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Steven--when you get so much stuff collected and you have no more room for a file cabinet in your plumb over-filled shop and storage areas----then--instead of throwing it out and you need sheet metal for a project---then you cut it up and don't have to go buy sheet metal---flat pieces of sheet metal are more compact than a cabinet and can be stored easier-----I am at this point with a lot of resources and have to be better at compressing materials to utilize space.---sometimes good items are no longer in demand in their current shape and we that like to be good scroungers--find all the other good uses for the internal parts---that's why this thread is so interesting--so others can reap the neat ideas of the very thrifty scroungers----there are a few very good resources that others may like to find out about.---I buy all the roller blades that people have at garage sales for a dollar or less, and remove all the nice wheels and bearings and use these in my projects---the wheels can be shaped on your lathe and work for many projects--for instance- rollers for your homemade bandsaws, tensioners, drive wheels, cart wheels, and the uses go on and on--they have excellant bearings in them also--we all know how much new bearings cost.--also the tough plastic used in these shoes are very tough good stuff that can be machined for small projects, and the nice axle bolts are very handy to keep.
Another idea for members that have smaller lathes ---I take a carbide saw blade and with my angle grinder with a thin cut-off blade cut the blade into small lathe cutoff blade shapes to be used in special made cutoff tools--then I can sharpen the small carbides or reshape them to whatever shape I want.--you can drill holes in the blades to mount them in or on the end of boring bars--I find them to be very nice as cutoff blades, and they are very cheap--just think--how many small tools you can make out of an old 20 carbide tooth 10" blade--you can also mill the shapes you want after you cut the blade shapes up with your angle grinder----Us good scroungers are filled with these Ideas and we are glad to share them with all who ask---we can't use all the cheap resources so we will make sure other thrifty members keep these resources from just going to the trash--happy hunting---Dave
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