Hobby Thread - December 6, 2025 [TRex]

Welcome hobbyists! Pull up a chair and sit a spell with the Horde in this little corner of the interweb. This is the mighty, mighty officially sanctioned Ace of Spades Hobby Thread. A spin of the Ace of Spades Wheel of Hobbies (TM) landed on scavenging and scrounging.

Are you thinking "I'm not into scavenging and scrounging and I really don't know what that means, but I am eager to learn more. I can't wait to get into the content!" I knew it. Enjoy.

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What are you hobbying?

As per usual Hobby Thread etiquette, keep this thread limited to hobbying. All (legal) hobbying is welcome. However, politics, current events and religious debates can live in threads elsewhere. Pants are optional. Puns are welcome and encouraged.

Play nice. Don't be a troll and do not feed the trolls.

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Nothing like found treasure - especially as one man's trash is another's treasure. Are you a scavenger or scrounger? Do you look at piles of rubble and wonder what lurks within? Do you look at bulk garbage items left at the curbside and think how you can repurpose or restore or re-sell? Do you keep an eye on dumpsters?

Do you look for treasure? are you opportunistic? Are you a woodworker that sources materials from discarded furniture? Are you a musician that has found and restored tired instruments?

Do you haunt estate sales or auctions or seek barn finds? Do you stop by garage sales or tag sales looking for bargains? Have you ever bought the contents of an abandoned storage unit? Do you visit swap meets?

Do you live on craiglist, FB marketplace, ebay or other online marketplaces - just to see what pops up?

Do you make a hobby of buying and re-selling? Did you buy something novel with the intent to sell but just couldn't pull the trigger and let it go? Have you ever bought something that was intriguing but you didn't actually know what it was? Do you stop by local flea markets or junk sales when on holiday?

We did a bargain hunting theme in February, but let's think wider and bigger. This is more of a scavenger hunt idea - do you look for cool things and what cool things have you found (whether a bargain or not)?

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HORDE REQUEST:

Next week's Hobby Threat requires Horde participation. Next week we will honor the Christmas ornament. Please send photos of ornaments from your collection to the Hobby Thread email address. What qualifies?

Could be something sentimental, something you made as a child or an adult, something special given to you, something you picked up on your travels, something whimsical or fun, something particularly novel, something really old, something handmade, something intricate or fancy, something irreverent and cheeky, etc.

I will be very disappointed if someone does not submit an ornament made of macaroni art.

Don't worry about sending your "favorite." We all know that many ornaments are treasures for different reasons.

If there is a story behind your photo, send a brief description. I may edit or inappropriately embellish, so be warned.

Send individual photos - one ornament for each photo (unless there is a cohesive set that go together). No limit, but the humble Hobby Thread only has so much space to work with.

I'm counting on you!!

Be ready with stories next week! (not this week)

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Impressive - but amazing that someone has a YT channel dedicated to curbside and dumpster and amazing so many people watch!

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Trade-offs of scrounging:

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I looked at several YouTube videos from people that scavenge using magnets in bodies of water (called "magnet fishing"). They pull up anchors, scrap metal, locks, fishing equipment, bicycles, and more. I was hoping to find a good one for the content, but ultimately got tired of the clickbait and opted for "none of the above."

Same for videos of people dumpster diving and picking up curbside junk. Amazing.

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Finding free lumber:

Tips - but look at the tools and organization behind him!

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Things I find in the garbage

I'm a professional scavenger making a living selling curbside garbage. This blog details my finds and sales. It also acts as an archive for things beautiful and historic that would otherwise have been destroyed.

Coins, postcards, artwork, military medals, photos, catalogs, jewelry, pottery, trophies, and more. This blog looks like a slice through history and culture.

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The interweb makes the world a bit smaller. Case in point - The rich history and symbolism of church kneelers

For years I have wandered around churches on days out, and am always drawn in by the colour and imagery of church kneelers. In amongst the grey stone and deep brown of the pews they sing out. They conjure up fantastical worlds filled with everything from the local swimming club to strange mythological beasts and heraldic crests. Three years ago on a trip to St Breaca Church in Breage, Cornwall, a towering pile of kneelers caught my attention. I snapped a photograph and so an obsession was born. I began The Church Kneeler Archive, where I actively collect and archive images of kneelers. I have travelled everywhere from the depths of West Yorkshire to the tip of Land's End in my pursuit of these tiny tapestries, and along the way I have made extraordinary discoveries.

20251206-Christchurch Priory, Christchurch, Dorset.jpg

20251206-Church of King Charles the Martyr, Falmouth, Cornwall.jpg

20251206-St Erme Church, Cornwall.jpg

20251206-Tresco, St Nicholas Church, Tresco, Isles of Scilly.jpg

Anyone make kneelers for their church?

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Random: anyone made your own barrels? I'd love to learn how to do this someday.

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Did you miss the Hobby Thread last week? We did an advent calendar theme. The comments may be closed, but you can re-live the content.

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Notable comments from last week:

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Words of wisdom:

"Because despite all our troubles, when things are grim out in that wide round world of ours, that's when it's really important to have a good hobby." Posted by: tankascribe at June 22, 2024 07:41 PM (HWxAD).

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If you have trouble finding something in the content or comments that resonates with you, contribute something from your personal hobbying. We will feature a different theme next time. What are you hobbying? We love showing off Horde hobbying. Send thoughts, suggestions and photos of your hobbying to moronhobbies at protonmail dot com. Do mighty things.

Posted by: Open Blogger at 05:30 PM

Comments

(Jump to bottom of comments)

1 Don't scrounge anymore.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at December 06, 2025 05:31 PM (uQesX)

2 Welcome Hobbiests

Posted by: Skip at December 06, 2025 05:31 PM (Ia/+0)

3 I guess my current hobby is making comments on the Hobby Thread and being ignored.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at December 06, 2025 05:32 PM (uQesX)

4 Used to be called a "scavvie" if you went scrounging in jr and high school.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at December 06, 2025 05:33 PM (uQesX)

5 Well, was going to bring up my hobby that finally got back to yesterday and this evening, scrapping lead. Made a ingot last evening from bunch of lead scraps and getting slag got a bit more our of it just before dark.

Posted by: Skip at December 06, 2025 05:33 PM (Ia/+0)

6 Thrift stores! Estate sales! These things make me happy. Finding quality things on the. cheap. Thank you, Mr. Dino.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at December 06, 2025 05:34 PM (6p0Jv)

7 Hope everyone is having a good weekend. I'm detailing and weathering a 1/35 Whippet and it's turning out pretty nice. Ordered a Type 1 Chi-He from a hobby store in Tokyo. I like ordering from them because they send Japanese snacks along with every order.

Posted by: PA Dutchman at December 06, 2025 05:34 PM (31p00)

8 I got my scrounging from my grandfather, he lived through the depression raising a family so nothing got tossed away if it had potential.

Posted by: Skip at December 06, 2025 05:36 PM (Ia/+0)

9 I will be very disappointed if someone does not submit an ornament made of macaroni art.

Did you forget most of us are 29, T?

