would you lend your tools?

[hajsaftar]

yesterday I thought I was a greedy b*****d but now that I have seen the overwhelming support for not lending tools I already feel much better.

I suppose the issue is that someone who has not done handy work before does not appreciate that you have a drill which can cost 800 pounds and one which you can buy from aldi for 5 pounds. the drill is just the drill and it cuts holes. I have a friend who was one of these people who used to ridicule my lust of tools. his point was that a saw was just a saw. I realised that either brain injury or a miracle he could see would change his mind. So I arranged for the latter. I asked him to cut along the length of a laminate floor using my black and decker jigsaw (which is by no means the worst on the market). by the end, he had sweat dripping from his nose, the workbench had managed to dance its way half way across the room and when I asked him to inspect the cut, the had cut a radio wave. I then fitted a bosch blade on my brand new dewalt jigsaw and asked him to make the same cut. By the time the cut was made he had a grin from his left ear to his right ear, and in his own words it was like cutting philadelphia cheese with a knife. Suffice to say that the said friend no longer makes fun of me when I spend 4 days stalking a hilti drill on eBay.

so going back, I guess people who have not done much DIY will tend to think of tools as consumables which are made to be used, abused.... and you have to kiss the tool goodbye when you lend it to them. One of my professors a few years back would say "he who lends a good book is a donkey and he who returns a good book is a bigger donkey".

 

[mailee]

A resounding NO! I never lend tools to anyone except one person and that is my best friend. He is the one who got me into woodwork in the first place and I know and trust his knowledge. he does look after tools like his own and if broken will replace the item. This is the only time I will loan any tools. Ok, fair enough if your own tool breaks and you need to finish a job I will buy a replacement, that is just tough luck for me. They cost a lot of money and earn their keep so they must be looked after. If they get damaged it is me who must answer no one else. :wink:

 

[wrightclan]

I happily lend out tools as one day I know I will need the favour returning.

Exactly. Indeed, I've been the recipient of far more favours than I've had the opportunity to return.

Brad

 

[brianhabby]

I wouldn't generally loan my tools, as others have said above they rarely come back in the same condition they went out.

I suppose it all depends on your own circumstances, who you are lending to and what you are lending. I might loan someone my £25.00 B&Q battery drill, but not my £120.00 DeWalt one, and then only to trusted friends/family.

I don't think those who use their tools to earn a living should loan their tools but more than that no one should ever ask a tradesman for the loan of a tool - he needs it to put bread on the table.

Just my thoughts

regards

Brian

 

[Scott]

Every time I've needed a tool I've either hired it or bought it myself. That's why I have as many tools as I have and that's why I've never asked to borrow tools.

If other people want tools they can buy them just like I did!

I'm obsessive about the care of tools and, so far, I haven't come across anyone who shows the same degree of respect to them. I'm sure the forum is full of such people but my circle of friends and acquaintances certainly isn't!

Resounding NO from me!

 

[Hitch]

Work handtools, anyone at work, no one will be able to abuse them more than i do myself Plus a lot of it is Snap on, so guarnteed.

Woodwoking gear, handtools, nope. Powertools, i just mention that they are 110v, but i happen to need the transformer when they need to borrow.
Does the trick :lol:

 

[Woody Alan]

I think something is wrong here, I thought one of the guiding principals of this forum was to not even let yourself use your tools nevermind anyone else :? Like using those old Stanleys, so no dust or fingerprints on the Lie Nielsens.
Once had a colleague at work ask to borrow my Lindstrom(rare expensive) wiring pliers, I asked for what purpose? he said "A nut had come loose on his bike!" short answer "NO" always ask what the intended purpose is.

Cheers Alan

 

[Colin C]

To most it would be NO but I have a few friends that i would.

We all would replace any thing that was broken in use and they tread my tools like your own.

 

[Shultzy]

Never any of my hand tools. I only lend out my old power drill and and any tools on my cheapo box.

 

[Anonymous]

Wow, you all sound like miserable old b**g*rs. :shock:

 

[martlewis]

I have never borrowed a tool and will never lend one out. On occasions a family member will come round to my shop to make something, my brother has just started showing an interest in woodworking, but I always stick around to help out.

