Today I acquired...........

[julianf]

One of my favourites -

Years and years back, i was walking to the pub. This particular pub happened to be next to an old fashioned scrap merchants.

On the way to the pub, i walked past a skip. Now im sure folk here are familiar with the way your eyes get drawn to skips? My girlfriend clocks me doing it - she calls it "skip eyes"!

Anyhow, a few bits of copper pipe (this was before scrap was as known as it seems to be now) - that was the drinks paid for.



I remember it not because it was high value, or even an impressive find, but simply as it was so perfect - the pub was next to the yard, i was going to the pub, and the skip was on my way.

 

[Jan]

Last week I was perusing in Cash Generators and spied a cordless 2-speed (variable) reversible hammer drill/screwdriver. It came with the original case, charger, charger base and 2 batteries. In a second case there was around 30 driver bits in various forms plus a magnetic extension.

£12.50! Couldn't leave it.

 

[Wendelspanswick]

One of my favourites -

Years and years back, i was walking to the pub. This particular pub happened to be next to an old fashioned scrap merchants.

On the way to the pub, i walked past a skip. Now im sure folk here are familiar with the way your eyes get drawn to skips? My girlfriend clocks me doing it - she calls it "skip eyes"!

Anyhow, a few bits of copper pipe (this was before scrap was as known as it seems to be now) - that was the drinks paid for.



I remember it not because it was high value, or even an impressive find, but simply as it was so perfect - the pub was next to the yard, i was going to the pub, and the skip was on my way.

Reminds me of when I collected my 15 year old daughter from St Johns and on the way back I spotted a cast iron fireplace on top of a skip in the busy High Street, I stopped the van next to the skip and got my daughter, much to her disgust, to help me retrieve it into the van.
"You are such a tramp" said my daughter to which I replied "Well that makes you the daughter of a tramp!".
I made up a new set of grate bars, cleaned it up and ended up selling it to a customer of mine for a fair chunk of cash.
My daughter wasn't so reluctant when I split the proceeds of the sale with her.

 

[owas]

Was a while ago now, but a steel yard (massive one) was only a 2 min walk from my house .. just as I started learning how to weld ect so i went in for a few bits to practice/build things with.
Came out with 70 new 3 and 4 meter lengths of 75x3mm/70x5mm/80x4mm box for 200 quid ..

 

[Kayos]

Today I aquired a new adult trainee..............

Not quite as bad as the last one but he may not survive long anyway

 

[Jan]

If things seem to wander off when he's around try a little trick the mechanics use. Just before dinner break and you retire to a more comfortable location put a few coins or a small tool or two on a steel topped workbench while he's distracted by something else. Then heat them up to just less than required for them to start to glow (or melt depending on alloy) and then stroll away.

You'll soon know if he's light fingered

 

[Kayos]

They are just hopeless, people who want to change career at 45 should pick one that isn't mine

 

[monkeymark]

They are just hopeless, people who want to change career at 45 should pick one that isn't mine

It depends on there reasons I guess. Personally I can't fault someone changing career, at any age, if its to provide a better life/lifestyle for their family.

 

[Kayos]

It depends on there reasons I guess. Personally I can't fault someone changing career, at any age, if its to provide a better life/lifestyle for their family.

Admittedly I may seem a little harsh but I guess it's specific to my job, someone who was a mental health nurse who goes on a 16 week learn to be a gas man course may on paper be able to do the job, the reality is they just can't, and I can only do so much in a few weeks to get them up to speed, some make it, some dont

 

[The Devils Reject]

They are just hopeless, people who want to change career at 45 should pick one that isn't mine

Is that because they know it all and don't want to learn? I'm fast approaching that age and am desperate to change 'career' as I'm in a soul destroying job, which doesn't involve getting mucky or doing anything physical but does pay the mortgage.

 

[mr migwire]

today i got a rail of 3/8 drive metric sockets 8 - 18mm, seigen brand, £5.00 think thats ok....

 

[CRB]

Nothing like this ever happens to me......apart from wanting to change my job........I am only 52.

I got asked today by the 'Boy', ?When are you going to start wearing trousers?


'When I grow up'

Before you all start, I was in my shorts and TShirt getting ready to clock out.

 

[julianf]

Just last weekend, i was going through a box of sockets that i pulled out of a skip -

I went to pick up a large (but slightly damaged) vice seen on freecycle, and, when i was there, skip eyes spotted shiny stuff.

The lady said "I put the vice on freecycle, but did not think anyone would want those"

The vintage (1920-1946) snap on that i was able to liberate included -

sw-360 1 1/8
sw-340 1 1/16
dh-260 13/16
dh-240 3/4
dh-160 1/2
s-180 9/16

71-10 ratchet

There was also a load of blackhawk sockets and bars, some tipco, some williams, and, i think, a single king dick socket.