I'd say most of the macaroni art we made was probably in the 60s and long since gone.

I have one or two from the 60s, but they're all stored where I'm too tired to get to anymore. The wife insists on newer ornaments on the tree. Does a darn good job of decorating it, though.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at December 06, 2025 05:38 PM (uQesX)

10 Well, was going to bring up my hobby that finally got back to yesterday and this evening, scrapping lead. Made a ingot last evening from bunch of lead scraps and getting slag got a bit more our of it just before dark.

Posted by: Skip

----
I have a bucket of lead scraps behind the shop. Mr. Scary says maybe one day he will cast some bullets. I'm guessing one day will be never.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at December 06, 2025 05:38 PM (6p0Jv)

11 Got a feeling people are untangling Christmas lights today.
Those things can be frustrating. Hanging them on the eve of a house is not fun either.

Posted by: Case at December 06, 2025 05:39 PM (5Je/N)

12 I got my scrounging from my grandfather, he lived through the depression raising a family so nothing got tossed away if it had potential.
Posted by: Skip at December 06, 2025 05:36 PM (Ia/+0)

My Dad was Silent Generation, raised by Depression-era parents. One of my chores as a kid was straightening nails he had pulled from various things. We grew up in a frugal family, to say the least. Mom would re-use ziploc bags if they had previously stored something dry.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Bonafide at December 06, 2025 05:39 PM (0aYVJ)

13 https://tinyurl.com/yc6fp6a3
Missed this as happened on Sunday, the family tradition to make Christmas grave wreaths for passed family members.
4 of us made 16 wreaths.
This is a very long tradition, hope it continues

Posted by: Skip at December 06, 2025 05:39 PM (Ia/+0)

14 I remember making macaroni art and a matchstick cross at Vacation Bible School in the mid 70s.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at December 06, 2025 05:40 PM (6p0Jv)

15 I don't scrounge anymore either Orange Ent. I never had the knowledge to really find treasures at thrift stores and the like but in college and early working days they were my go to for filling the wardrobe and decorating. The last few years have been collecting things that are still good that I or my parents had acquired that were not being used and getting them to a thrift store.

Posted by: PaleRider at December 06, 2025 05:41 PM (hhkIi)

16 Cannot do the scrounging.
I find I hold onto things for no reason at all.
Then I go into a wild cleaning phase where I will trash what I have accumulated.
When I finally move from this apartment I want to take as little as possible with me.

So as it stands my hobbies are golf, shooting. Scuba diving is no longer viable.
I do hope to add travel as a hobby in the near future. ;-)

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at December 06, 2025 05:44 PM (PxkKd)

17 I no longer have any macaroni art from my childhood.

I did find the Christmas stocking knitted for me by my grandmother.

It has my name and my birth year among other features.

I have a couple of other hand-made Christmas stockings but that one is by far my favorite because it's so personal.

Posted by: "Perfessor" Squirrel at December 06, 2025 05:44 PM (ESVrU)

18 My lead scavenger started to make bullets but my job sometimes its a bonanza. I have to have over 400 pounds of lead here.
Pure lead not from contaminated can be worth a bit

Posted by: Skip at December 06, 2025 05:45 PM (Ia/+0)

19 Posted by: PaleRider at December 06, 2025 05:41 PM (hhkIi)

Yeah. Pale. Unless you have the knowledge of the value of so many things, you can pass up something worth real money. I occasionally watch a scrounger type show on Roku where people have all this expensive stuff in their garages or barns.

At my age, I'm more into getting rid of things instead of acquiring more stuff my family has to get rid of when the time comes.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at December 06, 2025 05:45 PM (uQesX)

20 12. I still do that with ziplock bags. Not all the time but fairly often. Frugal family and then it was 'save the environment' in school so it just feels wrong to toss the clean ziplock or not re-use the sturdy plastic bottles from Pure Leaf tea etc with water from home instead of buying a fancy water bottle or buying bottled water routinely.

Posted by: PaleRider at December 06, 2025 05:46 PM (hhkIi)

21 As long as you don't put food in the bags, I see no reason not to reuse ziplocks instead of buying new ones if they're in good condition.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at December 06, 2025 05:47 PM (uQesX)

22 I actually still have a ceramic mug I made back in junior high. Never drank from it.
Currently it is on a shelf with a golf ball and other knick knacks in it.
Also a small wooden box made in shop class. That too was made in junior high.

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at December 06, 2025 05:49 PM (PxkKd)

23 ""Are you a woodworker that sources materials from discarded furniture? Are you a musician that has found and restored tired instruments? ""

Both.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at December 06, 2025 05:49 PM (snZF9)

24 I'm trying to use up all the stuff I've scavenged, Scrounged or hoarded. It will probably take the rest of my life even if I don't get anything else.

On a different hobby topic; Where Winds Meet is a new (to the US) free to play game on Steam. I have created a guild in game for the Horde, if anyone is interested. It's called AoSHQHorde and, my toon is named Nissanna. Feel free to message me in game or here to join.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at December 06, 2025 05:49 PM (lFFaq)

25 I used to go too all the hamfests I could and buy parts in the flea market. Now I have a garage full of junk that I'm starting to throw away.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at December 06, 2025 05:50 PM (pkeXY)

26 Also a small wooden box made in shop class. That too was made in junior high.

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at December 06, 2025 05:49 PM (PxkKd)

Oh no! Not a wooden box!!

https://tinyurl.com/yhwam7n6

Posted by: OrangeEnt at December 06, 2025 05:51 PM (uQesX)

27 When I was in graduate school prime scavenging locations were the dumpsters outside student housing areas at the end of the month (moving day) especially at the end of the semester. The secret underground student economy was a thing, and it was considered good manners to leave any furniture that was functional but not a part of *your* life any more outside the dumpster so it could find a new home. I still have two very sturdy chairs I saved from the grad school dumpster ...

(ooh, I got a Notable Comment! First time for everything!)

Posted by: Sabrina Chase at December 06, 2025 05:54 PM (CidsT)

28 ""Do you haunt estate sales or auctions or seek barn finds? Do you stop by garage sales or tag sales looking for bargains? Have you ever bought the contents of an abandoned storage unit? Do you visit swap meets?""

I used to do motorcycle swap meets for rare harley parts, and these days its all mostly junk, so I rarely do that anymore.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at December 06, 2025 05:54 PM (snZF9)

29
Mom would re-use ziploc bags if they had previously stored something dry.
Posted by: Pug Mahon, Bonafide

My mom washed them out and kept them. So do I.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at December 06, 2025 05:54 PM (pkeXY)

30 My Granddad was a Dumpster Diver. He liked to put together bicycles for kids who didn't have one. He also liked putting together lawnmowers from parts he'd find.

He was a Depression kid and WWII veteran of the China Burma India theater. He saw terrible things and never spoke of them. He was kind and jolly. It made him happy to recycle things to help someone else. He was a great man. I miss you, PaPaw.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at December 06, 2025 05:55 PM (6p0Jv)

31 Since I'm not Catholic/High Church I had no idea kneelers were still worked by individuals and not just covered in mass-produced fabric.

