Old Man Roger
Well-known member
You never watched Mountain Men?
The repurposing thread
- Thread starter BMB
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PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
This blade weeeeeel Keeeeeeeel.
WoodsTruck
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- Jan 12, 2013
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Don't watch much tv. Assuming it is a tv show.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Alleged Reality TV.
willy3486
Well-known member
I cut them with a angle grinder with a cutoff wheel. I have a grinder holder that has a grinder mounted so I can cut down with it. I trimmed it up with the blank in a vise then ground and filed it to get the curves.
As far the Bevel I believe its what they call double bevel.
As far as cutting I guess they can use it for whatever they need cut that it would work. Maybe pizza, lettuce, and similar stuff. Both like to cook so I guess they will find uses for it.
GarageHobbyist
Well-known member
Figured I’d throw in the anvil bridge I beat out of a leaf spring over the weekend. Still needs its 3/4” post for the hardy welded on, and needs to be dressed.
alwaysFlOoReD
Well-known member
How would you use that?Figured I’d throw in the anvil bridge I beat out of a leaf spring over the weekend. Still needs its 3/4” post for the hardy welded on, and needs to be dressed.
GarageHobbyist
Well-known member
It’s useful for working on things that are close together.
As an example, If you wanted to make a fork for cooking/eating from one piece of steel, this would allow you to work on the tines much easier after you made the split.
I repurposed two old screwdrivers I didn't care for and made them into a single custom screwdriver. I filed the tip to fit things like the fasteners that secure the lower engine splash shield on my car. I also think it will work great for those plastic coin cell battery covers. The screwdriver leftovers I guess I could still repurpose somewhere else?
Wiz02
Well-known member
How do you remove the handle, heat?I repurposed two old screwdrivers I didn't care for and made them into a single custom screwdriver. I filed the tip to fit things like the fasteners that secure the lower engine splash shield on my car. I also think it will work great for those plastic coin cell battery covers. The screwdriver leftovers I guess I could still repurpose somewhere else?
Yep, I used my map gas torch (overkill but what I already have) to get the metal nice and warm. Similar process to install but not as much heat was needed. I used a drill bit to bore the hole in the handle just a size smaller than the replacement screwdriver blade.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
My job seems to consist largely of repurposing stuff for use around the brewery, pub and elsewhere. What some call "cheap" I call "frugal".
Here are a few odds and ends:
Since this thread started with a repurposed pressure-washer cart:
Karcher changed the shaft dia. of their pumps, so the motor went to a go-cart.
Soloflex weight bench, found at the dump, now a keg roller for cleaning the outsides of kegs.
Roof rack from a surplus warehouse shelf. Side rails are from a kitchen shelving unit, tool mounts are L-brackets from a retired conveyor guide system and coupling clamps for the pipes of a cyclone fence. The spare tire mount is all scrap from the brewery.
When you work at a brewery, you have access to lots of "dented kegs". Beer kegs are pressure vessels, so any damage that compromises that is reason to scrap them (yes, there are businesses that re-condition and recert dented kegs. The nearest to me is in south Texas.)
Keg projects:
That lives at the hilltop warming hut of our community-owned, volunteer-run podunk ski area (Ferguson Ridge). It's been in use for 15 years. One fill of small softwood will keep the cabin at 75F all day in 0F weather.
Every part of it is repurposed scrap/surplus.
Mailbox for the brewery and pub. Mailman loves it and the snowplow operators have even managed to miss it for 7 winters now!
Keg throne. This lives in the outhouse of a remote cabin in an undisclosed location.
Another kind of throne. Customers use it for selfies at the pub.
Flowerpots, sadly retired for the winter.
Coleman lantern from a 10L keg. This keg wasn't damaged but a sales sample. I talked the boss out it. 2 1/2 gallons of fuel with lots of headroom for pressure--it'll run for several days non-stop (IIRC, I ran it for 5 days once). Stand is the pedestal from a '70s Bose 901 speaker.
Here are a few odds and ends:
Since this thread started with a repurposed pressure-washer cart:
Karcher changed the shaft dia. of their pumps, so the motor went to a go-cart.
Soloflex weight bench, found at the dump, now a keg roller for cleaning the outsides of kegs.
Roof rack from a surplus warehouse shelf. Side rails are from a kitchen shelving unit, tool mounts are L-brackets from a retired conveyor guide system and coupling clamps for the pipes of a cyclone fence. The spare tire mount is all scrap from the brewery.
When you work at a brewery, you have access to lots of "dented kegs". Beer kegs are pressure vessels, so any damage that compromises that is reason to scrap them (yes, there are businesses that re-condition and recert dented kegs. The nearest to me is in south Texas.)
Keg projects:
That lives at the hilltop warming hut of our community-owned, volunteer-run podunk ski area (Ferguson Ridge). It's been in use for 15 years. One fill of small softwood will keep the cabin at 75F all day in 0F weather.
Every part of it is repurposed scrap/surplus.
