# I Was Gone An Hour



## bosephus (Jul 10, 2015)

I Went to the post office and the grocery store this morning .
I came home to find  an open garage door and most of my stuff gone .

Tool boxes , chain saws , air compressor. . Pretty much anything of value That wasn't bolted down . 
The no good bastards even kicked in the unlocked man door . 

I called the local sheriff's department ...  they are so worthless they couldn't be bothered to send a deputy out  their response was.. come in and fill out a report . 

I have a few suspects in mind as I am rarely away from the house . Not that the sheriff's department cares enought to check it out.

I think I am going to go out and get drunk for the second time in my life


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## RJSakowski (Jul 10, 2015)

I feel your pain!  While I have not had anything that major stolen, I have had an incident or two.  The feeling of vulnerability is inescapable.  We live about 20 minutes minimum from the sheriff department and fairly well have to assume the responsibility for our own protection.
Hopefully you will be able to find the perpetrators and recover your property or at least get some compensation from your insurance company.

Good luck in getting some satisfaction.

Bob


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## kvt (Jul 10, 2015)

Sorry about that,  Had it happen one time.   Nice thing was a bunch of punks also stole an old long tom goose gun, full choke and tried to fire standard shot gun shells out of it. in a drive by, blew out all of the windows in the car.     Only payback I ever got.


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## Grumpy Gator (Jul 10, 2015)

Bo,
That Sucks....... Sorry for you loss.
 Was your stuff marked ?
I hate thieves .
*********G********


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## RJSakowski (Jul 10, 2015)

Probably a lesson to us all.  Marking our tools with an indelible mark, preferably also in a hidden location would be wise.  

Specialty items like ours  travel in a fairly small circle.  We as a group could set up a watch program where if we encountered a tool or machine under questionable circumstances, we could check a "hot sheet" to see if it was listed there.


bosephus,  perhaps you could post a list of your stolen items, along with any identifying information.  We can all keep our eyes open for you.


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## jpfabricator (Jul 10, 2015)

Im sorry Bo. I have no use for a low down dirty thief. 


Sent from somewhere in East Texas Jake Parker


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## Bill Gruby (Jul 10, 2015)

There is nothing on earth worse than a thief. Check you pawn shops in about a week. I know every Pawn Shop owner within 50 miles of my home. They call me ASAP when tools show up.

 "Billy G"


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## JimDawson (Jul 10, 2015)

That major sucks.  In addition to pawn shops also check Craigslist every day.  Hope you can get some of your stuff back.


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## coolidge (Jul 10, 2015)

What a bunch of lowlife scum. I have been thinking about having video surveillance installed at my house and a security system.


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## jpfabricator (Jul 10, 2015)

Bo can you post a more detailed list of whats been taken?
A police officer friend of mine told me some of these scumbags are getting smart. They form an aliance with neiboring scuzz buckets and will swap items for pawning. Smaller more specialised expensive items ( like machinist tools) are swapped several times to increse the distance from the location of the robbery.
I have been putting off marking and itemising my tools, I am now going to start tomorrow.

Sent from somewhere in East Texas Jake Parker


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## brav65 (Jul 10, 2015)

That's a bummer.  I was broken into last August and was fortunate that they left my tools alone. Just got jewelry and electronics.


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## Sandia (Jul 10, 2015)

Sorry to hear bud, I know the helpless feeling. I had a rather large 3 generation gun collection stolen in 1989, still have not gotten over it.


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## bosephus (Jul 10, 2015)

I normally keep an eye on Craigslist anyway .... but now I will be quite religiously. 
As to the pawn shops , I live in a pretty rural area .. the nearest pawn shops are about 35 miles away in youngstown.
But I will be checking them out when I can
Along with the very large flea market that's only about 3 miles away in Rogers oh .  ... it's pretty common for people to find their stuff there after it comes up missing .

And unfortunately like a lot of people I didn't mark hardly anything .as most of it was bought second hand .. nor do I have any insurance.

As to a list ... well that's going to take some time .

