The repurposing thread

[kbs2244]

The muffler clamp is neat.
But the rack it is bolted to is neater.

 

[-Brent-]

The muffler clamp is neat.
But the rack it is bolted to is neater.

Thanks! I appreciate that.

 

[stage20]

i added a u-bolt from a muffler clamp for a hammer loop. Here is what it looks like now, pretty much.

genius!

 

[E.rodz]

for those who don't really know me would never know how big of a recycler and repurpose guy I am. I scored a bunch of aluminum tube from Rad Rides By Troy there trailer that was at carcraft nationals and a huge storm rolled through and bent up there awning and it would not fit in there trailer. also a conveyor was getting scrapped out at work so I brought that home too and recently decided to build a structure on my newly acquired lathe and this is what I came up with. all the plexiglass is recycled as well and the alum sheet stock was as well! sometimes it pays to be a packrat!

 

[NASTYZEN]

Wow! That looks fantastic Rods!
But I must say, that is no way to operate a lathe. How can you possibly make out the markings on the hand wheel from so far away??

 

[ilovevocs]

^Lol. That's the lathe supervisors seat

 

[Qrazy]

Repurposed an old CD/DVD bulk container to hold my hole saws.

 

[jimgood]

Repurposed an old CD/DVD bulk container to hold my hole saws.

Hah! Genius!

 

[rmalkow2]

Repurposed an old CD/DVD bulk container to hold my hole saws.

See, I knew I was keeping some of those CD containers for some good reason. Great idea and will have to steal that one.

 

[mmouse]

Bowling alley lane projects.
Pub table:




Work Bench:

 

[Chief919]

Can't afford a name brand box so figured I would repurpose a flat file cabinet. Found it for a good deal locally and its almost in mint condition. Rails are ball bearing and glide so smooth!

Drawers are 43X32X2, so roughly 41,000 cubic inches of storage. I have another box for bigger things that need deeper drawers.

Bought a roll of outdoor carpet and made liners and have plenty left over for when these get worn.

Yes I know, too many dup drivers. I will be giving a few away soon, but these are the ones I got from a garage sale with a massive craftsman kit for $35. All new USA.

Sorry for the crappy pics!

Man I have been passing those by on municipal sales because I didn't see any good use- thanks for the idea!!

 

[WoodsTruck]

Love this thread.

I had to siphon the last 1/4 tank of fuel out of my sled when I took it out of summer storage. The ball valve in the bottom of the siphon hose works better when there is a deeper pool of fuel to draft from. Once the receptive tank has enough fuel to cover the end of the hose output then it can start drafting pretty well. Anyway, I used a worn out saws-all blade, ground off teeth, bent in middle down length of blade and put 2 notches on either side to hold the zip-ties. Smoothed it up and tied it to the siphon hose. Plugged in the saw and primed the hose in about 10 seconds. I'll likely just leave the blade on the hose for next time.

 

[kbs2244]

My trick for starting a siphon is to get the hose all set up and then use a rag to seal off the open filling hole.
A quick squirt of compressed air through the rag will compress the tank and get it started.
Be careful!!
It is easy t over do it and have gas spraying all over.

 

[laydoubtFab]

That sawzall fuel primer scares me. You are basically holding the saw over the opening of the fuel tank you are siphoning if I understand correctly. The sawzall has a spark inside when it is running. The spark mixed with the vapor rising up out of the fuel filler hole could ignite and cause an explosion.

Good thinking outside the box. The reward doesn't justify the risk though imo.

 

[sberry]

I like the lathe canopy from alum, that is nice. I have a short cut version with a couple pc conduit and a fixture,,, ha. The bowling stuff is first rate, that cab is too. I found that computer thingy to the left not too long ago and was ideal to replace a collection that was there for a decade. The screws were all loose, I tight it up and add a couple self drillers to a brace maybe and its dandy. Didn't have to paint or refinish anything.

 

[motophile]

Here is a steering wheel i made from a seventies trans am wheel.

 

[bubinga]

Here is a steering wheel i made from a seventies trans am wheel.

Sweet!!
You made it on a lathe I take it?
Very resourceful too!!

 

[motophile]

i used a cnc mill.so yeah i cheated a bit. i could have bought one a lot cheaper verses my hours invested.

 

[jackson1701]

Here are a couple of things I made for work with repurposed parts.

The desk started life as a shipping frame to hold a machine part to the pallet. A few cuts, a few welds, and a few cans of red paint and the frame was complete. I used two sections of trailer flooring for the wood top.

View media item 65835
The table was built with two scrap pieces of trailer flooring, a base for a trailer air bag, and the wheel for a trailer to hold it down.

View media item 65836

 

[bubinga]

i used a cnc mill.so yeah i cheated a bit. i could have bought one a lot cheaper verses my hours invested.

ain't nothing wrong with using a CnC You programed it, Right?
That takes craftsmanship and skill.
Good job.

