When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

Too_Many_Tools wrote:
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

I always enjoyed poking about at P&D surplus in Kingston, NY.
Wonder if they're still there?

Dave

My source is mostly unsold military surplus equipment. These pages use
such equipment in the most prominent role.

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Garage-Heater/

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/17.5-Phase-Converter/

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Pullup-Bar/

I use very little stuff from dumpsters, and that mostly from nice
dumpsters like big government sponsored laboratories. Not from
dumpsters behind apartment complexes.

I try to avoid consumer goods of any kinds as source of parts.

i

On 28 Jul 2006 12:05:51 -0700, Too_Many_Tools wrote:
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

On 28 Jul 2006 12:12:53 -0700, wrote:

Too_Many_Tools wrote:
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

I always enjoyed poking about at P&D surplus in Kingston, NY.
Wonder if they're still there?

I recommend OEM Parts in Colorado Springs. Just _browsing_ the isles
will take you 2-3 hours. To pick up, look over, and place back
interesting junque you see will add another 2 hours to your visit.

Jeff Jeff Duntemann describes it quite well on his website:

http://www.duntemann.com/december2005.htm#12-30-2005

They also have an eBay store that I did not know about. (But, then,
now-a-days *everybody* has an eBay store....)

http://stores.ebay.com/OEM-Parts-Inc

A brief look over their eBay store merchandise doesn't EVEN BEGIN to
convey how much Really Good Crap they have there.

In the last 10 years they've moved twice within Colorado Springs -- each
time from a defunct grocery store to a yet-larger defunct grocery store.
I never got to see them do a move. THAT would be something a feller
could tell to his grandchildren!

My wife knows she won't see me for the whole day when I head out on
the 50 mile drive up there.

HTH
Jonesy
--
Marvin L Jones | jonz | W3DHJ | linux
38.24N 104.55W | @ config.com | Jonesy | OS/2
*** Killfiling google posts: http//jonz.net/ng.htm

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
oups.com...
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

It's getting tougher and tougher as manufacturing goes offshore. A few years
ago I worked at Rohr Ind. making aircraft nacells and the like. All surplus
stuff went to the one acre salvage yard open to all on Saturdays. I still
have stuff hanging from the rafter of stuff that one day will be used.
Bearings, shafts, wheel, brackets, metal parts of all kinds. And even then
there were two major salvage operators in the San Diego area where I could
pick up anything from slides to motors to bekers, to resistors and anything
in betwen.

About all we have left no days are the auto junk yards where windishield
wiper motors, window motors, solenoids, starter motors and the like can be
had for good prices. But the good old days of scrounging the industrial
salvage yards are gone. I now use McMaster Carr and say to hek with saving a
nickel or dime when all I need to do is place an order by email and have the
part next day. Speed has replaced cheap.

Wayne

Myself, as a humanoid robotic/animatronic builder only use components
that can be had
in quantity-All of my projects rely on the same steppers with different
gearing for each
joint/movement. In most cases, only the external features change all
that much, so It is
simply not feasible to re-invent the wheel for every new scrap that
comes along. I do often locate a useable item in online surplus, and
hoard as many as possible, which helps with costs.

Mark

Wayne Lundberg wrote:
"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
oups.com...
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

It's getting tougher and tougher as manufacturing goes offshore. A few years
ago I worked at Rohr Ind. making aircraft nacells and the like. All surplus
stuff went to the one acre salvage yard open to all on Saturdays. I still
have stuff hanging from the rafter of stuff that one day will be used.
Bearings, shafts, wheel, brackets, metal parts of all kinds. And even then
there were two major salvage operators in the San Diego area where I could
pick up anything from slides to motors to bekers, to resistors and anything
in betwen.

About all we have left no days are the auto junk yards where windishield
wiper motors, window motors, solenoids, starter motors and the like can be
had for good prices. But the good old days of scrounging the industrial
salvage yards are gone. I now use McMaster Carr and say to hek with saving a
nickel or dime when all I need to do is place an order by email and have the
part next day. Speed has replaced cheap.

Wayne

On 28 Jul 2006 12:05:51 -0700, "Too_Many_Tools"
put finger to keyboard and composed:

When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

Silicon Chip magazine has a dedicated salvage column:
http://www.siliconchip.com.au/cms/se...earch=Searc h

Otherwise here in Australia we have surplus outlets such as ...
http://www.oatleyelectronics.com/

Here's a CNC machine:
http://www.oatleyelectronics.com/images/k142_1049.jpg
http://www.oatleyelectronics.com/kits/cnc_machine.htm

"Most of the bits and pieces, motors, power supplies, mains socket and
switch, opto switches were recycled from the German printers that
Oatley Electronics once sold".