The tool boxes are easily identified ... the top box is a 9 drawer craftsman  it's black with gold trim , and each drawer has the previous owners name engraved quite prominently inside under the rubber mat .
The bottom roller cabinet is an old snap on 6 drawer .. it's been repainted black and has the same engraved names under the drawer mat
Most of the tools in it are the run of the mill mix of hand tools we all have .
A few things that might help identify them as mine ...some one who is selling a grizzly steady rest , follow rest , face plate and a four jaw chuck and they don't know what lathe they fit .
Along with an er40 collet chuck and a partial set of collets.
Pretty much every tool I own was in those boxes.

The chain saws .. I still have all the paper work and serial numbers for ... stihl ms 320  , stihl 028 , and a little El cheapo Paulen. 
Air compressor was just a El cheapo horrible freight

There's two pedastol grinders ..one an El cheapo harbor frieght on a piece of well pipe casing and tire rim
The other is a 3hp Baldor on a cast stand with the numbers 348 welded on the left side of the base

And there's a Chinese drill press ... darned if I can remember the brand name
Three worm drive skill saws .. a 7 1/4 .. 8 inch and a 10 inch
And a 12 inch drop foot saw . .. all in the steel skil boxes .

And a few other 20 inch tool boxes with random stuff in them like an angle grinder , carpenters tool and such .


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## alloy (Jul 10, 2015)

Im so sorry to  hear that. Unfortunately I think we have all been there. 

When I was in boot camp my 55 Chevy was stolen. 

I truly hope you find out who did it and get your stuff back.


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## brino (Jul 11, 2015)

bosephus,

I am very sorry that happened to you.
It is sad that there are people in the world that consider other property as theirs.

But it is comforting to know that there are also the people that posted above; those that respect and care about others without ever meeting them.

If I was closer I would drive over with a few of my doubles and some accessories for you.
If you PM your address I would find some items that would fit into a small box/envelope and get them off to you- no charge.

-brino


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## Firestopper (Jul 11, 2015)

Bo,

Unfortunate for you for sure. Home robberies are up in rural areas including mine. We recently had Neighbor hood watch signage placed  throughout our streets, but I never leave anything unlocked. I also keep four GSD's free roaming (inside) when gone for short stints.  A large dog does wonders for securing your home/property. 

Both the wife and I never leave the house unarmed when a dog is not with us. Too many scumbag drug addicts and gang bangers roaming the streets thanks to our "Restorative Justice" stance in America.  This disease (as labeled) only has one cure when you find it in your home, lead poisoning combined with deep penetrating trauma.  No guessing how I feel about thieves. 

I don't need a car alarm for the old 40. If Hercules could talk, he'd say "come on in, lets talk about it"...... yea,right.
	

		
			
		

		
	



I hope you recover all your property. 

Paco


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## alloy (Jul 11, 2015)

I like brino's idea. 

Maybe post a  list of the critical items you need to get going again and we can look and see what we have as spares to send to you.


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## bosephus (Jul 11, 2015)

Why thank you fellas . 

But before we jump the gun so to speak .. I have one glimmer of hope .
My girlfriend asked to borrow my tablet this morning. 
And I am pretty dang sure it's inside the tool box .. or was .

I'm hoping someone's dumb enough  to turn it on and then I can GPS it . 
Not much of a chance ... but then thieves tend to not be all that bright .


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## brino (Jul 11, 2015)

Bosephus,

I hope you can recover your tools.

Just be careful, some attempts to reclaim stolen goods have gone real sideways:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toron...ellphone-an-extreme-case-say-police-1.3115069

Unfortuneately, law enforcement does not seem to have caught up to technology.......

Be safe! I'm sure we'd all rather have you posting here for a long time to come.

Please keep us informed, I've already started thinking about some things I could send, but I'd rather you pick what would be most useful to you.

