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Many years ago there was NeighborGoods, a site that facilitated free loans of tools from neighbors. (Possibly they had paid options, but I only remember the free part myself.)
I loved it. I put all my own tools up on it for anyone to use. A few people borrowed my drill once it twice. I borrowed a ladder from someone. Some people even had their kayaks on there, as they lived near the river.
I loved the free aspect because that just made sense. We're in a dense urban neighborhood, why do we really need an impact driver for ever single house, or a wheelbarrow, or an oscillating saw? If I know my neighbor wants one, I'm glad to lend it. The world needs less consumption and more sharing.
Seattle has a few non profit tool libraries. Membership is $60/yr. Instead of buying a $200 bulky tool I use once every 5 years that I have to keep sharp and maintain, I just go there.
For items that I use once per month, I still keep handy, b/c driving 20+ minutes is just not worth it.
Their tools are also in good condition and there are volunteers that maintain them. They also help with bike repairs too.
Specifically, I am a member here: https://seattlereconomy.org/
Our local library is starting up a tool lending section. They also have "fix it" days every few months run by volunteers where you can show up with something to fix and the volunteers will work with you to fix it.
My local library, which is privately funded, also has a tool lending program. It's amazing.
It doesn't replace the need for me to own things I use all the time (mower, trimmer, drill, sander, circular saw) but it's perfect for once-in-a-while things like a power washer, a table saw, or an air compressor.
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0418:01 Exactly! Tool libraries are super great and we're trying to fill the gap where they're not implemented yet but also willing to help existing ones to manage them!
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0115:161 reply I really really love this "fix it" day — This is a very good idea and I'm sure this service is greatly appreciated!
Van Neistat comes to events and sets up a booth as a repair station and helps people fix things. You might enjoy his youtube content if you are interested in these sorts of things.
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0117:16 Thanks, I'll take a look for sure! I'm already doing it for bicycle repair at schools and park but I had not thought about doing it for repairing other stuffs!
By GouacheApp 2025-06-016:471 reply That’s awesome — Seattle’s tool libraries are a great example of how well this model can work. That kind of affordable access to well-maintained tools makes a huge difference.
With Patio, we’re looking to support and expand that model, especially in areas without a local library, and provide tools to help existing ones grow and serve their communities even better.
Off topic, but almost all of your recent comments feel AI generated to me. Maybe I'm reading into things, but the structure looks AI, lots of bangs and a whole lot of em dashes. They also don't match the style of your previous comments, last in 2022.
By trollbridge 2025-06-022:42 I’m noticing some people must read enough LLM output that they start to write and even speak like an LLM. I have an acquaintance who spends a great deal of time (hours a day) talking to an LLM, and now she speaks like an LLM does. I think she uses an LLM to generate her text messages, but the real life speech shows a transformation in actual thinking and speech patterns.
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0114:281 reply Totally fair to call that out, and I get why it might come across that way. But nope, not AI-generated. Just me trying to be clearer and a bit more structured lately. Sorry if it fell off.
That thing where your every first sentence starts with a short statement followed by an em-dash and then continues? Stop that. That's what's really annoying people. Em-dashes as such are fine — really, you can use them if you want — but that gimmick isn't helping you.
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0119:561 reply Sorry it bothers you and others.
By chrisweekly 2025-06-0120:361 reply FWIW it doesn't bother me at all.
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0121:01 Glad it did not bother everyone at least!
By fn-mote 2025-06-0117:27 Thanks for explaining to the bystander why some of those comments are downvoted and even dead. Didn’t pick up on it.
By burger_moon 2025-06-0117:562 reply This is awesome. My partner runs events in Seattle and has talked about how there is a big need to do classes on teaching basic household handyman things but also her thing is turning events into social mixers for singles.
I just think it’d be great to teach people how to hang a shelf or clean the filter in a mini split, fix a flat tire on a car, etc. All the stuff I have to regularly do for people now. I may sign up to do some instructor led classes.
I love the idea of a tool library, I own more tools than I can use at this point.
However I think if I could get paid a monthly service fee to list my tools I’d do it, otherwise the replacement costs for people misusing or losing the tools would make it not worth it. A single socket goes missing and suddenly it’s $30 to replace, wipes out the sharing incentive.
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0120:25 Thanks and that sounds amazing, love the idea of mixing DIY classes with social events. We’re exploring ways to cover those kinds of risks, whether through small fees, deposits, or even shared insurance. You seems to truly love DIY and home improvements so if you had other ideas or you would to chat more about it, feel free to contact me at julien@patio.so!
