/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Best bits of advice I can give on safety in the hopes that others don't repeat my stupid fucking mistakes that I should have known better than to make in the first place

1. Like the dick-bag said, before you get into a project you should find out as much as you can about it. Not only will this keep you safe from things like zinc fever or (in my case) having your whole hand swell up because you got a sliver of copper stuck in your hand but it can make the project go soooo much smoother

2. Take care of your hands! Smashed up, arthritic hands at the age of 25 sucks ass.

3. If smoke is coming off funky ass colours... GET THE FUCK AWAY!!! Thick black or white smoke is always bad, as a general rule, if you can't see through the smoke it's bad. Scratch that, just don't breath smoke.

4. Don't get in a hurry, hurry=hurt. It's usually that last 5 minutes or that last cut that you're trying to push through that fucks up and gets you hurt

>>666215
Tried, the pick-n-pull auto place here doesn't do motorcycles and all but one the scrap yards won't let me dig around because of liability issues

Doesn't necessarily have to have the cap and shit, I can add that later

I want to make a shishkebab

Problem is, I can't find a motorcycle gas tank for cheap (shipping is murder from ebay)

Does any one know of something that looks similar that I can use and/or is widely available? Don't really give a shit what it's made of, just has to look good

>>665704

I know! They're driving me crazy

Cleaned up as much of the rust as I can, now I just sand/grid off the pitting in the chrome

>>665559
I can't spell for shit and auto-correct didn't blip it

>>665643

Thank you

Thinking of putting one of the old school circle headlights in the end and running it to a 12v transformer, but I'll figure out the logistics of all of that later

Progress so far

Awesome, thank you

Haven't learned TIG yet, but it's on the list

Too thin to weld nicely I think.

Bondo is looking like my best bet. I haven't worked with it before, does it need any special prep for painting?

Trying to fix up an old Electrolux vacuum body to make a spotlight

Started sanding off rust and found out that it had corroded through the steel and chrome plating

What do to patch? Doesn't have to be pretty or super strong. Just need to fill the holes and be able to silver paint over it

>>663876

Duely noted and mentally corrected

bump

>>662981

Thank you much

>>663266

That thing is crazy looking... I must have one

Does anyone else have a favorite tool that (without meaning to) you end up having a mini-collection?

>>656923

Most of the stupid shit that I did was when I was 18-19 and didn't bother to stop and think how stupid I was being. Thankfully I was still on my parents AMAZING insurance and an ER visit only cost about 50 bucks a pop otherwise I'd still be fucked

Thank you by the way, you brought up a point that I missed

Scrapping should never be a primary source of income. When I had a truck and trailer and was doing it full time there were some months that I could make around 2 grand (which was awesome while I was still living with my parents) but the next month I'd bust my ass just as hard and only make about 200 (minus gas, food, truck repairs... ect). Plain and simple, it's not reliable no matter how hard you work

I have my real job at a restaurant friday-monday that pays bills and buys food. The scrapping that I still do is the light shit that I'm not going to kill myself doing. It's enough that I have a bit of play money

>>656880

Lastly, you need to take care of yourself!

I've been at this for about 6 years (at varying degrees) and I have permanently damaged my knees, back, shoulders, elbows, and have permanent nerve damage in one of my hands. I have broken bones, dislocated joints, cracked ribs, and even gotten a concussion.

YOU NEED TO BE CAREFUL AND SAFETY NEEDS TO BE YOU TOP PRIORITY!!!

Remember junk iron is only 10 cents a pound. Is it worth throwing out you back trying you pick up a 150lb hunk of metal for $15?

I've tried to make this as broad as possible for anyone that's interested and isn't just assuming scrap=meth. If anyone wants to talk more of has questions, feel free to e-mail me at funny_movie_man@hotmail.com or even hit me up on facebook on my junk account ArmStrong DickSmasher

>>656878

NICE TOOLS or, as I like to call them, SHINIES
These are the tools that I use smaller tear down shit, like gutting a dead computer or taking apart appliances. These you spend a little bit more for and take better care of
>screw drivers, you ALWAYS need f'ing screwdrivers, I like to have several regular Phillip's and flatheads around but you should also get a mid-priced set of the crazy heads (allen/star/square heads)
>needle-nose pliers
>actual SET of box-end wrenches
>NICE, STURDY pair of wire cutters (I love these - http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/Duralast-7-1-2-in-diagonal-pliers/_/N-263b?itemIdentifier=482486&_requestid=2501337))
>box cutter or any good knife
>... other shit will come up as you need it

POWER TOOLS
>drills, you never know when you need it to pull out the 500 screws in a washing machine or you'll have to drill out that rusted fucker that just striped out on you. I like a cordless for quick stuff but they always die on me so get a used corded one for cheap and keep it handy
> reciprocating saw and a Dremal (totally opposite ends of the spectrum) are always great to have but not needed

>>656854
Second TOOLS
I keep three sets of tools

WRECKERS
These are the tools that I use to smashy-smashy shit, they're used to fucking break things and they (fairly often) break too. Get these at junk stores and yard sales for cheap and when they wear out THROW THEM IN THE METAL PILE!!!

I recommend:
>2 hammers, 4lb mini-sledge and a 12-16oz claw hammer
>heavy duty channel locks
>piece mealed set of cheap box-end wrenches
>boltcutters
>wire cutters
>crowbar
>... other shit will come up as you need it

First off, I'm a "hobby scrapper" and most of the replies here are right

shit pay
shit people

That being said, I enjoy scraping as a way to scratch up a little cash every now and then (I am very low scale and I can get about 30-40 bucks a month)

First bit of advice I have to offer: LEARN YOUR METALS!!!
Know the difference between aluminum and stainless steel - neither of them stick to magnets but stainless throws sparks on a grinder
Know what brass is used for and where to find it in something like a weed-eater engine
Learn the diff between type 1 and type 2 copper