-brino


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## jpfabricator (Jul 11, 2015)

My dad had an old chevy pickup that the cab had been cut off and made into a trailer. He would throw scap metal in it until it was full enough to haul to the scales (about twice a year).
Someone took it in the middle of the night.
Fast foward 3 months, my dad sees his trailer on the side of the road, not in anyones yard mind you.
He reclaimes his trailer and takes it back to where it belongs.
Two days later the police show up and tell him he has to relinquish  the trailer to the cuss who nabbed it to start with because he has proof of ownership????
The scrap yard wrote down the long expired tennesse tag number left on the bumper. The perpetrator had the scale reciept.
So to remain in good standing with the law he let it be returned it to blow hole the trailer thief. 
Twenty minutes later he was welding an id number into everything he owned.

Sent from somewhere in East Texas Jake Parker


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## core-oil (Jul 11, 2015)

Be careful out there guys, Over here in the U.K. I was hearing of one of our seaside resorts where the low life drug snorting scum wait until you leave your pet dog outside a shop, then they kidnap it for ransom money These guys check if the doggie has a tag on its collar with a phone number, I would not like the thought of going up to a drug squat to retrieve my poor buddy.

A young mechanic I know has his whole comprehensive Snap On tool kit stolen 15 years building it up.   One minutes drop on his guard, Gone,      Disgraceful , Everywhere nowadays The punishment does not fit the crime!


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## pineyfolks (Jul 11, 2015)

Sorry, Hope they find your stuff. Our daughter bought the house down the road and was moving stuff in. Someone must have been watching because they robbed them while they were moving in the middle of the day. Took everything, it wasn't even unpacked. The sheriff's department didn't even come out. They said just make a list.  As someone else said large dogs seem to make a thief nervous. It's getting worse everywhere.


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## coolidge (Jul 11, 2015)

My neighbor has three massive large dogs, Mastiff's and Rottweiler's, while they and the dogs were home sleeping lowlife scum cut their fence and stole...wait for it...a big John Deere tractor/mower that's some stones.


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## savarin (Jul 11, 2015)

A bunch of young low lives here were apprehended with a map of the area with every house that had a dog marked on it.
I believe they only had their map confiscated as they had no stolen property on them.
Many years ago I had a 650 Matchless stolen just after a full rebuild.
It was never recovered.
2 days later I found the large locking washer for the drive sprocket still in the tool box.
12-15 years later I received a call from the police asking if I was the owner of a 650 matchless registration...........
I said yes, They said they had some parts, half a crank case with a large hole, set of bent forks, dented fuel tank.
My only wish was the sprocket came off, jammed and threw them off at high speed and killed them.


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## bosephus (Jul 12, 2015)

Here in my area we have developed quite a heroin problem 
The pill junkies learned that heroin is cheaper and it exploded . .. and I happen to have a nest of the junkies just a stones throw away . 
I am fairly certain I know who to lay the blame on .. simple fact is ... I am close to home far to much for it to have been a random event .

But hey life goes on , yesterday I decided that I'm better off just forgetting about it and moving on .
If I happen to get some of my stuff back that would be great .
If not ... I'll get it all replaced eventually. 
I did it once when my garage burnt down a few years ago 
And I'll do it again ... all it takes is time .


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## brino (Jul 12, 2015)

bosephus said:


> I'll get it all replaced eventually. I did it once ..........And I'll do it again...all it takes is time .



.....and don't forget the help of friends. (even if we've never met )

I was at my local tool place again today, and wondered if you needed any lathe tool bits or end-mills; they have a good sale on.
Stuff around home I have doubles on: some ER-32 collets, a couple small v-blocks and clamp, some mill vice parallels, various boring tools, a new old-stock Enco dial indicator. 

Let me know if there's something in particular you need to get started again. It doesn't need to be expensive, and is only meant to set the situation a little right!

-brino


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## bosephus (Jul 12, 2015)

Why thank you again sir

There is going to be a few things I need ... but I can get started up again with a bare minimum of tooling .
And that's really  the least of my concerns .

