> I know Upwork/Freelancer is just a no

Why? I find people on there. I think you need to choose carefully, put them on smaller jobs and fire fast. I find trying to work through issues never works. As soon as they show lack of ability/attention to detail etc they go unless you've really established a relationship and know its a one off. I would guesstimate every 5 or so people you find someone good and keep using them.

How much effort do you put in to the filtering/screening process? Or do you pick quickly and see how they do on the job?

Probably more effort than most... I look through profiles, their skills, stats and reviews and contact directly. I never (after doing it in early days) post jobs and see who replies. Worse, these days you get spammed with junk. People even track your email/Skype down and contact you directly.

We're building MoonlightWork.com to not be "annoying middlemen". We don't take a cut of payments to developers, we don't manage projects, and we don't intermediate the relationship between companies + developers. Companies either pay a subscription or a flat-rate fee if they convert a contractor to full-time. Send your friend over!

There’s a monthly HN thread for freelancers.

You can check Craigslist > services > computer

Alternatively you could find someone on Fiverr

Or potentially you can try me. I've been a professional .NET developer for about 10 years but recently I decided to stop programming as a job but I am kind of looking at part-time and freelance stuff.