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  1. #1
    jham1217 started this thread.
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    What's are some of your favorite things that you've found?

    Ok so I'm just curious since most of y'all have been doing this a lot longer than I have, what are some of the coolest things that you have ever found either scrapping or dumpster diving? I've only been doing this a few weeks and here is some of the stuff I found.

    1. 80 gb ipod just needed to be restored on itunes so it would work
    2. 4 cases of unopened 12 guage shotgun shells along with a small sword in great condition



  2. #2
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    Didn't find this while scrapping, but I'd say it's the coolest thing I've found so far.

    A 1978 silver dollar on a ditch bank.

    How or why it was there I will never know.

    I found it interesting, because it's my birth year.

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  4. #3
    Mechanic688's Avatar
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    Got this the other day while helping clean out a rented storage unit; a box of 45 cal shells, box of 9mm shells, and a coffee can full(overflowing) of 45 cal spent brass.
    Definitely cannot sell on craigslist or fleabay.

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    Yesterday i found a 1.5 ct natural sapphire loose inside of a nice sterling silver pill box.

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  7. #5
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    I found a set of pure copper landscape lights one time. Also found a full size wheel chair I was going to try and resale but it has to many issues with it. Just broke it down for Aluminum scrap

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    Opening a set of scrap computers that I got from a company. They told me they have been doing upgrades to them but they are just to old now for them.

    In the computers I was finding (some) HD video cards...working. Most of them had a one TB hard drive, two 2gig memory sticks in each computer (total of 4gb memory).

    I paid them like $4 for each computer...I did not know what I would find inside them. I made a nice return on that.

  9. #7
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    I found an antique brass fire hose nozzle while doing a clean-out. I thought it was some kind of brass fitting at first so I threw it in the brass bucket. I was getting ready to cash in all my stuff and I looked at it again and realized it was a hose nozzle. It weighs about 10 lbs. That would be about $17-$18 here just for scrap. I plan on taking it to an antique store to get it appraised
    There's nothing more fun and more effective than hitting something repeatedly with a sledgehammer

  10. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by easyrecycle View Post
    Opening a set of scrap computers that I got from a company. They told me they have been doing upgrades to them but they are just to old now for them.

    In the computers I was finding (some) HD video cards...working. Most of them had a one TB hard drive, two 2gig memory sticks in each computer (total of 4gb memory).

    I paid them like $4 for each computer...I did not know what I would find inside them. I made a nice return on that.
    I love those, those can be wiped and resold for 75 to 100 bucks

  11. #9
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    A working sewing machine. I could give it away, sell it, or learn how to sew, if I keep it stock. It looks like it could be rebuilt as a jigsaw.

  12. #10
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    A pair of these loppers. Exactly the same sort. Hard 2 foot long Ali handles & industrial quality. I won't let them leave the house in case they disapear.
    Magic for cutting thru Copper tube & the copper wire around the ceramic on CRT Tv's. The handles are longer than the pics show.

    They overlap the jaws so they don't bend or work against & cut each other & stay sharp.
    I have found a way to seperate the two main parts, so I can fit them over a, say car wiring loom, put the bolt back in & chop thru the loom.

    Sewing machines? I have about 7 & have thought about converting one to a small jigsaw. Otherwise, one day I will get one going & it will save me soooooo much money. Making faceclothes from towels & fixing clothing etc etc.
    Last edited by eesakiwi; 03-14-2013 at 10:38 PM.

  13. #11
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    well before i found this forum and first started really pursuing scrapping as one of my main sources of income, I pulled up next to a trash pile because i saw a couple of those wheel behind basket cart thingys, and hopped out and threw them in the truck, was turning around to leave and noticed a garbage bag tie in a knot at the edge of the garbage pile,I for some reason gave it a kick, it was a kick with a "thud",ripped open the bag and inside was a large flat rate postal shipping box....opened that and there was a bunch of costume jewelry, beads, two brass belt buckles,random arts and craft stones, and a wood jewelry box!

    opened the jewelry box and found more junk jewelry, about 600 of the same type old 3 cent stamps that had been cancelled marked bundled together, and real gold jewelry, silver jewelry.....

    one belt buckle was a HUSTLER adult mag. buckle from the 80's with the beaver logo on it that I sold on ebay for $75

    the other belt buckle was a "FAA" farmers agricultural association buckle that i sold on ebay for $50

    sold the gold jewelry for $360

    added the the silver to my coffee can that i save silver in for a rainy day...

    still selling stamps on ebay as we speak , made about $25 so far..

    found two different sets of some old grandma style looking earrings , that were images of cats....with the engraved signature name "laurel burch" in the back of them, quick search on google and found out it was a famous artist of cats that passed away ,looked at eaby and found similar earrings going for $25-$45 a set, I sold both sets of earrings in the same lot on ebay for $80

    sold the rest of the costume jewelry and arts and crafts beads and stones in a few different lots , and made another $30-$40.......


