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45 Posts
I am always interested in hearing what kind of tools people have made, and how they made them. Extra points for useing raw materials.
What have you made or improvised yourself?
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1,231 Posts
1) Vacuum line for a 1965 International Scout with a Bic pen casing.
2) Fish hooks with pennies and a pair of pliers.
2) Fish hooks with pennies and a pair of pliers.
self made snorkle system for a 66 fj40
flushing system for a/c condesation drains and coil cleaning hose all in one.
UL silnylon tarps, ditty bags, bivy bags,sleeping bags, patrol blankets....
knife
duel fuel stoves,soda can stoves.
pop up rifle targets
just some..
flushing system for a/c condesation drains and coil cleaning hose all in one.
UL silnylon tarps, ditty bags, bivy bags,sleeping bags, patrol blankets....
knife
duel fuel stoves,soda can stoves.
pop up rifle targets
just some..
Started experimenting (read: self teaching 
) with blacksmithing this spring.
Have made: a bunch of lid lifters for dutch ovens (it's like macaroni pictures for kindergardeners), a screwdriver, a two edged knife dubbed the "ShankMaster 4000" LOL, started on a smaller knife, a pry bar that either wasn't hard enough or the right steel (would pull nails but couldn't really pry with), started work on a scythe but bending the metal in two directions isn't as easy as you'd think. I've also repaired some broken tools and started re-working stuff like heads to hoes, etc.
Wife has made a bunch of lid lifters, a triangle dinner bell type deal, and started making metal letters for a sign.
When it finally cools down we'll get back at it.
We set our smitty shop up where everything is done on the primitive level, we don't even have lights in there. We probably should have lights in there though. The idea was basically to be able to fix/re-build necessary tools if it was nothing more than hoes and shovels.
) with blacksmithing this spring. Have made: a bunch of lid lifters for dutch ovens (it's like macaroni pictures for kindergardeners), a screwdriver, a two edged knife dubbed the "ShankMaster 4000" LOL, started on a smaller knife, a pry bar that either wasn't hard enough or the right steel (would pull nails but couldn't really pry with), started work on a scythe but bending the metal in two directions isn't as easy as you'd think. I've also repaired some broken tools and started re-working stuff like heads to hoes, etc.
Wife has made a bunch of lid lifters, a triangle dinner bell type deal, and started making metal letters for a sign.
When it finally cools down we'll get back at it.
We set our smitty shop up where everything is done on the primitive level, we don't even have lights in there. We probably should have lights in there though. The idea was basically to be able to fix/re-build necessary tools if it was nothing more than hoes and shovels.
Awesome root cellar shelving all free.
Went to a plant that makes concrete block. They have a dumpster they fill everyday with "bad" block, which may have imperfections, but are perfectly strong and make great shelf supports. The company has to pay for disposal, so was happy to get rid of a bunch at no cost to me. Most communties of decent size have a block plant nearby. It's just too expensive to ship $1.00 block very far.
Lowes and other mega hardware stores throw away hardwood pallets. Many get snatched up before trash day. Get there before the pallet recyclers and you can get some great hardwood lumber. Use the best pieces for your shelves and place on the concrete block. Use the scrap lumber for firewood.
Incedently, the block plants will also have a stash of "culls". These are block that are off color or special order overruns. You can negotiate a cheap price, sometimes pennies on the dollar. I have accumulated quite a few retaining wall block from cull piles. It's a win/win situation. You get quality block and the company get's some money out of their mistakes.
Went to a plant that makes concrete block. They have a dumpster they fill everyday with "bad" block, which may have imperfections, but are perfectly strong and make great shelf supports. The company has to pay for disposal, so was happy to get rid of a bunch at no cost to me. Most communties of decent size have a block plant nearby. It's just too expensive to ship $1.00 block very far.
Lowes and other mega hardware stores throw away hardwood pallets. Many get snatched up before trash day. Get there before the pallet recyclers and you can get some great hardwood lumber. Use the best pieces for your shelves and place on the concrete block. Use the scrap lumber for firewood.
Incedently, the block plants will also have a stash of "culls". These are block that are off color or special order overruns. You can negotiate a cheap price, sometimes pennies on the dollar. I have accumulated quite a few retaining wall block from cull piles. It's a win/win situation. You get quality block and the company get's some money out of their mistakes.
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573 Posts
grew up poor on a very small farm/ranch, improvised more things than I can remember, baling wire was my friend lol, I remember one time my dad and I used an old tailgate off a pickup and some chains to spread rock behind the tractor, worked but was hard work
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274 Posts
homemade generators,made out of a washing machine motor and lawn mower engine.12volt to 120 volt inverter made from parts taken from computer monitors, solar cells made from LEDS, sun tracker made from used parts of a computer,12 volt dc flouresent lighting. A computer can be a treasure trove of useful parts and best of all they are free from most computer repair shops.A wood gas generator made from 30 gal. barrel, with a 3.5 hp lawnmower engine used as a compressor.The list goes on and on there are many things that one can build from things most people will throw away.Look beyond the trash and you will find most thing can be used for more than they are designed for.
