can't pass up usefull trash

The pricks at our local dump will write you a ticket and throw you out on your ear if they see you pick up so much as a bottle cap. "NO SALVAGING" signs every few feet, a dozen or more "traffic cops" (not actually cops, but they do direct traffic at the edge of the pit) standing around acting like they're guards in a south-african diamond mine, just waiting for somebody to try and make off with the goods. Bastards.

Had to pass up a nearly spotless "Hero-1" robot (Late 70's Heathkit toy

- BIG $$ in it's day, and even if it was trashed, probably worth a hundred bucks or more in salvagable electronic goodies, stepper motors, and similar) someone had dumped last time I was out there. Looked it over, and all I could see obviously missing/damaged was the swivel-wheel and the batteries, and one cap off the keypad. The rest of it looked like it had been assembled, then parked in a closet until it got tossed. Just about the time I figured out exactly what it was and that it would probably be easily fixable, one of the traffic guys moseys over, points at one of the signs, and says "pick it up and get yourself a thousand dollar ticket", then kicks it over the side and down the slope. I couldn't decide whether I wanted to punch the prick and send him down after it, or just stand there and cry as I watched it smash itself to worthless against what looked like an old stove :(

Pure "dog in the manger" bullshit is what it was all about.

I am saddened whenever I go to the dump. Well, it is a mechanized concrete floor with pits, and semi trucks. Not like the old dump. I see bicycles that could use a tube and a tweak, and rather than some kid who has no bike getting it, it goes down the hole. And the list goes on and on and on and on. Useful items. Things that people who don't have could use.

Sad.

Steve

On Fri, 09 Jul 2004 18:18:11 GMT, Ron Thompson vaguely proposed a theory ......and in reply I say!:

remove ns from my header address to reply via email

No no. When you have a serious junk addiction, moving is NOT painless.

Or die, it worked great for my best friend.

Of course, I got the cleanup job. 4 sales for just the small stuff. The last one was a "free flea" where I invited people to just haul the stuff away. I saw cars leaving with frames firmly down to the axle. The whole job represents three months basically missing out of my life.

Vaughn

I love fixin stuff. Several of the kids battery powered toys came from a second hand store that had $0.25 Saturday's. I'd buy 2 of the toy and get one to work. When my TV wouldn't present a picture, I did a web search and found several discussions of the model and symptom. They all pointed to the same part. Without even opening the TV, I ran out and bought the chip. That fixed it. I was in a thrift store today that had 2 decent looking mowers for $25.

Joel. phx

Anyone here need 3' of steel pipe, 6"ID 7"OD been rusting behind the shed for about twelve years now. Picked it up alongside the highway one day. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

My entire method of making things revolves around trash...................I think even if I hadd all the money in the world necessary to buy whatever it is I needed for a project, I get more fun and enjoyment out of utilizing discarded items or scrounging for them. No I am not a tightwad by any means but "trash" makes the pocket money go a lot further. Visit my website:

expressed are those of my wifes, I had no input whatsoever. Remove "nospam" from email addy.

Best truckload of 13runs of 'trash' during our 'bulk pickup' last time was 2 snow blowers and a lawn tractor. Cleaned 3 carbs and now have a 6HP/22" sb,

8HP/32" Sb ( John deere) and a Sears LT/10 Lt minus the deck( needed new battery). I hate to gloat, but I FINALLY got some real good stuff! Also got a Hammond Tone Cabinet, mid 60's,solid state 60 watt amp/speaker box. A truly beautiful piece of woodwork, with great sound as well! Can't wait for September for the next runs! j

LOL, I feel the same way. Like someone else already pointed out, once I owned a lathe and a mill, every little scrap looks like stock inventory. I have a hard time driving by the industrial section of my little town, 'cause there is a metal shop there that throws away some good stuff that I've dragged home. After a while, you just gotta say, enough!

Lane

The truth of the matter is that a shop with a labor rate of $50/hr can't do what you and I do. The economics of it isn't there for any potential profit. If you tried to run a business doing what you are doing, you probably wouldn't be able to make a go of it either.

