what have you invented for self relience

[flatwater]

My inventions are not always new and are made more for necessity. I hooked up a small gas motor to a washing machine. I used some crutch parts to make a nice rifle or gun rest for target practice or hunting. I usually over build things , but I want it to last. My best was a better craw-dad trap using bicycle wheel rims. What are some of your stuff

[machinemaker]

I run my business from my home shop. I have a machine shop, welding and fabrication shop and foundry. My love is to cast bronze sculpture, but making industrial equipment pays the mortgage. In all the magazines I read I'm always amazed that no one talks about all the industrial equipment that is out there for the asking. It seems that there is so much great stuff to modify for personal use here at home. I just built a large log splitter from old industrial refuge and left over steel. I get all of our fire wood from a local parks and recreation district. I haul away old equipment, strip off what I can sell on eBay, use what I need and scrap the rest. I have been given a used vertical band saw that a company had out side rusting, now it looks new. A bead blast cabinet pieced together from old stuff, a old laminating roll that was modified to roll steel plate; the melt furnace and burn out kiln in the foundry were made with either salvaged parts or materials bought by the sale of salvaged parts. Our culture throws away so much that can be reused or resold. Where ever I go I keep an eye out for things that can be hauled away for free or for a fee bucks. Long ago a man I used to work with taught me to always have a little cash in the back of my wallet so when I saw something I wanted I could make and offer and haul it away.
flatwater, I am glad to hear that others are busy building things rather than just going to walmart for the latest gadget.
kent

[AlchemyAcres]

I love to build stuff...most of the things I've built are either an original idea or a design adapted and improved to my own liking....I designed two bandsaw lumbermills...a hydraulic ram water pump that can be built with a minimum amount of parts....treadle metal/wood lathe....manual hay baler..manual grain thresher....manual grain winnower.......a unique compost sifter that works real good..a chicken plucker that uses high pressure water jets.....built dozens of different wind turbines over the past 15 years....I'm currently working on a 24 volt turbine.....have some ideas for a few other things......


~Martin :)

[AlchemyAcres]

I bought six 40 degree pressure washer nozzles from Northern Hydraulics...arranged around a pipe ring facing inward and downward at 45 degrees.
Hold the bird by the feet and bunk-it past the jets a couple times....flip it over and holding it by the head, pass it through the jets one more time......it works very good and is super fast.....it often leaves some of the larger wing and tail feathers, but they're easily removed by hand.

~Martin :)

[AlchemyAcres]

Has anyone seen a similar plucker design?
I spent less than $100 on it, minus the pressure washer itself, of course.

~Martin :)

[bookwormom]

Wow, I am so impressed. I would like to see the manual grain thresher. and I take it you do not mean a flail, also the winnower. Let me guess, you used an old box fan to start with.

[AlchemyAcres]

Wow, I am so impressed. * I would like to see the manual grain thresher. and I take it you do not mean a flail, also the winnower. Let me guess, you used an old box fan to start with.

Nope and nope... LOL

The thresher and winnower are both pedal powered....

The winnower is very similar to the one shown here....

http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_library/oilpress.html

The thresher is similar to the design in Gene Logsdon's book "Small-Scale Grain Raising"..'cept I used poultry plucker 'fingers' and pedal power, of course.......
The book is out of print, but the full text and photos are available on Steve Solomon's website soilandhealth.org.....

If anyone is interested....PM me for a direct link.....It's not right to post a direct link here.

~Martin :)

[Txanne]

The washing machine [[old wringer]] converted to gaso line is neat.

I found it a bit noisey--but put out some horses and really allowed for cleaner clothes.

AA you astound me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;D


My only claim to invention fame was my inground water cistern and its feeding system.

All on curb-side [[found]] materials.[[translates free]]


But i learn so much from you'll---Thanks


annie

[macgeoghagen]

i made an irrigation system using an old garden hose, an old black sponge hose, and some T pipe connectors.

Materials and tools:
garden hose. preferably an old one.
black soaker hose. the kind made of the sponge material
several T connectors. number is the number of garden rows -1
90 degree elbow. this is for the last row.
coat hangers
straight stick 5/8"-3/4" diameter
bypass pruners(or good cutting tool)
linesmans pliers


procedure:
cut the green hose into several short lengths. length = the amount of space between each row. be sure to keep the female screw end on its own length of hose.

cut the black hose into lengths. length =length of row

cut the stick into several 2 inch lengths. these are plugs. stick a plug into one end of each black length of soaker hose. if it fits tightly, good. if not so tightly, cut a length of coat hanger wire and twist it around the hose and plug like a bread tie.

stick the tail of the T connectors into the other end of each soaker hose. secure it with coat hanger wire if needed.

find the length of green hose that has the female screw end. this should go at the corner of the system closest to your water source. that way you can connect the irrigation system to a normal garden hose. attach the non screw cap end of this hose to the T connector and secure it with clothes hanger wire if needed. attach your other length of green hose to the other side of the T connector, then the next T connector at the other end. continue linking the T connectors together with green hoses, saving the 90 degree elbow for last.

You can run a hose to the irrigation system from your water source. that way you can water your plants and get other work done at the same time.

[MooseToo]

often times i will skip over certain posters on the board - others get a cursory appraisal -
alchemy's input gets studied - always -
i cannot remember even once when his postings were not accurate, timely, helpful, interesting and reeking of common sense - if i knew how to spell rennosaunce man, i would - and he manages to remain above the folderol that gets us all wound up so often -

[Txanne]

often times i will skip over certain posters on the board - others get a cursory appraisal -
alchemy's input gets studied - always -
i cannot remember even once when his postings were not accurate, timely, helpful, interesting and reeking of common sense - if i knew how to spell rennosaunce man, i would - and he manages to remain above the folderol that gets us all wound up so often -

Aint it the truth.

Txanne

[Dawgus]

ok....wow guys, some of you amaze me with every post.
I'm no welder or machinist, but I love to make everything I can. Recently I made a compost tumbler from two 55 gallon drums mounted horizontally. I drilled in a series of stainless screws that prodrude inside, top and back to avoid getting cut, and with every turn, they shred the materials inside. I put drainage holes in the bottom so they dont stay TOO wet, and the holes drip into an old piece of gutter, then into a bucket, and that gets sprayed on various plants. I also made an irrigation system for my 200 strawberry plants. Its fed via gravity from rain barrels made from 55 gallon plastic drums (free from work) and into cpvc fire sprinkler pipe to the strawberries. Simple holes drilled down the length of the pipe work great. The pipe was again, free from work. This pipe was left outside, and we cannot use it once it has been exposed to UV light and the color fades. I control the flow rate via a hose connection on the barrels. This week I am making two 8 foot cold frames from all free materials. I pulled six 8 foot 2x12's out of a jobsite dumpster (my favorite scrounging place), the windows I got for free from the local craigslist. I am covering the insides of the frames with this new style duct tape which is just basically VERY sticky back shiny foil. I'm hoping that the light reflection will help with warmth. I wont mention the cordless drill on the green bean frencher idea....still got green stains on the ceiling. LOL