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We Built a Tool-Share Box for Our Street Out of Two Pallets
How a few neighbours turned two old pallets and a free afternoon into a weatherproof box for sharing tools.
For months our street group chat has been full of the same kind of message: does anyone have a drill, a spirit level, some hedge shears I could borrow for an hour? So last Saturday five of us met in a neighbour's front garden with two old pallets, a box of screws and a lot of optimism, and built a tool-share box.
It's basically a little free library for tools. Take what you need, bring it back when you're done, add something if you've got a spare.
What we used
- Two pallets from the corner shop (ask first, some get collected)
- An old kitchen cupboard door for the front
- Offcuts of roofing felt for the lid
- Hinges, a magnetic catch and screws, about £18 in total
- Leftover outdoor paint in three colours, because nobody could agree
How long it took
About five hours, including tea breaks, two trips to the hardware shop and one long debate about whether the lid should slope forwards or backwards. (Backwards. Rain needs to run away from the door, not into it.)
House rules on the door
Bring it back within a week. Clean it before you return it. If something breaks, tell us, no blame. Anything sharp goes back with its guard on.
I'll add more details in the comments as we go. If you've built something like this on your street, please tell me how you stop things wandering off for good!
Comments (24)
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Can't sleep, so a quick update from this evening: someone already borrowed the hedge shears and brought them back clean, with a thank-you note tucked inside.
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And someone left a whole box of seed packets. We didn't plan for seeds at all. I love this street.
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Count since Saturday: three tools borrowed, three returned, one new tool donated (a hand trowel).
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Also, something I've just noticed: you can post a comment here just by pressing enter. Which explains why there are about twenty of mine under this post. Sorry for the notifications, everyone.
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Last one, I promise. Here's a photo.
