# Inventory? How many know what they have?



## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

A friend of mine recently had a break-in of his garage which also housed his tools. Basically, they cleaned him out. The insurance company wanted to see receipts and any other proof of what he had. He couldn't come up with anything meaningful. A couple of receipts he found for a few items. He ended up getting squat. They paid out *maybe* 5% of what it would take to replace the stuff he had, even going into the used market.

So my question is, "How many of you know what you have and can prove it?"

I've recently embarked on a photo inventory of my shop. I have receipts for the big stuff, but man…. there's so much SMALL stuff! Stuff I've had for *years* and there's no way I kept receipts for all of this. I figured since I've recently gained another 100 sq ft of shop space and therefore had to clean and rearrange stuff, now would be a good time to get started.

I took individual photos of the bigger stuff. Table saw, band saw, circular saw, planer, jointer, clamp rack, drill press, etc., but then I started opening cabinets and drawers and…. wow. I need to do some more cleaning! I took photos of each wall because I have stuff on pegboard all over the place. Even if I don't have an item individually listed on a list of items, at least I have a photo to look at and go, "oh, look…I almost forgot about…."...whatever.

I live in a relatively low-crime village with great neighbors and we really do all watch out for each other, but these things can still happen. I'm not the doom and gloom kind of guy, but…. forewarned is forearmed I guess.


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## kreitzm (Dec 31, 2012)

I have been meaning to do this myself. I had a break in at my old home, before I got all my major woodworking tools, and they stole quite a bit of my electronic items. This causes me to have lingering fears of it occurring again and now that I have invested thousands into woodworking, it worries me more. I have a lot of my receipts and owners manuals to show the items I have but I think the photos are a great idea.


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## Charlie5791 (Feb 21, 2012)

I have 15GB of free storage space on my Google Drive account. I made a folder called Shop and inside that is one called Inventory. I started dumping photos into there (renaming each one with a meaningful name). So far there's about 50 hi-res photos and I've only used 1% of my space. I looked at some "home inventory" type programs and some programs that allow you to add notes to each photo, but I wasn't sure they'd be accessible without the program that created them, so… plain photos and I'll be typing in an inventory list as time allows. Even without receipts, I think what the insurance companies need most is proof that you actually HAD something and aren't "padding" your claim. I'm going to talk to my wife's cousin. He handles our home owner's insurance. I'm going to ask the question about "what if I have photos, but no longer have all receipts?"

Not sure when that conversation will happen, but…. it's on my to-do list


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

I made a spread sheet of all my shop tools and what I paid for each item, where I got it, and when. Did this about 4 years ago and frequently go back to it and up date it. I want who ever is left with this when ever I'm gone to know what it was worth; at least what it was worth when I acquired it.

Also, I just did a photo inventory. Doing the photo inventory I ran across bunches of stuff I need to add to the list. Just goes to show, you can never be completely covered, but you have to try or you will really be out in the cold should you need to make a claim.

Good post Charlie. Thanks for reminding us.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

i have read in the past
that even when the cops catch the thief with your reported stuff
they won't give it to you
unless you have said receipts with serial numbers
or your name and social security number etched on each tool
(like with a carbide pen) to prove ownership

might ask about that too
some tools don't have the space for all that
(who wants to ruin a good set of chisels with freehand written etching)

they can laser engrave diamonds
but that sounds like an expensive game


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

David, I know what you are saying is what many people have done, but in today's reality wouldn't putting your social security number on your tools increase their value to the criminal element. They could use that information to steal your identity and open up credit card accounts, make loans, mortgage your house, etc.

Maybe only use part of the number, or part of the number with a consistent false number added in; like the last 4 digits of your SS# with a 6 appended on the end, for instance. That would still be unique to you but would be less likely to be used for ill intentions.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

or your name and social security number

That's not an open invite to identity theft now is it? If that's true, they need to get their laws updated.


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## natenaaron (Jun 24, 2013)

David, every tool I own has my initials or my father-in-law's initials etched into them. A habit formed while working as a boat mechanic.

They are tools. They might be pretty but they are tools.


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## patron (Apr 2, 2009)

i agree with all this guys

it is a shame that the insurance and real laws
accommodate them more than us

we buy the goods
we buy the insurance
we vote for the officials

yet we are strapped with all these rules
they make up
to mostly help themselves
while we struggle thru them all

and pay for everything


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## TerryDowning (Aug 8, 2012)

I have to rely on photos most of my items have no receipt as they are hand me downs and many have no serial number as they are vintage hand tools.

