My Sanding Machine

jj99 · April 13, 2009, 08:36 AM

Ok, I feel like screaming right about now. I went to work today and just noticed my sanding machine was stolen, yep a $5,000(that I'm not done paying for) machine was stolen right from my van. I have no clue who it was just the place and a time frame. Who ever it was though absolutely knew what they were taking sine they also took the disc that wasn't attached to the machine. I am beyond pissed.

What a horrible birthday

Nick Arrera · April 13, 2009, 08:55 AM

Sorry to hear that jj99 . Had many a tool stolen also .
get a police report , and turn it in to your insurance .
Happy Birthday .

cproader · April 13, 2009, 08:58 AM

..........happy birthday..........

Lo Down · April 13, 2009, 09:36 AM

OUCH!
Call every pond shop within 100 miles of you now, not later. Call every flooring retailer too and have them be on the lookout for your sander.

Tandy Reeves · April 13, 2009, 10:04 AM

Lo is right call all the pawn shops as quick as possible. I had all my guns stolen and called the pawn shops and in less than 24 hours one of the shops called and said the sheriff had my guns and the thief. He had tried to pawn them and it didn't work. Good luck and happy birthday (somehow that happy birthday seems out of place) Maybe catch that crook, and I bet you a dollar to a donut the creep knows you.

Peter Kodner · April 13, 2009, 10:15 AM

I doens't always help, but we not only painted our names on all our equipment, but engraved them in several inconspicuous places.

Heavy chains and heavy padlocks for all equipment stored on sites. Theft, thankfully, was never a big issue for us. But there was one school we were doing with a 12 foot cyclone fence and concertina on top that a 150 foot roll of carpet "disappeared" over. It was an inner city school in Chicago, but come on...

Jenny, hope the rest of your Birthday is better

TFP Admin · April 13, 2009, 11:45 AM

Jeez, bum deal. I hope the thief is caught. If the punishment could actually fit the crime, the thief would have to endure getting sanded by the machine for a couple hours - starting with the hands and covering every square inch of their body.

Maybe this will help ease the pain:

Jim

Demonseed · April 13, 2009, 02:11 PM

Chances are it is someone you know or have worked with. Regular criminal would grab electronics they know they can easily sell. I agree with Peter about putting your name in an inconspicuous spot on your tools. Think about it no one walks by, sees a sanding machine in a truck and grabs it. Hopefully you find the machine and the culprit.

Daris Mulkin · April 13, 2009, 02:46 PM

First off Happy Birthday!!!
Like when my van was busted into and my tools were stolen my supplier told me to check my own back door first. Sure enough it was my helper.
I had a new hammer drill I had just bought on credit and put it in my van and went back into the supply house to get a cup of coffee, when I came out in just that amount of time my new drill was gone. I could have killed at that point.

Daris

NumbersBoy · April 13, 2009, 03:08 PM

Besides pawn shops, watch Craigslist & Ebay. Also, if you have the serial#, let anybody that sells or repairs that model know it's been stolen. And get the word out in general, especially to other floor men. It's a small world.
(I once had a store down the street from me call to say that 3 area rugs were stolen out of their truck, and to keep a look out for them. The NEXT DAY, someone calls asking if I BUY rugs. "Sure, bring them over". Called & had the cops waiting in the back room!

What a Brainless Douchebag!)

BUT...
I tend to agree w/ demonseed. If it wasn't someone you KNOW, it might have been someone that KNOWS YOU! (a flooring punk workin' your area?).
----------------------------------------------------------------
Engraving stuff is good, but I used to have a carpenter friend who spray-painted all his power tools & many of his hand tools a combo of flourescent yellow & red. He said it was so he could tell it was his from 50 yards!

Good Luck;
Paul

jj99 · April 13, 2009, 03:28 PM

Ok..here's part 2. They also stole a chipping hammer. I called the cops and filed a police report. He gave me some form to fill out and mail back with the serial numbers and all the info and with that supposedly if anybody tries to pawn it I will be notified. This happened at the epoxy job site. There is a camera on the premises at the warehouse across so tomorrow I'm gonna check if they might have caught anything. For now I'm gonna check with my insurance if I'm covered for stolen tools and see what happens.I don't doubt its somebody that has been working there though, maybe from another trade. It had to have been somebody that has seen me load and unload my tools. I'm so stressed today, So disappointed at humanity. Its been the longest day ever. By the way thanks for the birthday wishes guys. I'm just happy to finally be home.

Professional flooring I · April 13, 2009, 03:52 PM

sorry hope they get the thief and you get your tools back. / years ago i had mine in a storage unit and i got cleaned out, had enough tools in there to put some one in the flooring bussines .

cproader · April 13, 2009, 03:53 PM

jj99 said

I'm just happy to finally be home.

well we're happy yer here too.............

Roland Thompson · April 13, 2009, 05:04 PM

Happy Birthday, set down and think of all the good thing you are thankfull for and let the stress go away.

Roland

BrianM · April 13, 2009, 07:27 PM

I'm curious if you plan on going out and buying another $5000 machine. I live and work in the Los Angeles area which I assume is similar to Miami, New York, Boston, Chicago.......in that you're really going to have to spend a lot of time and effort watching over everything of value you need on a job. I have a machine I bought for $75 and another I paid $500 for. Both have a couple hundred thousand miles on them. The older machines were made of cast iron and have really heavy duty gears and wiring. They're so beat up and old looking no one thinks they're worth anything. I swear I could drive a tank over those suckers and they'd run like nothing ever happened.