# Saving scraps



## Creativechipper (May 29, 2019)

What sort of scarp materials are you all saving, and what do you do with it for example....?

 I cant seem to throw metal stuff away like I did before a lathe.   Made up a few tool holders to hang on my lathes back splash and that got me thinking what else can be done with scrap  pre formed pcs. of sheet metal.

 Snapped a picture of some scraps I found today.


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## mmcmdl (May 29, 2019)

Not a lot of lathe stuff there from what I see , but I save everything until it gets to be too much , then I usually scrap it other than the aluminum . I can always make throw away tooling from the aluminum .


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## benmychree (May 29, 2019)

I remember the story about the woman who saved string --- in one bag saved was a note, "pieces of string too short to save "---
Saving scraps certainly can be carried to excess, especially when, even 'tho you know you have it, it can't be found, with me it is pieces of sugar pine, I have much trouble throwing it into the kindling box; I use it for foundry pattern work.


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## martik777 (May 29, 2019)

Looks like some of my scrap, sits around for years, the day after you throw it away you find a need for it.


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## Creativechipper (May 29, 2019)

I know I have the correct size around here somewhere..lol

Not a hoarder


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## markba633csi (May 29, 2019)

I usually don't save "swiss cheese" sheet metal,  or scraps below a certain size.  I do tend to save too much wire however
Mark


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## matthewsx (May 29, 2019)

1. Organize it.

If you have a specific place where things are you will be much more likely to use it than if it's in a pile of random stuff.

2. Give it away.

If there's someone in your town who makes art from sheet metal they might be really happy to have it. I once got rid of ~20 gallons of old paint to a painter who did large scale works.

3. Scrap it.

When I had my power equipment shop I probably made $200/mo just taking stuff to the scrap yard, sort it for even better prices. Now, I did have a big trailer and a yard to keep stuff until I had a full load. And, sheet iron prices were higher then, but that stuff is money. If you don't believe it then leave it out on the street with a free sign, someone will take it.

Btw, thanks for sending some of your stuff my way. If you need old go-kart parts let me know, I have plenty  



Cheers,

John


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## Firstgear (May 29, 2019)

Ha!  I went to the scrap yard near our home in Maine and bought some large pieces of 1/8” sheet aluminum as well as a bunch of different kinds of extrusions.  I had gone once before and last time I tipped him $10, this time I tipped him $20.  Told him to set aside aluminum bar stock of any configuration and next time I come, in about 5 weeks, I will tip him 50% of the purchase price.  I paid $0.40 per pound of extrusion and $0.33 per pound for the flat aluminum plate.  Very cheap.  I figure if they get some bar stock or pieces in that tipping him 50% is cheap as opposed to buying from McMaster Carr or other similar place.

Next time we are here I might get some more of the sheet aluminum as they had about 50 pieces.  Cost for a piece, about 15 pounds worth was only about $5 a sheet!


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## MrWhoopee (May 29, 2019)

I hang on to anything that I can possibly imagine a use for, and a lot of things I can't. However, sheet metal such as you have pictured hits the scrap.
I made 2 copper electrical connectors for the snow plow pump/hoist project and an extended holder for my step drills today from little pieces that I refused to scrap. Justification for all the rest.


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## markba633csi (May 29, 2019)

When you finally put to use something you've been hoarding for years it justifies keeping all the other junk you have too much of LOL


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## hman (May 30, 2019)

If the parts are steel (NOT stainless), you can always use them as electrodes for your electrolytic rust removal tank


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## Bob Korves (May 30, 2019)

I am a hoarder, and save EVERYTHING that might have the slightest chance of being usable someday.  It was learned from my parents, who both went hungry and lacking pretty much everything in the great depression days of the 1930's.  Even going through all of their "treasures" after they died did not cure me.  Yes, the secret to having a usable stash is in keeping it in some kind of order so you can find what you are looking for without spending your whole day at it.  Not that it ever happened to me...


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## Creativechipper (May 30, 2019)

I am thinking uses like this for some of the sheet metal...


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## mattthemuppet2 (May 30, 2019)

I used to keep scrap sheet like that, but once I found a good source of larger intact pieces at the scrap yard I stopped bothering. Takes up too much space and hard to find a piece that is the right size without holes in it. Now I just fold it up and take it to the scrap yard when I do my next run.

Round/rods/blocks etc I keep, that stuff is always useful. And I'll add my voice to the chorus of organising what you have - no point keeping stuff if you can't see it to know that it's there or find it.


