# Nice little collection of parts...



## Twmaster (May 28, 2010)

My neighbor tossed out an old Japanese sewing machine last trash day. It's mostly cast iron so I picked it up to take to the scrap yard on my next run.

I was about to toss it in the truck when I looked inside and saw a bunch of things that really had my imagination rolling.

First, a crankshaft and connecting rod. The shaft appears to be 1/2" diameter. The con rod is about 6-3/4" center to center.

The other thing that got me thinking was the worm gear set. The spur is 30 tooth so it's 30:1. Seems a bit too short for a home brew R/T. Maybe... 







I also saved a bunch of metric 'cheese head' screws.

Skip Rat would be proud of me.


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## Stan (May 28, 2010)

Our local politicians have been critical of me for not using their program. I just tell them that when I have finished my own recycling, there is nothing left for them. I even salvage the shafts out of the $30.00 printers when they get tossed. I still get billed for their service, even though I don't use their blue boxes.


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## arnoldb (May 28, 2010)

Good going Mike Thm:

Other people's "junk" can be very useful. I have a carload full of old printers I have to offload in my "junk" pile tomorrow :big:


Regards, Arnold


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## kf2qd (May 28, 2010)

I think you must have scrapped out an old sewing machine of the same brand that I scrapped out a few months back. Those shafts in those old sewing machines have some HARD sections - must have been induction hardened. 

Been thinking about designing an engine around that crankshaft.


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## SKIPRAT (May 28, 2010)

Nice one Mike looks like you have the makings of a "Skip Diver" in you i will not bore everyone on my latest find oh hell yes i will i was given 3 yes 3 invalid mobility scooters had a look at them when i go them home and the only thing wrong with them is the batteries are past their best but on the goodside i have three hefty 24volt DC motors and their controllers the motors are around 600 watts plus i have also the transaxles with built in diffs i am just wondering what can i do with them.

Cheers Paul


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## Twmaster (May 28, 2010)

Oh for sure on having the eye for bits and blobs.

I too strip the shafts out of printers on their way to the dump. I also got a broken self propelled lawnmower for free last week. The engine had chucked it's connecting rod out the side of the block.

Not only did I strip the engine for it's aluminum but I got a nice little collection of pulleys, shafts, gears and idlers for 3L sized belts like on my lathes.

I love junk.


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## Stan (May 28, 2010)

At least some of the scrapped lawnmower engines have a reasonably large chunk of cast iron in the crank.


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## Blogwitch (May 28, 2010)

Now this is a clear warning to all.

During the last 30 odd years of over 40 years in this game, I too collected everything I could get hold of. You could call them 'one day' bits, in that one day you might have a use for it. I gradually filled up hundreds if tins, jam jars, cardboard and wooden boxes, even hessian sacks, all in the hope that one day it might come in useful.

Well that one day finally arrived a couple of years ago, when I eventually got to dig out my shop. 99.999% of it ended up going down to the local tip, and I kept just a few choice items back that might come in useful, one day.

I had most probably used 0.001% of all that stuff, and even that could most probably have been bought locally for a couple of pence.

I am now limited to a couple of rack boxes that contain any springs that I might come across, handles and knobs, bearings, and I do keep a few of the larger nuts and bolts that I come across, purely for cost reasons.

I am very choosy now when someone gives me something that can be stripped down. It has to be something really special for it to be saved any more. If it could be classed as good raw material, that will definitely get used, then it is saved, and unless it fits into my strict criteria of 'save it' items, everything else goes into the 'get rid of' box.

As you become older and wiser, material things have less value than they used to do. 

I will be starting on my loft when the weather starts to cool down, I have got over 40 years of 'memories' up there to get rid of. I no longer have a use for a cardboard television box that the original contents went to the tip twenty years ago.

Methinks it is time to 'let go'.


Bogs


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## shred (May 28, 2010)

Bogstandard  said:
			
		

> Now this is a clear warning to all.
> 
> During the last 30 odd years of over 40 years in this game, I too collected everything I could get hold of. You could call them 'one day' bits, in that one day you might have a use for it. I gradually filled up hundreds if tins, jam jars, cardboard and wooden boxes, even hessian sacks, all in the hope that one day it might come in useful.
> 
> Well that one day finally arrived a couple of years ago, when I eventually got to dig out my shop. 99.999% of it ended up going down to the local tip, and I kept just a few choice items back that might come in useful, one day.


I'm with ya there Bogs. I've got way too much junk/crap/etc that I've acquired over the years because I have a place to put it and it might come in handy someday. Now all I need is the time, motivation and willpower to get rid of 90% of it. :-\


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## don-tucker (May 29, 2010)

Been through exactly the same excersise Bogs,I found that room is more valuable than the one day bits.Mind you I have kept something for 20 years and soon as it is thown out I find a use for it and wish I hadn't. ;D
Don


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## New_Guy (May 29, 2010)

use the worm gear for a dividing head


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## bentprop (May 30, 2010)

The only problem with having too much"stuff",is that you don't know what you've got.
I find it's high time to throw out some old circuit boards and other electronic junk.
But being a "financially challenged" modeler,I do like to keep most the metal shafts and motors from printers,etc.
Once or twice,I've gone out and bought something,only to find said item in my stash of jun.....,errr,carefully stored recycled material.
But once in a while,you have to get absolutely ruthless,and reduce it all to a managable level.


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## Kaleb (Jun 2, 2010)

I am also a bit of a hoarder as well, since I work to a tight budget, I often ride my pushbike down into the industrial area of town, and see if the people working in the various places will let me scrounge something. I have made good relations with a air conditioning repair buissness, which is where I get alot of my tiny copper tube for steam lines. They have also offered to save me a working fridge compressor if they get one. I get the other stuff from various places here and there.


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## capjak (Jun 3, 2010)

Kaleb, On your next scrounging foray, take your engine along with you. I'll bet that if you show the guys at the shops what you are doing with the stuff that you scrounge, they will start saving materials for you. Craftsmen are happy to see young men that are interested in activities other than playing the latest video games.

Jack


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## Kaleb (Jun 7, 2010)

I think I will take my engine with me sometime, but it might be tricky to take with me since I would want to steam it.


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