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Nice Items Found While Scrapping- Often NOT Metals

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    recyclersteve started this thread.
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    Nice Items Found While Scrapping- Often NOT Metals

    I thought it would be interesting to start a thread where we chime in with some of our better scores, and they are often NOT metals. It could be a piece of furniture, golf clubs or whatever. I've found so many things over the years that there is NO WAY I could list them all. That said, I'll mention one that I got on Sunday night (technically early Monday morning) while scrapping in advance of the rubbish pickup.



    I had already been out late at night...
    Last edited by recyclersteve; 06-27-2018 at 03:15 AM.

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    recyclersteve started this thread.
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    Nice Items Found While Scrapping- Often NOT Metals

    (continued from above- had to switch computers)

    I had already been out late at night for about three hours and had very little to show for it. It was about 3am and I was ready to call it a night. Then I turned down a suburban street with houses in the $500-600k range and saw a HUGE pile of stuff at a house that was for sale. I pulled a bunch of things from the pile (Taylor Made brand fairway metal, omelette cooker, special wine carrying case for picnics, etc. etc.).

    For me the coup was this: A very nice set of Polk Audio Ultrafocus 8000 black noise canceling type headphones with the original carrying case. They are very clean and appear to have had little use. I saw a pair on eBay for over $215. All I needed to do was put in a new set of 2 AAA batteries and plug this baby in. Wow- the sound is incredible! They work equally well on my PC and my iPhone. My wife even likes them. And the price was right- FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

    No they are not for sale. It worked out great for me because I need to cut down on unnecessary purchases (being retired with limited income), but I love my music and this for me was an incredible find.

    Please feel free to add your quality (or unusual) findings to this thread rather than creating a new one every time you find something. Happy scrapping.
    Last edited by recyclersteve; 06-27-2018 at 03:14 AM. Reason: Computer wouldn't let me finish original mesg.

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    i mentioned to a guy who gives me ewaste every now n then, that i was looking ofr a decent working computer, should he ever come across one.
    over a year after i mentioned that to him, he sent me ******** msg saying that he had a pc for me.

    it was a very nice HP tower and he also gave a a Windows 7 original disc with serial key.
    all i had to do for him was sent a thank you email to the client of his who had donated the machine.

    the tower was so immaculate, it even had the plastic over the part with the USB slots.

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    This amp, its circa 1968 so the same age as me. Except this ones in the original box with the factory schematics & packing.
    A easy (NZ$) $400+ sale in original condition

    Its a Sansui AU-777 amp. Its a very early transistorised and groundbreaking amp.
    Last edited by eesakiwi; 06-27-2018 at 09:15 AM.

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    For me a good non-metal find was several brand new boxes of natural slate tiles, about 90 sq feet in total.
    This was a perfect find, as our old fireplace looked truly hideous.
    I used a good portion of it to re-do our fireplace, floor to ceiling and it turned out great! Still have about half of it left.

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    Quote Originally Posted by eesakiwi View Post


    This amp, its circa 1968 so the same age as me. Except this ones in the original box with the factory schematics & packing.
    A easy (NZ$) $400+ sale in original condition

    Its a Sansui AU-777 amp. Its a very early transistorised and groundbreaking amp.
    I had the AU 5900, these Sansui amps are the greatest, was the only thing my ex and I fought over when we parted.

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    Oh.... where to even start?

    Lane cedar chest. Only thing wrong with it was a few scuffs & scratches and a coke can ring.

    Brass boot. Must weigh ... in fact, I'ma go weigh it right now: six pounds. Pic below.

    Brass inkwell. I see similar sold at auction for $300ish. One listed on ebay for 500 something. Pic below

    I'll never buy another light bulb. I have a couple of totes in the garage with a couple hundred that still work.

    My garage sound system: Sony D1011s with Cambridge Soundworks surround sound speakers. Probably not an audiophile's dream, but it works and the price was right.


    I suppose if I had to pick just one it would be the inkwell. It looks awesome on my mantel.



    Taken while still in the alley where I found it. It cleaned up nicely.
    Out of clutter, find simplicity. --Albert Einstein

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    -my grinder
    -my dolly
    -the wheels on my dolly
    -buckets/drums
    -metal table with concrete top and spot for vise
    -a big rv jack (its bascially a farm jack)
    -nice bikes
    -pipe wrenches
    -vise grips
    -good bungee cords
    -usable ladders
    -weights
    -17" gas tiller, we made a garden with it this year
    -a bigger tiller to pull behind a lawn mower w/electric start, but we're selling it, pretty sure it's my all time trophy/record so far
    -generator
    -yard cart
    -a very large 8" chain pipe wrench
    -electric rotisserie to use over a regular grill
    -solid teak outdoor chair
    -electric hedger and blower
    -furniture/household stuff in general/electronics, a bunch of stuff in my house was free
    -a brand new pair of $50 shoes (in the box)
    -solid brass sink and faucet
    -nice clothes sometimes
    -fishing poles


    So much more, hard to remember haha.

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    24 bottle igloo cooler, found while peeking in job site dumpster last week. Retails for $30. Great shape and sticker still on it.
    jogging stroller, currently working on reselling. Our son already has 2 strollers lol.

    usually see multiple strollers and vacuum cleaners that harry homeowner throws in the job site dumpsters, leave them most of the time but if the rooms there ill grab anything worthwhile.

