Author Topic: Are You a Scrounger? I Am! (Read 6541 times)

Dee · « **Reply #60 on:** May 22, 2010, 06:37:19 PM »

Seems there is more than one Cherokee here. I was talkin to the registrar in Tahlequah yesterday. Are you in Oklahoma Hawk, or did you migrate?

Spirithawk · « **Reply #61 on:** May 22, 2010, 09:04:32 PM »

Nope I'm 6 miles ouside Branson, Missouri. My Great Great Grandfather escaped from the Trail of Tears march and hid out in the hills of Southern Missouri. I'm a disabled Vietnam Vet. USAF 70-74 and a Cherokee Story Teller. Been married 37 years and my son's a Certified Executive Bodyguard and operates a security firm in Branson. My daughter is career Navy in her 13th year. She was in Kosovo on the Theodore Roosevelt. My father did tours in both the Army and the Air Force. I've been reading many of your posts and I really enjoy them. I am fast falling in love with GBO. lol This is my kind of place!

Dee · « **Reply #62 on:** May 23, 2010, 03:52:16 AM »

Welcome to the chaos.

Spirithawk · « **Reply #63 on:** May 23, 2010, 08:54:59 AM »

Wado, I apreciate it.

Cornbelt · « **Reply #64 on:** June 02, 2010, 10:07:06 AM »

Where does a guy go to scrounge a specific item; like a sorghum press? I got it in my mind I need one of those, but with what I have laying around, it would still be a major operation to make one.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #65 on:** June 02, 2010, 10:25:15 AM »

check for farm auctions in your area

Dee · « **Reply #66 on:** June 02, 2010, 04:17:09 PM »

Do a search on the Internet for USED SORGHUM PRESSES. You might be surprised.

teamnelson · « **Reply #67 on:** June 02, 2010, 07:13:08 PM »

Got a craftsman toolbox from the curb today, no rust, fresh liner on the 3 drawers, and on the inside of the top box. Felt so bad I went to the door and asked just to make sure. Got a new home for all my reloading tools.

Jane308 · « **Reply #68 on:** June 19, 2010, 02:48:02 PM »

Well my family and in-laws say I'm the number one treasure finder. I am on 10 local Freecycle groups, so anything I find on garbage day goes to those who need it most.

This last spring I have found, and Ron has fixed, resold, kept and/or given to the needy.

15 lawn mowers, 10 snowblowers, 20+ weedwackers, 5 huge Rubbermaid sheds/cabinets, etc.
2 bomboxes, tvs, DVD/VHS players, even 33" snow tires, that one of four had a hole in. $125 ea. tires. My cousin needs them for his truck, a blessing since he is out of work.

Most of the time the tourist in my area are up on their weekend homes. Go to use the lawn mower and pull the cord plum off, or pull it and it wraps around the top pull, they throw it out and go by a new one. Unbelieveable.

We also built an addition that is 9x12 on the front of the house with all recycled things. ()except the $7 for roofing nails) Even the new shingles. Builders around my tourist town, throw all unused building material to the curb. 4x8 of OSB, and plywood, 2x4s, and vinyl siding.

Ron was convinced of my insanity when i told him to build this chicken house I had in my head. Had a friend at work telling everyone about my ideas of chicken houses out of recycled materials.

Made $100 for this one. And everything on it was free... Except the labor... but Ron's out of work most months, so a days work for $100 is great.

An old shipping crate, nesting boxes were made from an old book shelf cut into two. As you can tell in the picture, alot of things from pick up days.

I'm proud to use recycled things, I have 5 chicken pens and houses I didn't pay a thing for, and I'm quite happy about it.

Waste not, want not.

