Why you don't let friends borrow tools

[On-Wheel]

All depends.One of my uncles would give a tool back cleaner/better than new if that's possible.Another would just leave it in the back of his truck for months saying it'd be there when he seen me yet drove by every day.The 3'd one just wants wants wants,has my own personal shelf in his garage so he says,he has dry humor.haha I see him twice a year and always forgets my stuff.They all mean well.Bahahaha

 

[Jarhead0408]

I fall in several of these camps.

1. There are a few people that have pretty much free access to all of my tools, trailers, vehicles, .... they are known to take care of stuff and usually bring it back in better shape than it went out.

2. Those that are working up to level 1.... People that have used some of my stuff with me around and seem to take care of it and return it.

3. Those that I'm not sure of... the single mom with a couple of kids that needs a screwdriver, the guy that needs a crescent, ... I have a small top box full of "extras" that they are free to use. ...most of them came as "free from HF" or are tools I've upgraded from but they are functional and if they don't come back.... ...if they do they will move up to stage 2.

4. Those that I'm pretty sure aren't going to return stuff or will break/damage it. Normally they don't get to use it unless I am present. ...and sometimes they don't even touch my stuff.

Looks like a pretty good flow-chart to me man.

 

[Crazyjake8493]

I like to loan out larger tools so I don't need to store them. I just got back my chainsaw after a friend had it for a year. That meant for a year it was taking up space in his garage, and I was unable to help out people who asked me to come cut stuff up for them. Hopefully he will ask to borrow it again soon.

I have to agree on this one. I bought a drywall lift to do a couple ceilings and no matter where I store it, it always seems to be in the way in the garage. Naturally, everyone wants to borrow it, so it goes between family/friends, but I always know where it is if I need to get it, and it's never in my way. Made a lot more sense paying $140 to buy it than $40 a day to rent one. On occasion, it gets returned to me along with a 12 pack of beer, which I don't mind!

Also works in reverse, too. My dad's garage is much smaller so when he decided he just wanted a pancake compressor, his 26 gallon came to my garage. And since he needed to free up some room for his new snowblower, my garage welcomed his Makita miter saw.

 

[PhantomEB]

Only a few friends I loan tools to, and those ones have more than me! Works both ways for those.

 

[BikerDad]

I had to start locking my box at home because my old man wouldn't even ask to borrow tools he'd just go out the door saying " I need a screwdriver " without even asking. He is the reason that I have 6 3/8 ratchets &about 8 feet in 3/8 extentions.

Your "old man", as in your father, correct? 'Tis unclear as to whose door he's heading out.

The following is predicated on the situation where an adult child is living at home at no cost, which may or may not be Bruce's situation.
If it's his door, then stop locking your damn toolbox and ask him to let you KNOW. That's all, just let you know. Otherwise, you may find yourself locked out. I know if my kid pulled some passive aggressive **** like that while he was living under my roof on my dime, there would be a single discussion of the matter. After that, he'd either be paying market rate rent or out on his ***.

Even if it isn't his door, he's your father and whether or not HE deserves it, you owe him your respect. Period. (There are NO qualifying conditions on the Fifth Commandment.) As he heading out the door, just ask him "when're you going to have it back?"

 

[BDT/NWMN]

If it is stuff you don't make your living with, wouldn't miss, has little value, and you can live without.. Fine, loan it out..
Anything else?? My "learning expenses" run in the $thousands$

 

[Syberia]

This is why I don't have friends

 

[jd_1138]

If it is stuff you don't make your living with, wouldn't miss, has little value, and you can live without.. Fine, loan it out..
Anything else?? My "learning expenses" run in the $thousands$

I get rid of a lot of cheap tools that way. I put together a nice set for my friend who had no tools, no mechanical knowledge. It was actually a little Plano tackle box that I paid $2 for at a yard sale (never used), and I put a HF 6 piece set of screwdrivers in it along with some el cheapo linesman's pliers, a HF torpedo level, HF measuring tape, Stanley adjustable wrench, hook/pick set, utility knife, pocket knife, a bit of mechanic's wire.

Wife's friend was over visiting and needed help putting her license plates on her new car. I installed them and handed her a HF 6 piece set of screwdrivers.

 

[va.grouseman]

Well JD, now you've got it started.---Now you have two choices.---You can continue feeding the beast, or wait until they have you good and pissed off to where it's easy to say NO the well is dry.---Because just like Arnold, ''THEY WILL BE BACK''.

 

[bb_max]

Your "old man", as in your father, correct? 'Tis unclear as to whose door he's heading out.

The following is predicated on the situation where an adult child is living at home at no cost, which may or may not be Bruce's situation.
If it's his door, then stop locking your damn toolbox and ask him to let you KNOW. That's all, just let you know. Otherwise, you may find yourself locked out. I know if my kid pulled some passive aggressive **** like that while he was living under my roof on my dime, there would be a single discussion of the matter. After that, he'd either be paying market rate rent or out on his ***.

Even if it isn't his door, he's your father and whether or not HE deserves it, you owe him your respect. Period. (There are NO qualifying conditions on the Fifth Commandment.) As he heading out the door, just ask him "when're you going to have it back?"

Look at his name. Everyone knows what happened to Bruce Wayne's parents. He can't possibly mean his dad.

 

[bensminibikes]

I will bring tools over to a friend's house to use. NOT to store there (I will bring them home with me), but I have left a tool box at a friends house with a lock on it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[PelicanPines]

I loan tools... I go with them tho. I have two or three tools I won't loan... craftsman spin ratchet, good torque wrench, any fein tool, dowel master jig system. Those I come with and only I handle to do their job.