 

[pancho400cid]

Here is a steering wheel i made from a seventies trans am wheel.

As a Trans Am fan I should protest.... and I'll point out that those are technically called "Formula Steering Wheels" even though they were standard in Trans Ams...

But that is some BEAUTIFUL work! Awesome!

 

[motophile]

Thanks you guys!,Poncho, My first nice car after high school was a 74 formula400, you know the one with the fiberglass hood with two scoops out to the nose, and said ram air. Fun car!

 

[lakeroadster]

Made some gravel skids for my snowthrower out of some tubing I recycled from a satellite dish...

 

[motophile]

Neat idea for the skids, ***** when spring rolls around and finding all your gravel is now in your yard. i modified my snow blower with a power window motor to rotate the chute, i have seen it done on here some where on an orange one,[simlicity] ?

 

[lakeroadster]

Neat idea for the skids, ***** when spring rolls around and finding all your gravel is now in your yard. i modified my snow blower with a power window motor to rotate the shute, i have seen it done on here some where on an orange one,[simlicity] ?

An old Cub Cadet! I spent many hours as a youngster cutting grass and pushing snow with one of those.

 

[Duct Tape Man]

4- SmartReloader #10 22LR/25ACP ammo boxes (Qty5 for $15 shipped on Ebay) repurposed as 1/4" hex bit organizers. I love these. Longer bits will stand pretty straight up and down, but the bits also fit loosely so there is no resistance when you want to take them in and out. I took the lids off of my cases for more permanent storage, but you can also keep the lids on and use them as handy portable organizers if you only fill them with 1" long hex bits. If you keep the lids on they have actual hinges as well, not the kinked plastic hinges that usually split within a few uses.

This. You just gave me a great idea for organizing my bits, getting tired of sorting through the box looking for the right one every time I need a weird Torx bit or something like that...

 

[vettex2]

so many great ideas!!
it's too bad so many of the pics are gone

 

[kbs2244]

This is one I did years ago.
Before I had a D camera so no build PIC's
Not that it would be needed.
It is pretty simple.

A little background.
A lot of my surfing is international news.
I like to see how the locations relate to each other, so I use a globe.
But desk space is limited.
So I built this.

It is my duel axis globe on top of a garage sale brass lamp stand.
It sits on the floor next to my chair.

It took a piece of 1/8th inch threaded pipe and some hardware store lamp nuts.

 

[E.rodz]

Wow! That looks fantastic Rods!
But I must say, that is no way to operate a lathe. How can you possibly make out the markings on the hand wheel from so far away??

lol.no one told me how to drive it I just thought I could figure it out by myself.

 

[sberry]

Nice job on the skids, fast and simple.

 

[Jolomite]

Here's a modest addition to the thread. I bought this KD brake spoon at the flea market. It's had nearly chisel sharp edges ground on it and likely been bent for a particular purpose. This spoon has been the handiest pry bar for a few projects. slim enough to get under almost anything and strong enough to get the job done.

 

[matta5]

Nice organization!

 

[Ruthless53]

My dad lives on some acreage and needed a good portable hose real for dragging around behind his mule for multiple purposes. i found a cox reel 250 on Amazon warehouse for $100 bucks. Had a garden cart I got on clearance at tractor supply two years ago. Put some run flat goop in the tires and built some stabilizers for when he's got the hose stretched way out. For his purposes the longer the hose the better. Should be able to get of 4-500 ft of 3/4 inch hose on it. Put 200 on it and it's under half full. With stab jacks, cart, and reel total I spent $175 bucks. New the reel alone usually sells for $300+. I've got some descent hose reels but none this quality. It's smooth as butter turning that thing around. I'll be searching for more deals on Cox for sure!!




After the holidays I'm going to do a littler modification on the stabilizers so they fold up. I had to finish quickly to beat his birthday so I didn't get my normal 4-5 time cycle to do it, get a better idea, re-do it, get a better idea, etc....

 

[nine4gmc]

Here is a steering wheel i made from a seventies trans am wheel.

That should be in the awesome thread!

 

[lakeroadster]

A simple piece of old garden hose, slipped over a ratchet extension.

You can grip the hose, yet still turn the ratchet.

Think budget speed ratchet.

 

[Capt Chrysler]

A simple piece of old garden hose, slipped over a ratchet extension.

You can grip the hose, yet still turn the ratchet.

Think budget speed ratchet.

Nice idea. S-O or MAC used to sell something like that back in the 80's. I guess may hands always had enough "stuff" on them that sticking wasn't a problem.

Capt. Chrysler

 

[stage20]

gear puller modified with unistrut. this opens up more ideas for me later.

 

[bluebolt]

Love that gear puller idea stage20!

 

[taumac]

A simple piece of old garden hose, slipped over a ratchet extension.



You can grip the hose, yet still turn the ratchet.



Think budget speed ratchet.

Nice idea.

 

[johndeereman]

Both the garden hose idea and the extra long puller with unistrut are genius. I am definitely stealing both.