"The basic structure of the machine was made with off-cuts of various
aluminium extrusions and some recycled linear bearings from some old
photo processing equipment".

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

I've noticed that also...the more manufacturing goes off shore, the
less quality surplus there is.

Boeing Surplus is a good example of this trend.

I have also noticed that the consumer goods available today offer
little to salvage even as the volume of the goods headed towards the
landfill increase.

TMT


Wayne Lundberg wrote:
"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
oups.com...
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

It's getting tougher and tougher as manufacturing goes offshore. A few years
ago I worked at Rohr Ind. making aircraft nacells and the like. All surplus
stuff went to the one acre salvage yard open to all on Saturdays. I still
have stuff hanging from the rafter of stuff that one day will be used.
Bearings, shafts, wheel, brackets, metal parts of all kinds. And even then
there were two major salvage operators in the San Diego area where I could
pick up anything from slides to motors to bekers, to resistors and anything
in betwen.

About all we have left no days are the auto junk yards where windishield
wiper motors, window motors, solenoids, starter motors and the like can be
had for good prices. But the good old days of scrounging the industrial
salvage yards are gone. I now use McMaster Carr and say to hek with saving a
nickel or dime when all I need to do is place an order by email and have the
part next day. Speed has replaced cheap.

Wayne

Too_Many_Tools wrote:

I've noticed that also...the more manufacturing goes off shore, the
less quality surplus there is.

Boeing Surplus is a good example of this trend.

I have also noticed that the consumer goods available today offer
little to salvage even as the volume of the goods headed towards the
landfill increase.

There are actually three other reasons there is less industrial/military
surplus these days, and at least for military surplus offshore
production isn't one of them:

1. The gobment is mandating more and more of the "retired" components be
destroyed, rather than liquidated, because of its sensitive security
issues. Even when there are no secret mechanisms to protect, the gobment
feels certain individuals could purchase Uncle Sam's discards to use in
terrorist devices.

2. The core materials in some of this stuff is worth more as salvage
than as surplus, and the money gets paid faster. Prices for copper is
going through the roof.

3. New state and federal laws regarding disposition of anything with
lead has surplus dealers not as willing to purchase palettes of
miscellaneous junk. They used to just throw the extra stuff out; now
they can't do that, because of the lead content in everything including
old IBM PC motherboards. They have to pay to have it recycled.

-- Gordon

On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 17:19:56 -0700, Gordon McComb wrote:
Too_Many_Tools wrote:

I've noticed that also...the more manufacturing goes off shore, the
less quality surplus there is.

Boeing Surplus is a good example of this trend.

I have also noticed that the consumer goods available today offer
little to salvage even as the volume of the goods headed towards the
landfill increase.

There are actually three other reasons there is less industrial/military
surplus these days, and at least for military surplus offshore
production isn't one of them:

1. The gobment is mandating more and more of the "retired" components be
destroyed, rather than liquidated, because of its sensitive security
issues. Even when there are no secret mechanisms to protect, the gobment
feels certain individuals could purchase Uncle Sam's discards to use in
terrorist devices.

I see about same quantity of military surplus stuff as before, and at
no worse prices.

As for "sensitive security issues", I am begging people to take my
submarine navigation equipment from Ohio and Los Angeles class
subs. For free. I bought this from the military itself, as part of my
buying/selling surplus stuff, and could not sell.

So, if you want submarine pieces for free, stop by and pick them up, I
am west of Chicago. (yes, I already posted to craigslist anf freecycle)

http://yabe.algebra.com/~ichudov/mis...arineSwitch-2/

(US citizens only plz)

These would make nice outdoor boxes for whatever you might fancy.

i

2. The core materials in some of this stuff is worth more as salvage
than as surplus, and the money gets paid faster. Prices for copper is
going through the roof.

3. New state and federal laws regarding disposition of anything with
lead has surplus dealers not as willing to purchase palettes of
miscellaneous junk. They used to just throw the extra stuff out; now
they can't do that, because of the lead content in everything including
old IBM PC motherboards. They have to pay to have it recycled.

(posting from r.c.m.)

LOL. funny to see "P&D surplus" here. (international newsgroup, P&T is
local to me) yeah, they're still there. there's always controversy about
the name though, people always debating if it's "P&D" or "P&T". just looked
in the phone book, i guess he changed the name, "P&T Surplus 198 Abeel St.
Kingston NY (845) 338-6191" he's a good guy, gave me a break/discount
multiple times, i think he has his gearmotors at too high a price though.
:-)



wrote in message
ups.com...

Too_Many_Tools wrote:
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

I always enjoyed poking about at P&D surplus in Kingston, NY.
Wonder if they're still there?

