How tools become valuable.

July 2008

Tools gain value when kept organized and ready to go. You have to be able to efficiently put your hands on a tool for it to convey a real capacity, a capability that it alone enables.

It follows that grouping tools into functional collections or kits is one way to take these concepts, and add a few choice pieces of hardware or a component, put this in a tool box, label it, and store it where it can be found amongst the other toolboxes.

Once you've used a tool, clean it, put it back in the toolbox. Track when a drill bit needs replacement, when the Teflon tape runs low, and keep these crucial elements stocked.

The meta view then is to have toolsets that are complete for a set of actions. An example is a pop rivet toolbox. Has the pop rivet tool, a selection of pop rivets, drill bits for each size of pop rivet, reamer. Simple, but with correct drill bits, more likely to be ready to go to work immediately. The correct assortment of tools, hardware and container means that 80% of the jobs can be done without a trip to the hardware store.

Fortunately some older guys told me to organize my tools, and helped instill good habits. My father worked that way. As I've gained experience, I'm so glad that I've lived by these values and understandings. It's nice to be able to go to my shop and just do a task. Simple, but when I was very young, the acquisition of the tool was my priority, it took a while for me to appreciate how the organization multiplies the value.

The shop is quite small, and yet it functions well. Has lots of power, a data connection, phone, natural light, and privacy. I don't like to be bothered when working in the shop, though I do enjoy visitors and collaborators.

Good security for the tools and the shop is vital, best to have an alarm system. This minimizes the times that you have to start over on the workshop….a non trivial consideration as the collection grows and becomes more useful.

Anyway, as the shop develops, it adds to the value of the tools, the kits, and we have a system capability, a capacity to do things that results from the synergism. At this level we might see for example a fume hood/dust-exhaust system adding value, as the tools can now be employed in a wider variety of ways, and health is maximized. At this level we might see a jib crane or a bridge crane, forge, etc.

At the shop level, attention to the sources of energy and utilities adds value. Lots of electrical outlets is basic, with compressed air a common upgrade, data ports, and sometimes various forms of water ( cooling water, de-ionized water, distilled water, potable water), gasses ( natural gas, nitrogen, etc.), sometimes its cryogens such as liquid nitrogen. Various forms of sewer add value, including ability to handle silt, acid waste, or the ability to contain, these add value.

The national laboratories take this concept two levels higher.

Laboratories combine the specialized work spaces/work shops into ensembles that convey a sophisticated capability such as that needed to do materials research. The national system of laboratories delivers a capability to manage the technical capabilities and research fields in a coordinated manner.

Culture is ultimately what gives value to tools, and this includes individual behavior, clan or tribal values, dynamics and practices, social organization, and how education works. The culture of the craftsman, the culture of the laboratory worker, these are important meta level assets that must be passed through time via organizations.

The simple transmission from master to apprentice has a modern analogue in the way that a PhD is earned, how folks get a doctorate in experimental science. It's not much changed as a cultural practice, a way of maintaining our cultural intellectual capital since long before Jesus was the son of a carpenter.

At the basic level, it's a decision to adopt the craftsman's practice that was important to me. The cultivation of the beginners mind is also important, but informed by cultivated habits of care that express an understanding of how this all fits together.

Thanks