Materials Forum

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Sat May 26, 2007 6:39 am

A place to share your tips and techniques for making Fun Playa Stuff from metal, plastic, old fur coats, bones, one thousand old toothbrushes....

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Sat May 26, 2007 6:58 am

To get the ball rolling, some ideas about ALUMINUM....

Even with scrap prices rising, aluminum can be had from thrift stores, yard sales and flea markets in the form of old pots and pans for next to nothing. Often there are pre-existing shapes that can be used in art projects, such as cake or Jell-o moulds, measuring spoons and the like, but with a pair of "aviation shears" (AKA "tinsnips") you can harvest flat sections from old pans or cannisters.
I've been working with aluminum for many years and can spot it on a yard sale table while driving by at sixty, but others may not be able to immediately determine it from steel or tin....Aluminum is usually more malleable than steel or tin, and warmer to the touch as it is a superior conductor of heat. And aluminum does not rust. It can also be purchased for a reasonable price in the form of "flashing" or shims for roofing, or in coil form.
Working with Al (its periodic table designation) is a treat relative to other metals- It can be sanded, hand-bent, drilled, folded, cast....Sections can be riveted together or glued with GOOP or other adhesives. I'm currently working on several aluminum-based space helmets for LabWerks, the Apokiliptikan Space Station- The most recent one is based on a lid from a cake carrier, mated to the lid from a wok and decorated with orange juicers and parts from old vacuum cleaners. (What better than vacuum parts, for a space suit?)
A pop riveter, some rivets and a drill are all you need to get started- Or a tube of GOOP and some masking tape. Down the road you'll need primer and paints...

Okay, that'll do for a taste....Who's next?

PS- PM me for more aluminum project tips, or just post your questions here for public consideration if it's not a secret project.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sun May 27, 2007 9:07 am

LOOKING for 12V APPlIANCE ??

Big truck stops have everything you can think of... Even a toaster oven..

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Sun May 27, 2007 9:51 am

Please do not burn things like plastics and aluminum that will give off toxic fumes.

Post by **AntiM** » Sun May 27, 2007 10:19 am

unjonharley wrote:LOOKING for 12V APPlIANCE ??

Big truck stops have everything you can think of... Even a toaster oven..

The 12v coffeemaker was disappointing, ran so slowly the coffee wasn't hot, just warm. however, mylarry loves his mini 12v shopvac.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Sun May 27, 2007 11:58 am

Cuba Coffee has hand coffee mills under 30 bucks.. I grind beans for quick bean soup..

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sun May 27, 2007 4:55 pm

This is one source for 12 volt stuff.

http://www.campingworld.com/search/inde ... h&tcode=11

Trailer Life has lots of info and some good books too.
If you look there are good american made 12 volt things.
I found 12 volt mattress pads made in the usa.
Very good, but not cheap.
There are good 12 volt fluorescent fixtures and so on.

phil · Post by **phil** » Sun May 27, 2007 5:45 pm

> I found 12 volt mattress pads made in the usa.

Yeah, I found a 12V chair. But like anti m says, it takes a long time and the body is barely even warm.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sun May 27, 2007 6:15 pm

Mattress pads don't have to have much power to get too hot.
I had a cheap one that was 30 watts and it would roast you.

My car seats are heated and it doesn't feel like much, unless you turn them off in cold weather.
The good ones are regulated to not get too hot too.

I think hot water kettles can heat up really fast.
Depends on how well they are made.

As I recall, the good heating pads were $50-$100.
They make weatherproof ones for pets too.

One good thing about 12 vdc is no emf generation.
The company I'm thinking of makes dual voltage ones too.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Sun May 27, 2007 6:36 pm

This may be the company I'm thinking of.

http://www.electrowarmth.com/

These things really work in very cold weather.
There is a problem if you stay in one place too long and you get hot spots.
What is needed is the material that self-regulates, but I can't find any made that way.
I think using a rheostat would help.
In extremely cold conditions, it's not a problem.
These have simple thermostats.
The one I had responded to air temperature and not the bed temperature.
You can stay warm when the room is so cold your sinuses shut down.
Great idea for rvs for energy conservation.
The us made ones are quite powerful-50 to 116 watts.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Tue May 29, 2007 9:17 am

Okay...Since this has morphed into a 12V forum in traditional Eplaya style...