Dave

Any Place like this inthe Northern Virginia / Washington DC area?


"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
oups.com...
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

We have several industrial surplus companies in our area. There are also
several manufacturing resources in the area to furnish fodder for these
companies. Lucent (deceased), Seagate, Hitachi and other smaller companies
produce a wealth of materials. One reason we now live in a warehouse is my
"familiarity" with these companies. The main one (over 100,000 sqft under
roof) has one area just for salvaging industrial equipment. Several years
ago, Hitachi closed a production line and it went to salvage there. After
the assembled equipment was found not marketable as such, I spent many
evenings, weekends and spare time disassembling the devices and bought
parts. Servo motors, lots of bearing rail, ball screws, manufacturing
process camera equip, a pot-load of aluminum unistrut type material, stepper
motors and controllers, plc's and lots of misc, etc and-so-on stuff (even
micrometer air cylinders) were included. Lots of little CNC devices have
come from the old Seagate plant. Got a nice x-z Daedal (6x12) positioner
with Parker/Compumotor drive. Got another nice xyz with rotation unit that
has a Galil controller and all servo drives. Anyone like Galil and C++
programming? Not I. Did some trading for some old Intelidex robot arms and
controllers and if anyone knows ANYTHING about these guys, we need to talk.
I've found nice DC motors and controllers on paper shredders and treadmills.
Hospital surplus is great for this stuff. Got a fairly complete CT table
and controller cabinet with several DC motors, b-rails and ballscrews, etc,
at one place. Now, what have I built? Mostly an accumulation to draw from
when we finally get our house sold and settled here. I have been able to
help some local friends with their projects, though.
Respectfully,
Ron Moore

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
oups.com...
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

"Ron Moore" wrote in message
news:a2Ayg.14150$PO.9199@dukeread03...
We have several industrial surplus companies in our area.

Where?

There are also several manufacturing resources in the area to furnish
fodder for these companies. Lucent (deceased), Seagate, Hitachi and other
smaller companies produce a wealth of materials. One reason we now live
in a warehouse is my "familiarity" with these companies. The main one
(over 100,000 sqft under roof) has one area just for salvaging industrial
equipment. Several years ago, Hitachi closed a production line and it
went to salvage there. After the assembled equipment was found not
marketable as such, I spent many evenings, weekends and spare time
disassembling the devices and bought parts. Servo motors, lots of bearing
rail, ball screws, manufacturing process camera equip, a pot-load of
aluminum unistrut type material, stepper motors and controllers, plc's and
lots of misc, etc and-so-on stuff (even micrometer air cylinders) were
included. Lots of little CNC devices have come from the old Seagate
plant. Got a nice x-z Daedal (6x12) positioner with Parker/Compumotor
drive. Got another nice xyz with rotation unit that has a Galil
controller and all servo drives. Anyone like Galil and C++ programming?
Not I. Did some trading for some old Intelidex robot arms and controllers
and if anyone knows ANYTHING about these guys, we need to talk. I've found
nice DC motors and controllers on paper shredders and treadmills. Hospital
surplus is great for this stuff. Got a fairly complete CT table and
controller cabinet with several DC motors, b-rails and ballscrews, etc, at
one place. Now, what have I built? Mostly an accumulation to draw from
when we finally get our house sold and settled here. I have been able to
help some local friends with their projects, though.
Respectfully,
Ron Moore

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
oups.com...
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

"mc" wrote in message
...
"Ron Moore" wrote in message
news:a2Ayg.14150$PO.9199@dukeread03...
We have several industrial surplus companies in our area.
Hospital
surplus is great for this stuff. Got a fairly complete CT
table and
controller cabinet with several DC motors, b-rails and
ballscrews, etc, at
one place.

Where did the Hospital surplus stuff come from ? A dumpster ?
Formal sale ?
Thanks !

On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:05:51 -0700, Too_Many_Tools wrote:

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

There are some thrift stores where I live that sell used computers
for between $5 and $15. They range from 486's to Pentium III's,
as well as old Mac's. Most of these machines work, but I don't
need old computers, so I buy some for salvage parts. In a couple
of lucky cases, I've been able to use some of the parts to repair
broken music synthesizers. They also get millions of power supplies,
cables, and such junk there. I once picked up a pretty nice bench
power supply for a few dollars, and I got an oscilloscope too once,
some scientific calculators, etc.

