Favorite re-purposed item in your shop

[maddis]

OK, I know this is not a high-tech tooling adaptation, but I was at an antique store with my daughter today (a Saturday tradition) and I saw this spoon rack for $12. I think it's got way more vibe as a turning tool holder than anything I could cook up with some home depot pine, plus the little drawers hold cue-tips and hss tools.

Also, this place had a miniature roll top desk pipe holder. Pretty cool concept.

What's your favorite quirky re-purposed part of your shop?

[SchmidtN]

Fork


This one has four tines and meets all of my pipe making needs. A real time saver.

[wisemanpipes]

i use paint cans for storing just about everything. i dump the hazardous material down the sink, hopefully polluting millions of litres of water, and then use em to store my chisels, sandpaper, files, odd bits of rod stock etc...

i wish i could say i reuse random shit but paint cans are about as far as i go. ohhhh and a tv stand from the 70's
-evan

[caskwith]

I'll take some pics tomorrow, I have all sort of crazy shit.

[wdteipen]

I use one of these as a pipe rack:



It's a thread spool rack/holder.

[Nate]

Fork


This one has four tines and meets all of my pipe making needs. A real time saver.

[SchmidtN]

These young bucks will learn our tricks some day Mr. King.

[maddis]

These young bucks will learn our tricks some day Mr. King.

OK, I give. You like to eat while you sand? Rusticate by throwing a fork as hard as you can across the room at stummels? That's it, right?

[SchmidtN]

If you gotta ask, then you don't know.

[wmolaw]

Fork


This one has four tines and meets all of my pipe making needs. A real time saver.

Note, if a "fork" has three tines, it ain't a fork, it's a trident. Real forks have four tines, it's that simple!

[Alden]

Note, if a "fork" has three tines, it ain't a fork, it's a trident. Real forks have four tines, it's that simple!

I'm sick of all the purists around here telling newbies you have to have four tines on your fork. Just because its not a "classic" fork doesn't mean you can't eat a fine steak with it. Nowadays the Russian guys are adding 6, 7 tines to their forks. It might not be what you'd like to eat with, but have you seen the prices some of those guys are getting ??
I'm just saying, a fork is a handle with tines on the end of it, that simple. You have traditional english style forks, sure, I'm just saying theres a whole world out there full of sporks, tridents, reverse tined forks, blowforks, blowsporks, obverse oriented spoons.... In the end, they all shovel food in your mouth, so lay off the new guys would you ?

[wmolaw]

Note, if a "fork" has three tines, it ain't a fork, it's a trident. Real forks have four tines, it's that simple!

I'm sick of all the purists around here telling newbies you have to have four tines on your fork. Just because its not a "classic" fork doesn't mean you can't eat a fine steak with it. Nowadays the Russian guys are adding 6, 7 tines to their forks. It might not be what you'd like to eat with, but have you seen the prices some of those guys are getting ??
I'm just saying, a fork is a handle with tines on the end of it, that simple. You have traditional english style forks, sure, I'm just saying theres a whole world out there full of sporks, tridents, reverse tined forks, blowforks, blowsporks, obverse oriented spoons.... In the end, they all shovel food in your mouth, so lay off the new guys would you ?

Hey, that's all great. But if a fork maker wants to truly learn how to carve a true fork, he or she must first learn how to create the classics, the four tine is the billiard of forks. It's just that simple.

Once they learn that, THEN they can go to whatever shape their creative juices takes them!

[caskwith]

As promised here are a few that sprang to mind in my shop, I am sure there are more around but I can't find them at the moment.

Old TV wall bracket now used to hold lathe tools in a handy, movable location.


Charity shop plate rack used as a pipe rack.


Drill press turned into a variable speed multipurpose tool.


Drawer Organiser used to (ahem) organise hand tools.

[d.huber]

Damn, Chris. Your shop is ghetto as hell!

I think it's best to have a full set of forks. That way guests can use them if they drop by.

[SchmidtN]

Dewd, you can't hot glue your stems on and call it a press fit.

[caskwith]

Dewd, you can't hot glue your stems on and call it a press fit.

I can't? Oh damn, I've got a thousand pipes to re-call!

[SchmidtN]

Dewd, you can't hot glue your stems on and call it a press fit.

I can't? Oh damn, I've got a thousand pipes to re-call!

!

[d.huber]

I found this ratty old metal lathe. I started using it to make pipes. It's a little crazy, but it works for me.

[wisemanpipes]

what a piece of junk

[maddis]

I found this ratty old metal lathe. I started using it to make pipes. It's a little crazy, but it works for me.

I don't know man, that lathe is pretty nice.

But I think my spoon holder wins by an edge.