I saw a great example of dumpster rescue in the “worm drive” saw discussion. I’m curious – what have you rescued from the dumpster.
Share your stories here.
My story? Actually at a transfer station not a dumpster, I was unloading my van of construction debris and I saw a Genie Shop Vac hose. I really needed the hose so I grabbed it. Then I saw the rest of the shop vac. I looked perfect so I said, hey what’s the worst that could happen, if it does not work, I’ll just throw it out like the last guy.
Brought it home plugged it in and voila! Perfectly fine heavy duty shop vac. It could be that a contractor before me unloaded it while cleaning debris from his truck and forgot to reload but I’m not sure…
Is anyone here missing a shop vac 🙂
M.Measure it with a Micrometer,
Mark it with Chalk,
Cut it with an Ax.
Visit my woodworking blog Dust Maker
Edited 8/3/2006 3:39 pm ET by MarkRD
Replies
At the dump I use, they frown on folks picking thru the junk. I suspect that the employees make a tidy sum salvaging reusable stuff - lol.
You will find some of that stuff on EBay Dave LOLI had a Woodcraft store nearby that closed and I went divin a few days later and man did they heave everything from A to Z. I got a pile of wood (Hickory, Pine, Oak, Cherry Etc...), appliques, bags of dowels, plywood, shelving and some wooden display racks. I was shocked at what was there and left because my car was full. I never got the bottom and when I went back the next day but the dumpster was gone.
Edited 8/3/2006 5:06 pm ET by DaveinPa
The drawer cabinets in the attached photo came from a sewing supply store that closed down (they originally held dress patterns). They're 36" wide and 24" deep, have full extension ball bearing slides, all steel construction and........cost $25 each.
Save the "nice kitchen" jokes. I've heard them all. ;o)
Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Edited 8/3/2006 5:10 pm by Rennie
Edited 8/3/2006 5:11 pm by Rennie
"Save the "nice kitchen" jokes. I've heard them all."Have you ever walked into your shop and found June Cleaver at the chop saw?
Chop saw?
Wouldn't June use a...................
Cleaver?
;o)Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral. Frank Lloyd Wright
It's a little known fact that the first reference to sex on network television was when June said to Ward " a little hard on the Beaver last night were'nt you?"
Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
"a little hard on the Beaver last night were'nt you?"You are so correct -- Hugh Beaumont was an animal! Was June poured into that dress or what? Sorry.
A local newswoman was introducing the weather segment and broke up the entire studio when she asked why the snow hadn't fallen the previous evening as predicted: "Harry, where's the six inches you promised me last night?"My goal is for my work to outlast me. Expect my joinery to get simpler as time goes by.
"Wouldn't June use a...................Cleaver?"Well, I never saw a cleaver in her kitchen, but hey... By the way, I believe Barbara Billingsley is still with us and about 90 or so -- life is good.
Beautiful shop. I love those anti-fatigue mats you have there. Refrigerator on the right which is a very cool idea but where's the coffee maker? I would have my coffee maker there or I wouldn't be able to live.
Dave,
"Refrigerator on the right which is a very cool idea but where's the coffee maker?"
Coffee? Never touch the stuff, could never stand the taste.
Actually, sharing the shop with the second fridge and the laundry has some advantages. I always have a supply of ice cold beverages (nonalcoholic) on hand. At the end of a long day in the shop I can grab a cold beer on the way inside. Life is good.Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral. Frank Lloyd Wright
So, now you want to hear about Big Bertha, LOL. Not exactly a dumpster find, she was a side of the road find. Needed a new cord (it was GONE, ripped off, LOL). She makes Dumpster Sally look like a piker. ;-) 3/4", suicide switch, not afraid of nothin! I figure the prior owner suffered a stuck bit, couldn't get her shut off, and, even if he did she takes about 20 minutes to wind down, and that probably ripped the cord out.
Not something one uses every day, but when you absolutely, positively, need to blast a hole in something, Big Bertha is just the baby to do it. (It ain't over until the fat lady sings!)
I don't know if this picture does her justice:
View Image
We found her while out on a bike ride. No way could I carry that home, had to pedal for home to get the car.
Dumpster Sally was in the scrap metal dumpster that is set up for town residents. When I took a peek in, the yard was busy with employees and I was concerned they might take a dim view of me going into the dumpster and coming out with that honey. I drove home, empty-handed, only to return after hours, hoping against hope... New cord, new blade, changed the oil. Only harm done is the base is slightly bent so what are supposed to be 90-degree cuts are off a tiny wee bit.
I'm big into "Freecycle" (http://www.freecycle.org) so whenever I hear "one mans trash..." stories I love them.With free cycle, if you have something to give away (not valuable enough to sell, too good to throw away) you post an "OFFER" (usually through a yahoo group) and people contact you via email if they want the item. I've given away hamster cages, rugs, antenna masts, cat carriers and we've gotten computer monitors, etc..I just wish more people would freecycle high quality power tools :-)Mark
Measure it with a Micrometer,
Mark it with Chalk,
Cut it with an Ax.
Visit my woodworking blog Dust Maker
Mark,
I think that is my shop vac.
Dumpster finds here are concrete forms; 3/4 inch BB plywood; used once and discarded; sure it is a dirty job cleaning them.
Pasa bon noche.