    That was my best find so far.....
    Last edited by losthope; 03-14-2013 at 10:59 PM.

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  15. #12
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    Just had to google 'Laurel Burch' Laurel Burch - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    Laurel Burch (December 31, 1945 – September 13, 2007) was an American artist, designer and businesswoman.

    As a 20-year-old single mother she found metal in junkyards to hammer into jewelry to support her two children, and went on to launch her business, now called Laurel Burch Artworks, in the late 1960s with the help of a small staff that worked out of her house.
    "I found metal in a junkyard and hammered it out on the back of an old frying pan", she stated during an interview.
    Last edited by eesakiwi; 03-14-2013 at 11:05 PM.

  16. #13
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    you guys and gals are going to think im crazy but i get excited when i find

    jumper cables
    ice scrapers
    tire guages
    4 way lug wrenches,

    also a few weeks back i got a volvo with two guitars in the trunk and the keychain had a leather case with guitar picks inside, i got a buddy that plays all over and called him, i thought they was junk but the electric was from the 60's and the accoustic he said was worth a couple hundred, the leather case was from the opry and that made him happy because his grandpa played there years ago

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  18. #14
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    I was really ticked to discover that my 18V Milwaukee charger had up & died on me several months ago, cuz then I was stuck with a useless 18V drill & sawzall since they don't sell that model anymore. I've been eyeing them every time I run low on stuff to take apart, but haven't ever taken the plunge to do so yet.

    Well, fast forward to today & what do I spy in the tub from my resale shop pickup??? An 18V Milwaukee charger!!
    Out of clutter, find simplicity. --Albert Einstein

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  20. #15
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    The first shed cleanout I ever did I found an old Pennsylvania Railroad lantern. Only worth about $25 to a collector but I keep it hanging in the basement as my first cool find and of course my first Pentium Pro. My son thinks daddy was a train engineer who then became a pirate and found some gold.
    I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.” John Wayne-- The Shootist

    NEWBS READ THIS THREAD ABOUT REFINING!!!!
    http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/off-t...ning-read.html

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  22. #16
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    my rusty stubborn yellow handled tinsnips that will snip anything
    I think i might actually buy a good one!
    bench press + weights
    stainless steel feminine napkin holder i keep my rarely-used, big-long-strong strap, fits right in that tiny area behind and under my passenger seat
    light small red dolly
    a big rusty cleaver
    all those vga cables I end up with! I give them out to all my friends to hook up their laptops to their tv's, they love it!

    i came back from the yard with a 16ft shopping-cart-corral rail that im going to aim one of the dirtjumps at for some badass street action! right in my own back yard! but we havent actually put it in yet so mehhhh

    I have this listed on craigslist for $12

    but for right now i keep it down the hillside under a tree in front of my bmx jumps, great for holding me and the homie's pre-ride beer and rolling one up after the ride

    Oh yeah bout 10 years ago we brought a couch down there and ended up having to remove but we didnt know what to do with it so we decided to smash it to pieces.. ended up finding $40 in there
    Last edited by bluemeate; 03-15-2013 at 02:32 AM.
    collecting san joses scrap

  23. #17
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    i pickrd up a working flatscreen tv a few months ago, and i also picked up a fairly new working sound mixer in mint condition!

  24. #18
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    Buying Specialty Escrap of all kinds, resale grade computer parts

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    i do alot of curb shopping, best finds 32" lcd tv working, dyson vacuums
    I buy and sell all types of scrap and escrap. I buy specialty and hard to sell escrap. I buy resale items. PM me or contact me at jghilino@hotmail.com
    I AM ACTIVELY BUYING ESCRAP OF ALL TYPES. BOARDS, RAM, CPUS AND MUCH MORE

  25. #19
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    I did a clean out a few weeks ago at a place that had been "abandoned" for a while. Ended up finding 2 coolers full of beer that still had some ice in them. The best I could figure was that some of the neighborhood kids had been breaking in and using it as a party house. I only took one cooler and left a note telling them to be careful. It wasn't that long ago I was a kid doing stupid things myself, figured I owe one to the next generation.
    Satisfaction is the death of desire.

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