I better get busy documenting the details.

Photos also give an indication of condition.


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## DaddyZ (Jan 28, 2010)

I try to keep photos for that very reason.

I also keep 3-ring Binders with all the Manuals I can get my hands on for the tools I own.


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## Rick Dennington (Aug 27, 2009)

Same as all of the above you guys posted…... shop photos, (A lot in Photobucket), machine tool photos, hand tools, but like all of you, I have tools that were my grandpas, and my dad's old hand tools…..But I have a pretty good list of everything, too, but still need to add more…..I think this is one thing shop owners overlook…...We know where every large tool is, how much wood we have on hand, but small tools and hand tools…...not so much…......


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## mummykicks (Jun 19, 2013)

Take pictures of everything and the name plate with the model/serial number. Burn a CD or two. Keep one at home, one someplace else if you can. Get a flickr/photobucket etc.. acct and upload there as well making the photos private. Having gotten into this hobby recently, just about all my stuff was ordered online and I have emails of order confirmations which I export to the CD as well. Never know when a fire is going to hit, especially if you like blo


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## joeyinsouthaustin (Sep 22, 2012)

In Austin, if they follow the law, if a tool has name and/or phone number on it, it must match an ID to be pawned. My tools have been etched in the past, but because it is a business we have a record of every, model and serial number, with description. IT IS A LOT… I know cause the city just hit us up for property tax.  Any how, I will be using metal inventory labels at the next inventory.

My favorite story from this comes from the old shop. It got broken into, and an air compressor was stolen… a few days later a rather drunk crack head came by asking if I wanted to buy an air compressor… classic.. the guy forgot where he stole it, I told him I was sending my employee for cash, offered him a beer, went inside and called the police… and got my compressor back for the price of a beer!!! Old us made emglo.. did not want to lose that.


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

Yep, I took over 200 pix of my shop in 10aSEE. Opened every drawer in my triple-stack mechanics box and took at least 2 angles of every drawer. Took several angles of all my power tools and also every square inch of wall space and inside all the cabinets.

Even took some of the nuts & bolts cabinet I have, it weighs probably 300 or 400 pounds and all that hardware , nuts, bolds and screws would cost a fortune to replace.

I also took pix of all my lawn tools and extensive pix of my motorcycle gear.

When I get a shop built here, I'll do it all again.


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop (Mar 26, 2011)

I have a spreadsheet containing every tool put into the shop over the last four years, price paid, and reference to the written log book page where it was first discussed. Lots of pictures of them on the cloud, too (many of them visible on LJs). But no way I'm etching crap into the sides of bench planes, joinery planes, etc. That's a risk I'll have to take…


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## Hammerthumb (Dec 28, 2012)

In reviewing what I have in my shop, I noticed that I probably have twice as much $ tied up in small tools that can be carried out the door as the larger tools that can't. I think it would be very noticable if someone came by while I was not at home and tried to carry off my bandsaw, tablesaw, or planer. But the dollar value invested in hand tools really adds up. Don't forget to inventory those items.


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## Woodmaster1 (Apr 26, 2011)

Great question, I can see it has everybody thinking about inventorying the shop. I know I am going to do it. I am going to put pictures together with info on each tool or machine.


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## AandCstyle (Mar 21, 2012)

I recently went through this exercise. I got a program called My Home Pro that is designed for your household items, but works for shop tools as well. It is on my smart phone and I can take pix of each item, add the insurance policy number, make/model, price, purchase site and date, quantity, barcode and serial number. Then every day, I have another program that does a back up to the cloud accessible from any computer. The program also provides reports and total dollars. It was still several days worth of data entry, looking up the cost of replacement, etc. I have all the large items entered and about half of the small items. LOML feels better knowing that she now has a clue about the shop tools.

Also, if you can it is a good idea to enter your identifying info under a name plate. Anyplace where it isn't obvious, but will help to prove that it is yours. Finally, if you can, take a pic of the owners manual with the tool as a way to prove that you are the legitimate owner. HTH


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## cjwillie (Sep 6, 2011)

I've taken pictures of all my tools and have taken one more step to get them back if they get stolen. After restoring an old tool, I paint it a color other than what they were painted in the factory. I figure it will be a lot easier to find a Hunter Green Delta bandsaw than one of the millions of gray ones.