Dee · « **Reply #69 on:** June 19, 2010, 02:52:32 PM »

Excellent example Jane.

tallpaul · « **Reply #70 on:** December 29, 2010, 10:12:42 AM »

I have it bad and while I am "recovering" I realize I have it bad. I have cut back to metal items and do scrounge all sorts of stuff for usefull future projects. I have however started to clean - up after all the years because I do not want to be like my dad. Or my grand dad for that matter. I have however about five five gallon bucketts of good nails and drywall screws- most in boxes etc but I can not throw them out. I however use air nailers when I build now so these are for some emergency use in the future I guess. I have multilples of tools I need to reduce and I need to store materials better. Add in all the too good to pass up deals and I am reallly off the charts.

reliquary · « **Reply #71 on:** January 08, 2011, 01:52:56 AM »

Like someone else already said, I stop for interesting-looking things on the road...my wife used to fuss at me...then we found a new $75.00 life jacket her size...now she helps me look.

Most of my hand tools, such as wrenches, pliers, visegrips, sockets, screwdrivers, etc, came off the roads. We live in an oil-and-natural-gas production zone, and the service trucks are a good source of "finds".

The most interesting thing I ever found was a Ruger Super Blackhawk 10" hog gun, holstered. I found a name on the inside of the grips, tracked down the owner and gave it back to him. He'd laid it on his pickup toolbox and driven off...first turn, it went into the road...I was the first to come along. Shoulda kept it?

My mom used to say, "I like to go to (this particular) dump; you can really get good stuff there!"

Need I say that I'm a fourth generation Redneck?

teamnelson · « **Reply #72 on:** January 08, 2011, 07:00:39 AM »

Last months bulk trash day I picked up:
- Contico footlocker full off autobody tools, mostly in original packaging, 2 sprayers, prep tools, masking, breather. Just add compressor.
- 3 ton hydraulic jack, craftsman, in the box.
- 4 safety helmets
- 2 sets of bib waders, new.
- huge black truck toolbox, locking. No damage, just oversprayed a light blue. A little black matte and she's good as new.
- fireplace ornamental screen
- 200 golfballs in a pick up bag
- Couple hundred feet of vinyl sheeting on the roll and wrapped.
- creeper, for working under cars
- couple new sea bags

I can't imagine a guy putting all that in a pile, so were thinking it was a divorce situation.

Cornbelt · « **Reply #73 on:** January 08, 2011, 01:10:26 PM »

The goodies are out there if a guy ain't too proud. But I had to turn down a good road kill the other day; freezer was too full.

Jane308 · « **Reply #74 on:** January 09, 2011, 04:02:32 PM »

i usually try to think or even call someone when i find something. But finding a ATV jack in the garbage a few months ago, I didn't have to think twice about that.

This is my newest reuse. Chicken waterers for my many chicken pens are quite expensive and I spend alot of time everyday filling all the small ones for the chicks.

I had an idea when I found 4 of these humidifiers, i only grabbed the smallest one.
They were all missing the wicks in them. Got this one home and the fan and everything worked.

So, I turned it into a chick waterer.
Keeps good amount of water, and not very deep for them to drowned.

Took the outside ring off and wah-laa...

jamesrus · « **Reply #75 on:** February 28, 2011, 04:30:16 PM »

Well, where to start.....my grandfather who grew up during the depression worked as a self employed mechanic most of his life. He never threw away any old carburator or axle parts etc. I have a fond affection for 1973 to 1979 for trucks and have owned a lot of them through the years. He passed a couple years ago and i have access to his old garage. So far i have fixed the rear end in my current truck, the transmission, the steering column, some dash lights the speedometer, and several other items from his dont throw away collection, all for nothing more than a little time and scrounging. My dad over the years had found many many items, from a 20 foot extension ladder to an aluminum boat in the middle of the woods with no water near. He found an old muzzleloading double barrel shotgun which is soon to hang in my nephews barbershop. Tons of tools and other useful items. I myself have scrounged a full double stack craftsman tool chest with a few tools in it that was in a metal dumpster at a shipyard in New Orleans. A boat trailer, an abandoned 77 ford truck which i used for parts. a full set of nearly new buckshot mudders i gave to my uncle. I used to work in a music store and we were cleaning out the electronics repair area, they were going to throw away all the old repair items no one ever came in to claim. I hauled it all to my house instead of the dump and went through it all, i made over 3k dollars on it off ebay. I have a full set of 8 crescent brand crescent wrenches i found on the side of a dirt road. I found a skill saw and a drill in the back of a truck at the local wrecking yard both almost brand new. And last but certainl not least i have a Sentinel 9 shot 22 revolver i found in a junk yard, i took it to a friend who works with the local S.O. and he ran the number for me , it didnt show as stolen but it also didnt show in the system at all so i kept it.