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    recyclersteve started this thread.
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    I do want to add that lots of the stuff I've found are things that I have no use for (i.e., baby strollers). I make an effort to take these to Goodwill. Goodwill has gotten lots (should I say tons?) of stuff from me over the years. With the Trump tax plan, it appears that last year was the final year to itemize charitable gifts given on your taxes. Charities like Goodwill and St. Vincent de Paul will likely get much less in donations this year vs. last because of that. Realizing that, it would be nice if the SMF community could step up a bit in terms of donations we make to those charities and others that we deem worthwhile. Thanks in advance!

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  21. #11
    recyclersteve started this thread.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lexwallm View Post
    -my grinder
    -my dolly
    -the wheels on my dolly
    -buckets/drums
    -metal table with concrete top and spot for vise
    -a big rv jack (its bascially a farm jack)
    -nice bikes
    -pipe wrenches
    -vise grips
    -good bungee cords
    -usable ladders
    -weights
    -17" gas tiller, we made a garden with it this year
    -a bigger tiller to pull behind a lawn mower w/electric start, but we're selling it, pretty sure it's my all time trophy/record so far
    -generator
    -yard cart
    -a very large 8" chain pipe wrench
    -electric rotisserie to use over a regular grill
    -solid teak outdoor chair
    -electric hedger and blower
    -furniture/household stuff in general/electronics, a bunch of stuff in my house was free
    -a brand new pair of $50 shoes (in the box)
    -solid brass sink and faucet
    -nice clothes sometimes
    -fishing poles


    So much more, hard to remember haha.
    This posting reminded me that I once found a bunch of tools (not power tools, but screwdrivers, wrenches, etc.). There were no sets- it all appeared to be a bunch of miscellaneous stuff with many different brands. I counted and there were something like 71-72 items in the bunch. Not bad. This became some extra scrapping tools that I could keep in the car, so I didn't have to take the only one of that type from the garage. That helps to keep my wife happy.

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    I do Ewaste so my good finds are kinda related:

    Nice PC's & Laptops. I haven't needed to buy a new computer since 1992.

    Printers to go with the PC's.

    My wife needed a tablet for work. I recently came across six i pads that had cracked glass. Took the one with a minor crack and pressed it back into service for her last week. She's having fun with her new toy. It's working out well for her.

    There was a power surge that knocked out the backlight on our 48" LG flat screen TV a few weeks ago. It was my first attempt at a flat screen repair and i made a critical mistake that botched the job. I really wasn't looking forward to buying a new TV so i looked around and found a nice 32" Panasonic flat screen that seemed to be little used. Got it home and found out why. The plug was for 220 volts like what you see over in Europe. Did a little research and found out that it can accept either 110 or 220. All i had to do was change the plug.

    The 32" Panasonic turned to be my best find in awhile. It just showed up at a time when we really needed it.( That's rare.) It's solidly built. The picture and sound quality is a lot better than the one we had before. A couple of bucks invested for a plug gave us an upgrade. It feels like we caught a lucky break on that one.

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    Coolest thing i got was a 2ft tall cement gargoil /dragon monster statue someone put out. One of the ears is chipped but no big deal. Set it aside the evergreen bush and cant even tell its chipped.

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    I once found a 2 foot high plastic Gnome somebody had turned into a bong.
    No surprises there...

    Also once found a shopping bag full of Silver plated (EPNS) soup/dessert spoons inside the sandy dirt inside a gorse bushes roots beside a train track.
    They must have been there for at least ten-fifteen years.
    I gave them to somebody who makes Albatrosses & Stalks out of them for decorations. They look quite impressive, easy to make using a gas torch & sell immediately in yard sales & at stalls.
    Last edited by eesakiwi; 07-04-2018 at 04:51 AM.

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    A self contained lift gate for a truck was given to me on one job. Many call these "Tommy Gates" a brand name. It might be mounted to one of my trucks or sold.

    Give back more to this world than we take.

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    Yesterday, I picked up a “frozen” chainsaw. I cleaned off the packed dirt, freed the chain, added bar oil, and started it on the first pull!

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    I recently picked up an all stainless steel infrared nearly clean (as in almost not dirty) propane grill. Everything worked and it's in perfect shape. I won't go back to a regular propane grill again. No flare ups, cooks perfectly evenly, cooks faster, retains more moisture... I picked up another infrared grill before this one but it was filthy and much smaller, but it was the same brand so I kept some if the parts and then scrapped it.

    I am not a pack rat but for whatever reason I can't get myself to scrap or sell the grill I just bought a few years ago, so now I have 2 grills and a smoker on my patio.. lol..

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    *Looks around yard*
    15ft aluminum canoe
    10ft Jon boat
    Sweet old johnson outboard for Jon boat
    2 Skeet throwers
    Half a dozen chainsaws
    Riding mower
    Snowblower
    Lineman's grounding rod
    Standby generator
    Parts truck
    Dirt bikes4wheeler
    3\4" orbodorfer pump w\ 1hp electric motor
    Hayward sand filter for pool
    Grill
    Two workshops a shed and trucks are packed with just about every tool imaginable some I have bought but most are toss outs. picked up a 14" metal chop saw this week from the dump, works fine, wanted one for years.
    There ain't nothing wrong with an honest days work. Anyone who says otherwise is a fool.- Old Man

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