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## MT_Stringer (Jul 21, 2009)

I have two experiences to share with yall.

1) About 25 yrs ago, I was living in an apartment but stored my tools (basic stuff) in a storage bldg - you know the type - locked gate, roll up doors. Supposed to be safe. NOT! My lock was cut and they took everything that had a pigtail (drills, router, saws, etc) but not the fairly new set of golf clubs or the radial arm saw. They also took several tackle boxes and rods and reels. All was lost - and not covered by insurance and none was ever recovered.

2) A few years later, my Chevy Blazer was stolen from a restaurant parking lot. The Houston PD wouldn't even come take a report. At the time, I had farmers Ins and they were fairly reasonable to work with. I had a tool box, new parts for my boat, newly rebuilt engine with headers, new wheels and tires. We went round and round on the engne, wheels and tires.

But the toolbox was a different story. The guy said make a list and go to Sears. That is what I did. A nice lady helped me spec the tools and provided a price list. They paid for every item on the list.

I have some pics taken while doing my garage makeover, but I need to take a lot more. I have drawers full of screwdrivers, scrapers, wrenches, ratchets, sockets, etc. Lots of stuff that would really add up.

BTW, have any of you ever itemized the items in a tackle box full of crankbaits? Unbelievable!

A quick edit. Several programs will let you edit the EXIF information embedded in your pictures. You can download a free EXIF viewer for most of the internet browsers. I have used Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop Elements and Paint Shop Pro in the past to add information about the picture. This could be helpful if your trying to prove the item was photographed by you, the owner. your name, and other notes can be added to each image. 
Mike


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

Indeed, I need to do this. My youngest son left the garage door open a few months ago. Thankfully, I live in a pretty good neighborhood, and was really lucky- nothing was stolen. It may well also be that my neighbor across the street and I have been noted carrying firearms out to our vehicles and into the house enough times that any perps are probably thinking twice about getting caught in the cross fire. Also, there are some retirees in the neighborhood who like to keep an eye on things. Some of them are insomniacs. I know this because when I go out at 3:30 AM for a bike ride or run, there are lights on inside some of the houses. I guess I'm one of those insomniacs…

I have two rollaways (5 drawer bottom cabinet, 3 drawer mid cabinet and 12 drawer top box), one for mechanic tools, with a side box that has ten drawers (think 3 by 5 card cabinet), the other for woodworking tools. The drawer in the woodworking rollaway with the Pfeil palm chisels holds over $300 all by itself. I have 5 2-drawer file cabinets full of tools under my 4' by 8' rolling work bench, and another rolling cabinet with a butcher block top on it that I put the planes and router jigs in. Yes, I need to take pictures. I hate to think what I have spent on tools in the last 45 years; if they were stolen I'd never be able to recover that cost without pix.


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## shawnmasterson (Jan 24, 2013)

Also you may want to check with your homeowners and make sure they cover what you have. My homeowners throws around this grey blanket called "what a normal homeowner would have". Very grey area with no hard definition. To resolve this I made the underwriter come to my house and tell me what was and wasn't covered. The only things he could find were my roofing and framing nailer. He said those were contractors tools. He tried to blow me crap about my welders saying those are not something a "normal homeowner" would use, and they were for business. Then I showed him my mud bogger and he was satisfied that they weren't for business use. I figured they would squawk about the Pm66, or some of the other very costly/large machines but they said no one would ever steal those due to the weight, and they were covered.


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## SnoRider (Aug 1, 2012)

I started a home inventory a couple months ago, it is almost done, mainly have to finish taking pictures of things. When I finally have a shop (hopefully here soon) and start getting more tools, I will do the same things I did for the home inventory.

I use an awesome Excel template (you can find it if you search home inventory in Excel). It breaks it down by rooms of the house. You add item name, model, serial number, cost, etc. It has a row for pictures, i put yes or no so I can keep track of what stuff I have pictures for. I also added a row for receipts and I did the same as I did for the pictures.

I uploaded and organized the pictures, scanned all my receipts. Spreadsheet, pictures and scanned receipts were put on a flash drive A then copied to flash drive B. Flash drive A and paper receipts are in my safe. Flash drive B is a secure & encrypted one and is kept elsewhere not in the house. The reason for the second flash drive and not being kept at the house is for worst case scenario (house burns down and we potentially lose whats in the safe) then we have all our data.


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