I'm curious everyone's opinion on the tools people should have with them as a master electrician, particularly the ones they carry with them in a pouch or on them and those they have in a backpack or case?
making up a master electrician Kit?
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gcpsoundlight
Active Member
Pens, pencils, highlighters, sharpies…. Being a master electrician is much more about the office work than about the practical work/prep work than the actual "electrician" work. You're a manager, not a worker. That being said, I usually try to stock the tools that are super useful, but usually are not carried by everyone--multimeter, gam check, quality crimpers, soldering iron… stuff like that.
Dan is totally right - tools are important, but so are office supplies. Here's a list of some of the stuff I have.
2" Gaff Tape - 6+ rolls, varying colors
1" black gaff - useful for labeling without needing to rip a 2" roll in half
E-Tape - 6+ rolls, varying colors
black friction tape - you'll go through this stuff like water once you realize what all it can do
Spare connectors - Edison, 2P&G, L6-20, etc.
Multimeter
100' roll-style tape measure (at least two)
black spray paint - for making mistakes disappear
white spray paint
paint pens - multiple, various colors
black sharpies - full box
silver sharpies - full box
assorted colors of sharpies
box of black pens, box of blue pens, box of highlighters, all sorts of writing utensils
3-hole punch - for organizing paperwork into binders
binders - for organizing 3-hole-punched paperwork into
extra 6" C-wrenches, to loan out to crewmembers when they forget theirs
black zip ties (cable ties)
First Aid Kid - not a requirement, but I like to keep one in my box, just in case
clear sheet protectors - keeps paper nice, and lets you organize it into binders
14 AWG wire, zip cord, etc. in varying colors - useful for that last-minute practical you need
Littlelite or small desk lamp
scale rule
If you want to get fancy, or if you're doing a longer-running show, you can also add:
cheap b/w printer - having your own that you can leave on stage is invaluable
blank sheets of labels - for printing out circuit labels, instrument labels, whatever you need
clear tape (J-Lar) - for taping over labels to keep them from ripping up
14-ga wire, zip cord, etc. in varying colors - useful for that last-minute practical you need
Now most of this isn't "required" for the job, and lots of it should be provided by the show. Don't go out and buy all this at once, but it might behoove you to start collecting these things. You can get through a show without any of this, but you'll find that your life gets much easier if you come prepared with everything you need to do your job the way you want to. Obviously, this doesn't include any tools or anything like that. Hope that helps.
2" Gaff Tape - 6+ rolls, varying colors
1" black gaff - useful for labeling without needing to rip a 2" roll in half
E-Tape - 6+ rolls, varying colors
black friction tape - you'll go through this stuff like water once you realize what all it can do
Spare connectors - Edison, 2P&G, L6-20, etc.
Multimeter
100' roll-style tape measure (at least two)
black spray paint - for making mistakes disappear
white spray paint
paint pens - multiple, various colors
black sharpies - full box
silver sharpies - full box
assorted colors of sharpies
box of black pens, box of blue pens, box of highlighters, all sorts of writing utensils
3-hole punch - for organizing paperwork into binders
binders - for organizing 3-hole-punched paperwork into
extra 6" C-wrenches, to loan out to crewmembers when they forget theirs
black zip ties (cable ties)
First Aid Kid - not a requirement, but I like to keep one in my box, just in case
clear sheet protectors - keeps paper nice, and lets you organize it into binders
14 AWG wire, zip cord, etc. in varying colors - useful for that last-minute practical you need
Littlelite or small desk lamp
scale rule
If you want to get fancy, or if you're doing a longer-running show, you can also add:
cheap b/w printer - having your own that you can leave on stage is invaluable
blank sheets of labels - for printing out circuit labels, instrument labels, whatever you need
clear tape (J-Lar) - for taping over labels to keep them from ripping up
14-ga wire, zip cord, etc. in varying colors - useful for that last-minute practical you need
Now most of this isn't "required" for the job, and lots of it should be provided by the show. Don't go out and buy all this at once, but it might behoove you to start collecting these things. You can get through a show without any of this, but you'll find that your life gets much easier if you come prepared with everything you need to do your job the way you want to. Obviously, this doesn't include any tools or anything like that. Hope that helps.
I am about to make a generalization, this may not be true everywhere.
Most master electrician positions are "permanenet" positions with a company or tour. Because of this it seems a little odd to need a "ME Kit" unless you are in college where you might only be the ME for one or two shows. However, even in school, one would hope that the school would provide you with most of the things you need. That and I have never really heard of freelance master electricians moving from show to show.
