Andy,
In a previous life I used to travel with lots of tools and
equipment. It consisted of several aluminum cases of hand tools and
test gear. It was always a pain but post 9/11 I thought it would be
impossible. On my last flight I ran into a tech rep who spent all
his time on the road with a similar tool kit. He said it actually
was not much worse than before . He thought things were actually
better now that the TSA has taken over. His opinion was that they
are more professional than the previous security personnel. On that
count I would also agree. My previous experiences with airport
security left me with the opinion that they were just wasting
everybody’s time. Having flown quite a few times since the TSA has
taken over airport security; my opinion is that they are actually
doing their job in a prompt and professional manner. Anyway there
are literally hundreds if not thousands of technicians that fly all
across the US and the world with their tool kits every week and
there are procedures in place to accommodate the inspection of their
gear; so your tools should not be any different. Call the TSA office
at SeaTac and see if you can find out what the protocol is and just
allow plenty of time to get yourself and your gear through.
Jim
James Binnion Metal Arts
Phone (360) 756-6550
Toll Free (877) 408 7287
Fax (360) 756-2160
jbin@mokume-gane.com
Member of the Better Business Bureau