Would you - borrow a tool?

[Rich Engelhardt]

A lot of people - myself included - make it a policy to really avoid lending out tools.
The list is a really short one of the people I will lend a tool to.

What about - borrowing a tool?

[Tom M King]

Never. …..

[Lee Schierer]

I've loaned tools to people I know and borrowed tools as well. I always return the tool in as good or better condition that it was when I received it. If I purchased any blades, bits or accessories for the tool, they go home with the tool. I have always experienced the same care from people who have borrowed any of my tools.

[Kevin Jenness]

I lend and borrow tools with people I trust who trust me to take care of them. A fairly short list. It allows us access to a wider range of stuff with a smaller investment. My son has heavy gear for timber work and rigging, while he can call on me for cabinetry tools. I go back and forth with my colleague up the road and the shop I used to work for, especially for shaper cutters. I lent my car mechanic a router bit when he was doing a floor nosing and what do you know, he came up a few days later and opened up the car at no charge after my wife lost her key.

If I have to borrow a specific tool twice I get my own. I would be very chary of lending out something hard to replace or essential to a time-sensitive project. There's a reason why farmers all have their own mowers, tedders and balers- haying waits for no man.

[Jim Becker]

It would be highly unusual for me to need to borrow a tool from someone else since in my very small circle, I'm the one with the tools. I have borrowed a tall extension ladder once from a neighbor who is a contractor when he was working next door, but I only had to move it about 20 feet. (Needed to replace a second floor bathroom exhaust vent and couldn't reach with my own ladder) But otherwise, I really cannot remember ever borrowing a tool from a friend. I guess that my borrowing/testing a few Festool products from "Uncle Bob" back in the day is a different kind of thing. :)

I can count on less than one hand the number of people that I would lend a tool, just to level set.

[Joe Bradshaw]

I have loaned tools to relatives with the understanding, if you break it, you have bought it. Works out good so far. Joe

[John Kananis]

I lend tools (like power washer, etc) to family and they are responsible for bringing it back in the same condition it left but i don't lend it shop tools/equipment. The only tools I don't have and sometimes borrow (from my neighbor, who is also a good friend) are medium and large equipment (chipper, log Splitter, etc) and I ask that he hang out (and help lol) while I use it.

[Michael Burnside]

I’ve borrowed a tool or two from my father in law and vise versa. Beyond that there isn’t anyone I would trust they wouldn’t hurt themselves. My kids know better, they ask for dad the “tool” to come and do it :)

[Philip Glover]

I do not loan out loan out woodworking, machinist, mechanics, or power tools - nor do I borrow them.
That said, I have loaned out and borrowed bicycle tools such as installation / removal tools for bottom brackets and headsets.

Phil

[John Lanciani]

One of my best and most enduring friendships was formed almost 30 years ago when I lent a complete stranger (a new neighbor at the time) a Sawzall and an extension cord. Tools are simply relpacable objects, how we treat fellow humans can change the course of our lives.

[Mark Gibney]

I will loan my machinist friend tools, and I borrow some from him. He has an extensive collection of gear pullers I've used over the years when restoring my machines.

Last week our car battery crapped out in the Costco parking lot. The guys at the tire service station there refused to loan me a battery jumper.
A man herding the shopping carts heard this and offered me his personal jumper. I took it to the opposite end of the lot to use, and he trusted me to come back with it. I marveled at the trust of this man, an immigrant from Senegal.

[Robert M Richardson]

I loan tools to friends and neighbors and am rarely sorry. Loaned a wheel barrow to my neighbor a few weeks ago and some fellows he hired for a job, despite his explicit instructions, mixed concrete in it. I got a new wheel barrow of the next highest grade back. He gets whatever he needs anytime.

[Ron Citerone]

Generally don’t borrow tools. I have in rare occasions with tools that have a low chance of bring damaged.

[Mike Cutler]

It really depends on the person.
I recently loaned out a Festool 1400 for a few months to someone that needed to replace all of the doors and jambs in his house. I've seen him with tools though, so I knew the router wouldn't be a hazard to him. He could also pay for it, if he broke it. A year or so ago he gave me probably $250-$300.00 worth of 20ga. shotgun ammunition he had no use for, so I think it was an equitable arrangement. ;)
It really depends on the person though.

[John TenEyck]

Yes, occasionally, I will loan a tool to a friend. And that reminds me that one of my woodworking friends has had a couple of router bits so long that both of us have forgotten, until now.

John

[Ron Selzer]

I have learned over the years that a lot of tools loaned out don't come back especially if not returned in a month. The number of people I loan tools to now is 1 and even then they don't all come back. However he has taken care of things including my truck when I have been in the hospital over the last 7 yrs, so still owe him.
Ron

[Rick Potter]

Sure I would borrow a tool. I also lend tools to people, category two people get my backup old tool, Cat one people get my better stuff. A few people get a rare shot at using special tools.