And here's a sort of negative answer ... When I was a teenager
I had a string a terrible, frustrating jobs. One of them was doing
inventory in a warehouse for electronic and mechanical parts.
There were thousands of neat little parts in this place and my
job was to keep counting them. I also had to pull the parts that were
discontinued. So one day I'd pulled a whole bunch of these nifty
little things -- motors, LEDs, connectors, etc. -- and I asked the
supervisor where they were going. "We incinerate them when
they're discontinued," he answered. "Incinerate them? Well, can
I take them if you're just going to burn them?" I asked. "No,"
he answered without explanation. I remember thinking what a
big, stupid dufus this guy was, and how I'd never get anywhere
with him, but I went ahead and asked him why I couldn't take
them. "Because they're patented," he said. When I pointed out
to him that this had nothing to do with anything, he turned
around and shouted in a booming voice to the guy who dealt
with the incinerator, "Hey, Joe. We've got some discontinued
stuff here. Come get it and make sure it burns."

Living in a warehouse surrounded by "GOOD stuff"....sounds like heaven
on Earth for those of us who love to build "stuff". ;)

TMT

Ron Moore wrote:
We have several industrial surplus companies in our area. There are also
several manufacturing resources in the area to furnish fodder for these
companies. Lucent (deceased), Seagate, Hitachi and other smaller companies
produce a wealth of materials. One reason we now live in a warehouse is my
"familiarity" with these companies. The main one (over 100,000 sqft under
roof) has one area just for salvaging industrial equipment. Several years
ago, Hitachi closed a production line and it went to salvage there. After
the assembled equipment was found not marketable as such, I spent many
evenings, weekends and spare time disassembling the devices and bought
parts. Servo motors, lots of bearing rail, ball screws, manufacturing
process camera equip, a pot-load of aluminum unistrut type material, stepper
motors and controllers, plc's and lots of misc, etc and-so-on stuff (even
micrometer air cylinders) were included. Lots of little CNC devices have
come from the old Seagate plant. Got a nice x-z Daedal (6x12) positioner
with Parker/Compumotor drive. Got another nice xyz with rotation unit that
has a Galil controller and all servo drives. Anyone like Galil and C++
programming? Not I. Did some trading for some old Intelidex robot arms and
controllers and if anyone knows ANYTHING about these guys, we need to talk.
I've found nice DC motors and controllers on paper shredders and treadmills.
Hospital surplus is great for this stuff. Got a fairly complete CT table
and controller cabinet with several DC motors, b-rails and ballscrews, etc,
at one place. Now, what have I built? Mostly an accumulation to draw from
when we finally get our house sold and settled here. I have been able to
help some local friends with their projects, though.
Respectfully,
Ron Moore

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
oups.com...
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

Hamad bin Turki Salami wrote:
On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:05:51 -0700, Too_Many_Tools wrote:


So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?


There are some thrift stores where I live that sell used computers
for between $5 and $15. They range from 486's to Pentium III's,
as well as old Mac's. Most of these machines work, but I don't
need old computers, so I buy some for salvage parts. In a couple
of lucky cases, I've been able to use some of the parts to repair
broken music synthesizers. They also get millions of power supplies,
cables, and such junk there. I once picked up a pretty nice bench
power supply for a few dollars, and I got an oscilloscope too once,
some scientific calculators, etc.

And here's a sort of negative answer ... When I was a teenager
I had a string a terrible, frustrating jobs. One of them was doing
inventory in a warehouse for electronic and mechanical parts.
There were thousands of neat little parts in this place and my
job was to keep counting them. I also had to pull the parts that were
discontinued. So one day I'd pulled a whole bunch of these nifty
little things -- motors, LEDs, connectors, etc. -- and I asked the
supervisor where they were going. "We incinerate them when
they're discontinued," he answered. "Incinerate them? Well, can
I take them if you're just going to burn them?" I asked. "No,"
he answered without explanation. I remember thinking what a
big, stupid dufus this guy was, and how I'd never get anywhere
with him, but I went ahead and asked him why I couldn't take
them. "Because they're patented," he said. When I pointed out
to him that this had nothing to do with anything,

Maybe they hadn't yet paid a royalty on the parts that came due
upon use or sale.

he turned
around and shouted in a booming voice to the guy who dealt
with the incinerator, "Hey, Joe. We've got some discontinued
stuff here. Come get it and make sure it burns."



--
The e-mail address in our reply-to line is reversed in an attempt to
minimize spam. Our true address is of the form .

supervisor where they were going. "We incinerate them when they're
discontinued," he answered. "Incinerate them? Well, can
I take them if you're just going to burn them?" I asked. "No,"
he answered without explanation. I remember thinking what a big, stupid
dufus this guy was, and how I'd never get anywhere
with him, but I went ahead and asked him why I couldn't take
them. "Because they're patented," he said. When I pointed out
to him that this had nothing to do with anything,

Maybe they hadn't yet paid a royalty on the parts that came due
upon use or sale.

That makes a great deal of sense. What were they manufacturing? Stereos
with Dolby, perchance?