Posted by: Polliwog the 'Ette at December 06, 2025 05:55 PM (lFFaq)

32 Curbside scavenger sounds like a lot 0f crackheads I've met.

Posted by: Eromero at December 06, 2025 05:57 PM (LHPAg)

33 Anyone who reloads their ammunition will be a scrounger. Used brass at the range nobody picked up is the usual. I'm not above looking through the trash barrel at the range. I have a trash barrel of old style lead wheel weights, probably a few hundred pounds, that I melt down to make cast bullets. An old heavy pot, found at the curb, can be used to melt lead. I have a small electric furnace to do that but have heard of people using old Coleman stoves to do the melting.

Part of the fun of reloading ammo is to make a game of doing it for the least cost without skimping on safety. Some creative scrounging is standard.

Posted by: JTB at December 06, 2025 05:58 PM (yTvNw)

34 >>>I used the 3D printer to make the Nakatomi plaza Advent calendar.
As you pull each day, Hans Gruber falls one more floor. She loved it.
Posted by: Chappyman66 at November 29, 2025 06:01 PM (boKcN)

This is so great!

Posted by: m at December 06, 2025 05:59 PM (RuTUS)

35 26 Oh no! Not a wooden box!!

https://tinyurl.com/yhwam7n6

Posted by: OrangeEnt at December 06, 2025 05:51 PM

LOL LOL Damn that was funny!!

Posted by: Scuba_Dude at December 06, 2025 06:00 PM (PxkKd)

36 Thrift stores! Estate sales! These things make me happy. Finding quality things on the. cheap. Thank you, Mr. Dino.
Posted by: BarelyScaryMary
************
Oh, I couldn't agree more. I can spend hours just wandering among the stalls looking at all the "treasures." Some have even come home with me!

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at December 06, 2025 06:01 PM (ITBpd)

37 13 https://tinyurl.com/yc6fp6a3
Missed this as happened on Sunday, the family tradition to make Christmas grave wreaths for passed family members.
4 of us made 16 wreaths.
This is a very long tradition, hope it continues
Posted by: Skip at December 06, 2025 05:39 PM (Ia/+0)

Wonderful, Skip!

Posted by: m at December 06, 2025 06:03 PM (RuTUS)

38
I was expecting either i) toy train sets, or ii) bamboo.

Posted by: Soothsayer at December 06, 2025 06:04 PM (KJCdi)

39 I spent a good part of the day prepping for my main winter hobby; I got my snowboarding gear out, gave everything a good test-fitting, and filling the pockets with the appropriate emergency or back-up gear. Tomorrow I actually go snowboarding. Still not a whole lot of snow on the local mountain, so it may be short day if the runs aren't any good. But, still, it's important to get on the mountain and at least work the rarely-used muscles...

Posted by: Castle Guy at December 06, 2025 06:05 PM (Lhaco)

40 Anyone who reloads their ammunition will be a scrounger. Used brass at the range nobody picked up is the usual.

Ya gotta be careful with range brass. If you accidentally pick up a caliber you don't reload, you're now obligated to buy the dies and a rifle and start reloading it.

Posted by: Oddbob at December 06, 2025 06:06 PM (3nLb4)

41 Always sadly, 1 wreath is for my cousin who died when she was barely not 16yo in a car accident right around Christmas.
She would have been 50 this year

Posted by: Skip at December 06, 2025 06:07 PM (Ia/+0)

42 38
I was expecting either i) toy train sets, or ii) bamboo.

Posted by: Soothsayer at December 06, 2025 06:04 PM
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Bamboo?

Posted by: TRex - topic research dino at December 06, 2025 06:09 PM (ITBpd)

43 29 years ago went to a sale at UC Berkeley. Lots of sciency stuff. Guy was buying an electron microscope. Said he was going to make one helluva mouse trap!

ZZZZAP!

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at December 06, 2025 06:09 PM (Kt19C)

44 My uncle Tony worked for NYC Sanitation and brought home all kinds of treasures.

Posted by: San Franpsycho at December 06, 2025 06:10 PM (sF9Ts)

45 The one thing I did always try to seek out is old vacuum tubes. Ones from the 40's, 50's or 60's. I used to try to find old wrecked radios, TVs, or anything that used them. Either 12ax7 preamp tubes, or 6v6, 6L6, or EL34 power tubes. Vintage tubes are great in guitar amps.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at December 06, 2025 06:11 PM (snZF9)

46 Bamboo?
Posted by: TRex - topic research dino at December 06, 2025 06:09 PM (ITBpd)

Pro tip, T: go for the Big Bamboo.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at December 06, 2025 06:11 PM (uQesX)

47 Those kneelers are needlepoint. A task baked in patience. I made one needlepoint piece in my life - for my brother. When I gave it to him I informed him he would have the ONLY piece of needlepoint I would ever make, lol. I've only ever seen those kind of kneelers in old historic Southern churches....beautiful pieces that have lasted the ages....

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at December 06, 2025 06:12 PM (ITBpd)

48 When I did more woodworking, I would scrounge any wood I could. I have a couple of hunks of tree trunk I use as a hammering spot. I collected some fruit wood branches, left at the curb, to make walking sticks and trivets. Fruit wood is hard but can be worked with sharp hand tools. You can do a lot of shaping with rasps and files. I used to haunt garage sales for old hand tools that could often be restored with a little effort. Probably saved a few hundred dollars over the years doing that.

Posted by: JTB at December 06, 2025 06:13 PM (yTvNw)

49 I have a gold pocket watch, with gold chain, circa 1885, from family long ago.

There are other family heirlooms. Nobody cares.

Seriously valuable stuff.

Posted by: Martini Farmer at December 06, 2025 06:13 PM (NwnyJ)

50 25 I used to go too all the hamfests I could and buy parts in the flea market. Now I have a garage full of junk that I'm starting to throw away.
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr.

I'm searching for a reasonably priced vacuum variable capacitor for 20-10M mag loop project.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at December 06, 2025 06:14 PM (abIsI)

51 used to do motorcycle swap meets

At a campout guy had euro bike parts. Bought a beautiful streamline headlight nacelle dirt cheap. Resold it cheap within an hour to a welcome buyer.

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at December 06, 2025 06:14 PM (Kt19C)

52 I inherited a pocket watch. It is missing the crystal and one hand. I took it to the jewelers for repairs. They sent it out and it sat there for three months, untouched. I finally got it back. Still should be repaired as it seems to run.

Posted by: Notsothoreau at December 06, 2025 06:15 PM (+mUZM)

53 35 26 Oh no! Not a wooden box!!

https://tinyurl.com/yhwam7n6

Posted by: OrangeEnt at December 06, 2025 05:51 PM

LOL LOL Damn that was funny!!
Posted by: Scuba_Dude at December 06, 2025 06:00 PM (PxkKd)

hahahahaha good ones

Posted by: m at December 06, 2025 06:15 PM (RuTUS)

54 Mrs. Mahon is getting back into cross-stitching, after a lengthy battle with Lyme disease. She is very happy about the muscle memory recall.

