Other uses for stuff and functional fixation

[Brian Deakin]

Functional fixedness is the inability to realize that something known to have a particular use may also be used to perform other functions. When one is faced with a new problem, functional fixedness blocks one's ability to use old tools in novel ways

I strip copper wire and bend it to form circles about 1" in diameter to make ties to train tomatoes I also use the stripped wire to make ties to train other plants

A section of old bandsaw blade to make garden bandit

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/garden/garden-care/weeders/73258-garden-bandit-hand-loop-weeder?item=PA330

I believe there could be other variations on this tool example with a long handle

I am also exploring using sections of old bandsaw blade to form the base of a log crosscut sled similar to a Carter Bandsaw AccuRight Miter Mill
https://www.amazon.com/Carter-Bandsaw-AccuRight-Miter-Mill/dp/B075K3CBXL

[Jim Becker]

Some folks are great at visualization and reimagining and some are not. Some folks can see the long view and others can't see what's right in front of their face. Human nature. I try to be a member of the first group and often use/reuse/repurpose. Of course, that also means I'm somewhat a pack rat as a result. :D

[Lee Schierer]

For many years, I have used a food dehydrator to liquefy crystalized honey. I've seen bread slicers made from old band saw blades. Lots of folks make art work from discarded items of all sorts.

[Jerry Bruette]

I made a prybar from a screwdriver once.:D

[Tony Joyce]

I've looked for a way to dry stabilized wood blanks longer than would fix in a standard toaster.
I finally figured out I could use an electric smoker as a large toaster oven. At about $160, I can now dry up to 24" long pieces.
Who knew!

Tony

[Lawrence Duckworth]

I’ve used a table fork to comb dried food from my beard ��

[Dave Anderson NH]

Probably worked fine Larry but I'll lay odds you didn't do it within sight of the wife.

[Jim Koepke]

I believe there could be other variations on this tool example with a long handle

As seen on TV, The Hula Hoe.

jtk

[Lee DeRaud]

For many years, I have used a food dehydrator to liquefy crystalized honey.
It's also the go-to tool for drying 3D-printer filament.

[Lee DeRaud]

A section of old bandsaw blade to make garden bandit

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/garden/garden-care/weeders/73258-garden-bandit-hand-loop-weeder?item=PA330

I always have a deja vu moment when I see that in the LV catalog...very similar tool for deshedding large dogs:
https://www.amazon.com/Safari-Pet-Dual-Sided-Stainless-Shedding/dp/B0002ARR22

[Lawrence Duckworth]

Probably worked fine Larry but I'll lay odds you didn't do it within sight of the wife.

of course not...I close my eyes when I do stuff like that

[Frederick Skelly]

I’ve used a table fork to comb dried food from my beard ��

Oh gosh, I hear Jeff Foxworthy in my ear! :) :) :)

[Dave Zellers]

Oh gosh, I hear Jeff Foxworthy in my ear! :) :) :)


OMG this is funny!

I save everything thinking it still can be repurposed. Wish I had some examples that I could think of now. But at least I know now why I save old bandsaw blades.

There will be deadly sharp 3/4" garden bandits at the end of 12, 24 and 48 inch pieces of ash very soon. The nut grass is about to meet it's match.

[Michael Schuch]

I made a prybar from a screwdriver once.:D

Pffft... I have made a hammer out of a screw driver several times. ;)

[Frederick Skelly]

You'll all laugh at me. But sometimes I like to walk around Home Depot just looking to see what hardware, ventilation, plumbing, flooring supplies, etc are for sale - just asking myself "I wonder what else I could use this for?"

I need to "get a life". I know. :)

[Jim Becker]

You'll all laugh at me. But sometimes I like to walk around Home Depot just looking to see what hardware, ventilation, plumbing, flooring supplies, etc are for sale - just asking myself "I wonder what else I could use this for?"

I need to "get a life". I know. :)
I resemble that remark. The first one. To the second...'not sure I could handle any more of what I already got!

[Jerry Bruette]

Pffft... I have made a hammer out of a screw driver several times. ;)

I thought that's what lineman's pliers were for.