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## Creativechipper (May 30, 2019)

Yes,I organize my stuff too.  That was a picture of fasteners in an unsorted drawer a co worker kept.
 I like to save my single use applesauce containers for sorting, plus yogurt containers for bigget stuff. You can screw them to a scrap pc of wood so they dont tip over.


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## yendor (May 30, 2019)

Thats what Scrap yards are for.

Save up your scrap and take it there and trade it for something useful to you.


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## Creativechipper (May 30, 2019)

I have not found a local supplier for any metals yet.  I picked up a few rods of brass and aluminum off amazon and ebay.  Other than that I take my metal detector out and get mostly useless small bits of rusted nails with the occasional yellow metal.


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## matthewsx (May 30, 2019)

That's what Placer


Creativechipper said:


> I have not found a local supplier for any metals yet.  I picked up a few rods of brass and aluminum off amazon and ebay.  Other than that I take my metal detector out and get mostly useless small bits of rusted nails with the occasional yellow metal.



 That's the Placer in Placerville....

Pro tip, next time you run up against something you can't pull off in your shop try taking it to a small local machine shop. If they're too busy to help then go to the next place. Eventually you'll find someone who's glad to help and thinks your little old lathe is pretty cool. They'll have the scrap pieces (drops) you need, when you need them, and you won't have to horde stuff that doesn't do you any good. Used collet holders are pretty cheap and might just come with the collets  you need anyway. As you've probably figured out by now there's an almost limitless supply of stuff like this if you're willing to do a little work, you just need to decide if that's the work you want to do.

Cheers,

John


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## rock_breaker (May 31, 2019)

I definitely do have to much scrap, a lot of it 3 feet long or longer. Round or structural shapes. My brother suggested I get the metal salvage company to come and get it. He also suggested I find a rest home with a hobby shop may not be a bad idea if I could afford it.  I do prefer working in the shop during hours I choose rather than the scheduled hours of a retirement home employee.  When I can't  work in the shop then maybe the home.
have a good day.
Ray


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## MrWhoopee (May 31, 2019)

That picture of unsorted fasteners reminded me of how my stuff used to look.
It looks like this now:



I spent quite a bit of time last year sorting out all the fasteners etc. that I had saved, plus the hoard I inherited from my father.
I like the metal butter cookie tins because they are wide and shallow, making it easy to sort through them without dumping everything out.
They come in a variety of sizes and shapes and come filled with cookies too.


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## Creativechipper (May 31, 2019)

emm Danish butter cookies, I like!!


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## Flyinfool (May 31, 2019)

But honey I am just working to empty out these tins so that I use them to clean up the mess in the basement........


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## westerner (May 31, 2019)

I spent years working out of 5 gallon buckets, and random shelving or boxes I had scrounged. When I finally could not stand dumping out a bucket to find that ONE LITTLE THING I thought was in there, I built this. I cannot describe the feeling I get when I think "I need a .....", and then walk out here and PICK IT UP. I found bolt bins for inside the shop, and they too have saved my sanity. Sure, it took several weekends, and SEVERAL beers to get all this sorted. Worth every minute, and I cannot believe I did not do it sooner.


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## mmcmdl (May 31, 2019)

westerner said:


> Sure, it took several weekends, and SEVERAL beers to get all this sorted



Why do you think I spend so much time in the garage and basement ?


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## Creativechipper (Jun 12, 2019)

Found a use for a couple pcs of the scrap.

 What sort of ways do you like to store your end mills?


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## magicniner (Jun 12, 2019)

Creativechipper said:


> What sort of scarp materials are you all saving



Decent sized pieces of known materials.


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## Firstgear (Jun 12, 2019)

My end mills go in a drawer lined with red plastic containers by Schaller.  https://www.schallercorporation.com/


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## C-Bag (Jun 12, 2019)

Being cheap and being raised by survivors of the Dust Bowl and the Depression plus farmers, repurposing is in my blood. I have managed to build my excellent scrap(immediately usable)stock to the level where I can be selective. But I'm always on the lookout. The one thing that this area lacks is heavy manufacturing so drops are hard to come by. I would love to see if anybody comes up with something cool to do with that old PC sheetmetal. Same with old printer parts. It looks totally usable but i draw a blank for a project. I've adopted the stance if the stuff doesn't speak to me project wise I don't have the room to store it because if it sits out its going to rust away.


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## Bob Korves (Jun 12, 2019)

C-Bag said:


> I've adopted the stance if the stuff doesn't speak to me project wise I don't have the room to store it because if it sits out its going to rust away.


