Specialist tool hire companies?

[Eric The Viking]

Are there any that hire out specialist tools?

In this case, I'm thinking specifically of a Lamello Cantex lipping machine (trims hardwood lippings on the edges of faced boards), but it would apply equally to other, more expensive hand tools, such as Dominos etc.

It's a bit specialist for our local hire shops, and even if they get them in the daily rate will, no doubt, be extortionate.

Has anyone come across a specialist hire service?

Thanks,

E.

 

[marcros]

i read this post an hour or two ago, and since I didn't know of any didn't reply.

It has made me think since. I initially thought that being able to hire a domino would be a no brainer, and would be a sound business. I now think the opposite. Anybody using one for trade is likely to use it so much that the initial sum is repaid in time saving within a short period, so wouldnt want to hire one. The likes of you and I, wanting one for a couple of weekends a year at most probably do not make sense. Shame, because I don't have the funds to justify buying one right now and yet one would be handy for a couple of little "around the home" projects for SWMBO.

I imagine that the same is the case for track saws. I wouldnt want to be invested heavily into a hire business for small tools. Whilst not the same quality, you could probably buy a lot of similar tools for the equivalent of hiring them twice, and if they last beyond that then it is a bonus- that seems to be the common attitude now, which I suppose is fair enough.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Plan (b) is to buy and sell-on. That might work, but the Lamello is extraordinarily expensive (for me, as an amateur). I'm not knocking them for that though - it's a well made bit of kit, and specialist tools have correspondingly small markets.

I feel a jig coming on for a small router, but it won't be as good...

E.

 

[Racers]

Hi Eric

One of those 4 wing cutters should do the trick, and a weighted extension for the router base to stop it tipping.

Or a plane and cabinet scraper :wink:

Pete

 

[Eric The Viking]

Plane+ scraper would be ideal - I'm not obsessed with using power tools if it's not necessary - but I think I'm looking at 160 linear ft (plus shelves) at the moment.

I may need a different plan.

E.

 

[Racers]

I am sure you can plane lipping with a router table with a movable outfeed fence.

Steve M would know.

Pete

 

[bugbear]

I initially thought that being able to hire a domino would be a no brainer, and would be a sound business. I now think the opposite. Anybody using one for trade is likely to use it so much that the initial sum is repaid in time saving within a short period, so wouldnt want to hire one. The likes of you and I, wanting one for a couple of weekends a year at most probably do not make sense.

The problem is the pool of potential hirers. I have hired a very expensive lawn rotovator, and there's a reasonably large pool of people who need a garden torn to pieces. mini-digger is another obvious example.

The pool of people who need, and know how to use a domino, but can't justify buying one, is tiny.

One solution, albeit slightly different, is a club, where enthusiasts share expensive, but infrequently used, machinery.

Model engineering is a prime example.

BugBear

 

[Eric The Viking]

I'm sure you're right, BB, but it does no harm to ask in case.

Regarding the Lamello Cantex, I'm seriously thinking about buying and then selling on again.

E.

 

[Shrubby]

Use your router, either in the Elu 96 accessory kit set up as a lipping planer with a spiral downccut bit or on a simple extension plate with a trepanning cutter ( Elu E45673 is still available cheaply and is designed for lippings, Wealden have a similar one)
BradNaylor wrote an explanation on here for the baseplate jig
Matt

 

[siggy_7]

Had a look at one of those machines - how much?!?! I appreciate you pay for quality tools, but charging the price of a decent table saw for a hand held brush motored hand tool is taking the Michael.

Faced with the specific task you are contemplating, I would use a simple custom offset router base with a heel on the offset bit. Get a nice big router bit, set the depth to a hair above the base of the heel and you're good to go. The heel rides on the shelf and then push the router over the lipping. Alternatively, you could use an offset router table fence like when planing, except of course with the bit height set to the depth of the lipping. The shelf would then come into contact with the outfeed fence to limit the planing to being flush with the shelf. This would only work for lipping along one parallel side though, if you are doing the ends as well then you would need to flush trim them separately first.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Good points you two.

I'd forgotten Brad's write up. I'll go look, as I have several suitable routers.

E.

 

[ColeyS1]

Here's my effort of being too tight to buy one. I melted a load of lead and poured into the round bit where the door knob is to give it a bit extra weight. If you've got a spindle (and you're only edging the length, not the ends) you can flush em off using a rebate block (take off the scribers though :lol: ) id probably pay a bit to try a domino for a day, but anything over £40 id probably buy one instead

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Ingenious

 

[siggy_7]

Coley's router base looks similar to mine, except I didn't build it with a counter-weight. I found it worked very well, follow up with a power sander and you're done. Near the cutter, I built the heel with a 90 degree taper towards the bit for extra support.

 

[Eric The Viking]

That's a good idea, and I love the door handle, incidentally!

I've got a 6-wing surface trim that leaves a very nice finish. That would work, I expect.
I'm lustfully ogling Wealden's clever upcut-downcut dual-bearing cutter, too.

Thanks chaps!

E.

 

[petermillard]

FWIW I use an old Elu laminate trimmer lashed-up to work horizontally, and fitted with a bearing-guided cutter; works surprisingly well. Personally, I'd be very leery of buying that Lamello with any intention of selling it on as it's such a specialist piece of kit, the market for it (at all, let alone used) must be minute!

 

[JonnyD]

I've got a cantex a great bit of kit but at today's prices it would be hard to justify I think mine was £800 ish cheaper than today's price. Another piece of kit looking out for is a betterley flush trimmer I picked one up from a retiring local joiner for £40 and it works as well as the cantex. Basically its a machined metal plate with a router bolted on top and a simple bearing guide bit like a posh bradnaylor setup.

Works well you can go around corners and as long as you pull towards you leaves a fine finish.

My cantex is a little poorly as it needs a new fan on the motor but I can't work out how to remove the cutterblock to get to the fan else I would have gladly hired it out.

Cheers

Jon