Glenn Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 What is some of the weird stuff that crossed your path, you saved, AND put to use? Track lighting or display lighting from a store going out of business and the new tenant wanted a different lighting. A bunch of track lighting and enough flood and spot lamps to make the power company real happy. The washer finally died and the water control valve and a momentary contact electric switch now turn the water on and off at the sink. Knee operated via a wooden lever. Another momentary contact electric switch is used at the work bench when you need additional light. What type things crossed your path and were put to use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 two items with a smithing focus: Hofi uses tank penetrators (pre DU) to make punches and drifts from and I have the penetrator nose cone from a Ballistic Missile that I use as a cone mandrel (Fellow showed up at Quad-State with a flatbed load of ones that had failed Q/A...) Also an old cord driven dental drill for knife work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I used an electrical panel "tub" as the box for my side-draft forge. It's filled with sand and ash to keep it from heating up too much. It's not common knowledge, but panel manufacturers charge more for "loose" circuit breakers than they do for a complete panel filled with breakers. On jobs where we need a lot of circuit breakers to go into existing panels, we'll order a brand new panel packed with what we need, then pull them out when it arrives on site. As a result, we have a lot of surplus panel tubs with bus bars and terminal strips. Electrical contractors who do a lot of commercial remodel work will generally have a lot of spare panel tubs in their shops. I took a section of leaf spring with the shackle loop still on and forged it into a froe. I reshaped the loop a bit and welded it to make a handle hole. I used that froe to split redwood decking from a demolished deck into shingles which I used to side my wife's greenhouse. I've taken scrap plywood and made wheels to fit my 8" grinder. I have emery paper glued to the flat sides to give me a small side-grinder. Two different grits per disk. It's only good for small stuff but then again, it is only a little grinder to begin with. It occurs to me that I have a laminated paper wheel for my 8" grinder that gets grit glued on periodically for knife sharpening. If the wheels were made of mdf, they'd be easy to dress smooth and they'd hold the glued-on grit quite well. I have another paper wheel that has vent slots in it's edge which is used with white polishing compound. Seems like an MDF wheel would work just as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 I have a dentist's overhead lamp I picked up at a yard sale by bundling it with some other stuff as a take it or leave it offer. I have yet to wire it for standard bulbs the transformer is burnt out but it'll be De BOMB over my newly resurrected belt grinder. Frosty The Lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdaleh Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 A grocery store carry out cart is my mig welder cart. A press for old time formic a glue taken apart and made into two work benches 30 inches wide and10 foot long. Each table weighs around 350 pounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aessinus Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Large conference room door for a bench top - solid core, glued, maple 1=1/2 strips. Just the 6' top weighs over 100 pounds. The hole for the handle is right under my drill press spindle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmbobnick Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 The back of a piano for a framing a bench top. Mortise and tenon 4x4 hardwood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 On 2/27/2017 at 1:18 PM, rockstar.esq said: I used an electrical panel "tub" as the box for my side-draft forge. I'm using the sheet-metal box top of my old oven as the box for my new side-draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar.esq Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 That's cool, especially if you can leave the knobs on it somehow. It'd be kinda funny to be teaching a newbie and having them use the oven settings for various operations. Some days I could really use a "Self clean" setting on my forge! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 That would be cool, but this is just the housing from the top. Pictures here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gote Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 I use the innards of a fire works box to hold stock. The box itself now stores my chain saw chain sharpener so I made a primitve frame from 3/4" board to hold all those cardboard tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 3 hours ago, gote said: I use the innards of a fire works box to hold stock. The box itself now stores my chain saw chain sharpener so I made a primitve frame from 3/4" board to hold all those cardboard tubes. I am collecting cardboard tubes from work for that very purpose. I need to see how many I actually have and start building a frame for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 4 hours ago, gote said: I use the innards of a fire works box to hold stock. The box itself now stores my chain saw chain sharpener so I made a primitve frame from 3/4" board to hold all those cardboard tubes. Over on the right-hand side, are those springs to hold bar stock? Or bar stock to hold springs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 That fire works holder reminds