 

[Scrit]

Wow, you all sound like miserable old b**g*rs. :shock:

It just depends on how many blunted chipped chisels, burnt-out power tools covered in plaster, broken plastering floats and even hand saws with broken teeth you've had back over the years. The most expensive to date was a 1000mm kitchen worktop jig, less than 3 months old and with only a few joints on it, which came back with two big chunks out of it and missing the pins - not that the borrower bothered to inform me, oh no! All this has tended to make me a bit selective about what I do with my means of earning a living. Personally, I can't really afford the time to resharpen my main block plane every time I go to use it because some indolent twit has chipped the blade. I'm just surprised that you can. It doesn't mean that I won't loan a work colleague a tool on site or in the shop - but if anything ever comes back damaged then that's the first and last time.

Scrit

 

[hajsaftar]

Wow, you all sound like miserable old b**g*rs. :shock:

how would you feel if you lent your car to somebody and it came back with a blown headgasket, torn CV boots and tyres which looked like the dude was doing donuts with it all night long? There is a reason why people do not report stolen and recovered cars: thiefs will abuse the car and an abused car might as well be scrapped. The abuse my dad's car suffers in 200,000 miles works out to 10,000 miles on my car

but seriously its a question of you presuming that there is some unwritten rule of respect for other people's properties (tools or otherwise) and there isn't. Also I work on a tight budget. I save my butt off to put the money together to buy a decent tool. In the process I might have to forget about that DVD or a memory upgrade for my PC or other stuff... so hell yes I get pissed when it comes back looking like it was one of the original tools used in the construction of the Pyramids.

 

[hajsaftar]

BTW why does this thing star out "pis-sed"? I hardly thought I am pushing the edge of profanity with it.....

 

[Anonymous]

I don't lend out a hugh amounts, just every now and then, when asked. I can honestly say that everything has been looked after.

If I was fitting (god help me) and had forgotten a tool, I would hope someone on site would lend me the tool, rather than possibly a 60mile return trip to the shop.

Scrit- I agree with certain tools you have to be selective who you lend to, the worktop jig being a classic example.

But if someone wanted to borrow a powertool I would have no problems with that, providing I felt the favour would be reciprocated at some point. As someone said earlier, my powertools take abuse all day long, they are designed for it.

 

[PowerTool]

But if someone wanted to borrow a powertool I would have no problems with that, providing I felt the favour would be reciprocated at some point. As someone said earlier, my powertools take abuse all day long, they are designed for it.

Hi Senior - I think this is the difference; hobbyists are perhaps more possessive of their tools.
I would lend tools to someone I knew who was also a woodworker,as I believe they would look after them - general public/DIY bodger then no.

Andrew

 

[wizer]

I would only lend my tools, unaccompanied, to someone I felt was competent to use it correctly on their own without damaging it. As it stands I can only think of one such person, my Dad. Anyone else, I would probably end up doing the job myself to save my tools from misuse and damage.

Of course the exception to this rule are those kind members of this forum who have offered me their tools, help and advice over the years.

 

[Adam]

I'd lend a tool to friend who I thought had the knowledge, and ability to understand its value to me. As such, it would be without question they would return it in as good, or better condition than I lent it to them. That doesn't necessarily mean as sharp, but certainly wiped down, free of dust and not damaged.

I borrowed a bricklaying trowel off a neighbour recently, as I couldn't find mine - and wire brushed all the neck down after I finished, removing both his and my cement deposits, and had already spent quite a time polishing the rust off the base. I was quite happy to return it and he was pleased to see how much better it was returned.

In fact when a friend needed a plane recently, rather than lend one, I sharpened his existing block plane, and simply gave him a Stanley #4, sharpened and cleaned up from the car boot. He was really pleased, as was I.

Adam

 

[promhandicam]

there are a couple of people who have lent to in the past and would lend to again - the same people who I would go to if I ever needed to borrow a tool - or anything else for that matter. that said, I don't have too many quality tools that can be easily damaged. for other people I'd rather offer to give them a hand and do it for them - assuming of course I had the time.

Steve

 

[MIGNAL]

If anyone is feeling bad about this then simply buy a few of the commonly used tools used in DIY - just buy absolute junk and don't pay more than 20p for each one at the local carboot. These are the tools you lend out.