Last winter she could barely walk without a cane. Her recovery has been remarkable.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Bonafide at December 06, 2025 06:15 PM (0aYVJ)

55 Pug, that is wonderful news. Hoping her recovery continues. And cross-stitching is my main happy place, just calms me. I have two more ornaments to finish before Christmas...

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at December 06, 2025 06:17 PM (ITBpd)

56 40 ... "Ya gotta be careful with range brass. If you accidentally pick up a caliber you don't reload, you're now obligated to buy the dies and a rifle and start reloading it."

I avoided that temptation, sometimes just barely. Since I have to sort the cases anyway, I just put the calibers I don't use aside and offer them to folks who do use them. Met some nice people doing that.

I don't do this myself but some brass can be reformed, especially the case neck, into a different caliber.

Posted by: JTB at December 06, 2025 06:19 PM (yTvNw)

57 45 The one thing I did always try to seek out is old vacuum tubes. Ones from the 40's, 50's or 60's. I used to try to find old wrecked radios, TVs, or anything that used them. Either 12ax7 preamp tubes, or 6v6, 6L6, or EL34 power tubes. Vintage tubes are great in guitar amps.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division

I have an even dozen NIB 811 RCA tubes for my HF amplifier. I purchased the whole set about 15 years ago
from some old guy that listed them on Craigslist. They were cheaply priced.

Posted by: Maj. Healey at December 06, 2025 06:19 PM (abIsI)

58 Magnet fishing?

*giggle*

Posted by: UXO at December 06, 2025 06:20 PM (Wnv9h)

59 Scavenging & scrounging brings out the hoarder in me.
Dangerous

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 06, 2025 06:20 PM (dE3DB)

60 3 I guess my current hobby is making comments on the Hobby Thread and being ignored.
Posted by: OrangeEnt

--

*participates by ignoring OrangeEnt*

Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 06, 2025 06:23 PM (dE3DB)

61 Pug, that is good news that your Mrs. can stitch again. It has been a long time but cross stitching is nice to do.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at December 06, 2025 06:24 PM (6p0Jv)

62 *participates by ignoring OrangeEnt*
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 06, 2025 06:23 PM (dE3DB)

And a fine job you've been doing! (snif)

Posted by: OrangeEnt at December 06, 2025 06:26 PM (uQesX)

63 56 I don't do this myself but some brass can be reformed, especially the case neck, into a different caliber.

Posted by: JTB at December 06, 2025 06:19 PM
***
Anyone try melting down the brass and re-using the raw material for something else?

Posted by: TRex - brassy dino at December 06, 2025 06:26 PM (ITBpd)

64 *participates by ignoring OrangeEnt*
Posted by: vmom deport deport deport at December 06, 2025 06:23 PM (dE3DB)

And a fine job you've been doing! (snif)
Posted by: OrangeEnt at December 06, 2025 06:26 PM

You guys hear something?

Posted by: RedMindBlueState at December 06, 2025 06:28 PM (Wnv9h)

65 Hey Scube, if you are not scuba diving anymore is your nic going to change?

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at December 06, 2025 06:29 PM (ITBpd)

66 I was waiting for the hobby thread to post this (thought some of you may have seen it already).

Guy made a massive Christmas Village and Train display.

https://youtu.be/ag3AFwavnMk

Posted by: No One of Consequence at December 06, 2025 06:31 PM (OGOaV)

67 Anyone try melting down the brass and re-using the raw material for something else?
Posted by: TRex - brassy dino at December 06, 2025 06:26 PM (ITBpd)

I have more brass and lead than I'll ever need. Don't know what to do with it.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at December 06, 2025 06:33 PM (uQesX)

68 Kneelers? I have always had kneeler pads, but they are built in to the pews.

Is this a Protestant thing?

Posted by: Aetius451AD work phone at December 06, 2025 06:34 PM (zZu0s)

69 13 the family tradition to make Christmas grave wreaths for passed family members. 4 of us made 16 wreaths.
This is a very long tradition, hope it continues

Posted by: Skip at December 06, 2025 05:39 PM
***
Nice tradition Skip. Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: TRex - wreaths are circular garland at December 06, 2025 06:36 PM (ITBpd)

70 I have lots of brass scrap as well. Constantly watch videos on people making objects with brass.
A sword would be neat to make, but smaller objects as well.

Posted by: Skip at December 06, 2025 06:36 PM (Ia/+0)

71 This is my 'round to it scavengering. I save wood from old furniture, strip copper out of defunct engines and wires , cut and save unusual shapes of wood out of trees and strands of horse tail hair for braiding.

Posted by: Ben Had at December 06, 2025 06:37 PM (sDNVV)

72 I do lead out in my fire pit with a grate supported by blocks around the pit. But think brass would need a bit higher temperature and a kiln

Posted by: Skip at December 06, 2025 06:38 PM (Ia/+0)

73 I am getting rid of most of what I accumulated through estate sales and curb pickups.
Beautiful wood (walnut and birch, some cedar), table saw, hand tools.

The only thing I use routinely now is a power supply from an estate sale that runs my slot car track.

Posted by: Chappyman66 at December 06, 2025 06:39 PM (GwqYh)

74 I used to embarrass my kids by hauling stuff out of people's trash.

Posted by: Debby Doberman Schultz at December 06, 2025 06:39 PM (0nHVk)

75 Hording is just an element of all my other hobbies. I horde until I have a complete project then I forget about it and horde some more stuff until...
It's all about having stuff to do when and if I retire.

Posted by: Reforger at December 06, 2025 06:41 PM (03GBw)

76 C-class solar flare(not CME - my mistake) M 8.1 duration 20 minutes. 20:39 UTC today.
Anyway, to the hobby - trying to play a few tunes with a guitar tuned down a whole step like Leon Redbone used to to...makes the strings on this Takamine Santa Fe a little loose and ringy...nice to sing, though. Tunes fit for a baritone.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at December 06, 2025 06:42 PM (vd6bO)

77 Did not realize how big a thing scrounging was until I settled in Florida. People put stuff on their curb and advertise it on Facebook Marketplace as free stuff.

The ex was addicted to thrift stores, so now I tend to avoid accumulating stuff. My general rule is, once it's in your house, you'll at some point need to figure how to get it out of your house...

Posted by: Joe Kidd at December 06, 2025 06:42 PM (nbLIj)

78 Folks who shoot traditional black powder guns (not the cursed modern inline stuff) tend to be scroungers. Old felt hats are stamped out to make wads for revolvers and for black powder cartridges. Cloth from end of rolls at fabric stores, often given away or at a huge discount, can be made into shooting or cleaning patches, heavier cloth into shooting bags and other cloth accessories. Percussion caps can be made from aluminum soda cans and toy caps. Pure lead for round balls can be found in scrap piles of old plumbing pipes and old style window weights. Metal containers like Altoid boxes get turned into fire starting kits, little tool and implement tins. Pure cotton, heavy stuff, can be made into charcloth using a grill and tight tin can.

So many possibilities for scrounging and improvising.

