Would you - borrow a tool?

[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.

[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.