Before I worry about that there was a few things taken that didn't belong to me .
such as the 10 inch skill saw the 12 inch drop foot saw and drill press .. there was also two mortise cutting chains off an antique mortiser that was In my tool box waiting to be sharpened that I fear is going to be nearly impossible to replace without having them remade
Replacing the borrowed tools is first on my priority


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## jpfabricator (Jul 12, 2015)

Bosephus, do you have a paypal acount? If so please let us know. 
I would like to donate for replacement of the barrowed tools.

Sent from somewhere in East Texas Jake Parker


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## aametalmaster (Jul 12, 2015)

Since I am right up the road from you I have had the same problem. Someone broke into my lake cabin and stole my Yazoo mower and a boat motor. Took an hour for the sheriff to get there and by then I found the mower in a ravine as that is the only way out. Still looking for the boat motor. Prob sold and used for drug money...Bob


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## pineyfolks (Jul 12, 2015)

If you could list some of the things you'll be needing maybe some of us could help out getting you up and running again.


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## bosephus (Jul 12, 2015)

Jpfabricator

Again thanks for the offer , but It's not necessary.
Paying for the borrowed tools is going to be a heck of a lot easier then finding them .
Every thing else ... well I'll chip away at replacing stuff as I can ... I might have bad luck at times , but things seem to have a way of working out for me . And that makes it a lot easier to shrug off the bad luck

I will however give a short list of my necessities  .

1 .. an axa tool holder .. preferably with a groove in it to allow the use of a round boring bar .
2 .. a drill chuck ..and an Mt3 arbor ... condition is unimportant I just need it to drill a pilot hole for a boring bar.
3 .. boring bar ... needs to fit in a hole smaller then .450 and bore at least 2 inches .. and use an insert as I have no way to grind tools at the moment  and fit in an axa tool holder.

4 .. a turning tool  .. nothing fancy needed here either
just needs to cut from the left to the right and use an insert

5 .. threading tool.  This is probly the most troublesome thing I need ... I need to be able to do outside threads and inside threads and work in a .875 dia hole ... and again use inserts as I can't grind tools .

6 .. mt3 live center .  Not an absolute necessity as I have a dead center in my tail stock ,

7 .. inside micrometer. .  .250 - 1.250 ... again not an absolute necessity as I can make plug gauges

8 .. micrometer. . 1 inch to two inch , luckily I have a 1 inch micrometer and a crappy dial caliper in my reloading room

9 .. magnetic base / holder for an indicator ... not an absolute necessity again .. as there's still a indicator and a mighty mag stuck to my lathe .. it's just less then ideal 

That's about it for a absolute necessity list ... and most of that I can replace as soon as the dies I have listed on ebay sell


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## Mark_f (Jul 12, 2015)

Bosephus,

   You and I had planned on getting together about milling. I would still like you to come and visit me. I have some things for you.
1. A turning tool and inserts.
2. A Mag base and new one inch indicator.
3. A few end mills.
4. A set of drill bits 1/16 to 1/2 (new)
5. A six inch dial caliper.
6. A 5/8 drill chuck( has mt2 arbor but can use an adapter for mt3)
7. A threading tool which I will grind for you in your choice of size tool steel.

I'm sure there are a few other items around here I have several of. This is my way of paying it forward. I have had lots of help and now it's my turn. I look forward to meeting you.


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## jpfabricator (Jul 12, 2015)

An axa boring bar holder with a 1" hole and a .750" bushing will ship to you tomorrow. I still have your address. God bless!


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## brino (Jul 13, 2015)

bosephus said:


> 8 .. micrometer. . 1 inch to two inch



Bosephus, I got that one. If you PM your contact details I get it off to you this week!

I don't typically use insert-based tooling, I might have some kicking around...I'll check.

-brino


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## bosephus (Jul 14, 2015)

Thanks guys .. it is very much appreciated. 

I had to laugh today ... I went to get my lawn mower out today and it wouldn't start . 
The idiots stole $30 four year old lawn mower battery .

