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The repurposing thread

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iagsxr

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Vinton, Iowa
The incandescent light base is very heavy, not sure from where, perhaps medical. The top is an old desk lamp.
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Pinto! A buddy had one in high school, super fun car.

Somewhere I still have the Hot Rod magazine that had a silver Pinto in it with a single turbo 2.3. IIRC it ran mid-10s. I always wanted to replicate that car.
 

captain14

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Near College Park Maryland 20740
The incandescent light base is very heavy, not sure from where, perhaps medical. The top is an old desk lamp.
I was at one of my doctors offices on Monday and I saw a similiar lamp base by the dumpster. I thought about it, but I have enough projects for a while to finish first.
 

Beerhippie

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FB_IMG_1764891205108.jpgFrom a generation greater than mine, over 50 years old. An air compressor passed down to me through my family made of an AC motor, tank, a well pump pressure switch, some old copper, and a 1973 ford air conditioning compressor. When men build things instead of ordering them off Amazon. What have we become.
An old buddy of mine ran an on-road repair van. It was a Bay-window VW. He repurposed the AC comp as an air compressor. Everyone told him it would blow up in no time due to lack of lubrication. He ran it for years.
 

FullRaceMerc

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Minor repurposing here. This is my wood touch up kit. Almond stick & stain markers center left. Wax sticks center right. Stain & glue brushes center center. Assorted stains around the perimeter.

The repurposed tuna cans sitting in front fit in a bin. Used to hold glue for brush application. The used denim & shirt sleeve scraps are for building friction & heat working in, blending, & cleaning up the wax stick filler.

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PugetDude

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Superstition Mountains, AZ
Minor repurposing here. This is my wood touch up kit. Almond stick & stain markers center left. Wax sticks center right. Stain & glue brushes center center. Assorted stains around the perimeter.

The repurposed tuna cans sitting in front fit in a bin. Used to hold glue for brush application. The used denim & shirt sleeve scraps are for building friction & heat working in, blending, & cleaning up the wax stick filler.

20251204_081503.jpg
That kit brings back memories. I worked in the repair shop at a major furniture retailer during the summer of 1979 when I was in college. Did a lot of burn-in wax repairs, faux grain painting, and sprayed quite a few cans of toner and lacquer leveler.
 

05wrangler

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West of Indianapolis
An old buddy of mine ran an on-road repair van. It was a Bay-window VW. He repurposed the AC comp as an air compressor. Everyone told him it would blow up in no time due to lack of lubrication. He ran it for years.
Thats awesome. Im not saying this is the best or safest, but it has served 4 house holds and held strong. The weak point actually was the well pump switch. With the vibration and high current it needs replaced once in a blue moon. One thing is for sure though, its not dry air lol.
 

ObnoxiousFumes

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Southwest Sask
Everyone told him it would blow up in no time due to lack of lubrication. He ran it for years.
Then he must have greased it or made an oiler system. Lol.
Lots of guys do this in the crawler and overland communities, and I have one I’ll add to the old Ram eventually, but unless you have a York with a built-in oil sump you have to run grease or an oil recirculating system or they will burn up in short order.
 

joecon

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Oct 4, 2010
Messages
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Some of the Sanden compressors have a sump, they are newer than the Yorks and Tecumseh, and cheaper. They are available rebuilt also.
 

FullRaceMerc

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That kit brings back memories. I worked in the repair shop at a major furniture retailer during the summer of 1979 when I was in college. Did a lot of burn-in wax repairs, faux grain painting, and sprayed quite a few cans of toner and lacquer leveler.
We've got the burn-in laquer sticks at work too. Good product depending on the situation. This is the 3rd job where I've been the touch up guy. The 1st was right behind you in 1980. Not usually required at the current job, but every once in awhile it comes up on some old furniture. Most often used now as I'm reclaiming old furniture to use at our retirement place.

I worked at a laminate shop from 88-98. I learned there that as the burn-in repair cooled, tapping my fingerprints criss cross into it would match the texture of nevamar laminate. It was an important skill that likely will never be used again. 🥴



And back to the original intent of this thread, more repurposing. My wife has many sewing machines. Some vintage, some modern. My running joke is that for every 2 sewing machines I get another Bronco. I'm due more Broncos at this point. I've used 2 cabinet sewing machines as nightstands in this bedroom at the retirement place.
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And another as an end table in the living room.
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That black rocking chair is from my grandparents cabin. It was in my great grandparents home before that. I loved rocking in it as a kid. Now my grandaughter rocks in it.

I found it in pieces with a torn seat in my dad's garage when he passed. I put it back together, found a replacement faux leather seat, cut that to shape using the remnants of the original as a pattern.
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For starting the tacks for the seat I used an old technique. A loop of string fed thru a straw. Tack thru one end of the loop, little finger thru the other. Slide the straw toward the tack, no smashed fingers.
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I left the chair finish as is. The seat is actually a second that wasn't supposed to take stain properly. With the ebony stain I like how it looks with the worn finish of the chair.
 
