tap and die rental?

[mredburn]

I'm taking a poll to see the interest in a program to rent the special tap and dies we need to use. I would stock the sets and rent them out. I forsee the program fullfilling the need of members who would like try their hand at kitless work but are not sure they want to spend the money and find out they didn't like it or would rarely use them. I would stock feed assembly taps and dies for Bock and Jowo (Meister Nib) along with the 3 sizes of triple lead sets.
the program would work like this. You purchase the sets from me and pay shipping when you are done you ship them back and I refund all but a small amount of the purchase price. Right now I'm thinking $5.00 for a tap and/or die - single thread and $15.00 for the triple lead sets. Of course you can keep the sets or return them in good condition for the refund. There would be a time limit of say 2 months to use and then return them.

What do you think.

 

[BSea]

I think there might be a market. I've been thinking about what I could do with the 10mm triple start. But then I see I'd have to rent the 8.4 tap & die to make it work. I really want to try & make a small kitless, but I didn't want to spend the money since I haven't made but a few using the 12mm triple start. So I guess I'd try renting the 8.4 tap & die set & use a standard 10mm to see if I liked the outcome.

 

[cnirenberg]

Local discounts????? Just kidding, I was asking for Chuck.......

 

[leehljp]

I would not rent the triple threads out under any circumstances. And I would not rent them from anyone because if I needed it, I would buy it. If it broke under my use, I would feel totally obligaged to replace it. Triple threads are not your run-of-the-mill rental tools. It would be akin to me loaning or renting out my festool sander. I voted: "Are you nuts?" while chuckling :biggrin:. My problem with rental stems from knowing people. I wouldn't mind renting to 95% of the people and that alone would encourage me to do it. But it is the other 5% that will take advantage of it and abuse it, either out of ignorance or simply because they rented it and feel that they have a right.

I will loan "most" of my tools to certain people, but there are a few that I would not let them touch any of my tools. Can you tell that "tool abuse" and "misuse" are a couple of my pet peeves?

 

[bitshird]

Mike, I'm sorry but I posted "are you nuts" I'm kind of in agreement with Hank Lee. Not that I would be worried about breaking/wrecking a Tap, it's just with over 40 years in machine, Tool and Die I think I have seen not all, but a real high percentages of shall we say accidents? happen to unfortunately more special Taps and occasionally a Die, It's pretty hard to break a die, if you are using a Die stock, but I've seen it done.
Your idea sounds like a good one. but I'd just be worried about the END.

 

[mredburn]

I kinda thought that the "are you nuts" :biggrin: would lead the pack so to speak. However they would have to be returned in good condition. The rental portion is on the return of the set(s)and in good working order. Bust them or dont return them and you have already paid for them. It was something I have been kicking around. It would mean a large inventory of taps and dies, although I already have most of them. I could also limit the amount of sets I would rent out. Visual inspections and photos going out and when returned etc.

 

[Andrew_K99]

Just a thought ...

To break even you'd have to rent a set of triple start taps out about 10 times ($15x10=$150). If you let people use them upto 2 month it could take 2 years to justify just one set.

Now most people won't want to wait 18 months to be able to rent them, so you'd need multiple sets, 4 maybe?

For you to justify this you'd need 40 people and upto 2 years to make it work.

For the above reason, I voted 'are you nuts?'

AK

 

[OKLAHOMAN]

The Florida sun finally got to Mike and fried his thinking apparatus. He is officially nuts.

 

[mredburn]

Thanks Roy
Andrew, I was thinking 3 sets of the m14 x3 8-10 sets of the m12 x 3 and 6 sets of the m10 x3 with a dozen sets of each of the single point sizes. No it would not be a large payback. I expect a few would use and return them and a few would decide to keep them if they found value in doing so. I dont do the taps as my main profit center. Rather as a convienence to advance pen turning as a whole.

 

[leehljp]

Thanks Roy
I expect a few . . . a few would decide to keep them if they found value in doing so.

I changed my mind. I like this idea! It would save me the hassle of ordering sets of different sizes! :biggrin:

 

[BSea]

I would not rent the triple threads out under any circumstances. And I would not rent them from anyone because if I needed it, I would buy it. If it broke under my use, I would feel totally obligaged to replace it.

I realize you changed your mind (not that I ever do), but I don't see any risk to Mike from tool damage because the customer is paying full price up front to rent the tool, and only gets a partial refund if the tool is returned in satisfactory condition. The only downside to the customer is that if they decided to keep the tool, they are paying full price for a used tool. Not a big thing as long as some other user didn't decide to put threads in a bunch of stainless. I have no idea how long the taps & dies would last, but I'd think that for cutting materials we normally use for pens, the tool would probably be around after most of us are gone provided it was properly cared for.

 

[jd99]

Here's an issue I see, when I go and rent tools, I don't pay the full price of the tool to rent it, I have a hold put on my CC for a deposit amount (still not full price of the tool), then when I bring the tool back, the deposit hold is released, and I just pay the rental fee.

the fact that you want the full price of the tool bothers me a little, say I give you the full price and it ends up breaking, or the tap chips, how would I know how many people have used the tap before me, and how would you say that there wouldn't be an underlining crack in the tap that was caused before i got it causing it to chip.... Then I would be paying full price for a tap the twenty people before me have used it and made unknown number of holes in unknown material etc...

I don't see cutting tools rented very often, I can only remember one time we may have rented a cutting tool in all the years I've been doing this, and it wasn't from a tool rental place it was from another shop that just happened to have the tool, and they rented it to us to do a single job.

my 2 cents worth.