Jamesrus

Spirithawk · « **Reply #76 on:** February 28, 2011, 04:38:24 PM »

Hey Dee, caves been around lots longer than houses and served as homes pretty well.

With the prices of everything these days it pays to be a scrounger. When it comes down to survival it's a skill that's well worth having.

mechanic · « **Reply #77 on:** February 28, 2011, 05:15:57 PM »

Quote from: TeamNelson on January 08, 2011, 07:00:39 AM

Last months bulk trash day I picked up:
- Contico footlocker full off autobody tools, mostly in original packaging, 2 sprayers, prep tools, masking, breather. Just add compressor.
- 3 ton hydraulic jack, craftsman, in the box.
- 4 safety helmets
- 2 sets of bib waders, new.
- huge black truck toolbox, locking. No damage, just oversprayed a light blue. A little black matte and she's good as new.
- fireplace ornamental screen
- 200 golfballs in a pick up bag
- Couple hundred feet of vinyl sheeting on the roll and wrapped.
- creeper, for working under cars
- couple new sea bags

I can't imagine a guy putting all that in a pile, so were thinking it was a divorce situation.

The last time I was in Hawaii, it occured to me that many of the folk who move back to the mainland just place their stuff on the curb and leave. It's too expensive to pay the moving. My Son in Law was there in the Navy, and before he left, he made sure he had his full weight allowance from that stuff on the curb. He said he never bought furniture the whole time he was there, and left with much more than he brought........

Ben

Spirithawk · « **Reply #78 on:** February 28, 2011, 06:19:58 PM »

I know how that is. Here in Branson many of the rich entertainers throw away stuff that is better quallity than the stuff I can afford to buy new. lol

Dee · « **Reply #79 on:** March 05, 2011, 11:03:46 AM »

I used to watch the old me going thru junk at the dump ground when I was a kid. Now they won't let you, but if they would, I would be waitin at the gate every mornin.

mechanic · « **Reply #80 on:** March 05, 2011, 11:08:57 AM »

When I was a boy the city dump was in the county......they were not open on the weekends, so I would go there with a 22 and have fun plinking rats. I usually drug along my little brother's red wagon, much to my mama's dismay. I once saw a gun stock sticking up out of the mess, and pulled out a 20 ga. single barrel. I still shoot it from time to time today. I also found an old billfold with $9.00 in it. That was a fortune to me then.

We never bought a lawn mower, or garden tool...amazing what folks will throw away.

Now it's a jailable offense to be caught scrounging there.

Ben

blind ear · « **Reply #81 on:** March 05, 2011, 04:37:16 PM »

Most of the recycleing around the world is done by people scavenging public dumps. I have seen a couple of documentaries showing people in all parts of the world that go to the dump daily to scrounge. That is thier profession and only job. ear

squirrellluck · « **Reply #82 on:** March 06, 2011, 10:03:00 AM »

I love the green walmarts.(dumpsters) Find lots of good stuff time to time.

Justin10mm · « **Reply #83 on:** March 12, 2011, 11:04:46 AM »

Some A-hole tossed a beer can out of there car onto our dirt road so I stopped to pick it up, when I bent down to grab it I found a folded $20 bill laying next to it.

bilmac · « **Reply #84 on:** March 15, 2011, 04:39:08 PM »

Yea back in the good ol days you could really make a haul. Haliburton used to dump excess portland cement at our dump. O dug a basement beneath my house and used Haliburton cement to finish it.