Posted by: JTB at December 06, 2025 06:43 PM (yTvNw)

79 I guess my current hobby is making comments on the Hobby Thread and being ignored.
Posted by: OrangeEnt

And you are very good at it!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at December 06, 2025 06:43 PM (z/7Ah)

80 And you are very good at it!
Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at December 06, 2025 06:43 PM (z/7Ah)

Sorta slacking at it this week. I've been noticed a couple times.

Posted by: OrangeEnt at December 06, 2025 06:46 PM (uQesX)

81 66 Guy made a massive Christmas Village and Train display.

Posted by: No One of Consequence at December 06, 2025 06:31 PM
***
Wow. That's impressive! Thanks for posting!

Posted by: TRex - All aboard! at December 06, 2025 06:47 PM (ITBpd)

82 I have a short box trailer here filled with stuff for projects.

Posted by: Ben Had at December 06, 2025 06:47 PM (sDNVV)

83 Anyway, to the hobby - trying to play a few tunes with a guitar tuned down a whole step like Leon Redbone used to to...makes the strings on this Takamine Santa Fe a little loose and ringy...nice to sing, though. Tunes fit for a baritone.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at December 06, 2025 06:42 PM (vd6bO)

Welcome to my life. Frigging metalheads never tune to E standard anymore, some do, but now we got E flat, D, C#, C, and some even B. Technically the guitar needs to be set up for the key its tuned to. The string gauge needs to be heavier, the truss rod needs to be adjusted, etc. I have a rack that holds 7 guitars next to me because of all the frigging tunnings, and they're not my good ones because I'm not putting them through that crap.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at December 06, 2025 06:47 PM (snZF9)

84 I have lots of brass scrap as well. Constantly watch videos on people making objects with brass.
A sword would be neat to make, but smaller objects as well.
Posted by: Skip

BIL, no not that one. A different one! Thi one cast a big brass skull. it is really well done.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at December 06, 2025 06:48 PM (z/7Ah)

85 When we moved last winter, we had to be very harsh about getting rid of all the stuff that we accumulated over the 20-plus years we lived in our house. Even after The Cull, we have a storage unit crammed with stuff in our new town.

We had a garage sale, which helped. But I ask, why did we have six TVs? Sons joked that we lived in a sports bar. We now have two, which is less crazy.

Posted by: Pug Mahon, Bonafide at December 06, 2025 06:48 PM (0aYVJ)

86 63 ... "Anyone try melting down the brass and re-using the raw material for something else?"

Lead for bullets can be melted on a campfire or over a camp stove. Brass melts at around 1,700 degrees F, IIRC. Never heard of a hobbyist reloader melting down brass cases.

Posted by: JTB at December 06, 2025 06:49 PM (yTvNw)

87 I scrounged some steel angle and some lag bolts today.

Posted by: fd, formally known as f'd at December 06, 2025 06:50 PM (vFG9F)

88 Sorta slacking at it this week. I've been noticed a couple times.
Posted by: OrangeEnt

Take heart, I'm sure we'll all start ignoring you again soon!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at December 06, 2025 06:50 PM (z/7Ah)

89 once it's in your house, you'll at some point need to figure how to get it out of your house...

Used to date her
.

Posted by: Commissar of plenty and festive little hats at December 06, 2025 06:50 PM (Kt19C)

90 I picked up a real cute little kitchen setup from someone's trash, I was going to fix it all up for my grandkids to play with when they visit, unfortunately I had it sitting next to the garage when the big tree fell on it back in October. I have since burned it in the fireplace.

Posted by: Debby Doberman Schultz at December 06, 2025 06:51 PM (0nHVk)

91 I have since burned it in the fireplace.
Posted by: Debby Doberman Schultz

Definitely up scaled it!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at December 06, 2025 06:53 PM (z/7Ah)

92 I was waiting for the hobby thread to post this (thought some of you may have seen it already).

Guy made a massive Christmas Village and Train display.

https://youtu.be/ag3AFwavnMk
Posted by: No One of Consequence
***********
Thanks for sharing this. What a collection! Love the views from the camera on the front of the train, and the night shots. And yes, my collection started as 3 village pieces back in the day, and then grew - but not anywhere near the size of theirs. And a third was donated when we were moving cross country. Does he really take that down and then reassemble it every year?

Posted by: The Grateful - Acta Non Verba at December 06, 2025 06:54 PM (ITBpd)

93 Lead is only about 750°f to melt. We would drop shot anywhere between 760 and 810 depending on size. Any higher some trace element , I forget which, level goes haywire. Antimony I think.

Posted by: Reforger at December 06, 2025 06:55 PM (03GBw)

94 , and they're not my good ones because I'm not putting them through that crap.
_-_
Howls! I have a few I keep out...one archtop, a 2000's vintage Recording King, an Epiphone J45, the l'il Takamine, and a banjo.

The Takamine has led a very rough life, so it is the one that gets the de-tune assignments.

Downside to having them all out realized last night. The teenage son who does not realize how big he is tried to wrestle me to the floor yesterday. Landed on the guitar rack and collapsed it. Oddly enough, not a scratch on any of them...only damage seemed to be that the cookie the big boy was holding seemed to be in pieces inside the Epiphone....easier to get out than a pick, though.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at December 06, 2025 06:59 PM (vd6bO)

95 My favorite was a comment made by a workman who said his grandfather had a shoebox on which he had written "string too short to save," filled with, yup, exactly what he described.

Posted by: Wenda at December 06, 2025 06:59 PM (PkCdJ)

96 As my tendonitis recedes I'm going to start some small simple whittling projects to get back some hand strength. Probably ball in a cage, 'five minute' wizard or owl (takes me longer), or comfort birds. Basswood all the way. Might as well use a hobby as minor physical therapy.

Posted by: JTB at December 06, 2025 06:59 PM (yTvNw)

97 90 I picked up a real cute little kitchen setup from someone's trash, I was going to fix it all up for my grandkids to play with when they visit, unfortunately I had it sitting next to the garage when the big tree fell on it back in October. I have since burned it in the fireplace.

Posted by: Debby Doberman Schultz

---
Inadvertently repurposed toys into Lincoln logs? That is a win-win.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at December 06, 2025 07:01 PM (6p0Jv)

98 Might as well use a hobby as minor physical therapy.
Posted by: JTB

That sounds like a great idea.
Purchase Band-Aids first!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at December 06, 2025 07:01 PM (z/7Ah)

99 Thanks for the interesting and informative Scrounging Hobby Thread, T-Rex!

I have reached the stage where I really need to evaluate what to keep and what treasures to bless someone else with. Mostly blessing others with my treasures which are no longer needed or used.

Posted by: Legally Sufficient at December 06, 2025 07:01 PM (kB9dk)

100 My housemate is an artist and wants to sell some of her scratchboard works for Christmas money. https://tinyurl.com/2aedc8nu link goes to facebook.

I had to search online to get some idea of what scratchboard art went for, the 11x14 size which is what she has seems to be around 400 dollars at the etsy links that came up.

I'm wishing I was farther ahead on my decluttering, I think these are great, but its always "but where would I hang it?"