One of my favorite stops on the Road To Burning Man is the big truck plaza in Iowa..."World's Biggest", according to them. Biggest I've ever been in, for sure- And it's HEAVEN for 12V stuff, especially lights. I got a big bunch of cool green fixtures there last year, and some LED road flares on clearance that I was stupid not to buy more of.
It's also the first place that I allow myself to rest and relax, after leaving home...I HAVE to kill Michigan, Indiana AND Illinois BEFORE stopping, and then usually don't stop again (except for gas) until well into Nebraska.

Locally, I sometimes discover 12V clearance stuff at Pep Boys...There was a scrolling LED back-window sign for forty bucks that I should have snagged, just the other day. And NOW they've opened a Harbor Freight Outlet in Kalamazoo....

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Tue May 29, 2007 9:23 am

One of those 12 LED "road flares" are my tail light.. I glued (goop) a metal bar to a web belt.. The light has a magnet.. You can see that thing a long ways off..

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Tue May 29, 2007 12:34 pm

Plastics.

BAS · Post by **BAS** » Tue May 29, 2007 3:13 pm

Bob wrote:Plastics.

...are yummy!

B.

phil · Post by **phil** » Tue May 29, 2007 5:07 pm

Okay, back to the original topic: materials:

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/jackass-3/di ... 264033.php

You don't need no stinkin' description. The title says it all.

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 4:06 pm

I'm looking for a hardwear item..It attaches to the door jam to hold a wooden screen door closed.. It looks something like a large thumb.. It recieves the door then turns and latch behind.. A small push on the screen door and the latch pops back so the door can open.. YOur house may of had one when you were young... The damn cat has figured out how to use the lever handle on the fancy wroth iron storm door.. He stands on tthe banister and jumps up and down on the handle with his front paws..

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 4:41 pm

I've seen cats do that.
Pretty hysterical.
I thought you were in a small place.
You have a banister?

Toolmaker · Post by **Toolmaker** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 5:01 pm

Some great finds can be had from dumpsters. Sheetmetal shops.. Machine shops.. Any shop throws out good shit. The bigger the company the greater the waste. Over the years I have not only gotten large pieces of material but also WORKING tools and machines. Went by a shop 2 weeks after an auction/fire sale and snagged a WORKING Baldor grinder. If I was strong enough I would have taken the Bridgeport sitting in the TRASH!

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 5:51 pm

gyre wrote:I've seen cats do that.
Pretty hysterical.
I thought you were in a small place.
You have a banister?

\/
Just gave him some cat nip.. Then he gave me a swap on the ass with claws extended.. The last time I got him stoned, he got up and let me know what he though of my art work.. He pissed on it..

Yeah I live in a very small place.. I tend to fall, so there are grab bars and banisters all over the place.. I've added half steps too..

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Mon Jun 04, 2007 6:26 pm

Sounds like a fun cat.
My cat used to ambush me and chase me.

Railing isn't a bad idea for anyone.
There's a way of stepping a board out from the wall.
Simple, looks good and almost impossible to hurt yourself on.
That sort of thing always seems unnecessary until you are carrying something and trip.
I broke a rib on the box I was carrying that way once.

Rocket75377 · Post by **Rocket75377** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 7:09 am

robotland wrote:And NOW they've opened a Harbor Freight Outlet in Kalamazoo....

...Oh? Where aboot?

Rocket75377 · Post by **Rocket75377** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 11:08 am

Never mind. It's about a mile and a half from my house.

In case anyone else from the SW MI area is interested, it's on Stadium Drive by I-94, next to K-mart. Very cool, TONS of grand opening specials.

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 12:39 pm

I was just there today! Got some nifty giant carabiners for 99 cents per. And they have solar panels, and tape, and tarps, and.....*tongue lolls, eyes rolling up*

....Did I tell you about ALRO? Up off of Sprinkle Road by Gordon Food Service? Lots of lovely metal and plastic "drops", or industrial cut-ends of still-useful size. Nice place.

Rocket75377 · Post by **Rocket75377** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 1:36 pm

Huh. I was there at two o'clock or so. They've got some really reasonable MIG and stick stuff. I know about ALRO from a guy in one of my welding classes, and there's one on my work route between Emmet and Urbandale, if anyone is from the Battle Creek area. I've never been, but have been meaning to check them out. I knew they carried steel and whathaveya, but anything else is news to me. Will keep internet updated.

phil · Post by **phil** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 10:27 am

Here's a materials site on a car that is green as well as a materials resource for your playa driving:
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2007 ... good-kind/