Bought a commercial grade floor sander for the library instead of renting

Spent $450 on a used Clarke sander on Craigslist rather than $85 each weekend rental. After six projects in our neighborhood tool library, it's already paid for itself. Anyone else buy a bigger tool than they thought they'd need?

2 comments

2 Comments

caleb_sanchez1mo ago

Honestly I dont get why you'd buy that thing. Splitting $85 a weekend means you can rent it seventeen times before breaking even. How many library projects are you really doing? A few times a year max. Plus that sander is heavy and takes up space. The library probably doesn't have a ton of storage. And when it breaks in two years because it's used commercial gear that's overbuilt for home jobs you're stuck fixing it. Renting means someone else deals with the maintenance and you just grab it when you need it.

hugo_moore1mo ago

Have you ever just bought the thing and then sold it when you were done? I did that with a tile saw for a bathroom reno. Bought it used for like $200, used it for three weekends, then sold it for $180 on Craigslist. With the sander you're talking about, you could buy it, use it for a big project or two, and then flip it for almost what you paid if you keep it clean. Even if you lose $50 on the resale, that's cheaper than renting twice and you had it whenever you wanted without driving to the rental place. Just something to think about if you're not sure about keeping it forever.