me of one of my "tool racks" in the clean shop side. It is a strip of marine/aviation grade plywood with a large number of round holes drilled in it in ranks of ascending sizes. It was used to hold organ pipes in our church's organ and when we had it reworked and they were going to throw it away I snarfed it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkie Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 On 2/27/2017 at 2:24 PM, Frosty said: I have a dentist's overhead lamp I picked up at a yard sale by bundling it with some other stuff as a take it or leave it offer. I have yet to wire it for standard bulbs the transformer is burnt out but it'll be De BOMB over my newly resurrected belt grinder. Frosty The Lucky. Good idea!! I'd like to scrounge up one of those (in working order) to illuminate my welding table. Sometimes there is just not enough light for my tired, old eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 2, 2017 Author Share Posted March 2, 2017 6 hours ago, Michael Cochran said: I am collecting cardboard tubes from work for that very purpose. I need to see how many I actually have and start building a frame for them. Start with a 5 gallon plastic bucket. Fill it with cardboard tubes cut about level or an inch below the top rim. The bucket can get heavy fast, but you can move it when needed. Think similar materials in the same bucket and several buckets as needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 I've got a bunch of buckets: known high-carbon, known mild, mystery, and RR spikes. I like the idea of dividers, though; that will make it easier to get stuff out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted March 2, 2017 Author Share Posted March 2, 2017 Easy to sort according to length. While you know the type of steel, set up a color code and paint one or both ends. Makes life much easier later as the red ends go into the red bucket, etc. Ok yes, label the bucket (grin) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 Glenn, I might try the bucket instead of the frame idea I hadn't I mind. I did plan to sort and label the steel much as suggested. My current plan is to keep larger pieces in a rack with marked slots for each type/alloy and then use a smaller rack with my cardboard tubes holding the shorter pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengriswold Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 7 hours ago, Michael Cochran said: I am collecting cardboard tubes from work for that very purpose. I need to see how many I actually have and start building a frame for them. 56 minutes ago, Glenn said: Start with a 5 gallon plastic bucket. Fill it with cardboard tubes cut about level or an inch below the top rim. The bucket can get heavy fast, but you can move it when needed. Think similar materials in the same bucket and several buckets as needed. The cardboard tubes inside a roll of pallet wrap are particularly robust if you have access to a production facility cardboard bin. I have cut these different lengths and glued them together to make a freestanding "cubby" shelf, the difference being they are laid on their sides rather that the tube openings facing the ceiling. I also picked up a whole bunch of poster/ paper roll tubes once from a posting on craigslist intending to use them as setting forms for concrete posts but i had leftovers and ended up making a larger one of those freestanding shelves. really heavy stuff will squish it down a bit but with really thick walled tube mixed in I imagine you could create quite the sturdy free standing shelf with a frame on the outside to keep it all together while the glue dries. Maybe you wouldn't even need glue if you framed it. I have a bunch of short six to eighteen inch long round 3 to 6 inch diameter thin walled pipe I am saving up to make a similar shelf that is more heavy duty. I like to lay them on their sides just because of floor space being at a premium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 I'm switching to kitty litter buckets as they are square and so stack together with less wasted space---and there is a slow but constant stream of them round my place... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 8 minutes ago, bengriswold said: The cardboard tubes inside a roll of pallet wrap are particularly robust if you have access to a production facility cardboard bin. That is the type I have, some from a wrapping machine some from the handheld wrappers. Square buckets would be great if I could find enough of them but I don't know anyone that has them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 Well you could start asking people if they have indoor cats.....Of course not everyone buys cat litter in the 42 pound (net) rectangular bucket; but a gracious plenty of the indoor cat owners I know do so...As we have 2 cats in a coyote rich area we have an ever increasing supply of the buckets. They even come with a nice hinged top that can be used to keep small stuff in and even stack them a couple of levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anachronist58 Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 Yep got quite a few of them, got a four-stack strapped together on a furniture dolly - one of them (at a time) even contains kitty litter! Robert Taylor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Cochran Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 I have an indoor/outdoor cat. He sleeps inside and goes out the doggie door when he decides he's done napping or he has business to attend to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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