Act.
Act.
Tattoo gun.
I'm working on a design for a human powered emergency generator.
I'm working on a design for a human powered emergency generator.
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10,167 Posts
Over the years, dozens of things... last week however....
Never own a pool. I didn't want one, it came with the house. Unrelenting money pits they are. The pump stopped pumping, or barely pumped at all. The motor was good, and spinning the right way. The impeller was good. I replaced the seals on the pump. Still didn't pump. The only conclusion was the line was blocked. I tried a bladder jet hose, both directions for an hour. Didn't work. By not the pool hadn't been circulating for several days and I was dumping in the chlorine. I mad an appointment with a pool repair company, for Friday the 29th. They didn't show up or call. Holiday weekend, four days before I could get a plumber and the pool would be green. What I needed, I thought, was a plunger to move the water back and forth. Fortunately for me the bottom of my skimmer was threaded. First I build a PVC casing that threaded into the skimmer and came up three feet, out of 2-inch PVC. Then I found two PVC caps that nearly sealed up the 2-inch casing. With O rings from the faucet areas and the sanded caps I had a good seal in the PVC tube. Then I had to fabricate a handle for the rig to make it a plunger. It cost me $9 total and took 20 minutes of plunging but I dislodged the leaf clog. Then I call the up the pool people and told them not to bother (They charge $70 just to say hello.)
My father was a great fabricator... he once took a radiator fan, attached it to an electric motor and made a great fan moving air through the house. He also used the same motor to run a small piston motor backwards as an air pump and used the spark plug hole to carry the air away and inflated things.
Never own a pool. I didn't want one, it came with the house. Unrelenting money pits they are. The pump stopped pumping, or barely pumped at all. The motor was good, and spinning the right way. The impeller was good. I replaced the seals on the pump. Still didn't pump. The only conclusion was the line was blocked. I tried a bladder jet hose, both directions for an hour. Didn't work. By not the pool hadn't been circulating for several days and I was dumping in the chlorine. I mad an appointment with a pool repair company, for Friday the 29th. They didn't show up or call. Holiday weekend, four days before I could get a plumber and the pool would be green. What I needed, I thought, was a plunger to move the water back and forth. Fortunately for me the bottom of my skimmer was threaded. First I build a PVC casing that threaded into the skimmer and came up three feet, out of 2-inch PVC. Then I found two PVC caps that nearly sealed up the 2-inch casing. With O rings from the faucet areas and the sanded caps I had a good seal in the PVC tube. Then I had to fabricate a handle for the rig to make it a plunger. It cost me $9 total and took 20 minutes of plunging but I dislodged the leaf clog. Then I call the up the pool people and told them not to bother (They charge $70 just to say hello.)
My father was a great fabricator... he once took a radiator fan, attached it to an electric motor and made a great fan moving air through the house. He also used the same motor to run a small piston motor backwards as an air pump and used the spark plug hole to carry the air away and inflated things.
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372 Posts
Not meaning to derail this thread, which I have enjoyed reading by the way, but I just had read a post about underground shelters, and now reading this last post from Straight Razor about his pool made me wonder if anyone ever made a shelter out of a swimming pool.
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10,167 Posts
It would be a far better use for them than holding water. The only huge issue would be popping out of the ground. An empty pool has a lot of dirt weight pushing against it, and or water table, and that can make them rise out of the ground.
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7,224 Posts
I have a defunct money pit pool in my back yard.
I'm currently figuring on how to do just that.
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10,167 Posts
Oh do I hear you loud and clear... raise talapia instead? Maybe a rock garden. I have maintained 30,000 gallons of water for 8 years....I think that is about the most stupid thing I've ever done, except for volunteering for the army during Vietnam. That was mega stupidity, where as owning the pool is just plain everyday stupidity.
When one counts every cost that pool costs about $6 a day... that's a lot of Ripple....
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7,224 Posts
Funny you mention that.
My wife and I have a farm in her hometown in Philippines; there is a tilapia pond on it.
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2,715 Posts
Was in the bush in then Rhodesia(Zimbabwe) when the fan belt went, luckily stockings were part of the emergency repair kit, got us to the next town, just as well because terrorists were rife in the bush in those days.
A wet stick can be used as a spark plug lead, but take spare sticks with you as they dry out and dont work.
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372 Posts
Keep us updated please! I got some ideas in my head as to what I would do if I was to under take such a project. But no idea if in actuality it would work.
I just need to go find someones pool to try it in. :thumb:
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