Lab Equipment Blog

Surely it's just part of our hunter gatherer heritage...

Same as our instinct to collect thinbgs which are the same or similar... if one apple is good then a whole load of apples is better.

Just ask Kris about his nut collection

Kris did get rid of a cast iron bath a few months back. Things can't be all bad.

I think I am posting in Kris' nut collection, actually...

I always thought I came by my own pack-rat nature honestly. My parents both grew up on farms in the early part of the previous century and lived through the Great Depression as young adults, so they never threw anything away that could be fixed (someday) or used to fix/make something else. So long as the space is available, it saves $$$ in the long run. How many times have I finally thrown something out that I needed desperately a month later!

I am a pack rat and proud of it . We utilise the recourses of the planet to the best effect. I recently saved myself a $100 or so by recycling an oven element which I had saved for about 10 years.

We are the saviours of the human race and should be awarded carbon credits for being thrifty. Manufacturers hate us and they will receive carbon credits for being officiant at Co2 emissions reduction so why not us for reducing product demand. I will bet politicians will not consider reduction of product demand due to quality and improvements to said products to be worthy of Co2 credits as it would hurt there bank balance.

Long live the hoarder.

Garth CR4

Figured that out forty years ago at the age of 10. Glad to hear science is finally catching up. Just learn to be moderately compulsive. Balance in everything. And every 10 years or so take a couple of thousand pound of junk to the dump.

You are right rcapper-but I use the "7 year rule". Same thing though. James

Apparently you missed the PLANNED OBSELETENCE part of the Consumer Society.

Here is a Video you should see. The Story of Stuff from The Pinkey Show.

http://www.pinkyshow.org/archives/presents/080410_stuff/

I keep a lot of old stuff but the new stuff is hardly worh the effort unrepairable and make cheaply.

Check out the other videos they can be rather eye opening.

Hi dadw5boys,

Thank you for the link! I sent it on to a few "marketing geniuses" I know with instructions to view and act appropriately, (gotta start somewhere). It really speaks to our current "global market" catastrophe and why there's so much Stuff. Unfortunately, it's not the good 'ole stuff of yesteryear that was worth hoarding. Now it's just Junk!

I'm a hoarder too and proud of it. I only throw things away when they absolutely, positively lack any value whatsoever. (like all of the rap discs I find )

Thanks again.

Jeff

"really be the fear of impending loss?" ....another sociologistically driven clot needs to publish or perish.

Pardon me while I go play with my endowment effect..................

..................as the saying goes....................you never know, I might use that one day.............or..............that could come in handy one day.

I have a garage full of "stuff" that I may find a use for one day.............if I can remember where I put it, so that I wouldn't lose it.................and when I finally find it, probably some years hence, I don't have a need for it anymore............however, you never know it may still come in handy someday.

I just hope I never have to move!!!!

After all it is so hard to part with all this useful "stuff."

Ha...likewise here........I live 60 mi. from a military base and the stuff they throw out is a treasure trove of the best and most usefull junk...eg stainless steel (I built a heat exchanger for my solar water heater from 1/4" stainless sheet and a stainless radiator), titanium nuts and bolts, a ton of military sunglasses that were gold coated (dip in nitric and recover the gold)..........and of course all the stuff I'll never use but can't bear to part with.

One of my treasured finds was a bronze Lister marine diesel engine that I restored. I think it was from 1910. Another was a Neptune 1 hp outboard motor from 1917.

They also threw out two Deutz gen sets. I've since put on 30k hrs on one and 49k on the ohter.

Yes I know the American military are fairly "free" with their scrap. The Australians not so...............don't throw it out, it may come in handy later...............just like our garages.

No I have a farm, run a property maintaince business, and repair heavy equipment for a ew friends. I use so much stuff I even make my own gaskets sometimes and adapt things to work for m y needs. lawn mower engines turned into water pumps. Motor and pump both saved from the dump. Pump from old washing machine. Not the new plastic pumps the one is steel.

The old ladys food processor broke she alway over stuffed it. It took it apart and flund small plastic gears. I replaced them with metal gears from the junk pile and she can't break it now. It runs faster too.

Where I live the farms grow the best crop of rocks and the stone fences make the best banks. It's mostly bush lots, maple syrup, mountains and valleys.......a bit like your Tennesee in places.

Timber is the big one here and I'm forever making parts for skidders and tractors for my mechanic neighbour. He collects old John Deere and I've actually made sand castings from busted parts.

We don't throw anything away.

A company I used to work for was throwing away an old FUJI CP-5 chip shooter (?!?) and I couldn't bare to see such fine mechanical craftsmanship going to the trash (that was 11 000lbs of metal). I stayed afterwork for a couple of weeks to dismantle every linear axis, servomotor+drive, bearing, etc and left only the frame for which they got a few hundred dollar from the scrap yard (most of it was alloy and of little value to them - so they said).

I still have most of the stuff in my garage. I have fun building machines with my son (CNC routers, school projects, etc) and wouldn't throw it away for anything. I recently aquired a couple of woodworking machines (will make a blog soon) and plan on having a small shop since the garage is becoming a tad cramped. Some of the conveyor motors should come in handy for the shop (220v with 60:1 reduction gears attached...:)

I just love making useful stuff out of the "junk" I have and I think I've passed it on to my son. He walks in the garage and you can see his eyes just roaming to find that je-ne-sais-quoi...