Find a Tool Bank

Last week I had the brilliant idea to sand down an old chair and repaint it. The thing was ancient, chipped, and the paint had completely worn off completely on the seat...

But I had no intention of wasting it, spending good money on a nice oak replacement, or (worse) getting a cheap one from Wal-Mart.

Long story short, my hand was cramped and sore for days, along with my back. I didn't have a power sander, so I just went at it on my own. What I should have done was go down to Baltimore's local tool bank.

And that brings us to our tip of the week: Find a tool bank near you for the random things you don't want to rent or buy, but need to use for a couple days.

There may be a small fee, or it may be free to borrow tools. Either way, it beats shelling out for new tools you might only use a few times at a Home Depot or Lowe's.

Wikipedia has a decent list of tool libraries here, or head over to localtools.org.

If there isn't one near you, contact your local or state representative and pass a link along to ShareStarter's guide to starting one.

 Tool banks aren't new, just underutilized...

The first U.S. tool lending library was started in Columbus, Ohio, in 1976.