Ignoramus5429 wrote:

As for "sensitive security issues", I am begging people to take my
submarine navigation equipment from Ohio and Los Angeles class
subs. For free. I bought this from the military itself, as part of my
buying/selling surplus stuff, and could not sell.

That's not the gyrocompass. It's the switch to select which gyrocompass
drives the repeater. That's not a security-related item.

John Nagle

In rec.crafts.metalworking CJT wrote:
Hamad bin Turki Salami wrote:
On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:05:51 -0700, Too_Many_Tools wrote:


So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?


There are some thrift stores where I live that sell used computers
for between $5 and $15. They range from 486's to Pentium III's,
as well as old Mac's. Most of these machines work, but I don't
need old computers, so I buy some for salvage parts. In a couple
of lucky cases, I've been able to use some of the parts to repair
broken music synthesizers. They also get millions of power supplies,
cables, and such junk there. I once picked up a pretty nice bench
power supply for a few dollars, and I got an oscilloscope too once,
some scientific calculators, etc.

And here's a sort of negative answer ... When I was a teenager
I had a string a terrible, frustrating jobs. One of them was doing
inventory in a warehouse for electronic and mechanical parts.
There were thousands of neat little parts in this place and my
job was to keep counting them. I also had to pull the parts that were
discontinued. So one day I'd pulled a whole bunch of these nifty
little things -- motors, LEDs, connectors, etc. -- and I asked the
supervisor where they were going. "We incinerate them when
they're discontinued," he answered. "Incinerate them? Well, can
I take them if you're just going to burn them?" I asked. "No,"
he answered without explanation. I remember thinking what a
big, stupid dufus this guy was, and how I'd never get anywhere
with him, but I went ahead and asked him why I couldn't take
them. "Because they're patented," he said. When I pointed out
to him that this had nothing to do with anything,

Maybe they hadn't yet paid a royalty on the parts that came due
upon use or sale.

Maybe he was just an asshole.

Ignoramus5429 wrote:
My source is mostly unsold military surplus equipment. These pages use
such equipment in the most prominent role.

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Garage-Heater/

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/17.5-Phase-Converter/

http://igor.chudov.com/projects/Pullup-Bar/

I use very little stuff from dumpsters, and that mostly from nice
dumpsters like big government sponsored laboratories. Not from
dumpsters behind apartment complexes.

I try to avoid consumer goods of any kinds as source of parts.

i

On 28 Jul 2006 12:05:51 -0700, Too_Many_Tools wrote:
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

I'm in Oklahoma City. Our "home" is a 3/4 mile trip to the largest surplus
location. I think my wife failed to consider that when we bought this
building.
Respectfully,
Ron Moore
http://members.cox.net/mlogical
We haven't updated it in a while.

"mc" wrote in message
...
"Ron Moore" wrote in message
news:a2Ayg.14150$PO.9199@dukeread03...
We have several industrial surplus companies in our area.

Where?

There are also several manufacturing resources in the area to furnish
fodder for these companies. Lucent (deceased), Seagate, Hitachi and
other smaller companies produce a wealth of materials. One reason we now
live in a warehouse is my "familiarity" with these companies. The main
one (over 100,000 sqft under roof) has one area just for salvaging
industrial equipment. Several years ago, Hitachi closed a production
line and it went to salvage there. After the assembled equipment was
found not marketable as such, I spent many evenings, weekends and spare
time disassembling the devices and bought parts. Servo motors, lots of
bearing rail, ball screws, manufacturing process camera equip, a pot-load
of aluminum unistrut type material, stepper motors and controllers, plc's
and lots of misc, etc and-so-on stuff (even micrometer air cylinders)
were included. Lots of little CNC devices have come from the old Seagate
plant. Got a nice x-z Daedal (6x12) positioner with Parker/Compumotor
drive. Got another nice xyz with rotation unit that has a Galil
controller and all servo drives. Anyone like Galil and C++ programming?
Not I. Did some trading for some old Intelidex robot arms and
controllers and if anyone knows ANYTHING about these guys, we need to
talk. I've found nice DC motors and controllers on paper shredders and
treadmills. Hospital surplus is great for this stuff. Got a fairly
complete CT table and controller cabinet with several DC motors, b-rails
and ballscrews, etc, at one place. Now, what have I built? Mostly an
accumulation to draw from when we finally get our house sold and settled
here. I have been able to help some local friends with their projects,
though.
Respectfully,
Ron Moore

"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
oups.com...
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

" Maybe he was just an asshole."

This is the most likely reason.

Many people, especially in positions of minor authority, are real works
of art.

Just be thankful you could find another job....and other surplus.

