silverchip
~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Aaahhhh yes... flying and the TSA. I have to fly a lot with tools and it is a constant headache. My main airport is Philadelphia, but I also fly out of Newark quite a bit and have had heart to heart talks with the TSA agents multiple times about the tools and if they have to be checked. If you look at the rules for flying (at least domestically) you are supposed to be allowed to take small tools on the plane as long as they are not beyond a certain length (7 inches I believe) including wrenches, pliers, etc. So I have taken my tools to the head TSA guys at the airport and asked if they comply. Here I'm speaking about the gravers NOT even in a collet or hand piece at all - just the simple gravers. Three times now with different people I get the same answer..... Yup, it would seem to comply with the rules, but if you get a TSA agent who interprets the rules differently then they will be confiscated, etc.
I even asked if I could provide a full set of tools to be inspected so that maybe I could get a letter that states they have had the once over and are OK.... Nope.... It all comes down to how someone feels on a certain day.
Now, having said that - and back to your hand piece. I have flown with hand pieces in my carry on bag multiple times and have never had a problem. I NEVER have a graver installed in the hand piece. It is always neatly packaged with the hose coiled up. I also have a printout of the hand piece (from a catalog or web site), my card which states I'm an engraver and a small engraving sample on me so that I can show people what "an engraver" really means. In my case the hand pieces I now travel with are not that expensive or personalized. If I wanted to travel with a Lindsay I would probably also go the extra step of disassembling some of it so the entire thing looked smaller and probably store the parts in different pockets of the bag.
Good luck - I know this is so frustrating. In the end it will come down to whether or not the person thinks it may be a threat and will or will not be reasonable with your explanation.
Tira, This might even be a good sales opportunity or at least a contact that you hand your business card to!!! Ya never know!!!!!