I meant to search for this thread not too long ago after having loaned a saw out, and life got ahead of me (as one might imagine with the birth of a child and all...) I have loaned a saw exactly 3 times without being present. Here goes:
Story #1
Good friend was clearing some smaller stuff in the back of his lot. He lives in a subdivision. Asked if he could borrow a saw. I had just completed a "good" Mexi-mac with a muffler mod, shiny new semi-chisel green chain, and nice rich carb settings. That one was destined to be the loaner for just this occasion. After some basic instruction, off he goes with the saw. He called me the next day and asked me what the story on it was. I'm thinking that he has fried the thing already. As it turns out, he was cutting with the neighbor, and the little turd was running rings around the Wildthing his neighbor had. He insisted on "buying" that stupid saw, for which I have refused payment thus far. Hopefully he has forgotten. Either way, that one did not come back but it was for good reason. It is still getting an occasional workout though, as I sometimes get the chain in for a touch-up.
Story #2
Co-Worker asks to borrow a saw. Very technical guy, and a good friend to boot. He asked about an electric, as his subdivision is kind of funny about noise. Since my loaner got "bought" in Story #1, and I have no electrics, I offered up my 023L. That was a bit if a stretch given the rarity of the 023L. Either way, it is only a saw. I would rather have a handful of good friends and no saws than a handful of good saws and no friends. I specifically asked him not to have the chain sharpened and explained that most folks take too much off when they sharpen them. That saw came back cleaner than it left (I use it frequently) and with a new chain installed. Old one was in the box for the new, and not in bad shape at all. To boot, he brought a bunch of candy for my girls and we got to hang out for a while telling fish stories and the like.
Story #3
I got asked by one of my tree customers for a loaner. He was forced to leave a saw here, and needed one to get him through. Usually I don't do it. This guy I would consider a friend so I went ahead and set him up with my 036 PRO. That saw is not overly pretty, except for the pile of NOS parts I put into it, but it seems to run strong. I have maybe 5 minutes run time on it. Here is where the story gets interesting:
He brought it back a couple of days later, and it looked exactly like it did when I sent it off. OK, the chain was actually in better shape when he returned it. Now it seems to run even stronger than it did when he borrowed it, since he put some run time on it.
THE MORAL:
Of the 3 saws I have loaned out, all three are still running fine. Shockingly, the only one that did not come back was the MAC 3200 !?!?!? In my experience it is perfectly fine to say NO to loaning a saw. I have had to do it plenty of times. On the other hand, it is also OK to loan one out occasionally. Just be careful about who they get loaned to, and you are not likely to have an issue. Nobody is getting to borrow my Lightning, anything with a bow bar, or anything without a brake. With that said, they all are just saws. If you cannot share, what is the point of CAD or having 1xx saws (maybe 2xx?, Who knows.)
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