[Bill Dufour]

I just finished wire brushing and repainting a big flowerpot in front of the house. I see similar ones selling for $500. I paid about $10 ten years ago for a cast iron big rig brake drum that was worn too large and could no longer be turned. Yes it has a big hole on the bottom so it sits on a stepping stone that costs $1.64.
I believe it is 16 inch inside diameter. I see them piled up ten feet tall at the scrap yard. Some, like this, have cast cooling ribs/fins for a more decorative look.
Bill D.

[Lee DeRaud]

You'll all laugh at me. But sometimes I like to walk around Home Depot just looking to see what hardware, ventilation, plumbing, flooring supplies, etc are for sale - just asking myself "I wonder what else I could use this for?"
I used to do that, should probably start doing it again: it's better exercise than browsing the McMaster-Carr website. :)

[George Yetka]

I lack vision, I cannot see uses for things that others do not. My woodworking is more copying what works from others(not for profit) shapes, angles, colors etc. I know what looks good, at least to me, after something is already done. I did once make a foyer table out of pallets but I dont think that counts.

[Brian Deakin]

You'll all laugh at me. But sometimes I like to walk around Home Depot just looking to see what hardware, ventilation, plumbing, flooring supplies, etc are for sale - just asking myself "I wonder what else I could use this for?"

When I visit the USA on holiday travelling from the Uk I walk round Home Depot and other similar stores mirroring Fredricks behavior I now have imperial fitting to complement the metric fittings sold in the Uk which I use in my workshop

[John K Jordan]

You'll all laugh at me. But sometimes I like to walk around Home Depot just looking to see what hardware, ventilation, plumbing, flooring supplies, etc are for sale - just asking myself "I wonder what else I could use this for?"

I need to "get a life". I know. :)

Sounds like you HAVE a life!

Only those with imagination deficiencies DON’T do that. All of the creative, inventive “tinkerers” and inventors I know do such walkabouts. You can’t know what may be just the right thing for a project until you see it. My friend the genius also carries note cards to write down things he sees and ideas for use. Besides HD, don’t forget to cruise the hardware stores, Dollar General, electrical/plumbing supply, yard sales/flea markets, thrift stores, and various industrial supply companies (plastics, plumbing, welding, fasteners, valves).

A small local fabrication shop is also good for this - I wander around the scrap bins and make a pile of interesting pieces and the guy eyeballs it and says $10 or whatever. They will even make a cut on long stock or shear sheet steel to the size i want for no cost. I’ve bought a huge amount of steel this way.

My favorite place to wander around is a local metals recycling place that sorts out materials and lets anyone wander around. I’ve picked up stainless steel sheet, thin wall titanium tubing, wire, a huge variety of aluminum, steel, and brass. (They let you crawl in and did through the bins) They also have a trailer full of sorted fasteners from small brass screws to all-thread to massive bolts, all at close to scrap prices. Once I bought a box of medical instruments (hemostats, eye surgery scissors, bone hammers, torque wrenches, and far more) all for scrap prices. I gave some to several veterinarian friends and have used a lot of these around the farm. Most of this comes from local industrial and commercial companies. One of the most useful finds was big sheets of 1” think white HDPE - some company had cut out some curved shapes leaving most of each sheet untouched. Excellent for machining for jigs and such. At this place you pile up what you want and they weigh it and calculate the price.

JKJ

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks John. Those are good ideas!

[Bill Dufour]

My wife gave me the shirt. It says " I enjoy long romantic walks through the hardware store"
Bill D

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Some one tried to tell me that the Red Green Show was comedy. I straightened them out right away, It is reality TV.

[Bruce Wrenn]

I made a prybar from a screwdriver once.:D

I think I saw that screwdriver in local Habitat Restore today.

[Stan Calow]

This is small time stuff compared to what's come up, but I like to cut up plastic milk containers, using the tops as funnels for everything from oil changes, to bird feed fillers. Bottoms for containing oil from changes, to scoops for dry goods. Yeah I think its a sign of great minds to look for alternative uses for stuff that you're going to throw away.