[Edward Weber]

I was torn, I voted no but there are a select few I would lend to if they lived near me. Oddly enough, this is the same group of people I would give a kidney to.

I would say anyone who works with their tools, actually depending on them for a living doesn't lend them out or is at least is a lot less likely to.

My tools are very personal to me, whether it's a cheap screwdriver or a complex machine, I acquired them for a reason. Whether it's making or repairing something, tools are part of what make me who I am. I'm not lending them out to anyone.

For me, the rule is, you don't ask to borrow and I won't have to say no. :rolleyes:

[Lisa Starr]

Yes, we will loan/borrow from a very select few fellow contractors. No one else ever....

[Bruce Page]

I hate borrowing tools or anything else. I typically will buy whatever I need when I need it. I will loan some tools out, (but not others) to a few trusted friends/family.
The downside to buying whatever you need when you need it is that at some point you will need to downsize, and you end up with a lot of things that other people aren’t interested in.
I’m in that mode right now.

[Christopher Herzog]

I tend to have duplicates of lots of things. When asked for a tool, they usually get one down the list of my favorites. It is not the end of the world if it has a bad outing or even fails to come home. If they dont come home, no more opportunities in the future. My kids enjoy me just doing whatever, no effort is easy on them i guess?

My two cents,
Chris

[Ron Citerone]

The downside to buying whatever you need when you need it is that at some point you will need to downsize, and you end up with a lot of things that other people aren’t interested in.


Funny you posted that. I was just thinking the other day that some of the tools in my garage are things only a woodworker would want and there are none in my life who don't have tools..............same with my fishing gear.

[Bruce Wrenn]

Generally only lend to a couple friends. Most often, just go over and do needed job. Used to have a 20# sledge hammer. Only lent it out once, and borrower brought it back next day saying he bought something lighter. Wonder why? Best friend and I built pig cooker, and log splitter back in the eighties, with right of survivorship. After his death, his family borrow pig cooker for Mother's Day cookout. When I went to use it in October, found it full of charcoal ashes, which had eaten though bottom. Lent his brother a trailer, and when he was supposed to bring it back, found out it was in New Jersey, not at his house fifty miles from mine. Lend chicken cooker ( same as pig cooker, just lighter built) to a couple of churches. Sometimes (rarely) borrow a once only needed tool from mechanic friend. The one thing I don't understand are post hole diggers. They will give you blisters, make your back and arms hurt, and make you break out in a sweat. Why people want to keep them is beyond me! Lent a couple of tools to fellow woodworkers, who moved before returning them. Lesson learned. Take battery charger to friend, who no longer can drive, to keep battery built up in her car. Others use her car to take her to her doctor's appointments. Lent trailer to co worker to move a couch. Two axle trailer, which came back with a bent axle. Later found out she lent it to neighbor to go get a load of gravel.

[Jim Becker]

The downside to buying whatever you need when you need it is that at some point you will need to downsize, and you end up with a lot of things that other people aren’t interested in.



Funny you posted that. I was just thinking the other day that some of the tools in my garage are things only a woodworker would want and there are none in my life who don't have tools..............same with my fishing gear.

I've thought about that a few times, but ultimately decided that this is my hobby "now" so it's not worth worrying about it. My one compromise is that I take one-time/limited time use needs and go more "economy" on those purchases, but for the things that really matter to me, I'll make the investment in what, for me, is the "good stuff".

[George Yetka]

Best friend and I built pig cooker, and log splitter back in the eighties .

Is this a combination machine?

[Tom M King]

This made me think of a sign to have made to post in the shop:

In 1980 I lent out a concrete power trowel-haven't seen it since

I lent out a dump trailer. It came back when I went to get it, and found it dented all to hell with a broken tailgate because the borrower hauled Rip-Rap in it.

In 2009 I loaned a heavy tandem axle 20' long trailer that my Dan built when he was 84 years old-haven't seen it since.

I loaned out some concrete pouring tools and they all came back covered in dried concrete.

Loaned chainsaw came back with a chain that had hit a rock.

3-1/4" power planer came back with chunks out of the blade because they hit a nail in something they were building.

Much I'm sure I've forgotten..........

You want to borrow what?

[Jimmy Harris]

Yeah. I have no problem lending or borrowing tools.

Now, there are certain tools I won't lend out to just anybody. And there are certain tools I might be afraid to borrow. But for the most part, I have the same policy with tools as I have with money. Don't lend it out, if you expect it to ever make its way back home. If you can't afford to replace it, then you can't afford to lend it. That way, you don't lose friends over it. And if you're going to borrow a tool, make sure you use it right away and return it right away. If you need it long term, buy one for yourself.