In truth ill probably sell the vintage (imperial) stuff, and buy some quality modern metric with the proceeds.

(the vice was freecycle, and wont be sold, but i figure the skip stuff is fair game)

 

[julianf]

On another, related, theme -

Its cold outside tonight. Our house is right toasty though. I just had to run the bath to stop the 300ltr hot water tank boiling.


This is all from a mix of waste sawdust (given to me by a local yard) and glycerol, which is a by-product of biodiesel production.
So its all 100% free, and close to carbon neutral. Approved by the EA, and yes, the Hag next door was sure to send them over to check...


Even my dinner was cooked on the Rayburn (mentioned previously in this thread) using the above fuel : )


The glycerol itself is the molecule split off from the triglyceride when it undergoes transesterification to a methyl-ester. In laymans terms, its the bit left over when you meddle with the cooking oil.

The other part, the methylester, goes in the car, but can also run our central heating boiler (not that ive even bothered to connect it up since fitting the rayburn).


The feedstock is somtimes free, but sometimes i have to pay for it. Either way, though, i think we get more than our monies worth!



The sad thing is, however, that, even with all this scratching about, we're still no richer. I guess, however, we must be avoiding being poorer though!

 

[Wedg1e]

The sad thing is, however, that, even with all this scratching about, we're still no richer. I guess, however, we must be avoiding being poorer though!

Without getting political, even though the date 1997 and the words 'new' and 'labour' are strangely relevant... I have all my pay slips going back 21 years with this company and a couple of years back I drew up an Excel spreadsheet that showed I had (in percentage terms) more disposable income when I earned half as much... roughly about 1997

 

[Wedg1e]

They are just hopeless, people who want to change career at 45 should pick one that isn't mine

I'm nearly 51 and I'd change career (well, job) in a heartbeat if I could find something that was less hassle for more money
Everything I see similar to my current job is at least as much hassle, as least as many hours and/ or shift work, which I haven't done in 30 years and am not about to start now.
One of the drawbacks of working for a small (effectively, family run) firm is that there's no ladder to climb: it's the boss at the top, and everyone else down below.

 

[Jan]

Just last weekend, i was going through a box of sockets that i pulled out of a skip -

I went to pick up a large (but slightly damaged) vice seen on freecycle, and, when i was there, skip eyes spotted shiny stuff.

The lady said "I put the vice on freecycle, but did not think anyone would want those"

The vintage (1920-1946) snap on that i was able to liberate included -

sw-360 1 1/8
sw-340 1 1/16
dh-260 13/16
dh-240 3/4
dh-160 1/2
s-180 9/16

71-10 ratchet

There was also a load of blackhawk sockets and bars, some tipco, some williams, and, i think, a single king dick socket.


In truth ill probably sell the vintage (imperial) stuff, and buy some quality modern metric with the proceeds.

(the vice was freecycle, and wont be sold, but i figure the skip stuff is fair game)

I wish I could get some Imperial sized tools for nowt! I have to buy all mine. Usually I can get them fairly cheap by purchasing used ones, but if they are well worn they can be a nightmare to use. Still ... you can only get what's around and use it cautiously.

 

[optima21]

I acquired a couple of vaccum pump out of a works skip a fair few years ago, when I mentioned in passing to someone that I needed to degas some silicone rubber I was moulding, turns out they had just bought a new pump for the laboratory and had skipped the old ones......one was given to a local school and the other has been in my attic since, ohh and its time it went to a new home of the council waste site at the end of the road

http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/vaccum-pump.50519/

 

[roofman]

Today at one of my regular haunts for a good root when ime rained off work i find an inch drive torqe wrench...5ft long. £1.00 scrap price and its in my truck all tucked up.Just hope i can get it to calibrate up or its going to be welded up and turned into a breaker bar.

 

[Jan]

I know that anyone can just walk into Aldi and walk out with one for £20, but I've just bought one of their sack trucks. So what? Well ...

... for several years my work involved wheeling a sack truck from here to there and back again for 40+ hours (very plus when the overtime was available) a week. Even though those trucks were supposedly of industrial quality they weren't a patch on this one! Lower, shorter plate, poorly placed handles, bad balance, solid tyres. They rarely lasted more than a month before they had to be 'repaired' with parcel tape. Then the rush would be on to get into work early to hide a decent 'barrow' for use during the shift. If they had bought this type I might have stayed a little longer. Not much as, although I liked the work and most of my comrades, but the upper echelons were such sphincters I couldn't have taken much more.