Together for over a decade, Abby and Scott found The Tool Library while renovating their home in 2023 and have been coming back to borrow and volunteer ever since. Working together or on different tasks, both partners remain excited to learn how to use new tools to achieve their goals. They don’t only borrow the tools though; after purchasing a PA Speaker System for their wedding, Abby and Scott decided to donate it to The Tool Library (borrow it for your next dance party!). Our mission aligns with their own vision of “building a more equitable, caring world.” We’re grateful for Abby and Scott, two volunteers who help us strive toward that vision.
View our full Q&A with Abby and Scott below.
How and when did you first get involved with the Tool Library? What led you to become volunteers?
In 2023, we were in a little over our heads renovating our older home that had a few too many layers of landlord “maintenance.” The Tool Library provided a wallpaper steamer and gained two big fans right away.
Over time, we really started to look forward to our weekly visits to the shop, often going together just because it was such a fun place with lots of ideas for projects. When Abby saw a call for new volunteers in June 2024, we didn’t hesitate to jump in.
How has volunteering impacted your lives, your sense of community, etc?
It’s refreshing to step out of the daily grind and into a place full of people who show up to help build something for the community just because they believe it should exist. We love hearing firsthand about all the projects members are doing, it gives us a small sense of the huge impact The Tool Library has as a rare place looking to reduce cost barriers, rather than impose them. Every time we volunteer, we get to join in building a more equitable, caring world and offer a vision of what that can look like.
When you volunteer, do you typically like to work together or do your own things?
We consistently volunteer at the same time, but rarely work together directly. Abby is usually in the shopfront helping members, and Scott hangs out in the back repairing and maintaining tools.
When you work with The Tool Library tools, do you generally work on projects together? Or do you have complementary interests?
So far, we’ve stayed busy with home maintenance and renovation, which we typically do together. We both enjoy hobby electrical and craft projects, so when we find some free time, we know where to find what we need.
Do you have any DIY/repair specialties or special interests with the tools?
Scott: It’s fun to figure out how the shop tools function (or cease to function) from the inside out. I appreciate having a productive outlet for that impulse, rather than taking apart things at home.
Abby: I’m too interested in everything, so I jump around a lot. We’re hoping to redo our landscaping and gardens next spring, so I’ll probably spend this winter planning for that.
What is your favorite tool? What is one thing you’d like to learn to do (or do better) with the tools?
Scott: My favorite tool might be a thermal camera. It has so many interesting uses, like seeing leaks through walls, identifying drafty windows, or finding a lost cat in the dark. It makes me wish for other sense-spanning opportunities, like touching a color or hearing a smell.
Most of our repairs involve replacing whole circuit boards when anything on them fails. I’d like to learn more about component-level repair so we can fix those kinds of issues more easily.
Abby: I’m quite fond of the PA Speaker System. In part because I just love a dance party, but also because we originally purchased it for our wedding! I was so glad to find a home for it at the Tool Library, where it can be useful for members instead of collecting dust in our basement.
I’d like to learn more about repairing and refinishing furniture. I get everything secondhand and would love to learn the skills to take on bigger projects.