And not only that  ...when they cut the cables off to get the battery out they left a large snap on side cutter laying on top of the engine .
I didn't own a set of snap on side cutters ... I'm sure they are easily worth 3-4 times what the battery was . ... idiots!
I wish they had a name engraved on them ... I'm sure they was stolen as well


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## jpfabricator (Jul 14, 2015)

They are called DOPE HEADS for a reason. 

Sent from somewhere in East Texas Jake Parker


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## 4GSR (Jul 14, 2015)

Block your door ways with machines!  Including garage doors.  My wife hasn't had a garage to park a car in in years!  No, she doesn't like it either.   I have all of my machinery strategically placed to slow down a thief if they get in my place.  They can't roll a roll a way out between the machines, because I take the wheels off of the tool boxes.  I also have taken the bottom  drawer out and filled the bottom up with pieces of steel plate.  You can get about 2" of height in steel in the bottom of a roll a way cabinet and still get the drawer in.  Also bolt the top boxes to the cabinet.  And if you can, bolt them to the walls!  It will stop them from taking the boxes without a fight!  At worse, they will get a few tools out before they run. 
Locate and place  your tools and equipment  in ways that either deterred a thief or at least slow them down where they only get a few things.
I feel for your loss! Hope you recover and I'll dig around and see if I can spare a few things to send.


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## bosephus (Jul 16, 2015)

Hi ya fellas 

Thanks to markf , jpfabricator and a few others , along with some minimal bargain shopping I think I have all the basic tooling I need on its way .

And many thanks to mark for a very pleasant visit ...and guys .. his projects are even nicer in person , 

A few more days and my lathe won't be feeling quite so lonely


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## chips&more (Jul 16, 2015)

A thief is the lowest of scum balls! So sorry to hear. If already noted, I apologize. A surveillance camera or two is a great thing to have. You can also have the camera send you pics to your smart phone in real time (kinda). I would put techknowledge to your advantage. And I am sorry to say, but most robberies are from a friend or friend of a friend, because they know what you have…Good Luck, Dave.


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## AR1911 (Jul 17, 2015)

Had that happen to me about 10 years ago. My shop is 30 miles away. Drove up to find the door swinging in the breeze, lock torn out of the door,and everything of value cleaned out. I sulked for about 3 days before I discovered my homeowners insurance applied. So I got a check and went shopping for all new stuff.   
   If that happened today I'd be screwed.  I do have a rudimentary alarm system on it though, and better neighbors


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## bosephus (Jul 17, 2015)

Had a pleasant suprise today , was out scrounging around the garage today trying to find enough tools to change the battery in my car .

And behind a couple boxes of junk the thieving bastards had tossed off to the side to get out of the way I found my little Kubota generator .


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## brino (Jul 17, 2015)

Glad to hear it!

As we established above these guys aren't too bright.

-brino


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## juiceclone (Jul 18, 2015)

Security dvr, lots of cameras, signs in multiple languages about cameras, and if you like them, big dog(s) around all the time.   It makes all the difference in the world.  
Make sure the perps can't find or access the dvr or they will try to take it.  "offsite" or hidden location!!  Most cams and dvr's run off 12 volts thru a wall wort, so if needed you can run them off a 12v car batt set up as necessary.  
                                    no I don't live in a "good" area.


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## Wheresmywrench? (Jul 18, 2015)

I have a nasty Rottweiler/Sheppard cross that keeps things secure for me. She will not eat anything unless told and will not take any food from anyone but wife and myself. she don't like people walking past the house and likes slow moving vehicles even less. She losses it if anyone or thing comes on the property. And if they enter house or building she will and has taken them down with NO hesitation. And she has the run of the property. Which is heavily signed with warning signs. Basically if you are not expected at the house enter the property at your own risk. And with the family she is just a big baby.


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## bosephus (Jul 31, 2015)

hi guys 

i havent been on for a week or so ..  my internet is still catch and miss . 

but thanks to all the kind folks here  i am back to making chips  and it feels fantastic .   

i'd like to thank everyone again for all the help , it makes a person feel good  .... so thanks again .


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