Lane

That's for sure. A long time ago mowers was my main business. Back when I started out my fixit shop I did a lot of mowers and managed to make a living as a bachelor. I still do mowers though it's definitely the low priority part of my business. The fact is about 3/4 of the time it's possible to make some money on a mower. The problem is that the other 25% cause such a loss that they eat into the profits of the good ones real fast.

It's even harder now days since the new mowers are definitely not built to be worked on. It takes way to much time to get the pretty plastic decoration pieces off and the carbs are built so cheap that they're getting hard to do anything with.

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

Thanks (I think) :-)

Actually I definitely don't take pictures of the vast majority of my junk. It's piled everywhere including two 8'x14' truck boxes, one store bought 8x10' shed, one 10'x30' shed (built by tearing down a old hay barn and reusing the pieces), a 8'x40' insulated reefer box (this was my electronics workroom but is more of a junk room now), and of course any nook and cranny of my 36' x 40' shop which was built from the remains of a old Chevron station building which was blown off it's skids while it was waiting to be moved.

Oh yea that doesn't include the piles which are in the other end of the mobile home which is tacked on the back of my house. This end is my office and the kitchen is here while the rest is just storage.

Then there's the piles along the cliff behind the house, the piles on the south side of the house, the piles along the north side of the shop, the piles in front of the shop, the..... well you get the idea. :-)

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

Well he was referred here by the local parts store. :-)

What do those symbols look like. I think I need to go chalks some more. :-)

Wayne Cook Shamrock, TX

Folks he's telling it truly. I've been there and seen it. :-) ...lew...

I'm with Roy on this one.

They like to charge 25 cents for a bolt, 75 cents for a washer, $1.50 for a half dozen nuts, etc. I've got BOXES of exotic hardware for free from disassembling things - and I use it constantly to build new stuff.

Built a small foundry almost entirely from old appliances, scrap, and other wastes.

I think it's a good idea to try to use only automotive aluminum for making castings, 356 pours like a dream, but some other alloys are rather nasty. And, a good steam cleaning or powerwash prior to melting would definately increase your yield and more sensible ion general.

You can get a ton of great electronic parts, motors, magnets from microwaves, you name it.

On 9 Jul 2004 12:58:38 -0700, jim rozen calmly ranted:

That sure beats a Lucas jones.

-------------------------------------------- -- I'm in touch with my Inner Curmudgeon. --

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"Wayne Cook" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

I had a small engine repair for five years here in North Dakota. About 1/2 the push mowers you see are throw away machines. I always got a kick out of people buying the $99 mower down the street, forgeting to put oil in it, or bending the crank, and then wanting me to fix it. Lets see, crankshaft $45, two hours labor at $26, (this was a few years back!), gaskets, oil, whatever, over $100 at any rate! Hell a new 3.5 HP engine from Briggs & Stratton was $159! Try to explain way a whole mower sells for less than just the engine! Once in a while I had people bring in higher quality machines with a bad engine that they wanted to repair and were willing to pay the price. Down the srteet I would go to the $99 lawn mower store and buy a mower, strip the engine off of it and install it on their mower. Even as a dealer I could not buy a engine that cheap. I did a ton of small engine repair for consrtuction companies. I was the only shop in town that would do LP gas powered small engine repair as it was so differant in the way the engines would run. It was good money as they would have me fix everything they brought in, no questions. Still on our 3-1/2 day long summers, it was inpossible for someone to run a small engine repair and make a living at it. Shops start up every year and a couple of years down the road they are gone. There is one shop in town that hass been around for maybe twenty years, but has changed ownership 5-6 times! I had someone try buy me out once, I told him to pay off my bills and I would hand him the keys! He would not bite! Greg

And this town would be...? :^) --Glenn Lyford

Need? No. Want? Yes. Willing to pay $85 or so to have

105lb. (48kg) of metal shipped to me from Ontario? No. Guess I don't want it that bad! :^) --Glenn Lyford