Art of Salvage Chronicles – Volume 1 – Issue 1

[ETsC10]

This is thread for all of us completely hooked on salvage.
(I guess we are basically pack rats but...oh, well....)

YOU ARE ALL INVITED to brag on your finds!
No rules except this is NOT a for sale thread.
(collect your own crap)


Here we can showcase the nifty “rich man’s junk/poor man’s treasure” items
we have always needed or, for that matter, did not need at all but it/they
were just too cool to pass up.
Also, there's a lot of endeavors that really don't need a lot of individual
posts, so here's a place we can all post piggly-wiggly and let our
imaginations run wild.

Find something nifty? Have no reason to store it but just can't give it up?
Perhaps someone else here has a great idea on what you can do with it OR
the knowledge to help you bring a dream project to fruit.

Be it truck parts, goofy bling and man-cave stuff (or, in my case, gal-cave),
rusty/broken/un-loved tools with no value until hung on the wall or unlikely
materials for common projects, tucked away for someday.

Here’s one of mine…
A few years back I saw a free leather couch on CL. Photo looked good, fairly
late model and appeared very well kept. I’m on it like

Yup, it was in the back of the truck within an hour…very nice but
missing a cushion. Oh, what the heck.

Took it home and stuffed the leather in boxes, pulled the fiberfill (clean!!) in
boxes, took the carcass to the dump ($18), sold the fluff to some lady on CL
for crafts (for $50)!
Basically got paid $32 and a box of ivory leather for my time!!

What eventually became of the leather? For $28 I bought a gallon of
contact cement for my cars carpet…used half of it. Understand, my olds has
way more wrong than no carpet though. It’s got the dreaded plastic-rot
of nightmares! Console sucks and the camel color gives me the creeps.

Rotten plastic trim + glue + leather…
You guessed it; a luxury interior for labor alone!

So ... what's your salvage/ re-purpose tale??

[PanelDeland]

I'm in the process of doing the finish on a table.The top was a "plank" that I picked up from a move out of an apartment complex.It was stained with deck stain and glass/bottle rings,to say the least,it was rough.I picked up a pair of table legs from a broken table at the last place I worked.I put the legs on the plank so I could strip and sand it.It looked much better cleaned up.A little stain to bring out the grain and I decided it was nice enough to finish and use as a serving table in my basement.I still have a couple coats of finish and sanding to go before I finish it.I'll have about $12.00-15.00 in it for stain,sandpaper, and poly.
I also have a set of shelves on of my co-workers was going to toss.He had sold his house and was moving to a cond.They were rusty and had some flaking paint.I tightened screws and spent and hour or so with a wire brush on my grinder and another 1/2 hour or so with leftover krylon.I've been using them for about 7-8 years.I got my time in them.

[ETsC10]

Great finds Panel! Pics? Having been a cabinet
maker, I know there's a lot of hidden beauty
and character in a lot of folks throw-aways!

[PanelDeland]

This is with the stain and one coat of poly.It's sanded and I'm waiting for the humidity to drop to put on a couple more.

[PanelDeland]

another veiw

[PanelDeland]

So I started this project and now I've picked up a kitchen table/bench that also needs refinishing.It was priced right and a style I've been looking for,though I wasn't really looking for another refinishing project.It's still in the Dodge since I'm outta room.

[ETsC10]

Originally Posted by PanelDeland

So I started this project and now I've picked up a kitchen table/bench that also needs refinishing.It was priced right and a style I've been looking for,though I wasn't really looking for another refinishing project.It's still in the Dodge since I'm outta room.

Cool you have another project...makes my stuffed collection of "somedays" feel they have some company.

Hey, what kind of wood is your "planked table"? Walnut? Pecan? Birch?
The color seems some sort of pecan and the wood looks fairly dense. Very pretty regardless of what it is!

[ETsC10]

Ellen's day #4 of “learning leather”….

I’m still plugging along with the leather and decided to start changing the
interior to black...a lot more conventional and hides a multitude of flaws.

Working with this is kind of fun and quite easy but I must admit I’ve pulled
the leather skin and redone several parts to follow yet another brain storm.
The progression of my overlay work is pictured right to left in the one pic.

Bummer’s (car’s name) package tray got installed Sat but needed trim.
Since I somehow ended up with an extra ladies purse a last year, it's
carry straps got salvaged for that use. Nothing's safe around here!!

Monday I found that Sunday’s thunderstorm has revealed a leaky back
window….what the heck; just another learning curve. I did learn
how to remove window trim...sure hope I learn to replace it.

Progress so far.......

[ETsC10]

Here's another...pure whimsical trinket for a BD gift.

Recipient is an avid off-roader who builds just about anything out of
anything. Besides; for some reason, I can never throw great rocks away!

The truck is painted in his family race colors and the box is from
an old baseball card collection.

3 rocks + plastic box + broken toy = BD gift.

[aerotruk63]

You do nice work. You should try out for a crafters position on that reality TV show hosted by Tori Spelling. My Dad does alot of freecycling and builds some neat things even at 80 years old.