TMT


Cydrome Leader wrote:
In rec.crafts.metalworking CJT wrote:
Hamad bin Turki Salami wrote:
On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:05:51 -0700, Too_Many_Tools wrote:


So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?


There are some thrift stores where I live that sell used computers
for between $5 and $15. They range from 486's to Pentium III's,
as well as old Mac's. Most of these machines work, but I don't
need old computers, so I buy some for salvage parts. In a couple
of lucky cases, I've been able to use some of the parts to repair
broken music synthesizers. They also get millions of power supplies,
cables, and such junk there. I once picked up a pretty nice bench
power supply for a few dollars, and I got an oscilloscope too once,
some scientific calculators, etc.

And here's a sort of negative answer ... When I was a teenager
I had a string a terrible, frustrating jobs. One of them was doing
inventory in a warehouse for electronic and mechanical parts.
There were thousands of neat little parts in this place and my
job was to keep counting them. I also had to pull the parts that were
discontinued. So one day I'd pulled a whole bunch of these nifty
little things -- motors, LEDs, connectors, etc. -- and I asked the
supervisor where they were going. "We incinerate them when
they're discontinued," he answered. "Incinerate them? Well, can
I take them if you're just going to burn them?" I asked. "No,"
he answered without explanation. I remember thinking what a
big, stupid dufus this guy was, and how I'd never get anywhere
with him, but I went ahead and asked him why I couldn't take
them. "Because they're patented," he said. When I pointed out
to him that this had nothing to do with anything,

Maybe they hadn't yet paid a royalty on the parts that came due
upon use or sale.

Talking about salvaged components...here's a special one....

http://cgi.ebay.com/1908-DEFOREST-AU...QQcmdZViewItem


TMT






Too_Many_Tools wrote:
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

There is usually one salvage company in any area that handles hospital
salvage. A friend had that affiliation with most of the local ones. They
would call and he would haul. Anything. He and his help removed X-ray
machines to cabinets, beds and chairs. He would usually pay them a few
bucks based on minimal salvage value minus labor. Contact one of your local
hospitals and talk to the plant management or controller offices.
Respectfully,
Ron Moore

"pogo" wrote in message
...
"mc" wrote in message
...
"Ron Moore" wrote in message
news:a2Ayg.14150$PO.9199@dukeread03...
We have several industrial surplus companies in our area.
Hospital
surplus is great for this stuff. Got a fairly complete CT
table and
controller cabinet with several DC motors, b-rails and
ballscrews, etc, at
one place.

Where did the Hospital surplus stuff come from ? A dumpster ?
Formal sale ?
Thanks !

According to Hamad bin Turki Salami :
On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:05:51 -0700, Too_Many_Tools wrote:

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

There are some thrift stores where I live that sell used computers
for between $5 and $15. They range from 486's to Pentium III's,
as well as old Mac's. Most of these machines work, but I don't

The surplus stores which used to be around back in the 1960s and
1970s have all shut down.

I used to pick up lots of Army surplus when I worked nearby at
Ft. Belvoir, but that surplus place has been shut down.

So -- most things now come from hamfests and swap meets.

Enjoy,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

On 29 Jul 2006 18:38:13 GMT, DoN. Nichols wrote:
According to Hamad bin Turki Salami :
On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:05:51 -0700, Too_Many_Tools wrote:

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

There are some thrift stores where I live that sell used computers
for between $5 and $15. They range from 486's to Pentium III's,
as well as old Mac's. Most of these machines work, but I don't

The surplus stores which used to be around back in the 1960s and
1970s have all shut down.

I used to pick up lots of Army surplus when I worked nearby at
Ft. Belvoir, but that surplus place has been shut down.

So -- most things now come from hamfests and swap meets.

they shut down because the military sells their stuff through
govliquidation.com. A real gold mine at times.

i

Yes. And the fact that new stuff is getting more and more affordable makes
it possible to stabilize a design or concept using standard off-the-shelf
components without hocking grandma's house.

Just to prove a point. I'm in the process of developing an anti IED device.
Years ago I would be spending a lot of time traveling the local aerospace
salvage yards looking for this or that. Today I go first to McMaster for
mechanical stuff, and then to Jameco for the electrical stuff and do it from
the comfort of my home while unshaven and in skivvies. And the end cost is
about the same once you figure three bucks a gallon gas and prohibitive
parking fees in some places that should know better.

wrote in message
oups.com...
Myself, as a humanoid robotic/animatronic builder only use components
that can be had
in quantity-All of my projects rely on the same steppers with different
gearing for each
joint/movement. In most cases, only the external features change all
that much, so It is
simply not feasible to re-invent the wheel for every new scrap that
comes along. I do often locate a useable item in online surplus, and
hoard as many as possible, which helps with costs.

