ScrapHappy July 2022: Water way to go – bin and gone (to the shop)

Aw! A little baby dalek…

So, my reader will remember that, last month, I built a water butt stand (read here for the gory details) and mentioned in passing that the old water butt was in need of a retirement plan. And here is that plan – it will be a new compost bin at The Snail of happiness shop!

Having removed the bottom (now the top, just soooo confusing) of the butt, I decided to add one of those plastic handles you find on boxes with computers or air fryers in, to make it easier to open.

A lid? We can handle it…

I decided to attach hinges (made from cable ties found by the side of various roads) and fashion a “lid-holding-down” device (Patent Pending) from a piece of the old greenhouse, and using the broken tap on the water butt. This is what happens when I am left unsupervised.

For once, I am not unhinged…

Lid-holding device installed

Lid-holding device in the “not holding the lid” position…

Hello! I raise my hat to you in welcome…

Now it is ready to be transported to the shop, to begin its new life composting stuff!

oOo

ScrapHappy June 2022: Stand, by Me

 

Remains of the Day, er, water butt stand

As promised/threatened*, I have finally built a new water butt stand using yet more of the wood recovered from The Snail of Happiness shop. The old stand was built from a pallet and enhanced** with newer wood over a few years, but that familiar cry of “woodlice ate my butt stand!” rang out once more across Chez Snail causing consternation and a call to the police by the neighbours.

Worst. Table. Ever

I built the stand in three parts in the stock room/teaching space in the shop, then disassembled it to carry it home. Despite having no real clue what I was doing, I was able to take the stand apart and remove it from the shop, put it in the car and relocate it in its new home. Time will tell if it is as strong as it needs to be – it could certainly handle yours truly sitting on it looking slightly aloof (which adds a kilo or two).

Once back at Chez Snail, I used yacht varnish (on the off chance that the stand turned into a yacht) to protect the wood from the Welsh elements (which are, broadly speaking, dragons, rain, seaweed-in-bread and close harmony singing).

Me: Ha! It’s so good, it can support me! Also me: Please stay up, please stay up, please stay up…

 

Self-assembly water butt stand

Varnishing Trick

New stand in place

We will be buying a new recycled water butt as I think the old one is probably cracked (I know that feeling!) but never fear, it will be transported to the shop to be used as another compost bin!

Borg assimilated my water butt!

oOo

* Delete as deemed wildly appropriate

** Shored up

 

Many other people contribute to Kate and Gun’s wonderful ScrapHappy every month – check out what they have been up to too!

 

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, 
Jill, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Carol,
Preeti, Debbierose, Nóilin, Viv and Edi

 

 

ScrapHappy March 2022: Lateral (flow test) thinking

 

Worst. Dominoes. Game. Ever.

A while back, the marvellous Dawn Gill Designs showed a use for old lateral flow test dropper bottles – cable support doodahs. It started me wondering about the possible uses of all the components. This morning, I saw the picture below on Twitter, and found the same use described here: https://www.gardeningetc.com/news/lateral-flow-test-gardening-hack

 

Plant labels

Are there any other things people have used this scrap for? At Chez Snail, we tend to put all the waste in the foil packet the test strip comes in, keeping the plastic waste bags for other things, but the other bits… well, I can only think of using the cases to house something else. Sadly, the tiny Raspberry Pico microcontrollers don’t quite fit, but you could probably squeeze some surface mount LEDs in there. The tubes can neatly house a standard sized LED at the end making a little pointy torch thing perhaps. I also wonder if you could use the tubes for precision addition of liquid glue, or ink, to a surface.

 

A sore thumb emulator. Or a red LED torch thing. You decide.

There are probably quite a few things from medical supplies that might prove more useful out of landfill than in it. The Snail’s Mum had to have blood thinning injections, self-administered, after her hip replacement*. These came with the needles and drug all in one, in a plastic test tube which was thrown away afterwards. Only we kept them, and I use one to store components in and we are p-planning to put sewing kits in some of the others, to sell in the shop.

 

Old needle tube now full of old electronic components

Does anyone else have any suggestions for use for old lateral flow tests or other such medicinal waste?

oOo

* I mean she had her hip replaced, rather than she was replaced in her entirety with something more fashionable. Anyway, the Snail’s Mum is irreplaceable and utterly fashionable.

Many other people contribute to Kate and Gun’s wonderful ScrapHappy every month – check out what they have been up to too!

 

Kate, Gun, Eva, Sue, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy,  Tracy, 
Jill, Jan, Moira, Sandra, Chris, Alys,
Claire, Jean, Jon, Dawn, Jule, Gwen,
Sunny, Kjerstin, Sue L, Vera,
Nanette, Ann, Dawn 2, Carol,
Preeti, Debbierose, Nóilin, Viv and Edi

 

 

ScrapHappy February 2022: Counter Indication

All the salvaged wood that’s needed for this project

As my reader may remember, last month’s ScrapHappy post was a pile of, well, wood. In fact, once the two partition walls and a changing room were removed, there was a large pile of reclaimed material to use. I was a little bit proud that we had stopped all this stuff going into a skip, as now seems to be the norm with building materials like these.

Last month I said the first project would be a breakfast bar to go between the teaching space and the kitchen upstairs in the shop. I was wrong. The first project was, in fact, a shop counter. The Snail chose two shelves that would be the template for the top of the counter and I then constructed the most dubious framework to hold it up off the floor. On the plus side, the floor of the shop is absolutely level, in all directions. On the minus side, I was going to construct the framework. I might even use some of the salvaged screws too.

From the top…

OK, I only used about half a dozen salvaged screws as they mostly had worn out heads (like mine), having originally been driven into the wood using something that was a combination of a pneumatic wheel nut gun and Mjollnir*.

Spirit level stand (you can’t see it, but the spirit level is, in fact, level)

I am pretty sure that some of the uprights aren’t as upright as they should be and, yet, the counter top is as level as the floor on which it stands so I am not going to be looking too closely for now. I just hope it can support the weight of the till, fabric, cups of coffee, dragons etc.!

Clamp down (I know! I used a grown-up bit of DIY gear!)

I am going to use some of the hardboard removed from the partitions to clad the outside and hide the shelf I am going to fit inside – but I ran out of time before this post had to be written! If you check out the shop’s Instagram site (@thesnailofhappiness) you will probably see a picture of the completed counter there.

Hopefully, the dragon won’t frighten away too many customers!

A nearly-completed counter – just some side panels to go on

oOo

* Thor’s hammer.

ScrapHappy Extra: Scrap Man

The Scrap Man cometh…

The co-creator of ScrapHappy, Kate Chiconi, left a comment on my ScrapHappy review with a link to a fish made of scrap stuff (https://talltalesfromchiconia.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/cod-close-up-water-spill.jpg). I remember seeing this chap at the Eden Project in Cornwall, UK back in 2016 and said i would post it here for all to see – and I have! I am not sure I can match the size of such a sculpture but it does feel like I have roughly an equivalent amount of scrap in my office so you never know…

Spot the Consumer Electronics Waste – a lawn mower, a satellite dish, a cooker hob…

ScrapScary!

oOo