Loaning Out Tools

[cabinetman]

I shared my first shop space with a guy who loaned out a circular saw to a neighbor. Unfortunately, the neighbor cut off part of a finger and blamed the accident on being given the saw to use. His complaint was something like "Well if you hadn't loaned me the saw, I wouldn't have cut my finger".

My friend was the type to give the shirt off his back, but he had to carry this ridiculous guilt. If he didn't loan the saw he probably would have felt guilty about not trying to help the guy. But instead had this to contend with.

A car mechanic I know has a sign in his shop that reads: I DONT ASK TO BORROW YOUR WIFE, SO DON'T ASK TO BORROW MY TOOLS.



"I'M NEVER WRONG - BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS RIGHT"

[BobSch]

I shared my first shop space with a guy who loaned out a circular saw to a neighbor. Unfortunately, the neighbor cut off part of a finger and blamed the accident on being given the saw to use. His complaint was something like "Well if you hadn't loaned me the saw, I wouldn't have cut my finger".

Not to hijack the thread, but the "It's not my fault!" attitude lately is really getting to me. It's always somebody else that's resposible when some idiot blows it. <rant mode: off>

As far as loaning tools, I have a short list of those I'd loan anything to. And there are those who I'll trust with non-powered, non-sharp tools (no saws, planes, etc.)

Oh, and a couple of neighbors who wouldn't get anything.

[bmyers]

If your mechanic friend does the same things I do with my wife with his tools, I wouldn't want to borrow them from him anyway.

[jseklund]

Some people have the belief, "No good deed goes unpunished."

I'm not a big fan of this belief, but I wouldn't let it get to me too badly if someone cut their finger off whilst borrowing a tool of mine. I'd warn them to be careful if it was a tool that had some kind of danger, but this should usually go without saying.

Having said that, I don't like to loan certain things- mainly books and tools. They just never come back.

[BearPipes-1]

I ought to know that "dogs running loose are a fact of life out in the country" and that if I got wrecked or injured by an unruly dog, it was somehow MY fault and not that of the dog's owner.

Wow, what a silly position for that person to take. If it's up to riders to avoid wreck or injury due to unruly dogs, they can do that...but what if the rider's solution involves someone's dog encountering a .45 slug?

Most dog owners I know, including rural ones, would prefer to prevent the problem with the resources they have available, rather than leaving the outcome to the whim and sensibilities (and possibly firepower!) of unknown passers-by.

[scorrpio]

Far as saw goes: if the loaned saw had a defect that made it more dangerous to use than a non-defective saw, and your friend neglected to mention it, THEN the neighbor could make any claims. If the owner left the saw lying around in the street, and a child found it and got injured, then there could be a claim. But if it was a perfectly functional saw, no different that what he could buy at a store, and was loaned at neighboe's request, the neighbor's claim is as ridiculous as if he came to a restaurant, asked for tabasco sauce, and then poured it in his eyes and blamed the restaurant for the resulting pain.

Far as dogs go: the cyclist does not ask the owner to let his dogs loose after him. If the cyclist is in an area where cycling is allowed and is not trespassing on dog owner's property, being mauled by his dog is in my opinion legally equal to owner coming out and shooting the cyclist.

[RodKirby]

I don't want to appear vague about this -

I NEVER LEND TOOLS TO ANYONE !

(I did - about 15 years ago. Got my Ryobi router back with a totally wrecked base plate, and a bit with chips out of it )

[Hellrazor]

I rarely lend tools out and there are only 2 people on the list. I buy quality tools and do not want dead stuff back. Liability is always an issue and always something to think about.

As far as the bicycle stuff.. I live in an area that worships competitive bicycle racing,etc. Where nobody obeys the rules of the road. They blow through stop signs, through red lights, camp out in your front yard, whatever they feel like doing, drive 4 across with one on the yellow line and we get to pay taxes to fund "Share the road signs". I have no sympathy... pot calling the kettle black.

[kwgeorge]

After many bad experiences and having been returned nonfunctional tools past I have taken a hard nose approach to loaning out tools and that is, I don’t do it! Pretty much no mater who it is. I have come to the conclusion that if I don’t have a tool that I need then I must need to buy that tool as I obviously have a use for it. With that it stands to reason that this thought process must be applicable to others so then why should I supply others with tools? Now if it is a one time use kind of thing well then that’s what tool rentals are for. I have had people get quite put off with me for not loaning them a compressor and nail gun so they could hang their crown molding for instance (most resent request) but they get over it.