 

[cgrandahl64]

I loan tools to my friends, but they usually come back in better shape.. full of gas, oil change, some surface rust buffed out etc..

I have no problem with tools to friends, but family is a different story.. no dice there.

Although, we have a small tradition going for some tools.. goes a little something like this "yea, you can borrow it, but the deal is you have to store it until I need it again!"

Currently my scaffold frames are stacked and resting in a buddies carport, my dirt tamper is at friends shop and my 1500# sod roller is conveniently stored in a friends pole shed. Works pretty well for the stuff that takes up a lot of space, isn't used often, and when its used it definitely isn't a spontaneous need so I can deal with the lead time of getting it back.

 

[KenC]

'friends' has a special meaning to me. not 'acquaintance' or neighbor, but someone special. So, they have far more value than tools. If they abuse things loaned, they no longer have that special meaning.

 

[va.grouseman]

Friends don't let friends drive drunk or borrow tools.

 

[LXCam]

I loan tools to my friends, but they usually come back in better shape.. full of gas, oil change, some surface rust buffed out etc..

I have no problem with tools to friends, but family is a different story.. no dice there.

Although, we have a small tradition going for some tools.. goes a little something like this "yea, you can borrow it, but the deal is you have to store it until I need it again!"

Currently my scaffold frames are stacked and resting in a buddies carport, my dirt tamper is at friends shop and my 1500# sod roller is conveniently stored in a friends pole shed. Works pretty well for the stuff that takes up a lot of space, isn't used often, and when its used it definitely isn't a spontaneous need so I can deal with the lead time of getting it back.

Back when I was contracting I owned a couple platform lifts. Those where always a pita to store at my shop since they always seemed to be dead when I needed to move them. I happily would leave them at a few different customers buildings for them to use if they needed it

 

[66HertzClone]

My wife asked the neighbor if we could borrow their log splitter, it is trailer version. I split a lot of the wood that we had cut, sure saved a lot of time of doing it by hand.

I noticed the fuel line was dry rotted and cracked, when I checked I found the air filter was filthy. When I returned it, I told my neighbor that I noticed the fuel line was cracked and I had replaced it, I had cleaned the air filter and had changed the oil. The fuel tank was full and I had put Stable in the fuel just in case he wasn't going to use it soon. He shook his head, said thanks, and then asked if I wanted to borrow his car.

 

[Finky198]

Thats a great Story^^^



we have a similar story we are base on a semi commercial Back road my partenr has had the property in the family for 50+ years now and some of the neighbors do this and that for each other. being as they've known each other for so long. people call or stop by. do small jobs or lend a hand.

Its funny cuase we made a new filler neck last week for one of our neighbors...

but we go with the tools or the "tool" with the issue comes to us

 

[yemalow]

I was very fortunate to have a tech at my first real shop, (before I had so much as a decent set of sockets, I had worked in building maintenance before that and had all different kinds of tools than what I needed) who had the "Mi casa es su casa" approach. Granted it was only me and him in the shop as it was a small, two bay, in-house fleet maintenance kind of deal, but still, he had worked in shops before that and had well over $15,000-$20,000 in tools, not counting the box. Now I'm around $10,000 in and just getting started and I really appreciate what he did for me, he never even locked his box on his days off so that I would still be able to work. I wouldn't even think of leaving my box unlocked at work, even if I'm coming in the next morning. I have to borrow some of the lead tech's tools every now and then, but I'm very good about getting them back to him in the same or better condition and I've been buying everything I borrow within reason whenever the candy man comes around.

 

[Outlawmws]

My wife asked the neighbor if we could borrow their log splitter, it is trailer version. I split a lot of the wood that we had cut, sure saved a lot of time of doing it by hand.

I noticed the fuel line was dry rotted and cracked, when I checked I found the air filter was filthy. When I returned it, I told my neighbor that I noticed the fuel line was cracked and I had replaced it, I had cleaned the air filter and had changed the oil. The fuel tank was full and I had put Stable in the fuel just in case he wasn't going to use it soon. He shook his head, said thanks, and then asked if I wanted to borrow his car.

That's the way its done!

 

[mdbeck1]

My wife asked the neighbor if we could borrow their log splitter, it is trailer version. I split a lot of the wood that we had cut, sure saved a lot of time of doing it by hand.

I noticed the fuel line was dry rotted and cracked, when I checked I found the air filter was filthy. When I returned it, I told my neighbor that I noticed the fuel line was cracked and I had replaced it, I had cleaned the air filter and had changed the oil. The fuel tank was full and I had put Stable in the fuel just in case he wasn't going to use it soon. He shook his head, said thanks, and then asked if I wanted to borrow his car.

...and this is when you know that the person you loaned the tool(s) to is a "REAL" friend.

 

[jd_1138]

I was very fortunate to have a tech at my first real shop, (before I had so much as a decent set of sockets, I had worked in building maintenance before that and had all different kinds of tools than what I needed) who had the "Mi casa es su casa" approach. Granted it was only me and him in the shop as it was a small, two bay, in-house fleet maintenance kind of deal, but still, he had worked in shops before that and had well over $15,000-$20,000 in tools, not counting the box. Now I'm around $10,000 in and just getting started and I really appreciate what he did for me, he never even locked his box on his days off so that I would still be able to work. I wouldn't even think of leaving my box unlocked at work, even if I'm coming in the next morning. I have to borrow some of the lead tech's tools every now and then, but I'm very good about getting them back to him in the same or better condition and I've been buying everything I borrow within reason whenever the candy man comes around.

What a great guy. People like him are rare. He must've sensed that you were a good guy for letting you have carte blanche to use his tools.

Welcome to GJ, by the way!