My philosophy is, it's only stuff. And he who dies with the most stuff wins... absolutely nothing. But he who dies with the best friends lives on.

[Edward Weber]

My philosophy is, it's only stuff. And he who dies with the most stuff wins... absolutely nothing. But he who dies with the best friends lives on.

He who dies, probably forgot to return the tools he borrowed.

That's a joke

[Steve Mathews]

I will never borrow a tool but will lend one to a friend in need. My logic is a true friend is more important to me than the cost of the tool. The same sort of applies to borrowing.

[Jimmy Harris]

If a tool is too rare or valuable to replace, then I won't borrow it. I'm willing to take the risk so long as I can afford to. The gamble being that you might end up buying the tool and never using it, which is the exact opposite of the whole point of borrowing something. So it's a calculated risk.

However, I also feel like the kid's shows are right and sharing is a critical function of good society. I'm not saying that society's biggest problem is sharing, but I feel like it is one of the easier problems we can directly address. And I feel part of that is producing more participants on both sides of the coin. So I'm not afraid to ask to borrow certain things, because I believe being responsible with that request is a tiny way for me to do my part to promote more sharing in general.

Besides, one of the weird little quirks about human nature is that we seem to like people whom we help more than the people who actually help us. And that's kind of weird from a self-preservation standpoint. But maybe that's a feature, and not a bug.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I have borrowed tools and when I do or have, it always came back in good shape. One time a neighbor loaned me so pruning shears and I broke them. I bought a better pair to replace them and gave them to him. I seldom borrow tools these days and I loan tools to a small group of friends and family. What tools I will loan to a given person depends on that person.

[Mike Henderson]

Look at the tools the prospective borrower has. If they're good quality and well maintained, I'd be more willing to lend him/her a tool of mine.

When the Domino came out, I borrowed one from a friend of mine to see if I wanted to buy one. Used it enough to get a feel for it, and bought one. Returned his clean and in good shape.

I was doing a woodworking favor for a friend (at his house) and I realized I had forgotten a saw. He pulled out one he had and said "Here, use this." I said, "No, I prefer to use my own tools." and went home and got mine. As you could guess, his saw was typical garage junk.

Mike

[Ole Anderson]

I don't have any friends that have a tool I don't.

[Stan Calow]

Not everybody learned that kindergarten rule about returning borrowed things in as good or better shape than you got it. So you have to judge the person asking. But it is hard to turn down family.

[Tom M King]

I don't have any friends that have a tool I don't.

Me neither. The thought of needing to borrow a tool doesn't compute.

[Richard Daugird]

Only if I can afford to replace it if I break it. A lot of times it is an excuse, instead of borrowing, to buy another tool!

[James Pallas]

First I don’t borrow tools. I either buy or rent. I don’t generally lend either. Family are particularly difficult. It seems you are greedy if you don’t help family. I do have 2 neighbors I will lend to. The first question I ask is “What are you trying to accomplish.”
I may or may not have the appropriate tool to successfully do the work required. The neighbors I’m talking about now ask “Do you have a tool that can do this job”. Most problems arise from a tool being inadequate or improper for the work involved. I was beaten up enough in the past that I feel no guilt at all about saying no. I do have a kit of tools expansive enough to do nearly any work. Those tools are for me bought by me for my convenience and no one else.

[Jack Frederick]

I borrowed a tool a couple years ago and returned it with a gift. As to lending, It depends upon the tool and the borrower. Some tools will never be loaned out without me going to do the job.

[Edward Weber]

I suggest looking at the condition of rented tools and see if you want to "lend" yours to someone.

As James Pallas mentioned, you almost need to know what someone is goig to do with the tool before you agree to lend it out. Many don't know there are specialty tools for specific jobs beyond what they see in the box stores.

Borrowing, I just don't, I would rather own a new tool or figure out a way to accomplish the task with what I have.
I know how I feel about my tools and that's why I don't ask.
i can't remember the last time I used or borrowed someone else's tool/s, has to be over 20 years ago and they were usually just on the other side of the shop.

[Bob Falk]

One of my best and most enduring friendships was formed almost 30 years ago when I lent a complete stranger (a new neighbor at the time) a Sawzall and an extension cord. Tools are simply relpacable objects, how we treat fellow humans can change the course of our lives.

John, I had the same experience about 20 years ago. My neighbor/now friend and I share tools (he was a contractor, I am a woodworker) and its worked out great as we always take care of each others stuff. I lent my dump trailer to him last year and he kept it 4 months when remodeling his own house....had a flat tire (he fixed it).....battery went dead (he replaced it)....I agree, it's just stuff. The best part of the deal was a new friendship.