Shop Security

[John Kruse-Kanyuck]

So I walked out to my shop this morn, and to my dismay, what should I find? Two broken locks, a ransacked workspace, and missing items, of suspicious inventory...

 

What would you think; upon finding these items gone; that they were taken for?

 

A powered respiratory system

Bleach

Borax

Boric acid

Ferric, Hydrochloric, and Nitric acids

A large amount of Isopropyl alcohol

A huge can of PB Blaster lubricant

All my woodstains (6-8 cans, 32Oz)

Two bottles of Mapp, one of propane, one of oxygen

All the power switch locks for my bench tools (bandsaw, drill press, belt sander, welder)

My spare forge burner arm assembly

Box of surgical gloves

Pyrex beakers

 

I'm irritated, especially since I can't afford to replace the majority of these items, and our insurance does not cover thefts.

[James Spurgeon]

Well, on the slightly greyer side of a dark situation, I'm sure the cops find that particular list of stolen items to be somewhat more motivating than if the crooks "only" made off with steel and partly finished knives...

Sorry to hear about the break-in, that is frustrating and violating, to say the least.

Hope you are able to recover everything you ever intended to use again, and that the crooks proverbially choke on the rest...

James

[kevin hopkins]

Sorry to hear that.

[C Craft]

Personally I would say someone knew your inventory and where to go in the shop to get it. Most break-ins they are looking for quick money items, tools to sale. Everything on that list is something a knife maker needs not something your average thief is looking for! Not much money in the resale of Mapp Gass,PB Blaster lubricant, stains, etc .

 

Break-ins are a crime of opportunity, your average thief is not looking for specific items, not unless you know that the victim has them and then your not going to spend the amount of time it would take to rifle through someones shop, where you have no idea of what you are looking for might be!

 

I would be thinking about who besides myself has been in my shop recently! Maybe I just have a suspicious mind but,................. when I look at something like this I try to think as the thief my think! I think that has some do with my military training!

Edited November 19, 2014 by C Craft

[John Kruse-Kanyuck]

The kicker is the only people that've been in my shop, (that I'm aware of) is my parents and grandparents for the "tour". We have a pretty bad case of drug manufacturing happening here, and I think I was scoped out on my bathroom break by some highschool kids, and they came back that night for things. I'm not ten feet from the high traffic thoroughfare/powerline pass kids use to get home. The police became extremely interested when I started listing the chems and acids, but I doubt the items will get found as they are now...

 

I made a walk of the thoroughfare and found all the power switches, which is a HUGE deal for me. Still a good deal ill have to replace, but I've got lots of 01 and some Damascus scrap so be prepared for a run of neckknives from my shop. I also have a big Kukri surprise for you...

[C Craft]

OK John, sometimes you have to have all the pieces of the puzzle. I think you can rule out the parents and the grandparents!

 

In a way that is good to know at least a friend has not stabbed you in the back so to speak! Kids are the one part of the puzzle that don't always make sense, they take anything that ain't nailed down, without having a clue as too what they will do with it!

 

Take a minute and put some extra security in place. Heavy duty locks and motion activated lights, as well as video surveillance. Not everyone can afford that one but, a sign saying the premises has video surveillance and then go to HF, and get you some of these.

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/imitation-security-camera-61805.html

 

They won't help if you are actually broken into but to a thief it is a reason to go elsewhere as they won't know it's not real!! A sign on my mailbox and a fake camera stopped someone from going into my mailbox! When the PO or the sheriff's dept. gave me no help!!!!!

[John Kruse-Kanyuck]

I sure hope it wasn't the folks! Lol, Thank you Mr Craft. I'll have to look into those, and maybe see if I can manage a real one at some point. I've found two great German serpentine key locks, with no space to cut from, so that's what ill use.

[Brian Myers]

Friend it sounds like a meth-head broke into your shop. Its horrible down here in TN.

[R. Yates]

By the list and the info you posted you have been hit by a Meth Maker the "extras" shop tool Keys and such were just that . You will NOT get any of it back Sorry Brother ! Time for a Very Good Security Camera System for your place . As you have been Hit once and they know Just what you do and the Exact Chemicals you have on Hand at All times ! They Will be back and Hit you again I Promise you 1000% You Sir are Now A target for them . Sorry BUT Do Heed My warning and get the system to catch them !

 

Meth is Very Bad in Tennessee as Stated by Brian, We know ALL to well Just what Folks will do to get stuff and the makings for it all to well . & NO! ! ! Not even a Gun scares them if they are High .

 

Sooo Be Very CAREFUL Brother, If you do Confront any of them !

 

Ret, Sgt. R. Yates

Edited November 19, 2014 by R. Yates

[C Craft]

Well that shows you what I know about Meth.............. This just became an entirely different scenario!!!!!!!!

