Creating a "gear lending" community

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peter2407

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The idea: forum members with expensive/unusual/one off/once a season gear come together to create temporary swapsies. Inevitably, trust/relationships etc come to mind, but would you participate? Stuff I would put up to dis/reputable forumites (its about would you trust them as opposed to do you like them) might be:

Metermaid - I normally only use marinas as an overnighter and they generally dont require metered cables, but ashore many do. Registered courier costs both directions covered by the borrower in advance.
Generator. Ditto.
Liferaft. Ditto plus some sort of insurance.

Stuff i would like to borrow:

That bottom scrubber thingy that avoids a lift or dry out.
Engine specific stuff.
No doubt, lots more.

I am sure we all have "stuff" that we bought cos it was cheaper and quicker to do so than getting a specialist in.

Thoughts?
 
Happy to lend my tools and also use of my small lathe and bench drill for those struggling to get tasks done in the Hamble area, BUT the only concern I have is those kindly people who forget to return borrowed tools.

Tools available include -

Angle grinder; Polisher, Drills, Bench drill press, Lathe with 4" chuck, Belt sander / offhand grinder, 1/2" & 3/4" drive sockets (up to 2" AF), Vices large and small, Dremel, Router, Jigsaw, Multi tool, Clamp on and multimeters, wide range of hand tools, and lots of ingenuity.

PS I would expect any tool lent to be returned working, or replaced if not or broken. I would request a contibution to the RNLI or even better Hamble Lifeboat, although at the moment contributions to the Mobo Forum sponsored bike ride would also be useful.
 
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Superheat - thank you.

Lets hypothesise - my genny for your dremel for a month. We meet at noon (as one does ) at M27 services after the M3, so scenarios:

A. He's a tw@t, no way in hell. Walk away. Or .. Talk directly and decide he is still a tw."
B. Nice bloke, but need a deposit. Deposit paid with known (written conditions).
C. Yes. New BFFE (or what ever the acronym is for best friends for ever ..
 
peter2407 said:
Superheat - thank you.

Lets hypothesise - my genny for your dremel for a month. We meet at noon (as one does ) at M27 services after the M3, so scenarios:

A. He's a tw@t, no way in hell. Walk away. Or .. Talk directly and decide he is still a tw."
B. Nice bloke, but need a deposit. Deposit paid with known (written conditions).
C. Yes. New BFFE (or what ever the acronym is for best friends for ever ..
Click to expand...
Only issue for me is that I would more likely be a lender than a borrower of tools. If I need a tool I buy it, so with that in mind I would expect the borrower to come to me - both for borrowing and returning, and returning if not the same day certainly the following.

My fear would be when borrowers forget they have borrowed something, or worse won't admit to damaging something.

I feel it would better work in my case if someone working on their boat miles from home-base needs some basic workshop facilities.
 
Every time I have been approached to "borrow a tool" The asker has ended up borrowing me as well to do the job!:)
 
bigwow said:
Every time I have been approached to "borrow a tool" The asker has ended up borrowing me as well to do the job!:)
Click to expand...

Btw are you anywhere near Edinburgh and have an angle grinder and a paintbrush? My keel needs some love.....
 
This wouldn't work for mundane equipment like power tools - I never lend power tools due to the ease with which they are wrecked. Specialist items like Volvo injector pullers or heavy duty starter cable crimp tools and similar should be the only items on the list. Services could also be included like lathe-work that an earlier poster mentioned or in my case simple stainless fabrication done for the cost of materials and a "drink".
 
You really need a website to make this work properly with a shopping cart system with login details Ryd so you know who has got what etc right? Library database...

I discussed with a chap at Gouvia about buying a 22ft container and fitting it will people's tools and make it work as a workshop come 'borrow a tool' centre. The container was £3,500 and no one wants to put the funds into the project so it never happened.

I know a local here in Plymouth who would make a website quickly with a shopping cart system.

Actually, this would need to be a bolt on to a regular business that has an account with Royal Mail and a courier for Upto say 31kg.

Interlink express account holders allow
UK postage up to 31kg for £5/6 next day. They offer a pick up and return service for £7.
 
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This has been tried several times in the wider community. Several rather sophisticated websites started up with fancy escrow services holding on to deposits for borrowed tools and other schemes to try to control it all. They have almost all collapsed.

There are some horses past flogging.

I tried to get a similar thing going at Preveza, there are a lot of DIY'ers in the yards there. Similarly using a container or containers as workshop/storage. The difficulties and the intransigence of the Greeks were just too overwhelming.
 
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I generally find that the persons who wish to set these lending sites up, initially don't have any tools or know how to use them without damaging them.

so they are eager to get their hands on someone else's tools to use with no comeback if they get damaged.

cheaper for them, but not the supplier who has to get the items repaired, once they get it back...

so as you might guess, I buy my own tools, and do not lend out my tools, I might use them to help the other person, I might be nice like that....

I used to have a brand new hedgecutter, never used, lent out to a neighbour who broke it, and never been repaired or used again.... at my expense....


rant over ...............................................................................................
 
I lent my Black and Decker Workmate to a bloke in a boatyard who wanted to hold some timber while he cut it.

The careless prat cut the timber and also sawed deep into the Workmate top.

"Oh, sorry about that." he said.

Since then I never lend anything to anyone unless I'm sure he'll take care of it
 
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