By nothercastle 2025-06-022:501 reply Where would people even go to teach this kind of stuff? And do people even want to learn? I’m in Seattle and it might be fun. I don’t actually want to fix people’s tires,outlets,whatever for them but I’d be happy to Explain how and encourage good safety practices. I’m just cautious of people demanding free labor.
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0211:58 There are a few tool libraries, community bike shops, and woodworking spaces that offer similar workshops, usually run by volunteers (and I guess some hackerspaces too). But I get you, it can be hard to discover and know when these are happening nearby.
The Berkeley Public Library has a tool lending branch: https://www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/locations/tool-lending...
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0114:52 That's cool!
By GouacheApp 2025-06-014:001 reply Curious though — when you were lending or borrowing items, did you ever run into any issues or friction? Things like no-shows, damage, or unclear expectations? We’re trying to learn from real experiences to make it smoother for everyone.
Interestingly when I try to give things away for free on Craigslist (yes, I'm old, I still use CL) I am frustrated to no end by no-shows. I've occasionally charged $5 just because that seems to filter out people who will actually come.
But I don't remember that being an issue with NeighborGoods. Maybe it was the community nature of it, that you really felt like you were borrowing from a neighbor, instead of just getting some free stuff to re-sell.
I never dealt with damage. I think actually IF I were charging per hour, I might care more, because then it feels like a business transaction. If I'm putting stuff up for free, then it's because I'm willing to lend to neighbors. (Obviously I'd feel different if someone broke my $400 drill press or something.)
By GouacheApp 2025-06-035:28 Thats exactly my mindset too. We're planning to give free basic tools (skilsaw, drills, sanders) that we're getting from people that dont use it anymore to ppl that will use it for real.
I don't think we need all the tools that we owns, all the time, and if our neighbors can lend it, its a pleasure to do so. Damage can happens but at the end of the day, we're neighbors lending to each others so we can figure it out most of the time at least!
By GouacheApp 2025-06-013:552 reply Absolutely — couldn’t agree more.
In most neighborhoods, there’s really no need for everyone to own the same tools, especially for things you use once or twice a year. That mindset of sharing over consuming is exactly what we’re trying to support with Patio — whether it's lending for free, renting, or just making it easier to know who has what nearby.
The more we can encourage that kind of local connection, the less we all need to buy — and the better it is for everyone.
By J7jKW2AAsgXhWm 2025-06-014:141 reply Tool lending library is the best I’ve found so far for tools. The best part is not having to store all the tools.
By GouacheApp 2025-06-014:23 Absolutely — not having to store all the tools is a huge plus. That’s a big part of what we’re aiming for with Patio too: easy access to tools without the hassle of ownership or storage.
I like tool libraries. I belong to one myself. But I also own some tools, like a car jack and and torque wrench, even though I use them exactly twice a year.
If I relied on the tool library for those, they'd be checked out all month when I most needed them to put on or remove winter tires.
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0115:20 Yeah, that makes sense — some tools are just worth owning if you know you’ll need them at specific high demands times. I think that tool libraries arent a full replacement for personal gear, especially for high demand and seasonal stuff. I see them more as a complement, great for one off jobs or trying things before buying.
I used to live in Berkeley, CA circa 2013. They had a tool library, which was part of the local public library system, and tools were free (!) to rent. I miss it everyday, as it was a godsend for broke new grads who still wanted to do some quick but heavyduty DIY.
I now live in NYC, and my local Home Depot rents out power tools for $20-30/day. The typical tool would pay for itself in 2 days at these rates, but it's still worth it to me as these 2 days are often 2-3 years apart and I'd rather not store these tools in my cramped 1BR.
What I would love is a community-run tool rental service where we can donate a tool + pay a nominal membership fee, and borrow tools for free. I am happy to donate a $120 circular saw/impact driver if I can rent 10x different tools once each for $5/mo for the next year. The closest thing I have now is my local hackerspace, which is great, but I often have to work on my projects at the space, which limits the kind of home DIY I can do.
Minneapolis/St Paul has at least one tool library (with multiple locations). MN Tool Library. Mentioning it in case someone in this thread is interested and lives nearby. Worth it, especially if you know have projects coming up. Lots of tools, indoor and outdoor, and some space for using the tools at their space , and lots of know-how from the staff/volunteers.
