Folks Of Interest Am I weird, or just like all of you??

I have some big bins that everything goes into when I disassemble a car for a build. I also have some old plastic jugs that all the useable bolts and nuts go into. Sometimes I'm back digging into both during a build, or a future build. I'm always surprised when some leftover from a previous build turns out to be perfect for another build, with a little modification.
I try to fix, or build whatever I can, rather than go out and purchase something new. I've got way more time than money, and spending hours to build a $40 part, is more rewarding, and frees up the money for neccessary purchases.
Spent an hour Sat. building blankoff caps from scrap aluminum for my rear wheels, instead of paying $35 a pair for new.

 

Had exactly the same thought.

 

the only difference between people like us and hoarders is how many items we have in the "I can't thow this away all it needs is" pile.

I have a 30 year old Matco battery charger/starter. I broke the switch, but it still worked, then it stopped charging all together. 3 years ago I bought another one, but kept this one because I could probably fix it, and besides, it has some good wheels on it.

there is sits, in the way, not working, with good wheels on it I could buy for $5.00 if I needed some. I'll probably never fix it, since i don't need it.

 

Love it use it till it won't work anymore then make something out of it.This reminds me of a post I was looking at where people were making air cleaner out of hubcaps and so on.If nothing else make a birdhouse out of it.

 

This thread somewhat resembles the "real car guy" thread in that the guys who tinker, recycle, repair, take apart to see how things work, use three broken items to make one good one, etc.. are all cut from the same fabric. The rest of the world will never get it. Instant gratification / impatience is what has caused use to live in a disposable world...along with the idea that built-in obsolescence leads to more consumerism. Sure it's true, but not with guys like us. The upside? - WTSHTF and the lights go out, guess who survives and guess who doesn't...

 

NO, you are not like me. I won't fix any cheap Chinese junk, I just throw it in the trash. And that Foreman grill belongs in the trash, period. I can't believe any H.A.M.Ber would own or even use one of those. It's nothing but good old fashioned charcoal for me.

 

My water heater conked out last week. I did some troubleshooting and determined the thermocouple packed it in. Ten bucks, ten minutes and we're good.
I replaced a hose bib last year. A week later, Wifey sez, "The water won't shut off." I take it apart and the shitty Chinese washer is split in half. One new washer and all is well. Last month, I ran a new line into the back yard and capped it off with another shitty Chinese faucet. The very next day, guess what??????? Same bubble gum washer, same split. With the garbage that we are, almost, forced to buy, you have to know how to fix stuff.
I found two lawnmowers sitting at the curb. One needed a new rope, the other one had all the head bolts loose. Had both running for the cost of a can of gas and an hours work.
Got a free Honda car once because "the trans was blown". The front hub nut had come loose and the hub and axle splines stripped. I had spares in my garage. Two hour later I had a perfect car.
I've fixed, welded, bondoed, taped, wired and Mickey Moused more cars, bikes, appliances and household odds and ends than I can recall.
My old next door neighbor put a hot patch on his wife's douchebag

 

Lets not get too far into left field with this fellas. Yes its cool to appreciate the inginuity and wherewithall that most HAMBers possess. But I wouldnt go so far as to want the vast majority of the world to be HAMB A-typical. You think its hard to find a good project car at a reasonable price now ! Also WTSHTF the doomsday preppers with the huge stores of food and firepower might have a slight advantage over beer and horsepower.

 

I didnt think about it but i also have a box of cut off cords.

 

I have to agree with that. Many have no idea how things work, so when they quit working, just toss the stuff away. No understanding to have any enginuity. Rod

 

Don't be too quick...beer has helped me overcome many obstacles...or overlook them, not too sure now. Oh well, pass me another...

 

That aint you thats weird, we are all weird!

The rest of the World is wrong, but since they are so many, it dosen't help to tell them.
What we have her is a shutter Island moment.
Rather be normal on HAMB, then be living a Lie in the "free" World!

 

When you mentioned the broken George grill the first thing that popped into my head was" Does it have the raised grease ribs?? Valley cover for my caddy!" Time to go yard sell junking.

 

What I fix depends on my wife. Our washher's transmission was on the way out, it was ten years old, we got it for free when we were newleyweds from my Mom's neighbor. I said, "before I spend the time to fix this, tell me. Are you happy with it in the first place?" We got a new over/under setup that she loves. The trash can broke the other day, the city says they charge for the new one. WTF? I drilled the axle, put the wheel back on and slapped a cotter pin in it. My 2 year old daughter helped me. It was fun.

I am about to make many enemies..... The reason parts are cheap and throw away is partly because of consumerism, but also partly because of the crippling effect that Unions have on industry. I have seen it so often working in the Diesel industry, specifically with Grocery transportation. I could never believe that a baker at Hostess made as much as I did as a Master Refrigeration/Diesel tech. But, of course, I am non union.

 

It's Ok, we are all WeiRD!!

 

Sounds very normal to me ! I look in the scrap bin behind service at least 2 times a week , and most certinly after the parts dept has done scrapping . What i cant use i have made trophys out of old plaques ans scrap , dash out of license plate holder , ash tray from piston , metal brake from scrap and using a 1930's heater in the rambler . Love to re purpose stuff- the wife doesnt like it so much .

