resighcling

[darryl]

Seems every so often I notice that a lot of wood, metal, and plastic swarf has crept into the shop, and when it reaches critical mass, it twigs a neuron somewhere in my head. I've thought many times that I would mix up a batch of resin, and blend in this valuable resource, then cast it into something useful. Like maybe connecting rods for high performance engines, or jet engine mounting bolts, you know, something like that. Anybody got any ideas?

[John Garner]

darryl --

Forget about that stuff! Instead, spend your time developing a printer that makes its own paper out of lawn and garden trimmings.

John

[winchman]

Go for it!! Anything that combines the beauty of wood, the strength of metal, and the corrosion resistance of plastic has got to be a winner.

Roger

[darryl]

John, that sounds like a good summertime business if I could just work out the bugs

[wierdscience]

Starrett did just that,remember the "re-tape"they basically made a crappy cover out of shaving impregnated plastic to cover an even crappier tape measure

[darryl]

I started this topic because I do have a mass of this waste to deal with from time to time, as I'm sure a lot of us do. Not that it's a big deal to toss it with the garbage, but in terms of what else can be done with it, anything useful at all? A tabletop- custom corner pieces for speaker cabinets- a garden gnome- Ah, forget it.

[wierdscience]

Well if they were all steel or iron shavings you could use them in the garden.

Or better yet,I did see at an arts and crafts show a guy had picked up some looked like 4140 shavings that were cobalt blue colored and stuffed them in a mason jar for $4.50,didn't buy any thou,I got plenty

[sandman2234]

The source you have for the plastic is probably not worth the effort, but If you think of a way, let me know, because I work at a place that hauls about 15-25 truckloads of it a day to a dump in Ga.
At $270 a truck, plus dump fees, we might be able to afford to buy a couple of used machines to play with.
David from jax

[darryl]

David, my waste is mostly pvc, and probably half from the table saw, the rest from the lathe and mill. I have nothing in production using this material, so I don't generate enough to consider any industrial use. It sounds like the ammount your company is scrapping is enough to consider maybe making fence posts out of, something like that. What kind of plastic is it?

[ibewgypsie]

HEY, ain't this how the pink flamingo business started? Ya got to make something the grandmas will buy with the recently passed away grampa savings.. ya will get rich.

Them plastic white picket fences sure are pricy. I can do a mold here. Temperature controls.. There is a pvc plumbing supply closeby.. poop, another quarter..


David..

[This message has been edited by ibewgypsie (edited 05-17-2004).]