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Post by CampKohler (Sacramento CA) on May 8, 2018 15:50:44 GMT -5
I got a passel of stuff from a deceased storage unit neighbor (see here). He had collected quite a collection of old tools, including a dozen or more Channelocks, hammers of various types, hacksaws, etc. I can't imagine how all that stuff just got lost or tossed away, and I certainly never ran across such such goodies in my travels. The Channelocks varied from 10" to 18". There were two of self-adjusting pipe wrenches, one medium and one large. All of these were dirty, not well cared for, and need TLC before going into my toolbox, but I can't complain, can I? The only exception was a B&D gardening saw set (bow and fold-up) that is brand new in the package. All of the drift punches, cold chisels, etc. were starting to get pretty rusty, so I will have to soak them in vinegar to de-rust them. There was also three good full-sized hand trucks and two fold-up luggage carriers (perfect for the car). |
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Post by markjames on May 9, 2018 8:16:32 GMT -5
I acquire a lot of hand tools, power tools, garden tools, equipment, electronics and other stuff through purchase of residential/commercial properties, foreclosure properties and tax seizure properties, plus post eviction/move-out clean-outs of homes, apartments and commercial properties.
I have more tools than I can use, so I'l keep the really good and/or unique stuff and give a lot of the other stuff away.
I leave much stuff at the re-use section of the transfer stations. This week we have town wide cleanups in a couple regions, so I left a bunch of stuff at the curb.
Fewer and fewer people have the ability, or motivation to work with, or maintain/repair tools/equipment so stuff is often discarded, left behind, or it goes unclaimed.
Many wouldn't believe what former owners/renters and occupants leave behind when they move.
I'm in the process of a clean-out of a tax sale property I purchased recently where the former owners and holdover occupants left behind their washer, dryer, air conditioners, fans, lawn tractor, snowblower, mowers, weedwackers, hand tools, garden tools, power tools, air compressors, air tools, boat docks, canoes - too much to list.
The last time I was at one of the local transfer stations someone had thrown 2 Ridgid TriStand chain vises, 4 super heavy duty threaded house jacks, 6 new-in-box post jacks and a steel appliance dolly (all in good condition) on the metal pile.
I'd left a bunch of pipe wrenches, monkey wrenches, spud wrenches, assorted combination wrenches, hammers, sockets etc at the re-use section two weeks before and much of the stuff was still there.
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Post by CampKohler (Sacramento CA) on May 12, 2018 0:35:42 GMT -5
Wow! Too bad you aren't in my area.
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Post by CampKohler (Sacramento CA) on May 25, 2018 2:51:38 GMT -5
One of the things inherited is a full-size hand truck. One of the pneumatic-tired wheels was a bit wobbly, so I dig into it. One of the two ball bearings on one wheel had literally disintegrated, and a single ball was missing from the other bearing somehow. So I need two new bearings. Seeing as I paid nil for the hand truck, I don't want to pay anything for bearings, either. I have a collection of new bearings, so I'll try to trade them for the two I need. Will they go for the deal??
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Post by markjames on May 25, 2018 9:31:30 GMT -5
Scored another steel appliance dolly at the transfer station.
The only thing missing is the pin that holds belt tension.
Scored a like new Husqvarna push mower with a Kohler engine and bagger attachment.
All it took to get it running was a carb cleaning.
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Post by CampKohler (Sacramento CA) on May 25, 2018 17:32:16 GMT -5
Well you are the lucky one to have a transfer station where they will allow you to carry off goodies. At the battery area here, there were several UPSs that were turned in with the dead batt, but they wouldn't let me extract the batt and take the UPS. Rats!
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Post by markjames on May 26, 2018 10:29:24 GMT -5
Luckily we have several rural transfer stations that either have re-use areas, or that allow you to take some of the valuable stuff.
We have 2 or 3 town wide cleanups per year in some regions where a lot of valuable stuff is left at the curb as well.
Scrappers and pickers have a field day.
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Post by CampKohler (Sacramento CA) on Jun 3, 2018 2:41:30 GMT -5
You get one free one per year here. It used to be that they would designate a particular neighborhood's turn for cleanup, and if you stumbled across it in your travels, you could have your field day. Unfortunately it is technically illegal to remove any of it according to the fuddy-duddy powers that be (not that that stops anyone). So they quit that practice and now each household schedules their pickup, so the "claw" and its garbage truck moves among the scheduled houses. Thus if you stumble onto one household, that's all you get. Gummint always has to screw up a good thing!
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Post by markjames on Jun 3, 2018 8:03:53 GMT -5
We just had another town wide cleanup in an area where I own year-round and seasonal rental properties.
Timing was terrible this year as this is the busy season for tourists, seasonal residents, year round residents and seasonal rentals.
Many didn't want their front lawns covered with junk for several days, so they didn't take advantage of curbside pickup.
The town was also accepting appliances, junk, building materials, scrap, tires, electronics, paint, oil, chemicals etc at the transfer station.
They drive bucket loaders up to your vehicles, or trailers and even help you unload them.
We're performing a lot of renovations, so we dropped off some washers, dryers, stoves, refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, microwaves, toilets, vanities, cabinets, tables, chairs, faucets, fans, air conditioners, ceiling fans, light fixtures etc at the re-use section.
I have a customer that collects and restores old snowmobiles and I scored a couple of rare Artic Cat survivors with Rotary Wankel Engines and an old Skiroule with a Sachs engine.
There was so much good stuff dropped off this year, but were we're too busy to haul and store it.
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Post by CampKohler (Sacramento CA) on Jun 9, 2018 23:59:28 GMT -5
I never met a microwave I didn't take, if nothing else for the parts. Even if the magnetron is dead, it has two nice ferrite magnets inside and some parts in the filament lead filter box, and that's just the magnetron. If you look on YouTube, people have done some neat things with the power transformer—not present in invertor-type ovens, which are rarish—such as spot welding, etc. The primary and secondary windings are separate and not wound one on top of the other (probably to make other countries happy), so it is easy to strip off the secondary and create.
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Post by sneakers (Metro Houston) on Jun 25, 2018 8:37:15 GMT -5
One of my next door neighbors passed away soon after Hurricane Harvey.
His daughters inherited the house and garage, and they gave us some of his power equipment that was above the flood waters.
I let my housemate who takes care of the house stuff deal with it. Among the things we got was an air compressor.
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