Projects are often made of multiple unrelated parts, so having saved material with no intended future application does not mean that a use won't come along.  And, I also approach projects differently than many others do.  I do NOT design something and then get the materials to make it from.  I first see what I have, consider how it might be used for the project, make a design incorporating what I have, and then obtain any other materials I need to complete the job.  I take pride in making nice and useful things without buying ANYTHING to complete the project.  "Scrap" is simply materials that are waiting for the right application to come along, within the limitation of what can be stored without hardship.  I store everything inside...


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## C-Bag (Jun 12, 2019)

I hear ya Bob, I'm an engineer to stock guy too. I never have plans but I have had to resort to writing down dimensions as the old noggin is a lot more non stick than it used to be. My big projects are so far off that they are a thought (or honeydoo) long before I have the materials. Even inside if I don't treat stuff it rusts. All my machines have to be covered even with Fluid Film on them. Living close to the ocean does have its downside.


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## Bob Korves (Jun 13, 2019)

C-Bag said:


> I never have plans but I have had to resort to writing down dimensions as the old noggin is a lot more non stick than it used to be.


Yep, at least my brain is still working, knock on wood ("knock, knock").  Who's there???


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## Jim Dobson (Jun 13, 2019)

I'm not a hoarder, but I don't throw much away


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## Creativechipper (Jun 13, 2019)

I used some of my scrap 8mm steel rod, C clips, bearings on a tool post drill I finished recently.   








						boring bar holder qctp converted to tool post drill
					

I am in the need of a tool post drill .  I have a tool holder for a boring bar and was thinking it would make a great start for a tool post drill.  Figured I should ask 1st before reinventing the wheel.   Looks to be a sleeve inside the tool holder to remove, then install some bearings and turn...




					www.hobby-machinist.com
				




 I like using lil super magnets to hold stuff together for mock up.  
 The collet holders have magnets holding them on currently.


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## timmeh (Jun 14, 2019)

martik777 said:


> Looks like some of my scrap, sits around for years, the day after you throw it away you find a need for it.


Happens every bluddy time!!!


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## MontanaLon (Jun 14, 2019)

The only true scrap are the chips we make. The rest of it is just material in convenient to carry sizes. We have a manufacturer in town that has their recycle bins out back. When it gets full they come and pick them up. Usually, before the pickup if I show up they will "sell" me some of the pieces that are of a size usable by a hobbyist for a little bit or nothing. They are selling it by the ton to the scrapper, the smallish pieces I can use don't even make a dent. They have tons of pieces that are too small for them to use or cutouts, cutoffs in odd sizes and shapes. Their chip container is a 15 yard dumpster. My chip container is a tupperware bowl.


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## Bob Korves (Jun 14, 2019)

MontanaLon said:


> The only true scrap are the chips we make.


You mean you don't save and reuse the chips you make???  Abomination!!


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## MontanaLon (Jun 14, 2019)

Bob Korves said:


> You mean you don't save and reuse the chips you make???  Abomination!!


I didn't say that. I have my little tupperware containers of chips. Steel, cast iron, bronze and then one that is a mix of aluminum, zinc and plastic. 

Some day I will have enough to make the investment in a foundry setup feasible. At that point the chips will be melted down and I will turn them into a tank. Big cannon kind, not liquid kind. I could probably make a tank out of what I have already, but it would be matchbox size.


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## Bob Korves (Jun 14, 2019)

I recycle mine...


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## westerner (Jun 14, 2019)

Bob Korves said:


> I take pride in making nice and useful things without buying ANYTHING to complete the project.


Or a trip to town for "stuff". Man after my own heart!


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## markba633csi (Jun 14, 2019)

In the mid 60s and in grade school my friend and I used to get on our bicycles and go "garbage digging" in the dumpsters behind all the little companies nearby.  Great mechanical and electronical stuff to be had in silicon valley at that time.  Weekends were best,  occasionally a janitor would come out and chase us away.  But we always came back, especially when we found the "mother lodes" LOL.  That's part of how my hoarding habit got started. 
I figure if I have 50% of the materials on hand for a particular project, I'm doing good.  Sometimes ya gotta buy, and sometimes I overbuy or buy the wrong thing, but most everything gets used eventually.  In later years when I went to work in industry I was shocked at the amount of waste, but I was thankful for it back then.
Mark


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## C-Bag (Jun 14, 2019)

Bob Korves said:


> You mean you don't save and reuse the chips you make???  Abomination!!


My SO swears I'm recycling the swarf into the carpets on purpose.


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