The example cited by Cabinetman is a extreme case laced with stupidity but again shows why you would not want to be the local tool crib for others.

Ken

[25]

If someone wants to borrow something, I ask them what they need done and if I can I will do it for them. Otherwise like most of yall have said, I don't loan tools.

Shoot, the only person I even let on my computer is my wife but that was only after a lot of training and making sure she lets me install software. She has her own computer mind you(she has an old laptop that is going to be upgraded soon), I am very picky about my PCs.

I have spare computers that run Linux that other people can use .

[eezlock]

loaning out tools....hum!

My cardinal rules
(1) I don't loan out my power tools
(2) I don't loan money (anymore)
(3) I certainly would not loan out my wife
(4) I won't loan out any of my guns for any reason
(5) NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, even think about asking to borrow
Silverado 1500 HD crewcab pickup truck! That won't happen!
Never a lender or borrower be...you will be happier!
eezlock

[MilDoc]

I certainly agree with all the comments about our "It's not MY fault" society. Spill hot coffee that you're holding in your lap and sue. Walk under a "Do Not Walk" sign, get hit by a falling brick, and sue. Start smoking in 1990, get ill, and sue.

Blame the lawyers, the USA legal system, etc., for this turn of events. In the 50's my mother pulled the lawnmower back too far, cut her toes. Did she sue? No. Blamed herself.

Oh well... that's life in the USA today. Funny how it doesn't seem to work that way anywhere but here. Watch Carlos Mencia's "Dee Dee Dee" video, posted before. It says it all.

As for loaning tools -- only to my best buddy whose better at using them than I am!

[25]

For the record there is a lot more to the Hot Coffee than as heard from the press(big surprise here...). I don't want to advocate that the person was smart in the first place for keeping the coffee in their lap but the coffee was being intentionally super heating the coffee, so much to the point that the person suffered 3rd degree burns. Nor was this the first person to be seriously burned by the coffee.

This was not a simple case of "user error" but a combination of faults from various parties.

More details found here: [link=http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm]Click Me[/link]

Just wanted to point out that this case is not a black and white case of people trying to shift the blame.

As a note my wife is a teacher and the way that people are getting trying to shift the blame from their darlings to the teacher is rather funny, to bad they don't want to get their child to actually work for a grade, since they are infalliable.

[conductorjonz]

I don't loan tools anymore to anyone. If I can help by doing the work for someone or supervising them doing the work...with a proper "safety breifing" as we did on the railroad...no problem. Otherwise forget it.

As to litigation, I'm about to go back to work for the railroad as a bridge tender. (I was a conductor) I told my wife that if I "cash in my chips" somehow while on the bridge, be **** sure the railroad was at fault before litigating. Many things can go wrong in that environment of my own doing. Besides...at least I'll go out doing something I love.

[MilDoc]

25 -- Bunk. In my experience as an expert witness in over 1,200 court cases, including many scald burns, let me tear apart this case, which I am fully familiar with.

1. The proper brewing temperature for coffee is 200 degrees F.
http://www.virtualcoffee.com/April_2000/decaf.html

McD's held their's to 180 - 190.

2. The coffe also soaked into her sweatpants, holding it against her skin for a prolonged time, thus prolonging the time it was in contact with her skin and increasing it's burn potential.

3. "As she removed the lid, the entire contents spilled..." Pretty clumsy.

4. Coffee served at home is not "generally" 135-140 degrees. My Krups tested at 190. When served it may be lower due to fluid flow mechanics, the cup it's served in and loss of heat, etc. But it brews at 190.

5. Of course when poured it's not fit for consumption. Any one in a restaurant knows that.

6. The plaintiffs' expert stated that at 180 deg. 3rd deg burns will result in 2-7 seconds. Cooled to 155 it would have given her time to avoid a burn. Bunk. At 152 deg it takes about 2-3 sec to produce a 3rd deg burn, as shown in studies on volunteers, especially soaked into her sweatpants. At 180 deg, given it's soaking into her sweatpants, burn would have been almost instantaneous.

"McD's also stated that customers know coffee is hot..." Well, Dee Dee Dee...

And, of course, the temp of coffee at the local McD's had dropped to 155 degrees - still hot enough to cause a 3rd degree burn if you're dumb enough to remove the lid while holding it between your legs!

So, let's have coffee served at 130 degrees, which will take about 30 secs. to cause a full thickness burn. Or how about 120 degrees. Lousy coffee, but we'll protect idiot's from their own carelessness.