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Bob Peach

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I have the same lathe. My wife bought it for me as a Christmas present in 1974. She brought it home in our VW bug and somehow managed to get it the house, All hundred pounds of her. One of my favorite possessions! 2x6s compliments of our old cabin, resulting in my lathe bench. Had the screws (about 200 of them), stain, poly urethane, PVC brick IMG_3545.jpegdragged into the houseld. Needed to buy extra glue and the four caster wheels.
 

joecon

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One of the sandins is napa part #Part #: TEM 967088, I think that is the one. this is one of the tecumseh Part #: TWD MEI5269.
 

Oregon rock crusher

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I picked up this cast iron table that came with a perfect circle Piston Nurlizer several years ago from a junk yard just for the legs. I never have had the need to knurl piston skirts and don't expect I ever will. Yesterday I had a little time so I cleared the top of what was left of the Nurlizer parts and topped it with a sheet of 1/4" plate. Had to shim a bit to get good contact but mostly used the existing threaded holes to secure the top.

I considered adding wheels but decided for now to just move it with a hand truck. Not super easy to move this way but in the words of Debbie from Dallas fame....it's doable. It will probably stay outside the shop on the deck anyway for use when weather allows. We do get a hole in the clouds every now and then. A few pics including one of a different Nurlizer in use. Ed.
 

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mikeinri

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@Oregon rock crusher:

That's very cool, and an interesting rigging setup with the strap and hand truck, I'll need to remember that!

Please tell me you left that name plate on the base! Any idea how old it was?

Mike
 

Oregon rock crusher

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@Oregon rock crusher:

That's very cool, and an interesting rigging setup with the strap and hand truck, I'll need to remember that!

Please tell me you left that name plate on the base! Any idea how old it was?

Mike
Thanks Mike. The tag does get to stay with the table but it would aIso look pretty good on a plaque with an ovesize black pen... I am not sure on the age but likely from the 50's. I think a lot of the engines that would have benefitted from piston skirt knurling were much earlier.
Yes; and also put a pic of Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith on it.
Tommy's Neuralyzer worked a little differently than this one. I'm pretty sure they had the Ramco version in the arsenal as well that had been confiscated from the early aliens....but that was used much differently. :)
 

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Jgaz

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AZ
While helping a good friend move about 18 months ago I found out that he was scrapping a large, well made, corner desk. The desk was made from a good grade of plywood and some solid wood with an industrial finish of the visible surfaces.

I tore it apart and stored many pieces of plywood, drawer boxes, etc.
Today I finished the third woodworking jig or fixture that I’ve made in the last 12 months using this plywood.

A family picture.
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Jgaz

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Nicely done! I try to save materials like that to use on future projects.
Yes! I hate waste but have to balance that feeling with limited storage space and the need to keep things organized.
Having this material gives me the freedom to make random changes “on the fly” that I might not make if I were using an expensive plywood like Baltic Birch.
 

willy3486

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Jan 14, 2010
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Middle Tennessee
About 35 years ago I was at a scrap yard and I saw a busted shopping cart. The basket had been hit but the wheel and frame were fine. I thought it would make a great rolling chair so I got it. I cut all the basket off and made a wood deck to be able to sit on. I had been needing it in my workshop so I dug it out of a shed I had it stored in today. I took a couple of pictures so if anyone wanted to make one. No real measurements needed but bolt a board on each side and put other boards on top for a place to sit. I may redo it and paint the frame. If I do I will make a box for the bottom to lay stuff in it.

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How the underside looks. Its really dirty due to being stored. You can see how the boards were bolted on and holes were drilled on the cart frame to allow the bolts to hold the board to it.


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dscheidt

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How the underside looks. Its really dirty due to being stored. You can see how the boards were bolted on and holes were drilled on the cart frame to allow the bolts to hold the board to it.


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Paint will go a long way in making it look better, and making it easier to clean in the future.,
 

willy3486

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Paint will go a long way in making it look better, and making it easier to clean in the future.,
Yes it would. But for now it rolls good, the wood top you can sit on it fine. So for now I will leave it as I have so many projects. I am making a couple of wood glider chairs out of pecan I need to finish. Then I have to finish up a bandsaw mill I made so I can saw some cedar logs in the spring. I mainly posted it in case someone had a old cart and wondered what to do with it.
 

Copymutt

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Sep 3, 2016
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Colorado
Making custom rivets for the 57 truck windows. A fair amount of my time is spent at the bench grinder wire wheeling bits & bobs. Gets downright tricky for small screws, bolts etc. A paint can opener was laying on the bench & screaming at me “use me, use me”. So I did.🤪IMG_3062.jpeg
 

Beerhippie

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Oct 13, 2023
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Far NE Oregon
I'm making another roof rack basket from warehouse and kitchen shelving parts.

I made one a few years ago for my Toy:

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Now I need one for my Brick:

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Since the rack system is twice as long, the basket will be, too.

The basics are shelf units for warehouse pallet racks and side rails for kitchen Euro racks--both of which are surplus from the boneyard at work.

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I'll join two of those together.

Some cutting,

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some drilling,

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some fitting and more drilling,

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some welding,

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some more cutting,

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some painting,

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and the front half is done. I'm waiting for two more of the shelf rails to come in--I ran out of them from the boneyard--for the back half. Then make a fire tool holder like the one on the Toy.

I'm making it in two pieces as they'll be much easier to install/remove than one 8' long basket.
 
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