 

No wonder the Chinese hate us.......lol

Dont need their throw away junk, we fix our old junk

 

Can't let crap go unchecked - let the record show that I didn't start the politics on this one.

It was unions that forced the outrageous pension funds that crippled the auto industry. When you have to join a union to get a particular job that, once hired, you cannot be fired no matter what, that isn't free market, it's communism. Yeah, send the hate mail now but I know many retired union guys who agree wholeheartedly.

Unions didn't prevent NAFTA, they encouraged it by the stupid wages they mandated.

BTW: unions started as a direct result to "The Labor Party"...which was previously named the American Communist Party but changed it's name around 1917 to garner more support - historical fact. Shut her down...this thread is going to hell quick now that this can of worms was opened.

 

My wife says these guys designed my garage 'cause it looks like their back yard

 

Who says you can't have both??..

Kidding aside, I'm in the same boat with you guys. Never had many toys as a kid, my room was too full of tools and parts from just about anything I could get my grubby little mits on. Eventually I started figuring out how to put things together and make them work. Couple years ago the boss at work decided to throw out a 30 year old 220V Hobart welder, took it home, got a $20 contactor from a local shop and I had a new welder! Can't count how many other things I've had to fix over the years, even rebuilt my Xbox once.

I think most of us here have the same mentality. I was brought up to believe that if you can't do it yourself, you don't need it. And to be honest, I for one take great pride in teaching myself new skills and putting them to work. Jack of all trades, master of none

 

Dang, I thought everybody was like this....you're telling me they're not? hehehe! My FED has several parts made from scrap, brackets, rod ends, stuff like that. Of course, if I hadn't told on myself nobody would know.

 

I'm glad for you that your dad got all that time off paid, but that wasn't reality for the average working family, and in fact, that is why the rest of the country was getting too poor to buy American made goods. The people making the products were the only ones who could afford them...go figure.

 

I you agree with many coments about unions. I am a member of the IAM, the joke here is that you can not be fired unless you kill somebody, then you willl only be gone about a year. Unions do have their pros and cons, you decide the make up.

I am always looking in the dumpster here at work for "junk". My cheap HF (my FIL bought it for me) stool in the garage went south on me. The caster wheels bearings started to fall out. I found some casters from a galley cart and used those in place of the originals. that stool never rolled better.

My wife hates it when I bring home "junk" from work. I have my rolling platform for my table saw from said junk. It is something I learned from my father.

Mark

 

.Funny how these threads always seem to degenerate into anti union rants. The ignorant lump all unions together and paint them with a broad brush. I was a union carpenter. I was expected to show up, go hard for eight hours and go home. If I was caught goofing off or doing substandard work, I could be (and was, a few time) fired. Guess what the union rep would say? "Tough, better work harder on the next job." My pension is funded. I funded it and so did the contractors. The money was invested and it has grown to billions of dollars. The public service unions that represent city, state, federal workers are a different critter altogether. Civil servants are almost impossible to fire or to reprimand. They retire at, sometimes, 100% of their salary, full benefits for life and so on. The worst thing is they are unfunded pensions.There are many cities that are paying 85-90% of their entire budget on pensions.
Don't bust the balls of the union guy that pounded nails for 30 years, paid his dues, paid into his pension and health and welfare fund and yet, here in SoCal at least, cannot qualify to buy the house he built.

 

Carl, the accountability you describe is not the norm, it is the exception. I'd be willing to go out on a limb and say that 90% of the unions, since the beginning of unions, are/were corrupt, and THAT is why Americans cannot find jobs today. My mother readily admits that her generation took everything they could from this country for as little as possible, and that is why the 30 and 40 somethings today have half (if their lucky - more likely 1/4 or less) that her generation did at the same age.

There was a time growing up in the 70's and 80's when we believed that we could achieve everything that our parents did. Little did we know, the cupboards had been cleaned out and the coffers would be empty.

The growing pains of a nation are unpredictable, but my guess is that if the working class in the 50's through 80's didn't live so high on the hog, things would be more equitable and realistic for the working class today. To be fair, I don't think my grandparents and parents knew where their greed would lead, but when you fight for guaranteed pensions, borrow on the backs of future generations, double-dip on retirement funds, sell sovereign soil to foreigners because of the profit you can generate, etc.. you can't really believe that it will all just "work out". As far as unions go, they not only fueled the fire, they exacerbated it as well. And public sector (aka "civil servant" jobs), well we know where the abuses and corruption lead...we're living it now.

 

I understand what you say about homes (at least here in SoCal) because my nephew has a excellent job as a crew leader with the Gas Company and yet he can't afford to buy a house on his income alone so his wife had to get a job in order for them to qualify for a mortgage. And yet my parents bought 4 homes in their lifetime and paid off 3 of them, with my Dad being the sole earner (my mom worked off and and on part time, but only because she wanted to, not because she had to)
And check this out. My niece was living in the 3rd house that my parents bought back in 1968 for 18,000.00. Now, adjusted for today's price, that would be around 140,000.00 today. My niece recently sold that same house 2 months ago for 326,000.00. The banks are happy.

 

We are brown shoes in a world of tuxedoes...........fixing things instead of disposing of them.

 

We are the ultimate of green world recycling.


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