Edit: in the same vein, Minneapolis also has a Toy Library that is pay what you can for annual membership and absolutely stocked with toys for every age, and includes outdoor stuff like trampolines and bikes (small sizes) and board games and such. Very worth it for kids that only maintain interest for 2 hours and helps them learn how to give up a toy before getting a new one (similar to adults learning to return a tool…)
By GouacheApp 2025-06-020:57 Thanks for taking time to share it!
By jzelinskie 2025-06-021:211 reply The Brooklyn Public Library in Green Point has a tool library, although it isn't very large if that's close to you at all. I'm not sure if it's available at any other library locations but the one in Green Point is fairly new and has great programming.
By GouacheApp 2025-06-021:57 Thanks for sharing this! I think we'll add a list of existing tool library so it will be easier to find the ones near you.
By frenchman_in_ny 2025-06-0212:571 reply We have a large ~20K person BuyNothing community in my area (also NYC), and a few of us have thrown the same idea of a tool library around. We always hit a wall on the discussion of liability & liability insurance. Any ideas on how other organizations solve this?
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0418:24 Oui, la question de la responsabilité revient souvent. Certaines communautés utilisent des décharges de responsabilité, systèmes de dépôt, et/ou assurances.
On aimerait vraiment collaborer avec votre communauté pour comprendre les besoins et mettre en place quelque chose avant le lancement de notre service de location. N’hésitez pas à me contacter à julien@patio.so si vous voulez en discuter !
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0119:443 reply That's a really good idea. A community-run tool library with donations + a small monthly fee could be a game changer, especially in dense cities. It makes DIY more accessible without the cost or storage hassle. We'll certainly think about how this model could be implemented!!
There was one running in Frome, UK but unfortunately these community things are hard to keep going and it has now closed. The issues are cost of storage space, insurance, staffing etc.
You can see the requirements they needed to keep it going here: https://sharefrome.org/save-SHARE-together/
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0120:46 Thanks a lot for sharing, yes even if there is a lots of need, there is also a lot of issues when it comes to tool rental. I'm sad to see another one that might end up closing but or goal is to create a platform that will help these community to grow by simplifying their work.
By fhackenberger 2025-06-0120:011 reply There's a successful one running purely on donations in Berlin: Resi https://www.resi-ressourcen.org/
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0120:19 Awesome!! Thanks for sharing :)
We have one in Baltimore which also offers classes and workspaces: https://toollibrary.org/
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0122:29 Thanks for sharing! One of our goals is to support initiatives like this and make it easier to start and operate them. We truly hope to help make tool libraries more common in as many cities as possible!
By blacksmith_tb 2025-06-0215:48 Portland OR has a system of free-to-use tool libraries (you pay 'library fines' if you return tools late, but checking them out is free), each quadrant of the city has one (and you can only use the one in your section of the city). For example[1]
By angry_moose 2025-06-011:361 reply I feel like you need to make sure the rental side is the first thing people see.
My initial reaction at being dumped on the "Explore" section was "this is just a spammy pinterest style link aggregator thing".
By GouacheApp 2025-06-011:481 reply Totally fair point — and really appreciate the honest feedback.
Our goal is to build a platform where people can learn, educate, rent, and share tools within a community that loves DIY. The “Explore” section is part of our effort to surface great tutorials and ideas, but we hear you — the rental experience should be front and center.
We’re working on making that more clear from the start. Thanks again for the insight — it really helps us improve.
Just to piggyback off this I had a similar thought. I read your post about the tool rental, got to the page and immediately saw random articles which unfortunately this AI age has got me to distrust that things are human written/curated when just presented with no context.
Seeing the rental and more community features would be best, then when you like the concept/community it makes sense to get invested in the posted articles because you've seen the site is active with people.
Love the idea, I really hope it all takes off!
By GouacheApp 2025-06-013:381 reply Really appreciate that — and totally agree.
We’re working on bringing the rental and community features to the forefront so it’s clear from the start what Patio is about. In a world flooded with AI content, we get that leading with articles can feel impersonal without context.
The goal is to build trust through people and tools first — then let the content support that experience. Thanks for the kind words and thoughtful feedback!
In a world flooded with AI content, you use ChatGPT to reply to HN comments. Very cute.
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0115:00 I'm sorry you feels this way.
Don't blame them, they just asked their agentic AI to make a successful site for renting tools. A Show HN post, and engagement in the comment section is a required step.
By GouacheApp 2025-06-0117:19 [dead]
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