Mark

Wayne Lundberg wrote:
"Too_Many_Tools" wrote in message
oups.com...
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources
that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT

It's getting tougher and tougher as manufacturing goes offshore. A few
years
ago I worked at Rohr Ind. making aircraft nacells and the like. All
surplus
stuff went to the one acre salvage yard open to all on Saturdays. I
still
have stuff hanging from the rafter of stuff that one day will be used.
Bearings, shafts, wheel, brackets, metal parts of all kinds. And even
then
there were two major salvage operators in the San Diego area where I
could
pick up anything from slides to motors to bekers, to resistors and
anything
in betwen.

About all we have left no days are the auto junk yards where windishield
wiper motors, window motors, solenoids, starter motors and the like can
be
had for good prices. But the good old days of scrounging the industrial
salvage yards are gone. I now use McMaster Carr and say to hek with
saving a
nickel or dime when all I need to do is place an order by email and have
the
part next day. Speed has replaced cheap.

Wayne

On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 22:23:54 -0600, Hamad bin Turki Salami
put finger to keyboard and
composed:

On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:05:51 -0700, Too_Many_Tools wrote:

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

There are some thrift stores where I live that sell used computers
for between $5 and $15. They range from 486's to Pentium III's,
as well as old Mac's. Most of these machines work, but I don't
need old computers, so I buy some for salvage parts. In a couple
of lucky cases, I've been able to use some of the parts to repair
broken music synthesizers. They also get millions of power supplies,
cables, and such junk there. I once picked up a pretty nice bench
power supply for a few dollars, and I got an oscilloscope too once,
some scientific calculators, etc.

And here's a sort of negative answer ... When I was a teenager
I had a string a terrible, frustrating jobs. One of them was doing
inventory in a warehouse for electronic and mechanical parts.
There were thousands of neat little parts in this place and my
job was to keep counting them. I also had to pull the parts that were
discontinued. So one day I'd pulled a whole bunch of these nifty
little things -- motors, LEDs, connectors, etc. -- and I asked the
supervisor where they were going. "We incinerate them when
they're discontinued," he answered. "Incinerate them? Well, can
I take them if you're just going to burn them?" I asked. "No,"
he answered without explanation. I remember thinking what a
big, stupid dufus this guy was, and how I'd never get anywhere
with him, but I went ahead and asked him why I couldn't take
them. "Because they're patented," he said. When I pointed out
to him that this had nothing to do with anything, he turned
around and shouted in a booming voice to the guy who dealt
with the incinerator, "Hey, Joe. We've got some discontinued
stuff here. Come get it and make sure it burns."

It's ridiculous, even criminal, but that's economics. When something
is written off, it must be scrapped in such a way that it cannot be
reused. If the greenies weren't just a useless bunch of tree huggers,
then maybe this could change.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

On 28 Jul 2006 19:56:00 GMT, Allodoxaphobia
put finger to keyboard and composed:

In the last 10 years they've moved twice within Colorado Springs -- each
time from a defunct grocery store to a yet-larger defunct grocery store.

So they recycle grocery stores as well. ;-)

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

Too_Many_Tools wrote:
When building somethng like a CNC machine, robot or automatic beer
dispenser, many of us reuse components from many different sources that
we find surplus....in dumpsters, junkyards, scraping older machines,
thift stores, etc.

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

And most importantly of all, what have you built?

TMT


There are a lot of place in the DFW area. One of the more, ummm,
notorious is Nortex. http://www.montagar.com/~patj/nortex.htm

The pictures don't do it justice. Spelunking rules apply. Bring a buddy
and watch for cave-ins.

Rich

DoN. Nichols wrote:
According to Hamad bin Turki Salami :
On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:05:51 -0700, Too_Many_Tools wrote:

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?
There are some thrift stores where I live that sell used computers
for between $5 and $15. They range from 486's to Pentium III's,
as well as old Mac's. Most of these machines work, but I don't

The surplus stores which used to be around back in the 1960s and
1970s have all shut down.

I used to pick up lots of Army surplus when I worked nearby at
Ft. Belvoir, but that surplus place has been shut down.

So -- most things now come from hamfests and swap meets.

Enjoy,
DoN.

and those are dying too. A lot of people blame eBay, but there are
other forces as well.

You are right on that....I used to go to hamfests all the time....now I
hardly bother.

TMT

Rich Osman wrote:
DoN. Nichols wrote:
According to Hamad bin Turki Salami :
On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:05:51 -0700, Too_Many_Tools wrote:

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?
There are some thrift stores where I live that sell used computers
for between $5 and $15. They range from 486's to Pentium III's,
as well as old Mac's. Most of these machines work, but I don't

The surplus stores which used to be around back in the 1960s and
1970s have all shut down.

