You don’t know chit about glass tools.
Or do you? Here’s a pseudo #ToolsDay sesh with a trip in the wayback machine. Technically not a tool, but tangential and cool enough to make the cut—plus oddball glass industry artifacts are always fun to check out and round out my collection.
Let’s start with the item that inspired that sensational, chitty headline: a vintage PPG Pittsburgh Plate Glass Brass Tool Check Tag (aka tool check aka chit), pictured on the right.
Most factories and plants had/ have tool cribs or lockers. At the tool crib, employees would leave their tool check tag to "sign out a tool." The tool was stored in a pigeon hole cubby. It would have a description & inventory #. The tool crib attendant would take your chit and place it in the cubby and hand you what was in there. Once the chit was traded for a tool, the employee was responsible for it until the tool was returned for the chit. Most companies limited your chits to around 5 each employee.
Accompanying this tool tag is a 1920’s Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company Employee ID Metal Badge Pin. Full of history, mystery and a chit ton of Tetanus, I’m guessing. Not exactly the most sophisticated access control and identification system, but got the job done. This pinback pin was made by Bastian Bros. Co. April 15th, 1924. In 2 weeks, she’ll be 100 years old! Way to go PPG employee 9-X!
And as a refresher for the kids not paying attention in the back of the class, PPG would go on to become the Vitro Architectural Glass that you know today!
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
#GlassNerd Kevin Hardman National Glass Association (NGA) #glass #glazing #history #tools
Manufacturing/Industrial/Process Engineer/New Vehicle Development & Launch Japan-Tennessee/New Bus Launch Minnesota-Alabama/New Military Aerospace Repair & Facility Development
3moSafety is critical, at one time Chromium was allowed in automotive paint, I remember stepping into the Nissan paint booth and my eyes immediately turned red. But I believe it has been banned for almost 20 years and now only on Air Force aircraft. Only one person died at Nissan during 13 years there and for 6,000 people, that is good and not in my half of the plant. Not saying no injuries at an assembly plant but sometimes people take short cuts. Seen some stupid stuff but experience can help prevent this in safety, ergonomics and not just costly quality problems.