Mailbox for the brewery and pub. Mailman loves it and the snowplow operators have even managed to miss it for 7 winters now!
Keg throne. This lives in the outhouse of a remote cabin in an undisclosed location.
Another kind of throne. Customers use it for selfies at the pub.
Flowerpots, sadly retired for the winter.
Coleman lantern from a 10L keg. This keg wasn't damaged but a sales sample. I talked the boss out it. 2 1/2 gallons of fuel with lots of headroom for pressure--it'll run for several days non-stop (IIRC, I ran it for 5 days once). Stand is the pedestal from a '70s Bose 901 speaker.
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mv213
Well-known member
@Beerhippie You make the coolest stuff—-always enjoy seeing your projects.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
Here's another kind of "repurposing", using a tool for something other than what it was designed for, but works very well at.
Ever flatten the back of a hand-plane iron? It's tedious, to say the least, and due to the thinness of the iron, it's difficult to hang onto in the process.
Enter the magnetic base from a Ram mount system:
It may as well have been designed for this!
Ever flatten the back of a hand-plane iron? It's tedious, to say the least, and due to the thinness of the iron, it's difficult to hang onto in the process.
Enter the magnetic base from a Ram mount system:
It may as well have been designed for this!
atch
Well-known member
I believe that I stole this idea from the GJ and possibly from this thread. I have several benches in my shop scattered around. I keep my tools in the three roll around tool box stacks near the main bench. I got tired of walking all the way across the shop to get a wrench when needed. So I took this old rake, sand blasted it, painted it (rattle can Rustoleum) and hung it over a bench that I use quite a lot. I'll still have to go get a lot of tools, but for many things just a simple combination box/open end wrench will suffice to get the job done without the hassle of a tool run.
b-t-w; I have many duplicate tools. Every one of the wrenches on this rack have several more of the same thing in a tool drawer. I just noticed that the 11/16 is a 6-point box end. I'll switch it out for a 12-point next time I go to the shop. I should have taken a better pic. The rake goes about 6" higher and there is another screw up there.
b-t-w; I have many duplicate tools. Every one of the wrenches on this rack have several more of the same thing in a tool drawer. I just noticed that the 11/16 is a 6-point box end. I'll switch it out for a 12-point next time I go to the shop. I should have taken a better pic. The rake goes about 6" higher and there is another screw up there.
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Beerhippie
Well-known member
Here's what the medical profession would call "off-label-use". It's using a tool for what it's meant to do, but in a different way.
Now that the back of my plane iron is flat and polished, I need to sharpen it. This iron is about 1/16" out-of-square, so a fair amount of very hard tool steel to remove to get back to a straight edge at 90* to the iron. The coarsest flat diamond stone I own is about 300 grit, which would take a week of Mondays to remove that much stock. But I have 50/80 (and right on up to 2,200) grit diamond paddles for my Wicked Edge sharpening system! What I don't have is the $200 chisel/plane iron sharpening attachment--nor am I likely to buy one anytime soon.
But I do have one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BZGHZ79R/?tag=atomicindus08-20
How can I use my WE paddles--too narrow to run the way it's designed to--with it?
Yep that works damned well!
But I gotta be more careful watching tool videos on YT while sharpening:
The honing guide held upside-down in a vise works just fine for flat-filing, too! Except for the part where a Stanley plane iron is harder than the file....
Now that the back of my plane iron is flat and polished, I need to sharpen it. This iron is about 1/16" out-of-square, so a fair amount of very hard tool steel to remove to get back to a straight edge at 90* to the iron. The coarsest flat diamond stone I own is about 300 grit, which would take a week of Mondays to remove that much stock. But I have 50/80 (and right on up to 2,200) grit diamond paddles for my Wicked Edge sharpening system! What I don't have is the $200 chisel/plane iron sharpening attachment--nor am I likely to buy one anytime soon.
But I do have one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BZGHZ79R/?tag=atomicindus08-20
How can I use my WE paddles--too narrow to run the way it's designed to--with it?
Yep that works damned well!
But I gotta be more careful watching tool videos on YT while sharpening:
The honing guide held upside-down in a vise works just fine for flat-filing, too! Except for the part where a Stanley plane iron is harder than the file....
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cabranch47
Well-known member
Are those kegs aluminum or steel?
Beerhippie
Well-known member
Beer kegs are 304L and/or 316L stainless steel. Some firkins were once made from aluminum, but not standard Sanke kegs. Since most chemicals used for keg cleaning are caustic, aluminum wouldn't last long (nor would it make a good woodstove).
Beerhippie
Well-known member
Here's another one, using only some parts from dented kegs, just to show that I'm not limited to booger-welding:
The bike doesn't have a flat. It's just really hot out and it has sunk into the heat-softened concrete.
The SS parts are the stems and valves from beer kegs. These are consumables, being replaced every five years or so. We'd just gone through a replacement cycle, so had hundreds of them in the scrap dumpster.
The wood is all salvage from the shipping crate of a new piece of equipment.
