# Salvaged Rods From Some Printers



## Nogoingback (Jan 16, 2019)

Ever since I've been on this forum, I've been hearing guys carry on about salvaging the rods out of printers for lathe stock.  So I did.  Reminded me
of when I was a kid and used to take stuff apart to see what made 'em tick.


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## ttabbal (Jan 16, 2019)

Glad I'm not the only one that did that. Drove the parents nuts.  

I have my old laser printer waiting for me to get time to tear it down for the rods and any other parts that look useful.


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## Latinrascalrg1 (Jan 16, 2019)

I currently have  1 pc tower,  2 printers, a dvr unit(assuming  there may be some usefull parts in it) 1 microwave and 1 compressor driven dehumidifier that im hoping to scavenge the compressor to convert into a small vacuum pump. The various small parts i scavenged from the garbage day pickups have saved the day more then a few.times.over the years as i was able to dig thru my scrap bin to find a part to repair something th as has quit working.... the last example was replacing the switch in the pool filter pump that burned out on the morning of my sons Bday pool party which in on memorial day which meant stores were closed!  So a $1 part would have most certainly ruined my boys party had i not taken the time to recycle the broken equipment by stripping it of any known GOOD parts that I would very likely have a need for at some point.


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## forhire (Jan 17, 2019)

I've made a couple master tools using printer rods. They are generally hard, straight, and often chromed. The centers are typically soft and drill easily. They make handy drill extensions.


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## francist (Jan 17, 2019)

Yup, still do that too. You learn more from taking old and broken stuff apart than you ever will from reading about it.

-frank


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## SnakeyJ (Jan 17, 2019)

I salvaged a 4' by 3/4" shaft from a big plotter we were junking, only to find out a year later that it wasn't solid, but a composite built up on a 5/16" steel shaft.    Still sat in my stock pile, though looking considerably less useful


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## strantor (Jan 17, 2019)

I take transformers and the little micro limit switches from microwaves every chance I get. If I see one sitting by the side of the road I stop and get it. It drives my wife nuts. She says "oh my God, not again" and hides her face while I do it, even if we're 50mi from home, as if someone she knows will recognize her and she'll forever be know as the woman who is married to a dumpster diver. I find it entertaining.

Last month we were coming home from somewhere and my next door neighbor had a big stovetop range microwave sitting out by the road. She turns to me and says "NO. Absolutely not!" I let her have her way. I let it stay where it was. Until just before midnight when I went out for a smoke and brought the hand truck with me. In the morning she took the kids to school, (noticed the microwave missing) I and went to my shop to take it apart. I opened it up to find that it's one of the newer inverter types with no useful transformer. I salvaged the limit switches, power cord, and stove exhaust fan, and after she got home and went in the house I wheeled it back over to the neighbor's lawn and put it right back where I got it. She left the house around lunch time and saw the missing microwave, right back where it used to be. She calls me and... well I think you can see where this is going. It took a while for her to accept that nobody had seen me do that.

FYI microwave transformers are very handy to have, for any electrical/ electronic project you might have. They are very easy to re-wind for any voltage you need.


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## markba633csi (Jan 17, 2019)

What kind of steel are those printer rods? Stainless?
mark


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## Nogoingback (Jan 17, 2019)

Not sure, but I don't think they're stainless.  I turned and parted one off yesterday as a test, and it machined like butter.  Nothing 
like stainless.  I seem to remember someone else asking that question and nobody knew the answer, though hopefully someone
will.


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## Janderso (Jan 17, 2019)

I thought someone determined they were stainless?? A few weeks ago.
Ha, I remember taking apart one of the lawn tractor sprinklers when I was about 4 years old. "How does this thing work?"
The problem, it was our neighbors house.
The guy came home from work, I'm in the front yard with his tools and the sprinkler, while my brother was in the guys backyard checking out his crosscut saw on a newly planted tree.
Most of you guys and gals took things apart right?


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## mattthemuppet2 (Jan 17, 2019)

nice! I love those printer rods, lovely finish and they machine beautifully. Almost finished using one to make a necklace hanger stand thing for the wife's birthday and my daughter used  some bits from another one to make a recipe book stand for her. You also get a load of small fasteners, some motors and various assorted gears. The rest goes in the recycling or to the scrap yard. 

Another good source of parts are paper shredders, especially industrial sized ones. Picked one of those up from our neighbourhood a while back and it has some lovely gears, shafts and a nice motor in it. Used the cupboard for the kitchen table stuff


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## savarin (Jan 17, 2019)

They are'nt stainless, rat crap rusts them out.
I think they are chromed, at least mine are.


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## mikey (Jan 17, 2019)

savarin said:


> They are'nt stainless, rat crap rusts them out.
> I think they are chromed, at least mine are.



I am really curious - what does rat crap do to stainless? I honestly don't know.


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## middle.road (Jan 17, 2019)

Wait until you end up with a big ol' copier/printer/scanner. Took me a week to strip it down.
Most all the rods are magnetic FWIW, but one thing I have noticed is that they don't rust like everything else in my shop does.
Some of the large rollers are handy. I've got a pair on my miter saw. The rubber coating is either a curse or a benefit depending on the size of the boards I'm cutting.
The 'platen' glass on the aforementioned device really had potential, it was over a 1/4" thick.
And then when I set it down to lean against the wall, I hit it just right and it broke in two.

@*mikey* around here mouse excrement corrodes all that it touches - eats through paint even. I figure that it's their urine. They make nests in my shop in the darnest places.


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## mikey (Jan 18, 2019)

Thanks, Dan. Makes sense why it corrodes stuff. I don't have a rat or mouse problem here. I have salt and moisture in the air to handle all my corrosion for me.


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## middle.road (Jan 29, 2019)

mikey said:


> Thanks, Dan. Makes sense why it corrodes stuff. I don't have a rat or mouse problem here. I have salt and moisture in the air to handle all my corrosion for me.


Ah, gee, shucks, '*salt*' & moisture... you left out the part about temperate climate.  (hehe)
It was 53° here 24 hours ago, now it is 21°.  Pass me the salt please...


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