Loaning tools out, borrowing tools

[Glenn]

If you have tools, at some point, everyone wants to borrow them.  

One neighbor told the wife that her husband said it was OK to borrow his chain saw to cut a tree, and he would bring it back when he finished.  The following weekend the husband went looking for his chain saw.  The neighbor said his buddy borrowed it from him.  Seems as if the buddy only ran straight gas through the saw and never a drop of oil for the chain.  The chain was full of dirt, with several teeth missing, and the bar was peacock blue.  Destroyed the saw.

Other folks you can give the keys to your truck, knowing that the truck will come back washed, the bed washed out, and the gas tank full no matter how much gas was in the tank when it left.  

What are your experiences with loaning tools ?

What are your rules when it comes to loaning tools ?

 

 

[ThomasPowers]

I've loaned a thousand+ dollar tool to someone I know would probably damage it. He did and the *new* replacement part was drop shipped by the OEM to my door.  He has "borrowing rights" as I know that a tool will come back in the same shape or *better*.

I have a bunch of junker sockets and wrenches that came from the scrapyard (20 UScents per pound), to loan to folks I don't trust with the good ones. (The good ones from the scrapyard are  hidden out of view...

Generally I don't loan tools if I don't know that the person asking can use them properly and have one of those skull and crossbones "No Tools Loaned" stickers.

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

I as a general rule don't loan tools. Living out in the woods helps (no neighbors close). My brother was the worst for "borrowing and never bringing back". When we lived in an area with a lot of neighbors, my rule was in order to borrow a tool they must leave a cash deposit to cover the cost of a new tool. That pretty much put an end to the borrowers.

[SHC]

Glenn, what you described was theft and destruction of property. That’s a court date, full replacement, or a broken jaw where I come from, perpetrator’s choice. 
 

My tools don’t leave my supervision if I can help it. I’ll help nearly anyone do a job, my labor is free to friends and I’ll bring the tools needed if I’ve got them, but they never get loaned out. 
 

As for borrowing, I don’t really do that but on the rare occasion that it’s necessary I’ll bring it back in better condition. I’d rather buy my own tools or do without. I’ve been cutting up 4” pine limbs for the outdoor fire pit with a hand saw even though my closest buddy has four chain saws sitting in his shop. I’ve filled three truck loads in the past two weeks. At least it’s a small truck, Chevy Colorado. 
 

There are places that rent all sorts of tools. Napa rents automotive tools, autozone has a similar program. My local equipment rental places that rent out forklifts and skid steers also rent wood chippers, log splitters and chainsaws.

[TWISTEDWILLOW]

I’m particular about who I loan tools too 

when I loan chainsaws or any other 2 cycle machine, I send them out with a fresh 2-1/2 gallon jug of fuel that I personally mixed,

as well as a jug of bar oil, and 3-4 pre sharpened chains for the saws

when the person offers to replace the gas I say NO! Do not put anything In that jug! If you run out of fuel come back an get another jug, I don’t let anyone buy gas for my machines or 2cycle mix,

I allow customers to borrow trailers to haul their machines to an from the shop for repairs under the condition the trailer is back within 2-3 hrs

i have some commercial zero turn mowers I also loan out when people are waiting for their machines to get repaired and agin they have to be back before sundown,

I loan out machines and hand tools on a pretty regular basis to people and I have varying degrees of loan agreements depending on what it is, 

If it comes back broken I bill for it,

if I personally have to stop what I’m doing an come collect it because it didn’t come back within the agreed timeframe, I bill for that also, 

That all being said, 99 percent of the time I don’t have trouble with people, because I won’t loan it in the first place if I don’t think it will come back or will come back broken 

rental equipment is a completely different critter, people pay to use it so they feel entitled to “get their money’s worth” and they tend to be much rougher on it, 

ive repaired rental equipment for other businesses in the past an in my experience it’s usually a train wreck when you get a bad renter

 

[Frosty]

I rarely loan anything. The policy I've adopted is the same for lending money. Don't lend anything you can't afford to lose. The last large thing I loaned was my 20' car trailer, an old friend wanted it to take his race car to the races. The agreement was ONE weekend and he change the wiring on HIS tow vehicle. After being ghosted for months I finally tracked down a day he was going to be at the races so I went and got my trailer back. I took a conversion from flat 4 to the round 6 trailer light plug on my truck and ended up having to buy new fenders and deck. 

I fully accept responsibility for that one, he'd stiffed me before. 

Not long after my accident I hired a friend who needed the work to cut a few trees and clear the tag alder along the driveways. I had a 5gl. jug lf mixed gas on the deck and my usual squeeze water bottles of bar oil. I was taking one of my short therapeutic walks and see him filling the gas tank. He pours some oil in and fill with straight gas. ARGH! The mix gas is right there on the deck along with a 1gl jug to carry with. 

