This is the TechShop business model, and they went out of business :/ I think fundamentally the problem is that we have been operating for a long time in an ec

This is the TechShop business model, and they went out of business :/ I think fundamentally the problem is that we have been operating for a long time in an economic environment where "stuff" is relatively cheap, but land and labour close to population centres are relatively expensive. Very often the cost of the "co-ordination labour" required for sharing exceeds the "use value" of the item to the user. Ensuring the equipment is checked in and out, isn't stolen, people aren't lasering PVC in shared space, doing inventory, answering questions etc all take time. If you have situations where people are interacting with each other (e.g. forums or same physical space) you will also have community maintenance to deal with (codes of conduct, dealing with problem behaviour and interpersonal conflict etc). There are also issues around transfer of liability, you need an organisation that is responsible for testing and tagging, ensuring the equipment is in a safe operating condition, that users understand safety procedures - plus the policy/governance to make sure this stuff is happening and the audit tracking to prove it. These sorts of things all sound like "paper cuts" but together they can easily kill what seems like an obviously good idea. I am involved in 2 co-operatives (a school and a neighbourhood community centre) and there is a LOT of effort required to stand up and maintain shared capabilities. The legal / admin / compliance burden also only keeps growing. It's not that it can't be done, but the details matter and it's a lot gnarlier than it looks.