Apprentice- What tools should I get next?

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growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA

What tool to buy next?


It really depends on what type work you will be doing? If you end up running conduit in a ditch for 6 months then a great set of wire strippers or a non contact voltages tester doesn't help much. If you end up nailing up a lot of boxes then a hammer is nice to have.

Buy the tools you need to work with and pretty soon you will have a lot more tools than fit in your pouch and then you get a bag or tool box to carry them in and choose out the right tools for the job to carry in the pouch.
 

480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
An apprentice should have a cordless sawzall much before that, especially if he is doing a lot of commercial work.

If you want to create a one-size-fits-all list, then just make a list of every tool known to mankind........ because some electrician, somewhere, sometime, used every one of them.
 

peter d

Senior Member
Location
New England
If you want to create a one-size-fits-all list, then just make a list of every tool known to mankind........ because some electrician, somewhere, sometime, used every one of them.

Typical response I would expect from you. A cordless sawzall is one of the most commonly used electrician tools regardless of specialty, it's not like asking an apprentice to go out and buy a cordless circular saw or hammer drill.
 

jeremysterling

Senior Member
Location
Austin, TX
35 years in the trade only had one of those as a newbie and once it broke I never got one again. Just not needed for my work.

Recently, the scratch awl was "scratched" off the apprentice required tool list. Not one of the five masters that work for the company could ever recall using one.
 

480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
Typical response I would expect from you. A cordless sawzall is one of the most commonly used electrician tools regardless of specialty, it's not like asking an apprentice to go out and buy a cordless circular saw or hammer drill.

But there's apprentices out there using cordless circ saws and hammer drills on a daily basis. Why not require them to have them?
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
Typical response I would expect from you. A cordless sawzall is one of the most commonly used electrician tools regardless of specialty, it's not like asking an apprentice to go out and buy a cordless circular saw or hammer drill.

But there's apprentices out there using cordless circ saws and hammer drills on a daily basis. Why not require them to have them?


I think the company the apprentice works for should provide a list of tools that are required. If they want a person to have a lot of high dollar tools they should have a lockable gang box for tool storage when not being used.

I worked for a company at one time that had a crazy tool list they expected you to not only have but to wear at all times when working. You felt like a pack mule trying to carry all of those tools around and it really made it hard doing ladder work ( I expected the tool list came from management because no working electrician would ever want to carry that much weight).
 

480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
.......... If they want a person to have a lot of high dollar tools they should have a lockable gang box for tool storage when not being used. ..........

They should also adjust their pay rate accordingly. If you only require basic hand tools, that's one thing. But when you start requiring power tools or specialty tools because your daily routine demands them, then the pay should go up.

Heck, pay someone enough and they should supply bucket trucks, tuggers, scissor lifts......
 

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
I need better pliers all around. Diagonal cutters, needle nose ect
.
a simple solution is to find out the tool list required of a wireman
for the company you work for. they don't have one?

then find out what IBEW local governs the area you work in, and
look at their tool list on their web site. a representative example
might look something like this:

JOURNEYMAN TOOLS
SECTION 4.1

Journeymen shall provide themselves with an adequate set of personal
hand tools necessaryto perform the average classification of work, not
requiring the use of what are generally classified as "shoptools."

The tool list shall be as follows:
Tool Pouch
Screwdrivers
Hacksaw frame
Tri-square
Side cutting pliers
Size 0 Phillips
Drywall saw
Knife
Diagonal pliers
Size 1 Phillips
Straight claw Hammer
Wire stripers
Long-nose pliers
Stubby Phillips
Flashlight
Tin snips
Steel rule, 1” x 25’ min.
5” common blade
1 set Allen wrenches
Torpedo level
2 pair channel lock 8”
common blade Awl
Code book
10” crescent wrench
Stubby common
Center punch
Tic tracer
1 set of spin tights
Voltage tester

that list hasn't changed much in the 40 years i've been doing this,
and the industry has, but it's a good start. they finally did get rid
of yankee screw drivers, and a brace and bit.

while you are looking at that tool list, you might want to consider
taking a look at the rest of the working agreement that the tool list
is invariably a part of. it sort of gives you a feel for what is appropriate
conduct for both sides of the fence with regards to electrical construction.

a sample can be found here...
https://www.dol.gov/olms/regs/compliance/cba/private/cbrp_2359_pri.pdf

now, that particular one is dated. current ones can be found online.

there's a limitation of tools the employee should furnish, for a reason.

when i have exceeded that list, it hasn't always gone well..... once,
i was running a crew on a sunday, on a roof, and we needed to have
some welding done to be able to work that day, and there wasn't time
to get a welder when we discovered this. so, the next morning, my tool
buckie had a wire feed, hood, and a 4" grinder in it.

i explained it this way.... "brothers, if i use these completely in violation
of the working agreement tools for half an hour, and we can all get 12
hours of double bubble on a sunday, or, we can be good follow the
rules people, and go home with two hours show up pay today. your call.

everyone stayed, made the money, and left after 12 hours.

the apprentice stayed, made the 12 hours double time, and monday morning,
reported me to the union hall. business agent came out, i explained what
happened, asked if he wanted to cite me, and i was ok with it if he did.
he didn't bother, and that apprentice stayed on my crew for the next three months.

it was a very long three months for him, i suspect. didn't get any better when
i had to write his performance review.
 

growler

Senior Member
Location
Atlanta,GA
I use my scratch awl quite often for a variety of tasks.


I use mine as a center punch to mark where to drill in metal. I have a center punch but it's often hard to find. It's a usefull tool but I don't know that I would rush out to buy one if I didn't already have it.

I have a small pry bar and nail puller that I carry in my tool bag and for old work it comes in real handy but if I was doing new work I doubt it would get much use.
 

jeremysterling

Senior Member
Location
Austin, TX
When I work with an apprentice, I take stock of their tools and offer suggestions for additional or replacement tools within the company's policies.

I also understand that their tool budget may be very limited. If I check work that was performed with "Harbor Freight" tools, and the result is timely and craftsmanlike, I'll give my (non-consequential) approval. I do ask that tools operate freely but not sloppy, be clean and without corrosion.

I ask that my apprentices use a Volt-Ohm meter (VOM) on my jobs. Plug-type testers are great for jobs with lots of 5-15R, but won't catch miswired 277V on a duplex receptacle (been there). VOM's are what the apprentice really needs to learn. I would recommend a low-impedance (LoZ) VOM instead of a "wiggy" solenoid type.

I would recommend a hacksaw. Yes, most apprentices move straight to the cordless reciprocating saw which is OK. I believe they are missing out on the learned skill and versatility of the hacksaw. Most journeymen I work with don't bring one to work.

I carry a hacksaw on all my service calls. Its in the bag with my hammer, rotosplit, prybar, batt hammerdrill, batt flashlight, circuit tracer, door stopper and parachute material bag. If I need to make 5 or 6 cuts on some 1/2" EMT, 1/4" threaded-rod, thin-gauge shallow strut, etc., the hacksaw is easier than toting around a power saw. Insomuch as I'm always happy to have an apprentice who owns a cordless bandsaw!
 

FionaZuppa

Senior Member
Location
AZ
Occupation
Part Time Electrician (semi retired, old) - EE retired.
one you might get is something that may give you an advantage when troubleshooting

"FLIR ONE"

good luck in your journey is this wonderful world of electrons
 
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