I used to pick up lots of Army surplus when I worked nearby at
Ft. Belvoir, but that surplus place has been shut down.

So -- most things now come from hamfests and swap meets.

Enjoy,
DoN.

and those are dying too. A lot of people blame eBay, but there are
other forces as well.

What hamfests are in your area?

Andy
"DoN. Nichols" wrote in message
...
According to Hamad bin Turki Salami
:
On Fri, 28 Jul 2006 12:05:51 -0700, Too_Many_Tools wrote:

So where have YOU found your reuseable mechanical and electronic
components and what were they from?

There are some thrift stores where I live that sell used computers
for between $5 and $15. They range from 486's to Pentium III's,
as well as old Mac's. Most of these machines work, but I don't

The surplus stores which used to be around back in the 1960s and
1970s have all shut down.

I used to pick up lots of Army surplus when I worked nearby at
Ft. Belvoir, but that surplus place has been shut down.

So -- most things now come from hamfests and swap meets.

Enjoy,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

According to Andrew Schwartz :
What hamfests are in your area?

Well next weekend (not this one) is one at Berryville VA. This
is the one hamfest at which you can actually get a nice ham
dinner. :-)

There is one in February which used to be in Vienna VA (my home
town), but is now at a nearby community college. (This is sadly
decreased in size, thanks to the loss of a regular location.)

There are several at Timonium MD (West side of the Baltimore
Beltway.

Several at Howard County, MD

One at Manassas VA.

One in Frederick MD.

One at the Gaithersburg MD fairgrounds (back there after several
years wandering from place to place, and it is now sadly
shrunken compared to the prior years at Gaithersburg.

There may be others which I forget,

Enjoy,
DoN.
--
Email: | Voice (all times): (703) 938-4564
(too) near Washington D.C. | http://www.d-and-d.com/dnichols/DoN.html
--- Black Holes are where God is dividing by zero ---

"Ron Moore" wrote in message
news:PMLyg.14187$PO.8832@dukeread03...
There is usually one salvage company in any area that handles
hospital
salvage. A friend had that affiliation with most of the local
ones. They
would call and he would haul. Anything. He and his help removed
X-ray
machines to cabinets, beds and chairs. He would usually pay them
a few
bucks based on minimal salvage value minus labor. Contact one of
your local
hospitals and talk to the plant management or controller offices.
Respectfully,
Ron Moore

Thanks !

"Ron Moore" wrote in message
news:UrIyg.14175$PO.8904@dukeread03...
I'm in Oklahoma City. Our "home" is a 3/4 mile trip to the
largest surplus
location. I think my wife failed to consider that when we bought
this
building.
Respectfully,
Ron Moore
http://members.cox.net/mlogical
We haven't updated it in a while.

I just took a look at your website ... Man - what do you do ?!?!?

We have a computer business, or it's had us, for over 20 years. That's what
the office area is. My wife is a fiber artist as I'm sure you saw on the
site. The machinery started as support for some gun stuff I do but kind of
got a life of its own. And then, stuff just comes along, sometimes and I
have difficulty saying no to a deal or free stuff with practical value.
I've got to reevaluate that, at some point or get really busy on eBay.
Respectfully,
Ron Moore

"pogo" wrote in message
...
"Ron Moore" wrote in message
news:UrIyg.14175$PO.8904@dukeread03...
I'm in Oklahoma City. Our "home" is a 3/4 mile trip to the
largest surplus
location. I think my wife failed to consider that when we bought
this
building.
Respectfully,
Ron Moore
http://members.cox.net/mlogical
We haven't updated it in a while.

I just took a look at your website ... Man - what do you do ?!?!?

DoN. Nichols wrote:
According to Andrew Schwartz :
What hamfests are in your area?

Well next weekend (not this one) is one at Berryville VA. This
is the one hamfest at which you can actually get a nice ham
dinner. :-)

There is one in February which used to be in Vienna VA (my home
town), but is now at a nearby community college. (This is sadly
decreased in size, thanks to the loss of a regular location.)

There are several at Timonium MD (West side of the Baltimore
Beltway.

Several at Howard County, MD

One at Manassas VA.

One in Frederick MD.

One at the Gaithersburg MD fairgrounds (back there after several
years wandering from place to place, and it is now sadly
shrunken compared to the prior years at Gaithersburg.

There may be others which I forget,

Enjoy,
DoN.

Try this for a listing of hamfests in your state:

http://www.arrl.org/hamfests.html


technomaNge
--
Ann Coulter:
The fact that she has more testosterone than you
doesn't make her a "dude". It marks you as impotent,
and afraid of a strong woman. - pyotr filipivich (on r.c.m)