The bike doesn't have a flat. It's just really hot out and it has sunk into the heat-softened concrete.
The SS parts are the stems and valves from beer kegs. These are consumables, being replaced every five years or so. We'd just gone through a replacement cycle, so had hundreds of them in the scrap dumpster.
The wood is all salvage from the shipping crate of a new piece of equipment.
fartymarty
Well-known member
Ha!, nice try.
You make much better bike racks than you do jokes.
Really nice work!!!
(on the racks , not the joke 
)
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Beerhippie
Well-known member
Aw. hell, I made two of them and if you look closely, you'll see two versions in the pictures.Ha!, nice try.
You make much better bike racks than you do jokes.
Really nice work!!!
fartymarty
Well-known member
Right you are, I'll fix it.
Ha!, nice try.
You make much better bike racks than you do jokes.
Really nice work!!!
What stops someone from taking the entire rack?
Beerhippie
Well-known member
Beerhippie
Well-known member
Seriously, "paranoid" around here is taking the keys out of the ignition. Not necessarily out of the rig, 'though--that would be really paranoid.
The only folks who would be prone to stealing stuff around here are the tourists--and it'll be hard to walk off with a full bike rack when we're open.
If you're really worried about someone stealing your $15K carbon-frame wonder while you sit ten feet away, chain it to your ankle.
Haha, fair enough. I guess I am hyper paranoid due to where I live.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
Beerhippie
Well-known member
South Florida? Likely the entire neighborhood is gone!
slowtwitch73
Well-known member
I have seen this tip through the years but never tried it.. making a parting tool out of old wood saw blades. They are brazed carbide after all with good geometry.. works excellent... highly recommend for any parting or grooving. I was using water for cooling and it didn't even steam it parting steel.
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Beerhippie
Well-known member
Spare tire mount for the roof rack, built from scrap:
An obsolete brewery fitting (2" TC cap w/3/4" hole bored), 3/4" SS nut for a spacer, a left-over piece of 5/8" SS all-thread from anchoring fermenters to the floor (too short to use), ****-grade combination wrench cut in half and welded to an SS 5/8" nut. It's all filthy right now as my spare tire cover blew up and I've driven some dirt roads since then. I'll clean it all up nicely before installing the new cover--whenever it gets here.
The 5/8" all-thread is anchored to the center supporting rail of the old warehouse shelf.
An obsolete brewery fitting (2" TC cap w/3/4" hole bored), 3/4" SS nut for a spacer, a left-over piece of 5/8" SS all-thread from anchoring fermenters to the floor (too short to use), ****-grade combination wrench cut in half and welded to an SS 5/8" nut. It's all filthy right now as my spare tire cover blew up and I've driven some dirt roads since then. I'll clean it all up nicely before installing the new cover--whenever it gets here.
The 5/8" all-thread is anchored to the center supporting rail of the old warehouse shelf.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
Pictures?
How much vacuum can a keg take? Our fermenters have 1/2 Bar vacuum-relief safety valves to prevent collapse.
No pictures, still have it, I’ll get a couple. Been a while, I want to say we were pulling 10^-8torr, but I’ll double check that. Was used on a particle accelerator. So roughing and turbo pumps on it.
We built a new nuclear fusion chamber at ASU, out of a beer keg! https://t.co/sgxV6MGVyk
Beerhippie
Well-known member
Since nuclear fusion is still thirty years (or is it twenty now?) in the future, that should be perfectly safe.
My boss has forbidden me from conducting any nuclear experiments in the brewery shop.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
Here's a less-muddy view of the tire mount parts:
The Tri-Clamp cap has a nice chamfer that seats into the center hole of the rim. I added the 3/4" nut spacer just for better clearance of the wrench handle. If I ever need to go to the Big City, I'll drill a hole through the end of the all-thread for a lock--as if anyone needs to steal a steel rim for a '93 Toyota Corolla.
Looks like it's time for fresh rubber next summer....
The Tri-Clamp cap has a nice chamfer that seats into the center hole of the rim. I added the 3/4" nut spacer just for better clearance of the wrench handle. If I ever need to go to the Big City, I'll drill a hole through the end of the all-thread for a lock--as if anyone needs to steal a steel rim for a '93 Toyota Corolla.
Looks like it's time for fresh rubber next summer....
Fusion happens all the time! The getting over net or unity is the difficult bit.Since nuclear fusion is still thirty years (or is it twenty now?) in the future, that should be perfectly safe.
My boss has forbidden me from conducting any nuclear experiments in the brewery shop.
Actually just got off the phone with the manager at our local brewery as we were looking for a place with steel grate stairs to test out a Boston dynamics spot dog.
Beerhippie
Well-known member
I should have said that the boss forbid any further nuclear experiments after my ale-mediated cold-fusion experiment went horribly wrong....Since nuclear fusion is still thirty years (or is it twenty now?) in the future, that should be perfectly safe.
My boss has forbidden me from conducting any nuclear experiments in the brewery shop.