We’ve now made it easier than ever to purchase a gift membership to the West Philly Tool Library?  Simply go here, give us some information, pay online using Paypal, and we’ll email you a membership that you can print out and give to your mom.  Or simply forward the email to her.

From all of us at the Tool Library: Happy Mother’s Day.

(And you’re welcome.)

Come lend a hand!  We have lots of recent tool donations to sort and process.

It’s also May Fair in Clark Park. Feel like hanging out at our table for an hour to help promote the Tool Library? Email michael@westphillytools.org if you’re interested.

Free coffee (regular AND decaf) and Tastykakes!

See you Saturday!

Can’t make this one?  These are now a regular thing!  Second Saturday of every month from 9:30 to 12:30.

Stretching a new fence into place at the Chester Ave Community Garden

This is one of those tools that really illustrates the value of the tool library.  Until you need to put up a chain link fence, you probably have no idea it exists.  You’ll only ever use one once or twice, so it would be a shame to have to buy it for yourself.  Enter the Tool Library!

It’s a pretty straightforward tool to use.  Insert a fencing tension bar into the end of the fence fabric.  Attach the fence stretcher to the bar.  Pull on the stretcher with a come along winch or a ratcheting tie down (both available at the tool library).  Once the fence is tight, tie it in place with fencing wire ties.

The photo shows the stretcher in action, putting in a new fence at the Chester Ave Community Garden on Saturday.

I checked it out and thought it was pretty cool; well worth the suggested $5 donation.  And best of all, the exhibit features lots of tools from the West Philly Tool Library!

The Art Alliance is at 261 S. 18th Street, on the southeast corner of Rittenhouse Square.

More info at http://www.philartalliance.org/exhibition/the-tool-at-hand/

Shovels, rakes, hedge trimmers, post hole diggers.  We added a Pullerbear to the inventory, which is a really cool tool for easily pulling up big weeds and bushes.

See you soon at the Library!

Come lend a hand!  We’ll be doing a little spring cleaning, hanging some flyers around the neighborhood, sorting those cluttered wooden cubbies in the back.  We might even spray paint some tools orange

Free coffee (regular AND decaf) and Tastykakes!

See you then!

Can’t make this one?  These are now a regular thing!  Second Saturday of every month from 9:30 to 12:30.

While we’re always happy to help, we know that the real knowledge lies not with us, but with you, our members.

That’s why we’re excited to announce that we’ve just created a new online West Philly Tool Library Discussion Forum.  You can access it by going to our website and clicking the “DISCUSSION FORUM” tab at the top.

In the Discussion Forum, you can create a new question (we call them “topics” online) or post a reply to someone else’s question.  And while you’ll be asked for your name and email address, that’s just to verify that you’re a real person.  You do not need to sign in.  Your email will not be posted online.

We don’t know yet whether this is going to work.  Will enough people post to the forums to keep it active and worth checking out?  Will it be overrun by spam or negativity?  That’s why we’re setting this up as a pilot project.  We’ll evaluate it in a few months, and if it works, we’ll keep it.  If it doesn’t work, we’ll pull the plug.  No harm, no foul.

One other thing.  Do you have a suggestion about how to make the Tool Library better?  Make sure you post it in the Suggestion Box forum.  The Tool Library Steering Committee and Librarians will be checking the Discussion Forum regularly.

Thanks!

Not able to make it out?  Still have an old circular saw collecting dust?  We’re always accepting tool donations.  Your well-loved tools will find a new home, either in immediate circulation in the library, or in the home of an excited new owner after an upcoming tool sale.  All tool donations (and money donations, for that matter) are tax deductible!

See you there!

Excerpt from the press release below:

The West Philly Tool Library will be holding its 5th annual tool sale and tool drive on Saturday, March 16th from 9am to 12pm at the Tool Library, 1314 S. 47th Street,   Philadelphia (between Woodland and Grays Ferry Avenues).

This is a great opportunity to pick up inexpensive tools and to support the Tool Library. A large selection of tools will be available, including circular saws, screwdrivers, hammers, gas-powered lawn care tools, wrenches, pliers, and many more. Hand tools start at just $1.

The Tool Library also encourages tool donations at this event. All donations are tax deductible and Tool Library staff members will be on hand to process donations and provide receipts for tax purposes. If you have tools collecting dust in your basement, clear out your clutter and let the Tool Library put your tools into productive community service. Donated tools will either be put into circulation at the Tool Library or will be sold, with the proceeds used to support the Tool Library.

Coffee and light refreshments will be served.

The Tool Library needs your help! We’re having a work day from 9:30am to 12:30pm on Saturday, March 9th. Come support your tool library! Meet interesting people that also like tools!

We have a list of things we could use help with that includes flyering the neighborhood for our upcoming tool sale, sharpening tools, organizing shelves and bins, sorting tools, and general cleaning.

We’ll have coffee to get you going.

Please rsvp by emailing Pete at peter@westphillytools.org if you can make it.

We hope to see you there!