Posted by: PaleRider at December 06, 2025 07:01 PM (hhkIi)

101 AZ deplorable moron, good to see you, please say hi to your lovely Missus for me. Merry Christmas!

Posted by: Debby Doberman Schultz at December 06, 2025 07:02 PM (0nHVk)

102 Looking at some empty Balvenie bottles. A string soaked in gasoline tied around the bottle and ignited then doused in water will give you a clean cut on the glass.

Posted by: Ben Had at December 06, 2025 07:03 PM (sDNVV)

103 Yellow brass melts 1650- 1720 F
Videos I watch use a kiln and gas fired

Posted by: Skip at December 06, 2025 07:04 PM (Ia/+0)

104 "My favorite was a comment made by a workman who said his grandfather had a shoebox on which he had written "string too short to save," filled with, yup, exactly what he described.
Posted by: Wenda"

I have a box full of springs labeled "Springs". Then I have another box of springs labeled "More Springs".

Posted by: fd at December 06, 2025 07:04 PM (vFG9F)

105 say hi to your lovely Missus for me. Merry Christmas!
Posted by: Debby Doberman Schultz

Thank you!
I will!
And I thought the same when I saw DDS!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at December 06, 2025 07:04 PM (z/7Ah)

106 That is wonderful news about Mrs. Mahon's recovery from Lyme disease. She must be thrilled.

Posted by: JTB at December 06, 2025 07:04 PM (yTvNw)

107 Downside to having them all out realized last night. The teenage son who does not realize how big he is tried to wrestle me to the floor yesterday. Landed on the guitar rack and collapsed it. Oddly enough, not a scratch on any of them...only damage seemed to be that the cookie the big boy was holding seemed to be in pieces inside the Epiphone....easier to get out than a pick, though.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at December 06, 2025 06:59 PM (vd6bO)

Yup, dodged a bullet there. Nothing expensive goes in my rack. The last thing I need is Mrs B knocking them over like a leg lamp. lol

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at December 06, 2025 07:06 PM (snZF9)

108 I still have, and often find a screw or bolt my grandfather collected in cans. And if you need say 4, and find 1 then there are 3 others just like it in that can

Posted by: Skip at December 06, 2025 07:06 PM (Ia/+0)

109 >>My uncle Tony worked for NYC Sanitation and brought home all kinds of treasures.

There's a woman here in town that runs a dog walking/sitting business. Her husband works for the local rubbish service. They have a room in their house where the 4 legged visitors stay and its furnished with furniture he finds people throwing away.

Dogs live large in that house.

Posted by: JackStraw at December 06, 2025 07:06 PM (viF8m)

110 I did acquire a nice sofa today that folds out to a full size bed for Little. 40 bucks and it looked like it just came out of the showroom. He and I hit the Waffle House on the way down. Waitress had a nose ring, but was absolutely effervescent. I was conflicted...

Posted by: Joe Kidd at December 06, 2025 07:06 PM (nbLIj)

111 It took my wife and I quite a few years to mostly break the scrounging habit. When we were younger, broke and raising the kids, something on the curb with a "Free" sign was a red flag. Yes, we found some good and useful stuff.

Best find I ever came across was a Dual Reference turntable, perfect condition, in a thrift store for $4.95 . Still use it.

Posted by: The Neon Madman at December 06, 2025 07:09 PM (yNfcm)

112 I have a box full of springs labeled "Springs". Then I have another box of springs labeled "More Springs".

Posted by: fd at December 06, 2025 07:04 PM (vFG9F)

I got box full of old harley valve springs. I keep meaning to go through them one day and put them on a tester to check them out and make matched sets to weed out the weak ones. In reality, that probably won't get done before colander face mask world happens and they'll be repurposed for other shit.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at December 06, 2025 07:10 PM (snZF9)

113 I have a box full of springs labeled "Springs". Then I have another box of springs labeled "More Springs".
Posted by: fd at December 06, 2025 07:04 PM (vFG9F)

NO SPRINGS!!! HA HA HA HA!

Posted by: Coily at December 06, 2025 07:10 PM (0aYVJ)

114 98 ... "That sounds like a great idea.
Purchase Band-Aids first!"

Trust me. With my big hands and small whittling projects, band-aids are always nearby. Plus I use a kevlar carving glove to hold the wood and a thumb pad on the knife hand. I haven't cut my knife hand. Yet.

Posted by: JTB at December 06, 2025 07:11 PM (yTvNw)

115 Cleaned-out the father-in-law's garage when he passed...in addition to his own stuff, he woulld retrieve things from the dumpster that the neighbors threw away that he thought they might actually need later. Each thing...and the garage was very, very full of the things, had a piece of scrap paper with the retrieval date witten on it in pencil.

I was new to their family, so I got the job of cleaning it out. Nobody else wanted to, since you never know what kind of stuff that belongs to a family member has memories that matter attached to it.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at December 06, 2025 07:11 PM (vd6bO)

116
Keychain Compass

I've been meaning to acquire one, but don't want cheap chinese junk. So I occasionally look at ebay. These things were cheap & plentiful when we were kids, yes?

Didn't Coleman make some?

Posted by: Soothsayer at December 06, 2025 07:13 PM (xTbNp)

117 Sorry to be less visible tonight. Interweb connection is unstable at best. Just wanted to say hello and thank everyone in case it becomes unpossible later.

Posted by: TRex - bad connection dino at December 06, 2025 07:14 PM (OOGCW)

118
btw, the chinese can't even make a compass that works

Posted by: Soothsayer at December 06, 2025 07:14 PM (xTbNp)

119 NO SPRINGS!!! HA HA HA HA!

Posted by: Coily

----
My hobby is MST3K references. The Master would not be pleased.

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at December 06, 2025 07:14 PM (6p0Jv)

120 We moved here 4.5 years ago. I filled two 3rolling garbage bins With stuff collected over the previous 3 houses. I was lucky the bins rolled...

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at December 06, 2025 07:15 PM (z/7Ah)

121 "I keep meaning to go through them one day and put them on a tester to check them out and make matched sets to weed out the weak ones. In reality, that probably won't get done before colander face mask world happens and they'll be repurposed for other shit.
Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division"

That's kind of my philosophy. I'll sort them if I need them. Life is too short to spend sorting springs.

Posted by: fd at December 06, 2025 07:15 PM (vFG9F)

122
a jackknife
a compass
a piece of Bazooka gum, or just the wrapper from a piece

When did these things stop being "essential" to us?

Posted by: Soothsayer at December 06, 2025 07:16 PM (xTbNp)

123 Thanks Coily! I knew someone would get it.

Posted by: fd at December 06, 2025 07:16 PM (vFG9F)

124 "My hobby is MST3K references. The Master would not be pleased.
Posted by: BarelyScaryMary"

You would love my ringtone. It's Krankor laughing.

Posted by: fd at December 06, 2025 07:18 PM (vFG9F)

125 My mother used to sew/knit/crochet/make dolls, etc. She never seemed to make just one of anything, usually aiming for 20-50 in quantity. When we cleaned out that place, we thought we were done with the craft supplies after emptying the house, but as any good redneck can tell you, junk cars make for good storage...most of them were actually rat/mouse-proof. Not all, though. Fun.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at December 06, 2025 07:18 PM (vd6bO)

126 a piece of Bazooka gum, or just the wrapper from a piece

When did these things stop being "essential" to us?
Posted by: Soothsayer

I know, right!
In corps school we were taught how to use the clear wrapper off a pack of cigarettes on a sucking chest wound!