[Bill Dufour]

When they built the 180 inch Cyclotron during WW2 the build was going to be stoppedas nonesential. They realized it could be used to concentrate Uranium so it got priority back to get materials. They needed some big DC generators so they went to the museum and took some antiques that had been used for old street cars.
Similar to using 120 thousand tons of silver to make magnet wire since copper was in short supply.
Bill D.
Yes they had armed guards at the wire factories and transformer shops.

[Rick Potter]

Like Bill, I love those big truck brake drums. I have a couple taken off fire engines that I use for the base to grinder stands. Plenty heavy. Mine are 'Au Natural' though.


EDIT: Got another one. The other day I threw away an old office chair. I kept the bottom part with the five wheels, and will be mounting a garage sale $5 floor fan on it, to roll around the shop. Gonna be handy.

[Bill Dufour]

Careful there Rick. About a month ago I saw a neighborhood boy around four years old having fun. He was sitting in plastic kiddie car with an electric leaf blower. He could move at a fast walking pace. I assume his parents ,or uncle, came up with the idea not him.One never knows, do one.
Bill D

[Bill Dufour]

At the lab across the road and downhill from the Bevetron was the BRT. Maybe a twenty foot diameter spherical steel tank filled with flattened aluminum cans. It was a the safety dump for the liquid hydrogen in the bubble chamber. You do not want to just spill 500 gallons of liquid hydrogen on your feet and hope it does not catch on fire or asphyxiate you. The can s acted as a heat sink and radiator. It was never actually needed. I think it might have had a flame of some sort at the vent outlet. I would not be surprised if the designer had a Nobel prize or two.
BRT= Big Round Thing.
Bill D

[Bill Dufour]

Another lab story from my father... An experimenter needed a certain water flow rate for cooling water. He measured the water in buckets and adjusted the valve until it took the correct amount of time to fill the bucket in the sink. Then he attached the hose to the wall and drew the curve of the water's arc against the wall.
He told people when he needed the cooling flow adjust this valve so it matches this curve. Problem solved. I can not remember who the experimenter was but he had already earned a Nobel prize in physics for something else.
Bill D
Since water pressure could vary his method was better then just marking valve handle position

[Roger Feeley]

I love going to the hardware store on a quest to find something that I can make into what I need. Those little boxes are a treasure trove. Back in Kansas City area, there was a local chain called Nuts and Bolts that was a dream for me. They had two aisles of this yellow boxes.

[Roger Feeley]

Old band saw blades can be useful. A blade with six teeth per inch can be made into a accurate indexing wheel. Count out exactly 360 teeth and cut the blade. Make a wooden disc so that the blade just fits around it. Glue the blade and there you go.

so let’s see. 360 degrees / 6 teeth per inch = 60 inches
60” / pi = less than 20 inches

maybe 8 teeth/ inch..

[Bill Dufour]

I no longer see kid projects to use an old hacksaw blade to make morse code key. Wonder why?
Bill D

[Jim Koepke]

I like to cut up plastic milk containers, using the tops as funnels for everything from oil changes, to bird feed fillers.

I have also made funnels out of milk jugs. Another thing is to cut them about 2" from the bottom, drill some holes in the bottom, slice the corners, fill the bottom with dirt and plant some seeds. Slide the top back into the bottom and you have a miniature greenhouse for starting seeds or rooting cuttings.

The gallon size jugs will fit over a gallon size plastic pot for the same purpose.


I no longer see kid projects to use an old hacksaw blade to make morse code key. Wonder why?
Bill D

Is knowing morse code still required to get a First Class Radio License? Not much use for continuous wave broadcasting these days.

Quick search reveals the answer:


FCC drops Morse code requirement from amateur radio license
By TVTechnology published December 21, 2006

The FCC Dec. 15 dropped a rule that had required amateur radio operators to pass an exam demonstrating a five-word-per-minute proficiency in Morse code to qualify for a General or Amateur Extra license.

According to the commission, the change reflects revisions to international radio regulations made at the International Telecommunication Union’s 2003 World Radio Conference (WRC-03), authorizing each country to determine whether or not to require individuals to demonstrate Morse code proficiency to qualify for an amateur radio license with transmitting privileges on frequencies below 30MHz.