I have two Stihl saws, new around 2000 and still really low mileage. 

Renting a splitter was a no brainer, a cord of logs was under $75 an split over $150. Now we get firewood split delivered and stacked for $210 a cord from a home builder. They have to clear land and his sons make good money selling firewood. I'm no longer up to safely felling trees, I have stability problems and you do NOT want to be running a saw if you randomly stumble. 

I don't lend and rent if it's more economical than owning.

Frosty The Lucky.

[BillyBones]

When i was working in a garage, my coworkers, any time they needed something. But that was in a shop, we all have 10's of thousands of dollars invested in our tools so you get a much higher degree of respect for tools then. 

But really it comes down to who i am loaning something to. 

[anvil]

It's an individual thing with me. And even then you sometimes get bit. 

Worst case for me was a set of forged,file'd, and heat treated small drift punches for driving out small pins. they were from 1/16" to 1/2" in 16ths. A casual friend and employee at the time asked if he could use my shop for some small job. Who'd of thunk what he did. I went down there the next day and on my table were 7 broken tools from this set. He had used them for prying and broke each one, one after the other... I fired him and 86'd him from my place.

[Scott NC]

  I lost a really good friend over an engine hoist I borrowed him.  The price of an engine hoist is small potatoes compared to the worth of a friendship.  It snowballed on both our sides though.  Sigh.

"Neither a borrower nor a lender be, for loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry."

[Malleus]

I typically have a 'no borrow' policy.  That means me borrowing from someone else, or someone else borrowing from me.  I have too much money and time invested in my tools and equipment for someone who didn't bother to do the same, to tear them up.  There's only 1 or 2 people who I would allow to borrow my stuff.  Those people would let me do the same.  Anyone else, I just flat out tell them no.  I tell them I've been burned too many times to continue doing that.  Some people understand, and others get mad.  Specialty tools are an exception, but usually, people that don't have tools, don't have them for a reason.  

[BsnNFrnt]

I agree with Thomas. I have boxes of tools to give. If someone asks to borrow a tool, l I just give - if I have something close. 
I have loaned tools only to blood relatives who have the money to replace a broken tool. That list is easily counted on one hand for me. 

[bluerooster]

I don't loan tools, nor do i borrow, or rent them.

[Daswulf]

I refused to lend a chainsaw to a friend that wanted to cut down some dangerous trees in her yard. It was more out of her safety than my saws safety. Tried to get her to have a professional fell them then she could borrow my saw to cut them up. She went and bought her own chainsaw and cut a few down without incident thankfully. Still, I was worried but she did it. 

I have lent tools and been let down and some were returned in tact. I won't lend certain tools. I really try not to lend out unless I really trust someone. 

At work we have the shop cordless window urethane caulk gun. I got sick of going around a 2 story shop asking if anyone had seen it so I bought my own. And no, no one gets to use it. Other than a good friend a few times. 

I also have cordless rivet guns but when the young bucks ask if I have a rivet gun I hand them the old hand powered ones I started with. Some warranted hand tools I will lend out as long as the lendee Knows that I Better Not have to come looking for it when I need it. At least at work the guys realize that. Had to go ask for My tools back when I needed them before and that never goes over well with me. Now my tools are handed back or set on my box as soon as they are done. 

We still have issues with the shop jump pack going missing. Might just get another one for work. Kids....

One guy asked to borrow my pocket knife. Told him I dont lend my pocket knife and he walked off in a huff. I got curious and asked what he needed it for. Well he wanted to Pry a mirror cap off with it. I went off a bit on him as that is Not a proper use for my knife. I explained about 6 other tools he could use to do it. Then I asked him, "well, where is your pocket knife?" He pulled it out and showed me how it was broken and dull and couldn't do it.  I went off on him some more. Then took his knife and ground a better profile and sharpened it for him best I could. He is 20 years older than me. Age isn't always wisdom. Ugh. 

 

[SHC]

Yeah, knives never get loaned out. Never ever. 

[Malleus]

+1 on that!

[ThomasPowers]

I only loan knives out when I need a different set of finger prints on.....NEVERMIND!

[NH Hunter]

Other than my kids or 2 friends I do not loan tools.

[yt12]

on my never never list to loan out----chainsaws,guns.scuba gear ----doors too wide for disaster. i do have to say,still shaking my head from YEARS ago, one of the cheapest/insignificant loans------but------neighbor (didnt know real well---but nice enough) was doing a brake job, asked if i had a c-clamp for the calipers-----had one handy----harbor freight 6 inch i know i didnt pay more than a buck or two for-----use it in good health !-----a week later he drops it off on my porch--------the frame bend a good 2 inches askew (i would have put money on those clamps breaking before bending), the screw was bent 2 inches off the other direction and the pad was missing. you couldnt have destroyed a clamp more had it been your plan. havent spoken with him much since.