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at December 06, 2025 07:19 PM (z/7Ah)

127 That no springs video is so silly it's unforgettable

Posted by: Skip at December 06, 2025 07:19 PM (Ia/+0)

128 "My hobby is MST3K references. The Master would not be pleased.
Posted by: BarelyScaryMary"

You would love my ringtone. It's Krankor laughing.
Posted by: fd at December 06, 2025 07:18 PM (vFG9F)

MST3k is my version of the 3 Stooges. I never get tired of it. The missus, however, does. A lot of sighing.

Posted by: Pug Mahon Knows Stuff at December 06, 2025 07:21 PM (0aYVJ)

129 A lot of sighing
_-_
That's a good woman right there....some get to throwing things after a spell.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at December 06, 2025 07:23 PM (vd6bO)

130 Mrs fd absolutely does not get MST3K. I wonder sometimes if she gets me.

Posted by: fd at December 06, 2025 07:23 PM (vFG9F)

131 Mrs fd absolutely does not get MST3K. I wonder sometimes if she gets me.
Posted by: fd at December 06, 2025 07:23 PM (vFG9F)

Sometimes she'll quote something from MST, the Simpsons (the old ones), or Monty Python. And then she'll pause, and say, "what have you and the boys done to me?"

Posted by: Pug Mahon Knows Stuff at December 06, 2025 07:27 PM (0aYVJ)

132 I have Manos: The Hands of Fate and Santa Claus Comquers the Martians on DVD. It is a Christmas favorite in the Scary household

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at December 06, 2025 07:28 PM (6p0Jv)

133
There's always a running loop-stream of MST3K episodes on Youtube. I've often piped it through the bluetooth and listen during my commutes.

Posted by: Soothsayer at December 06, 2025 07:28 PM (DJUFe)

134 ft, spring-collecting is even funnier than string-collecting!

My own personal coup was a Louis Vuitton trunk that a neighbor put out as garbage. Spotted it on my morning run, which turned into a morning sprint home so I could get the car and go back for it!

Posted by: Wenda at December 06, 2025 07:28 PM (PkCdJ)

135 I want to get the Torgo theme music for my phone.

Posted by: Pug Mahon Knows Stuff at December 06, 2025 07:28 PM (0aYVJ)

136 133 There's always a running loop-stream of MST3K episodes on Youtube. I've often piped it through the bluetooth and listen during my commutes.
Posted by: Soothsayer at December 06, 2025 07:28 PM (DJUFe)

----------------------------------

PlutoTV has an MST3K channel (and a RiffTrax channel as well)

Posted by: No One of Consequence at December 06, 2025 07:30 PM (OGOaV)

137 One last, and pleasant, thought. We put a twin bed in good condition on the curb. In a half hour a young mother stopped and asked if it was for sale. When told it was free she lit up. Her older boy, perhaps seven, was going to get his OWN BED. She almost had tears in her eyes. Knowing something we didn't need could be so appreciated was hugely satisfying.

Posted by: JTB at December 06, 2025 07:31 PM (yTvNw)

138 Pluto TV has channels for MST and Rifftrax. But, they seem to play the same ones for a long time before adding any more. And sometimes they feature the new MST, which is garbage (por ejemplo: Patton Oswalt) Blech. Very blech.

Posted by: Pug Mahon Knows Stuff at December 06, 2025 07:32 PM (0aYVJ)

139 Mid 1980's my recently retired late father is taking his daily walk around his then sparsely populated Florida neighborhood and finds maybe 10 sheets of high quality 4 X 8 plywood on the side of the road. He comes back with his truck and as he's loading his plywood up comes a county sheriff, a lady deputy. She asks what he's doing, he tells her 'I found it'. She helps him load it into his truck and follows him to the sheriffs station.

They held it for 30, maybe 60 days. He'd go every week to make sure it was covered and undamaged. No one claimed it so they released it to him.

He built a nice storage shed with it.

Posted by: Anonymous Rogue in Kalifornistan (ARiK) at December 06, 2025 07:32 PM (QGaXH)