What's my point? You shouldn't have to put any of your own money into the bulk of the tools you need. If you work for a theatre or if you work for a tour company, they should provide you just about everything that rochem listed and probably more. Maybe you have a favortie wrench you like or favorite set of other tools, but I wouldn't go out of my way to build a "kit" unless I knew that for some reason my employer was not going to provide them.
As a master electrician, the theatre is my tool kit. We keep a cabinet full of hand tools and a cabinet full of power tools; one with office supplies, and one with gaff tape. I do have a little tool box that I call my "tech-table box" that I keep out during hang, focus, and tech that is mostly fillied with office supplies (pens, highliters, sharpies, scale rule, tape measure, etc) so that I have everything on hand and don't have to send someone over to the shop or my office. Even so, everything in said box could be found and is readily avialable to me in the building. If the theatre doesn't have something that I need, I have a budget and I try to fit it into that. It is very rare, and unadviseable to put your own money into tools/equipment to use at work (unless those are the terms of your employment and your employers does not provide them).
One tool that I use that the theatre did not provide is my iPad. One of the best purchases ever, it has seriously cut down on the amount of paper and paper-related supplies that we use between hang and opening. No more binders stuffed with paper!
Most master electrician positions are "permanenet" positions with a company or tour. Because of this it seems a little odd to need a "ME Kit" unless you are in college where you might only be the ME for one or two shows. However, even in school, one would hope that the school would provide you with most of the things you need. That and I have never really heard of freelance master electricians moving from show to show.
What's my point? You shouldn't have to put any of your own money into the bulk of the tools you need. If you work for a theatre or if you work for a tour company, they should provide you just about everything that rochem listed and probably more. Maybe you have a favortie wrench you like or favorite set of other tools, but I wouldn't go out of my way to build a "kit" unless I knew that for some reason my employer was not going to provide them.
As a master electrician, the theatre is my tool kit. We keep a cabinet full of hand tools and a cabinet full of power tools; one with office supplies, and one with gaff tape. I do have a little tool box that I call my "tech-table box" that I keep out during hang, focus, and tech that is mostly fillied with office supplies (pens, highliters, sharpies, scale rule, tape measure, etc) so that I have everything on hand and don't have to send someone over to the shop or my office. Even so, everything in said box could be found and is readily avialable to me in the building. If the theatre doesn't have something that I need, I have a budget and I try to fit it into that. It is very rare, and unadviseable to put your own money into tools/equipment to use at work (unless those are the terms of your employment and your employers does not provide them).
One tool that I use that the theatre did not provide is my iPad. One of the best purchases ever, it has seriously cut down on the amount of paper and paper-related supplies that we use between hang and opening. No more binders stuffed with paper!
Corporate shows in hotel ballrooms? I guarantee if the Master Electrician doesn't bring a DMXter/Amprobe/LightMeter/etc., it won't be there.
The definition of Production Electrician is to move from show to show, leaving after load-in or previews.
Touring ME's/Crew Chiefs are expected to possess their own tools. PRG/Upstaging/Epic/etc. are not going to supply crescent wrenches and screwdrivers. (But they will supply truss tools and trim tapes, go figure.)
Anecdote: The TD of a long-running Vegas show went around asking each carpenter asking if he had a chalk line. Some didn't know what one was. The rest said no. Until he got to Fred, who asked, "What color? I have blue, red, or yellow." Thus began the "I hate Fred" Club.
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There are freelance MEs in the corporate world. I know a couple and they do carry kit's similar to what rochem listed (similar being based on what I've seen them pull out-- I've never asked specifically what they have). I know one also carries spare lamps on some shows.
I think I understand where the OP is coming from. As a student, I'm not a resident ME in my school's theatres, so it's certainly not possible for me to keep a workbox there. I also do a fair amount of work as an ME for theatres in the area, and I have occasionally worked in some sort of lighting supervisory position during the summer as well. This summer, I finally bought myself a large workbox to keep my stuff in:
It's a Pelican 1620, weighs about 88 lbs fully loaded, and to date, I've only ever brought this onto two show sites. I also have a smaller toolbox that I fill on a daily basis depending on what kind of work I'm doing that day. Even when I've been an ME, I rarely need most of the stuff in the box on a daily basis. However, I've used everything in the box at least once, and since I'm moving on a semi-regular basis, it's really convenient to be able to pack up everything and roll it out the door. While your basic black gaff and e-tape is always supplied by the venue, things like fluorescent colors of gaff and friction tape are often not as readily available, and I'm usually willing to use a few strips of my own tape if it makes my life easier.
