Hot take: I used to hate borrowing tools from our library, but a broken drill changed my mind

I always thought our community tool library had junk equipment after I borrowed a rusty hedge trimmer last spring. Last month my $150 cordless drill died mid-project on a Saturday, so I grabbed our library's old hammer drill as a backup. That thing ran like a champ through three holes in concrete, so now I'm wondering - has anyone else found hidden gems in their library's older gear?

2 comments

2 Comments

caseyrivera13d ago

You said "hidden gems" and that's exactly right. That old hammer drill probably weighs a ton but those older tools were built to last, not like the plastic stuff we buy today. I think a lot of people just assume older means worse when really it just means more beat up but still working fine. Your rusty trimmer might have just been poorly maintained by the last person who borrowed it, not junk by design. Worth giving those older tools a second chance for sure.

troymorgan12d ago

The real trick is that older tools often used standard parts that you could fix yourself. That hammer drill probably has brushes you can buy at any hardware store for three bucks. Try finding replacement parts for a brand new cordless trimmer five years from now - you'll be tossing the whole thing.