"loaner tools"

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How many people have a "loaner" drill or saw? One you can loan the guy next door but will not be too upset if its never returned or returned broken. I read an article suggesting to pick up one or two HF tools and keep as loaners so you did not have to loan out the good stuff.
 
There's no excuse to not have a drill or impact set. They're so cheap, the cheapest Dewalt drill and impact combo can be purchased for under $200 on sale here. I think you can get the impact, one battery and a charger for even less. I have that set and rarely use the drill so I would loan that out.

Saws are different, sawzalls are ubiquitous so I would tell someone to just buy a cheap one. Skillsaws are a bit different because rough use by a neophyte can bend the table especially on saws that have alloy tables. I would really have issues with letting someone borrow a chop or table saw, they are expensive and getting distorted in the wrong place can ruin them like a skillsaw.

My dad has an ancient Makita mitre saw, and an old non-worm drive skill saw. Those are the loaners as they are dated and weigh enough to discourage people wanting to use them unless they have to. The Makita has a cast iron table.

My rationale for DIY is that you can spend the money that you save on the tools to do the job. However, if you are a pro usually you can get away with lending out your extra tools.
 
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I used to get a bunch of Ryobi drills just for the batteries on Black Friday, they used to be in the $30-$50 range and the battery alone would cost more than that. But the prices have gone up a lot more lately and the lithium ion batteries last longer than their old nicad batteries so I stopped. So I gave away a few of the older drills that I had. I think I still have 3-4 drills. I know I've lent out 2-3 of them that I never got back. I try to pair it with an older battery so it's no big loss.
 
Neither a Borrower Nor a Lender Be
This is the famous phrase said by Polonius in Act-I, Scene-III of William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet.

I could see having some loaner tools, but where do you draw the line ?
I have a loaner Sump Pump that I would happily loan a neighbor. My tools, I'd rather not.

My neighbor asked me if I wanted to borrow his Battery Sawz-All while I was cutting a tree trunk.
I said "no thanks"
If I broke it, I would have replaced it. My Bow Saw was good enough.
 
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Guess I'm fortunate enough to have a couple neighbors and a family friend that respect my stuff that it typically comes back looking better than when I loaned it to them. Couple months ago neighbor borrowed my reciprocating saw and it returned cleaner than new. I've borrowed garden tools from them and returned them clean and oiled, so I guess I'm getting the same respect back. Not a tool, but my neighbor ran outta gas snowblowing so I left him my can. Got it back full (93 octane at that!)!
 
Me and my neighbor share a log splitter,it just sits behind my shed with a tarp,he comes and grabs it whenever,with his atv for a few days.He Always brings it back full of gas and clean.I have no problem loaning out tools or sharing as long the person is easy on my stuff.
 
I remember as a kid my dad borrowing hand tools from the next door neighbor. He was a retired bus mechanic and had it all. My dad had nothing but a jumble of rusty crap. I now buy what I need so I won't have to borrow.
 
I think it was Shakespeare who said " Neither a borrower nor lender be."
laugh.gif
 
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I loaned a neighbor my small HF generator during a power outage about 6 weeks ago. I should probably go pick it up.....!
 
I will give a suggestion here. If you do loan a saw out, let them get their own blade. My BIL smoked a good 80t finishing blade cutting laminate flooring when he borrowed my 10inch cheap delta miter saw. The blade probably cost almost as much as the saw did!

My fault for giving it to him with the blade on.
 
In my area few people ask to borrow tools, they ask if I know anything about whatever they are having a problem with. Being retired it`s great being of use.
 
Originally Posted by Trav
I don't borrow any tools or loan them to anyone.


It's hard to say no to your own kids. Your likely to do the work rather than loan them a tool. Or buy them a HF tool.
 
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