This is an older photo, but in addition to my list above, I also have a few small ratchet straps, a stapler and spare staples, empty e-tape cases filled with miscellaneous screws and small ML parts, a spare telrad, spare HPL lamps and whatever else I happen to find lying around, an assortment of ML gobos, and a box of assorted fans and driver chips and other ML parts that commonly fail. The back right section is filled with tools and PPE.
Were I working as a resident ME, I would probably have a more permanent workbox setup at the venue, filled with their gear and not my own. But, in my opinion, working as a freelancer on relatively short shows, it's my responsibility to provide my own basic tools I want to make my job easier, and if having a can of spray paint saves the show, it could well land me my next job.
ElectroCarp
Member
PeterBuchin
Member
Ensure that you can get into or swap out any connector or piece of equipment - are there any oddball screwheads on your equipment: Torx, Robertson, Span-head?
Anything you might need to trim dimmers or other electronics.
Canned air.
Cable strippers.
At least one pipe wrench, preferably two.
A bottle opener.
Are you doing tie-ins? Insulated T-handled hex wrenches are essential. Heavy-duty cable cutter and large diameter cable stripper. I usta carry a Rubbermaid drainboard to stand on as well. Fuse pullers for those older company switches.
Powerbars.
Copy of the latest code books.
Phone numbers of every rental house, electrical supplier, and stagehand that you know.
Lock for the back door of a bobtail truck. I always liked Sesame locks.
Lighting templates, scale rulers, mechanical pencils with extra leads and erasers.
I set aside 5% of what I earned for tools. Eventually, I owned most of the Klein Tools catalog.
Quality tools always pay for themselves.
Anything you might need to trim dimmers or other electronics.
Canned air.
Cable strippers.
At least one pipe wrench, preferably two.
A bottle opener.
Are you doing tie-ins? Insulated T-handled hex wrenches are essential. Heavy-duty cable cutter and large diameter cable stripper. I usta carry a Rubbermaid drainboard to stand on as well. Fuse pullers for those older company switches.
Powerbars.
Copy of the latest code books.
Phone numbers of every rental house, electrical supplier, and stagehand that you know.
Lock for the back door of a bobtail truck. I always liked Sesame locks.
Lighting templates, scale rulers, mechanical pencils with extra leads and erasers.
I set aside 5% of what I earned for tools. Eventually, I owned most of the Klein Tools catalog.
Quality tools always pay for themselves.
Lotos
Active Member
I ME'd my first gig with a professional lighting designer when I was in college... He arrived with the plot on my first day, and told me to get out my red pencil... I looked at him blankly...
He rooted around in his bag for a minute, and produced one of these: Amazon.com: Prismacolor Col-Erase Pencil with Eraser, Carmine Red Lead/Barrel, 12 per Box (20045): Office Products
He looked at me, dead pan, and said "Every Head Electrician needs a red pencil... How else will you know what the designer screwed up? Here, keep this."
I've purchased many more over the years, but still have the original in my kit. Other tools and stationary come and go... But I'll never be caught dead anywhere without one of these.
He rooted around in his bag for a minute, and produced one of these: Amazon.com: Prismacolor Col-Erase Pencil with Eraser, Carmine Red Lead/Barrel, 12 per Box (20045): Office Products
He looked at me, dead pan, and said "Every Head Electrician needs a red pencil... How else will you know what the designer screwed up? Here, keep this."
I've purchased many more over the years, but still have the original in my kit. Other tools and stationary come and go... But I'll never be caught dead anywhere without one of these.
On my workbelt, which I only carry if I am about to fix something, I have;
6" Crescent Wrench w/Safety Line
Diagonal Cutters
T-Stripper
Crimper
Stage Pin Spreader/Cleaner (We are a stage pin house.)
Insulated Slot Screwdriver
Insulated Philips Screwdriver
Multimeter
Flashlight
Sharpie
It looks like a lot, but all fits into a single handyman pouch.
6" Crescent Wrench w/Safety Line
Diagonal Cutters
T-Stripper
Crimper
Stage Pin Spreader/Cleaner (We are a stage pin house.)
Insulated Slot Screwdriver
Insulated Philips Screwdriver
Multimeter
Flashlight
Sharpie
It looks like a lot, but all fits into a single handyman pouch.