Maybe they can use old bandsaw blades to make a juice harp:

483241

jtk

[Jim Becker]

I have also made funnels out of milk jugs. A

Some folks do the same, but use them as, um....low budget urinals. :) :D

[Bill Dufour]

Don't forget the quart size oil bottles cut off the top on the bandsaw and fill them with stuff. I drain them into my oil can over night first. The autoparts stores no longer have trash cans full of them outside. I will have to ask if I can get them out of there trash.
Bill D

[Rick Potter]

Chevrons Fuel injection cleaner bottles are just right for funnels to fill your gas tank. Just cut off the bottom with a pocket knife, the neck is just long enough to get past the flapper on the gas flap. Even works on the ones with no cap.

I found this out when I had to put gas from a "Safety gas can" which had a nozzle so safe it would not pass gas. I threw it away, and made a long stem funnel by cutting the bottom off of the FI cleaner bottle I had just put in the tank. All done in the dark with a flashlight in my teeth. Now I just pour out of the jug into the funnel and have no nozzle on it.

California politicians are idiots. Gas jugs have been Californicated for years here. Many safety nozzles leak more than the old ones ever did. An old gas jug with a free flow nozzle is worth $15 at any garage sale.

[Jim Becker]

Rick you can get replacement "more traditional" fuel can spouts from Amazon and other places and they sometimes also include a vent refit for efficient flow.

[John K Jordan]

… a vent refit for efficient flow.

Do you mean those little fuel can vents with caps? I added them to all my 5-gal cans and they make using them a lot easier. Everyone who sees them in operation wants some. Drill a hole 1/64” less than 1/2” and snap one in place. I’ve been using these for years with no problems.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U7XWRS8

(prob not legal in California on fuel cans!)

I don’t use them on the 5-gal water cans I use a lot around the farm - for those I just make a small vent hole at the upper rear of the handle with my pocket knife. Smooth pouring, no more glug glug glug…

JKJ

[Rick Potter]

I tried one of those Jim. Turns out I have cans with three different sizes/threads of opening, and it fit none of them. They are not sold in stores here, I bought mine on line. I hope someday to find a nice used 2 1/2 gallon jug it fits.

I do have flow caps that fit a one gallon oil jug, but I like to keep a couple 2 1/2's around. The funnel works for me now.

[Jim Becker]

John, yes...you actually drill a sized hole to install the vent and cap in an appropriate place. That, combined with a replacement "traditional" nozzle lets the fuel flow efficiently. I have this on my gasoline container as the original that came on the can just pretty much "unusable" on my ZTR. My diesel containers have a combined nozzle/vent that actually works and a rim that sets nicely on the Big Orange Power Tool's fuel fill opening, but it takes a moment for the air to "chug" properly for good fuel flow.

[Tom M King]

I needed a mast mount for a 4" compass on a racing sailboat. No commercial mount was sold for such back then. I found it fit perfectly in a 4" ABS toilet flange, so glued a piece of black 4" ABS pipe that had been coped to fit around the mast in the toilet flange, and bolted the compass in place. A lot of competitors wanted to know where I got it, and many laughed out loud when they realized what it was.

I sold that boat long ago, but still have that compass and mount around here somewhere. If I find it, I'll take a picture.

[Tom M King]

I used to use those plastic floppy fuel can vents, but they leak after a year or so. I replaced them with these, and no leaks since. I put two in each of my 5 gallon cans for diesel.

https://www.amazon.com/Pieces-Replacement-Wrench-Warning-Stickers/dp/B08YJDKCCM/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3MYG585ZBULEV&keywords=fuel+jug+vent&qid=1658706794&sprefix=fuel+jug+vents%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-6

They're just bolt in tire valves without the scrader center. You run a wire inside the mouth, and out of the new hole to slide it in place on, then screw on the nut.

There used to be a guy on ebay that sold replacement spouts with a machined aluminum piece that fit inside the screw cap ring, with good quality gas hose as a nozzle. I'm glad I bought as many as I did back then, because he has since stopped/been made to stop?? selling them.