 

What I do know is as long as they are hooked up on Meth they will sell anything they can lay their hands. I watched a neighbor sell her entire life off piece by piece when she and her husband were hooked up on it. At one point they were even knocking the metal off of their shed to sell at the scrap yard for the next fix. They had a house and land paid up free and clear and went and borrowed money on it and ended up losing the house and the land, in about 3 years. I heard they owed the bank over a $150,000 on the home. In other words when they borrowed against the house they spent everything they got and never paid a dime on the mortgage! But for those three years it was a party everyday. I watched her husband stand in the yard and point up in a tree and laugh hysterically for over and hour off and on. When I finished what I was doing in my yard, he was still standing out there and laughing, I have no idea how long he stayed out there.

 

I had helped to build their house and when the bank repossessed it I told the guy that came to clean up I wanted to take a look at the house as I might be interested for my kids. I have never seen anything like it in my life! The smell had become so bad, on a day that the wind was blowing from their property towards mine, the smell over at my house outside was sickening, and their house was a 100yds from mine at the closest point.

 

They had five dogs that had trained to keep folks away from there property When I went into the house with the clean up crew, each room of the house had only a trail thru the room. There was vomit, feces, the smell of urine was everywhere. They had food scraps and garbage everywhere. The rats had moved in and the snakes behind the rats. They had stayed over their the night before they evicted them. The only place they could have lain down was a mattress that had been drug into the floor and only one corner of it was not covered with vomit and I think dog excrement. They lived their that last three years over their with no water and no electricity. They had broke the chain on the water meter so many times that they finally came out and took the meter out of the ground. They had turned their own power on so many times that they disconnected the power from the pole.

 

Soooooooooooo, if you got Meth heads, go get a real camera and put in some kind of an alarm system, even if it is some rigged up system you build yourself. Arm yourself for protection of yourself and your family and be very very careful. I have never seen human being fall as hard as those two did!!!! I was never so glad to get them out of my neighbor hood in my life!!!

 

EDIT:

I related this story not to be off- color for lack of a better word but, because I wanted John to realize if this is Meth addicts what he is up against. The folks in this story were friends and neighbors initially and what the drugs turned them into was something I have never experienced in my life. It is a true tragedy to watch but, once that process begins all right and reason goes out the window and a very dangerous element creeps into the situation!!

Edited November 20, 2014 by C Craft

[Don Abbott]

We have seen a lot and joked a lot about the coming Zombie Apocalypse. Guys, it's here. Not reanimated corpses, but chemically controled former humans. Meth is huge, but I believe the perscription pain killers are as bad. When their money dries up they have to steal to get more... and they will. Now, litter your communities with "pain clinics" and "cash for gold" dealers, and you have a winning combination.

 

I have lived in the same house for over 25 years. Out in the country, 1000' driveway, barking dog. Never a problem. My wife came home from the grocery store two weeks ago to find a front window and a back door open with two guns and her jewelry box gone... broad daylight. I estimate they were in and out in 90 seconds or less. Cops said we were one of five in about a 3 mile circle; one on the same day.

 

Home-owner's insurance will cover some of the cost, but she lost 30 years of memories. I lost a sweet 686 S&W that I bought new in '86. I have since invested in an alarm system and an 18" barrel for my 870 in hopes that in case they might come back while I'm out back.

 

Prepare. This is the new reality.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Don Abbott

[David Fischer]

Ditto on the security camera. However, that won't prevent your stuff from being stolen, or even guarantee that the person who does it will be caught. I think a dog, preferably the meanest looking one you can find, is going to be your best line of defense, followed by you with a gun if you happen to be at home when it happens. Things like alarm stickers, motion activated security lights, etc, can't hurt either. Sorry that happened to you.

[Jon Cook]

If anyone's still interested, these kinds of locks are pretty close to impossible to cut with any sort of bolt cutters. http://m.homedepot.com/p/Master-Lock-Magnum-2-3-4-in-Shrouded-Disc-Padlock-M40XKADCCSEN/202260767

I did some moonlighting at a storage facility a while back, and these were the only locks I would need a grinder to take off. Harbor Freight's biggest cutters will take out even the best standard padlocks you can get around here.

Edited February 20, 2017 by Jon Cook
clarity

[WES]

Sorry to hear about your loss! Even here in the wide open spaces of Wyoming we are experiencing a raging meth problem. Missing and rotted teeth are the dead give away around here for Identifying a user. Had a weapon stolen from a hidden compartment of my locked truck last year, they left the loaded spare clip in the ashtray and the two full box's of ammo in the glove box, so I know it was someone close to me, which is why they still have two hands, yet! Only other thing I've had stolen three separate times now(3 damn times), are my bottles of windex which I use for neutralizing etching acid, couldn't figure that one out for the longest time till I got curious one day, and I googled "Windex for drug use", and low and behold, it finally made sense to me, these idiot's are spraying their pot buds before roling and smoking, go figure! Anyway, I now live in an apartment over my shop so my place is always monitored, but some sort of surveillance camera sounds like good advise.