140 He and I hit the Waffle House on the way down. Waitress had a nose ring, but was absolutely effervescent. I was conflicted...
Posted by: Joe Kidd at December 06, 2025 07:06 PM (nbLIj)
~~~~~

Some years ago I was in the hospital for a couple of days and a new night nurse walks in...spiked bright white hair, tattoos up and down both arms and an eyebrow piercing. I groaned internally but she turned out to be the absolute best nurse I've ever had.

Posted by: IrishEi at December 06, 2025 07:33 PM (3ImbR)

141 I was new to their family, so I got the job of cleaning it out. Nobody else wanted to, since you never know what kind of stuff that belongs to a family member has memories that matter attached to it.
Posted by: Don in SoCo

When the old lady next to me died (old man nice but passed years before) I had to check out the estate sale. Almost nothing of value. She purged all the man stuff over the few years since he passed, all that was left was a dilapidated house full of china dolls.

Before the estate sale they haul off two construction dumpsters full of the even more worthless garbage. Guy that bought the house as-js hauled off three more.

People running the estate said the good stuff was sold on line weeks ago. But they have to have the home estate sale with the leftovers. After a couple hours they were basically telling everybody. "Make any offer and it is yours."

Yup, all that shit I wasted money on is going to the dump when I die.

Posted by: Itinerant Alley Butcher at December 06, 2025 07:34 PM (/lPRQ)

142 Yeah, I am a scavenger. I don't prowl the curbsides, because I rarely see heaps of stuff. Used to routinely scavenge the metal pile and the tire pile at the local dump, until they banned scavenging. Once in a while, I will see something really worthwhile there, I will ask the attendant if I can snag it, and usually he's OK with it. On the tire pile, I will come in with some totally rotten tires, and frequently leave with one or two "rollers" to put under inoperable cars.

If I scrap something, I try to separate out the valuable metal scrap, and trash the worthless stuff.

BTW, does anybody here know if scrap pot metal, (aka Zamak, or die-cast, or "white metal") can be melted down and cast into ingots, or something useful?

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 06, 2025 07:34 PM (npFr7)

143 130 Mrs fd absolutely does not get MST3K. I wonder sometimes if she gets me.
Posted by: fd at December 06, 2025 07:23 PM (vFG9F)

She doesn't have to get your taste, so long as she gets you in all the right places, dear.

Posted by: tcn in AK at December 06, 2025 07:36 PM (6Bc88)

144 Happy to see so many MST3K fans here. One of my favs, and a holiday tradition here.

Posted by: IrishEi at December 06, 2025 07:36 PM (3ImbR)

145 An after the sale 'garage sale had a large steel shed full of tools and 'metal'. I did buy anything , they priced it all like new.

Posted by: AZ deplorable moron at December 06, 2025 07:37 PM (z/7Ah)

146 The end of the school year in Madison WI is also known as "hippy Christmas." All the furniture and other items left on the curb are free to passers by. Makes for a damned mess of traffic downtown but nothing ends up in the landfill.

Posted by: tcn in AK at December 06, 2025 07:37 PM (6Bc88)

147 Wow Trumpy, you can do magic things!

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at December 06, 2025 07:38 PM (pkeXY)

148 "Wow Trumpy, you can do magic things!
Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr."

Prophetic, huh?

Posted by: fd at December 06, 2025 07:40 PM (vFG9F)

149
Son and Daughter-in-law moved to rural Wyoming. One of visits i asked them why they save so much stuff, mostly pieces and scraps of stuff.

He told me we live rural and you save everything you can, you never know when you'll need it. We moved here and he is right.

Our landfill is actually fun to visit. They have different places for specific stuff, wood, metal, electronics, etc.

People "shop" there first before going to stores.

It's fun and saves people money.

Posted by: fourseasons at December 06, 2025 07:40 PM (3ek7K)

150 tcn, did you feel the earthquake?

Posted by: fd at December 06, 2025 07:41 PM (vFG9F)

151 Drill bits. For the zombie times.

Posted by: Eromero at December 06, 2025 07:41 PM (LHPAg)

152 135 I want to get the Torgo theme music for my phone.

Posted by: Pug Mahon Knows Stuff at December 06, 2025 07:28 PM (0aYVJ)

---
Here is 10 hours of it. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

https://tinyurl.com/485nut25

Posted by: BarelyScaryMary at December 06, 2025 07:42 PM (6p0Jv)

153 Drill bits. For the zombie times.

Posted by: Eromero at December 06, 2025 07:41 PM (LHPAg)

Good cross bow bolts.

Posted by: Berserker-Dragonheads Division at December 06, 2025 07:42 PM (snZF9)

154 One person's junk is another person's treasure.

Posted by: Ben Had at December 06, 2025 07:42 PM (sDNVV)

155 Happy to see so many MST3K fans here. One of my favs, and a holiday tradition here.
Posted by: IrishEi at December 06, 2025 07:36 PM (3ImbR)

Rifftrax does a Yule Log episode, featuring Kevin's fireplace, a little TV and a speaker. the interrupt the fir to play snippets of numerous Christmas themed shorts. You can find that on Pluto TV.

Posted by: Pug Mahon Knows Stuff at December 06, 2025 07:46 PM (0aYVJ)

156 TUBI has mst3k.

Posted by: Bertram Cabot, Jr. at December 06, 2025 07:49 PM (pkeXY)

157 BTW, does anybody here know if scrap pot metal, (aka Zamak, or die-cast, or "white metal") can be melted down and cast into ingots, or something useful?
_-_
Never tried, but seems like you could do that and wax-cast it into something...jacks....the legos of the 20th century (for your bare feet).

Posted by: Don in SoCo at December 06, 2025 07:52 PM (vd6bO)

158 Solar flare mentioned earlier is starting to cause some excitement.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at December 06, 2025 07:53 PM (vd6bO)

159
My brother works at a landfill in NC. He is amazed how much good stuff people bring in. He's a good Ole country boy who will talk to any9ne so he always asks people why they are trashing stuff.

The main reason is people are cleaning out relatives houses and they don't want the hassle of trying to sell the stuff.

One young couple had boxes of antique toys. He loaded them in his truck and auctioned them off for hundreds of dollars.

Wrought iron outside furniture is another frequently dumped item. He has sold a lot of that also.

Posted by: fourseasons at December 06, 2025 07:54 PM (3ek7K)

160 TRex, thank you for another great hobby thread

Posted by: Ben Had at December 06, 2025 07:54 PM (sDNVV)

161 My brother works at a landfill in NC. He is amazed how much good stuff people bring in.
_-_
One of my grandfathers bought by the truckload from a fella who ran the local dump - set up a shop downtown to resell the stuff..Dad always joked that we should get rid of anything we didn't want to see again at a different dump or Mom might buy it back.

Posted by: Don in SoCo at December 06, 2025 08:00 PM (vd6bO)

162 Solar flare mentioned earlier is starting to cause some excitement.
Posted by: Don in SoCo at December 06, 2025 07:53 PM (vd6bO)

About an hour ago, I was browning some hamburger in the skillet to make a pot of chili. While that went on, I fired up the Zenith Transoceanic, and was getting good activity on all bands, even 16 meters. (So I have a good 1L6 in there!) I think this radio should have the selenium rectifier replaced. I was thinking full-wave diode bridge, and maybe a choke-input filter, to get real low-ripple DC. From my on-line reading you want 1.4 volts to the 1L6 filament, and no more.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 06, 2025 08:00 PM (npFr7)

163
Don, lol.

That is so true.

Posted by: fourseasons at December 06, 2025 08:01 PM (3ek7K)

164 And I am going to go clean up my radio bench, speaking of hobby-related. It's damned cold here, will go below zero tonight for sure. It was only 2 degrees F this afternoon when I took my trash to the dump.

Posted by: Alberta Oil Peon at December 06, 2025 08:03 PM (npFr7)

165 150 tcn, did you feel the earthquake?
Posted by: fd at December 06, 2025 07:41 PM (vFG9F)

No. It was down near Yakutat. About 400 miles east of here.

Posted by: tcn in AK at December 06, 2025 08:03 PM (6Bc88)

166 We are having a wind storm, gusts into the 90 mph range in Palmer, not nearly so bad at our place. Wasilla is taking a beating. Roofs torn off, RVs tipped, wings ripped of light planes, trees down all over and of course the ice from last week making things just delightful for travel.

We are staying in, thanks.

Haven't lost power but I have the wood stove burning just in case.

Supposed to keep doing this through Monday. Ack.

Posted by: tcn in AK at December 06, 2025 08:05 PM (6Bc88)

167 Luckily the Tug Bar posted that they are open for business, so in an emergency...

Posted by: tcn in AK at December 06, 2025 08:06 PM (6Bc88)

168 tcn

We got windy Thursday evening. Supposed to get seriously wet tomorrow through Wednesday.

It’s always nice when the ground gets saturated and the wind kicks up.

Posted by: nurse ratched at December 06, 2025 08:08 PM (mT+6a)

169 Hopefully not late enough to get myself banned from the blog. Cracked open a TRS Challenger 1400 earlier today. Somebody had let something nasty drip down the face, dissolving the paint as it went and rusting where it was allowed to pool.

So this one's going to be fun.

Posted by: Blanco Basura - Z28.310 at December 06, 2025 08:10 PM (lUFok)

170 In keeping with the them of the thread, I have a friend that does thematic posts on Facebook of all the curb alert finds he sees during his daily drives (furniture, appliances, plumbing fixtures{yes, toilets} and such. As for me, a friend just got me a gift certificate to Scale Hobbyist as a retirement gift and I was on their website shopping like old school Wheel of Fortune: okay, for $18 I'll take the X; for $27 I'll take Y and finally for $62 I'll take Z.

Posted by: Stacy0311 at December 06, 2025 08:59 PM (BfTZK)

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