OK it wasn't from a dumpster but everyone at the auction acted like it was. I was at an auction for a furniture manufacturing business that had gone out of business. Big, used to have 2,000 employees. Anyway, I hadn't bought anything all day and it was getting late. They had things seperated into lots and there was a lot of 3 mobile 4 shelved carts full of misc hardware and stuff that I was interested in. Mostly I was interested in the Jorgensen 3/4" Pony clamps and extra pipes buried on the bottom. Auctioneer call out the lot number and then adds that it is getting short on time and he will be adding the next 2 lots to the one I was interested in. Long story short, I get all 3 lots for $50. I couldn't believe it! No one else even bid on it and there were over a hundred professional woodworkers around. For my $50 I got, over 30 3/4" Pony pipe clamps and extra pipes, 37 Wetzler F clamps, 4 boxes 20" x 20" filled with every kind of de-sta-co clamp, boxes of boring and tenoning bits, tons of misc screws and nails, ball bearing slides, 4 20" wall mounted fans, 7 heavy duty material carts (the ones made with 8/4 white oak and steel re-inforced corners), plus a bunch of hand tools (a beatiful 6" Starrett caliper). If that isn't enough, there was a box of real unusual ball-bearing slides that I was never going to use. They still had a tag on them from Rockler and were in new condition, so I called Rockler and asked what their return policy was if I didn't have a receipt. They told me they would give me the lowest sale price, so I took them to Rockler and got a $180 in-store credit which I used to buy 2 sets of the K-Bessey panels clamp kits which were on sale.
I went back to the factory a month later after it was empty and talked the manager into selling me the dust collection duct drops hanging from the ceiling. They were going to just leave them hang and use the whole factory as storage. I paid him $1 a foot and that included 8" to 4" ducts, elbows, gates, and spiral ducting. The manager also walked around with me a little and found some hard maple that had been left behind (about 400 bf) which he just gave to me. I also got 2 30" by 54" 2" thick maple bench tops for free.
Hope I didn't hijack your thread to much but that is my best dumpster story. Sorry about the length.
Eric
"When it comes time to die, make sure all you have to do is die." -Jim Elliot
Edited 8/4/2006 9:53 am by Ecbntmkr
That is going to be tough to beat!Regard it as just as desirable to build a chicken house as to build a cathedral. Frank Lloyd Wright
I got over 40' of oak veneer shelving from a govt liquor store that was upgrading to the newer model and busting up the old and throwing it into the dumpster
Each unit was about 4' w x 20" deep x 7' high with flourescent lights on top and weighed about 200 lbs per unit and had to be hauled 25 miles to my garage
I also got about 25 ft of oak wainscotting panels for my garage to tidely up things nicely
The garage itself has exterior walls of 10" limestone recycled from a stone foundation of a house that burned down years ago
The garage is 28 x 30' with a 12 12 pitch on the roof and has stone right to the peaks
The front has a recycled steel beam holding up the stone over the 2 doors
I recycled a culled septic tank for a pit at the time of building
The overall job took 3 years between jobs
I live in a 1875 stone school house that was a barn before i recycled it into a 15 room home for the wife & i as you can see i also believe in recycling
Last summer I found a 6' antique oak oval dropleaf table with two leaves and legs on the curb....just a beautiful table with minimal damage.
The same summer I also found a Bally Block butcher block maple table that had some water damage and delaminated in a couple of spots. It cleaned up in one day to make a 60" x 29" workbench that I sold for $85.
The one that got away was a Craftsman lathe. I was dressed up on my way to a funeral, and there it sat on top of an enormous pile of junk that would have required me to climb through in my suit....it was gone on the way back.
I find discarded drawers all the time. Many of them have 3/8" to 7/16" thick oak sides that I knock out and use for new drawers, panels, or other applications.
I drive my kids crazy because Every time I see a piece of furniture by the road I slow down to get a better look. I'm always looking for good drawers and solid tops for the lumber.
This sofa table was made with recycled white oak from a soon-to-be destroyed 30-year old high school:
View Image
I rescued quite a bit of lumber from around the stage in the auditorium.
The replacement high school has no wood around the stage :-(Measure it with a Micrometer,
Mark it with Chalk,
Cut it with an Ax.
Visit my woodworking blog Dust Maker
Our transfer station likes to recycle.
If you ask the attendent he'll keep his eyes out for something your looking for.
I've picked up perfectly good metal roofing, shelving (wood and metal), sinks, etc.
Best stormy I have is someone was planning to level her house and throw it in the dump, so she opened it up for scavanging.
A friend picked up all the windows and doors for an addition to his house.
Another got the entire kitchen cabinets.
Another got a huge load of 3/4" AC plywood.
I built an entire addition to my shop with the misc. stuff (windows, doors, 16 ft garage door and opener, ceiling panals) and the best of all, I carpeted my basement and my helper carpeted his entire living room with almost new carpet.
Jeff
A couple of years back when I was digging out the back yard to pour the concrete slab for my workshop my next door neighbor told me about a pile of sand with a "free" sign on it. I went there the same night and a buddy of mine and me we hauled away 2 1/2 loads of sand that is under the concrete slab right now.
2 weeks after that I came by a garage sale while I was walking the dog. I bought 18 sheets of brand new 1 1/2 inch 4x8 sheets of styrofoam for 10 bucks. That is also under the workshop floor.
2 years ago I walked the dog in the evening and found about 45 bucks of 4 1/2 inch grinding disks on the side of the road.
Cool. I thought you were going to say that the grinding wheels were under the floor :-)Mark
Measure it with a Micrometer,
Mark it with Chalk,
Cut it with an Ax.
Visit my woodworking blog Dust Maker
I work for a large hotel / restaurant company and the construction crew lets me know about all sorts of neet stuff. Three years back I got A whole truckload of 4x4 light fixtures ( with about a life time supply of bulbs ). I've been able to cull the cabinet shops dumpster several times getting all kinds of plywood and hardwood cut offs. The local hotel manager lets me know about discarded linens on an annual basis so I have plenty of shop rags and throw covers. I also get some cool stuff from my regular customers a local counter to/monument company gives me sink cutouts and a finish carpenter told me of a bunch of discarded mahog plywood cutoffs at a new attornys office.
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