Pickin' at the Scrap Yard
(Sniiiiifffff!) Breathe in those metallic, oil, and mud smells you can only reap at the scrap yard. My buddy, Justin (Muddy Water Resurrections) and I took off to the scrap yard a few morning ago. As usual, the rain preceeded us leaving us with mounds of fresh (deep) mud and plenty of slippery surfaces.
For those that have never been, the draw of the scrap yard is never knowing what you will run across. Granted, 80% of it is already bent, crushed or broken by the time the heavy machines have moved and run over everything. But there's still great things to be had. You never know what company has just left there dumping their discarded wares. It's just the beginning for these items with pickers and repurposers like us.
That day there was a heap of railroad car wheels (way tooooo heavy to fool with), an office furniture truck that dumped some metal shelving and filing cabinets, mounds of heavy wound cable, and a mountain of engine blocks. Among the tons of other random items. And in the back was another mountain of discarded (and new it appeared) barbecue smokers in assorted pieces. Must have been a recall or something.
You have to keep your wits about you as you jump around (carefully in slippery weather) and dodging the heavy magnetic cranes, the dozers, and "claws". Don't forget to park where your truck will have the least chance of getting run over by something much bigger. But they are a very kind and welcoming crowd.
It's sad in a one way of all the items we discard, and this was all just the metal objects. But the good news it is all going to be recycled and made anew again. Justin and I are just the flies and fleas running through grabbing small items, limited by what we can physically left. If I was The Hulk, there would have been several pieces I would have thrown in the truck!
Here's a few of the gems I found this trip around. A few pieces for maybe some future lamps and a control box for who knows what.
