thieves!" and
supplied him with a set of combination wrench"s,
and 1/2 sockets, in NON CHROMED flat black,from
Snap-On. He was the only one not to have tools
stolen!

When I was in high school we never really had this problem. The odd wrench would occasionally go missing from auto shop, but is wasn"t too bad. I can see this happening in a auto shop near a city or something, but a ag shop should have better, farm type kids in it, unless it"s a dual purpose room.

Jealous!

I don't normally go on here and point out spelling mistakes.I am far from a good speller ,but since your handle is "old teacher" and you were, I noticed at least 2 mispelled words. I am going to chalk it off to the 35 years of putting up with the kids has taken a toll on you ! LOL

I taught High machine shop classes in Louisville, Ky for 30 years. I probably had no more than 3 or 4 instances when a tool was missing at the end of class. I always cleaned up about 5 to 7 minutes before the end of class and checked the tools in. The students were aware of this. If so much as a screwdriver was not in the cabinet or tool room we all looked for it. I never bought chrome wrenches. To Mike M.--- I hope I didn't mis-speal anything. Ellis

Appoint an aggressive student to be'Tool
Master'.Make him responsiblefor tool ckeck-
out/chech-in.If a tool is missing during his
watch,make him pay for it.I garrantee there will be
no more tools dissapear!

Around here that problem was solved by eliminating the Ag program. Don't know who stole what was left of the tools when they shut down probably employees.
Every prison I ever worked in had a tool cage with shadow boards, and every tool taken out was singed for and at the end of the class nobody left til all tools were accounted for.

Yeah, we had that trouble too but the district must
have had a pretty big tool budget. The tool room was
supposedly watched by some of the teachers "pets"
but that was not the answer either. I WAS one of
those pets. One year we got new Briggs & Stratten
engines to tear down and learn about. I know some of
those went home too. (Not with me)

Similar situation here. Wood shop teacher retired after more than 20 yrs keeping his place in perfect order with some GOOD old stationary tools and power tools. Went back to visit and storage room was about empty. New guy said he threw out boxes of "old parts" cause it was easier to send out repairs and cheaper to replace damaged power tools. Hand tools were either broken or missing. This guy never cared if they had anything to work with. BTW, he got his 5 years in to be fully vested and is GONE!

(quoted from post at 08:54:25 02/29/12) Appoint an aggressive student to be'Tool
Master'.Make him responsiblefor tool ckeck-
out/chech-in.If a tool is missing during his
watch,make him pay for it.I garrantee there will be
no more tools dissapear!

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Fraid them days are long over Bro......