[Amps] Workshop Danger

Manfred Mornhinweg manfred at ludens.cl
Fri Sep 13 22:22:10 EDT 2013


Peter,

I like your point of view!

What do you use grinding wheels for, when they are worn down almost to 
the hub? I have quite a few of them, and I hate throwing them away...!

And the last two centimeters of a welding electrode? That's good steel!

I re-use the solder that comes out of my solder sucker. I always empty 
it into a small container, and when that container is full, I melt the 
solder in an old pineapple can, sweep off the dirt and oxides from the 
top, and pour it into bent aluminium sheet molds to make long bars with 
triangular cross-section. I use those for coarse soldering work, along 
with some paste flux, on stuff like copper piping and zinc plated rain 
gutters. Since working in electronics, I have never needed to buy 
plumber's solder.

Some kinds of thin metal saw blades are hard and elastic enough to find 
a second life as springs.

And living in Chile, I use one peso coins as washers. They are small 
coins, made from a pretty good aluminium alloy, it's easy to drill a 
hole into them or even just drive a nail through, and at 500 pesos to 
one dollar they are far cheaper than real washers! That's the good side 
about inflation.

Manfred

>> many just cant seem to throw a worn out tool away.<
> 
> Depends on the tool. An old worn file grinds down real well to make a
> scraper. Broken drills and small end mills and taps grind down well
> to make the tool bits for a boring bar or even fly cutter bits. A
> broken end mill or slot drill can be ground down to make a D bit -
> while an old file can also be ground to make a spade bit. Old hacksaw
> blades are good for packing. A broken end mill or drill can even with
> suitable annealing be ground to make a suitable fly cutter tool to
> cut an involute gear tooth form - after re-hardening.
> 
> Waste not, want not!
> 
> 73
> 
> Peter G3RZP


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