Throwing away new bolts

[repowerguy]

I was recently at one of our sister garages and out of habit looked in the steel scrap bin (don't you judge me). Lo and behold was about two buckets full of new bolts of random sizes dumped in there. I couldn't help myself and went off on the guys there and they told me they were "cleaning up around here" and tossed them out because it was getting too junked up. I asked if they would have thrown away dimes and quarters and they said absolutely not, my response was yes you did, everything there was a dime or a quarter.
The guy running the shop is a friend and I think I embarrassed him to where he made them fish all the bolts out, he said he didn't tell them to do that.
Who else here puts back nuts and bolts and wire terminals that you don't use? I can't be the only one!
Rant off!

 

[Hobbytime]

I collect any hardware I come across, whether its new stuff I bought or old stuff when I take apart something..but would NEVER throw out anything useful just because it was in the way or taking up space..

 

[Jonas302]

I've seen it happen before and they got the same rant problem is nowdays a bolt can buy you a pretty good lunch not just nickles and dimes

Oh i dont think I have ever passed by a scrap bin without taking a look

 

[StanRUS]

Going through the service trucks usually end up 1ea 55gallon drum of hydraulic hose half clamps, O-ring kits, bolts nuts...etc

 

[kshansen]

Well don't let the management where I retired from but... a lot of those smaller odds and ends left over from a job somehow got into my pockets and ended up in bin boxes in my garage! Mostly the used ones when something was taken apart and then scrapped.

I'm talking the stuff say 1/2 or smaller and like when you get a new component that comes with bolts to install, say like a seat belt or you replace an oil pump that you disassembled and found out it was scrap and there was no core credit charged to it.

I did hate to go for a new fastener in the bolt bin and find all kinds of used stuff in there worst was when someone would torch off an old bolt then when they went and got new bolt they would toss the torched bolt in the bin. WTF?

 

[Junkyard]

I have 5 gallon buckets full from a job I did the hauling and site moves on a couple years ago. Tons of nice 1/2" course flanged nuts, nice belville washers (proprietary I'm told) gobs of 3/8" stuff on and on. They'd laugh every time I'd load up a bucket or two. Until they ran short of the stuff they were dumping haha! Still have lots of it. My favorite are the 1/2" nuts that are 7/8" hex. Love em

 

[Raildudes dad]

I volunteer with a local tourist RR. One of the previous volunteers went to the fastener company and got small boxes of the common bolts, washer and nuts, various lengths that we we use on the equipment. What really t's me off is a newer volunteer who comes from a wealthy family. He can't take the time or it's beneath his dignity , I'm not sure which but if he takes off old bolts, he goes to the hardware store, (1/2 a block away) and buys what he needs plus a couple more. There's bags with 1 or 2 "extra's" all over the place. It's not just bolts, he doesn't look on the shelves for any of the stuff we stock, nope, off to the hardware store. If I mention this to him, I get the deer in the headlight look, like duh, what did you say?

 

[thepumpguysc]

Try seeing the same thing except w/ BRASS FITTINGS.!! 1000's & 1000's of pounds of them..
The BIG BOSS saw THAT in the dumpster at work & went berserk.!!!

 

[old-iron-habit]

Structural steel always comes with the bolts supplied. Usually plenty extra. Normaly 3/4" and occasisonally 1". A number of years ago we scrapped 4 semi trailers 2 pails high full of leftover of erection bolts from the company I retired from. Kept a hundred or so of each size in case we were short a few. We tried to buy fabbed steel without the bolts to use them up but the fabricators and the engineers would not allow it as they "might"be inferior. I shared many with my friends. I should of taken more as now I am scratching at times to find what I need.

 

[crane operator]

Throwing out new bolts, shoot, I don't even throw out old bolts. I've got enough cardboard boxes and coffee cans of bolts left over from projects, to assemble johnny cash's car.

 

[92U 3406]

9/10 times they'll find their way back to the bolt bin. Thing that gets me is every time we change a rad or a cooler, the old one gets dumped in the garbage. Apparently the scrap bins are just for decoration.

 

[thepumpguysc]

I was searching the house yesterday for 2, 5/16" bolts, nuts & washers.. ended up putting the project off till today, when the store is open..
NOT a happy camper..

 

[Wastepro]

....People throw out stuff worth plenty of money all the time and we have built a business on that principle.

In my shop good hardware is sorted and stored in old paint cans, soup cans, or shelved in hardware storage caddys. Id rather spend a few minutes searching through the collection for the right bolt then drive all the way to the store.

Plenty of people go through metal scrap looking for usable items at our local scrap yard. But I believe good bolts should not end up here to begin with.

 

[kshansen]

Then there are the Deutsch connectors that Cat uses on just about all newer equipment. Every time I'd replace a sensor, wiper motor or harness I always cut off the connectors. Over the years I had a pretty good selection of them just buy a handful of crimp on pins and sockets and you are good to go on a repair job. Some times you end up with too many male/female ends but at least you only need to buy one instead of two.

Also save some of the other less common plug connectors, once in a while they came in handy if for nothing else but hooking up a tester to a machine.

Then there are the SAE/JIC fittings and the reusable hose ends, had bin boxes of them all sorted out by size. Not to mention the SAE oring plugs saved them when scrapping a pump or control valve.

Guess I was some what of a pack rat at work and it has followed me home. Was given an old motorcycle years ago that was "stored" for years in a leaky shed, no saving it. However over the years have found many people who needed some odds and ends off it. Just recently a guy on the west coast dumped his 1972 and broke a signal light lens. Scrounged around and found a not perfect but very usable one for him. Parts from what most people would have just tossed in the scrap bin have helped get probably a dozen or more bikes back on the road.

 

[Junkyard]

On a related note, just yesterday I drug a little single axle Freightliner out of the grass so a friend could use it to shag trailers at his sand blasting place. Started changing tires and realized the tie rod was gone. While we were busting tires and getting it running my 7 year old son asked me why I had all this junk . Once we realized we needed the tie rod I walked out to another truck that's basically a frame and axles with a motor, measured what was there and pointed to it. That's why son!

 

[PJ The Kid]

I have a specific drawer in my toolbox just for bolts and fittings like that. Shop forman saw it opened and asked questions until there was a fitting in there I pulled off a core that he needed for another job.

 

[Dozerboy]

I lot of people didn't grow up to save things. To them everything is disposable. There gets to be a point though that you have to much junk and need to start pitching stuff. My problem is I forget where I have stuff rat holed away and then have to go buy it anyways.

 

[check]

I even prefer old bolts from the 60's and 70's because the metallurgy is superior to the new Chinese bolts. Grade 8 gets me drooling.
Most of my stuff is SAE, I never have enough metric bolts on hand so I might have to go out and buy an assortment.

 

[alskdjfhg]

I can't count the number of times the random piles of hardware have saved my butt.

Just a few days ago in fact, was leaving the University and the truck wouldn't start. A battery terminal had crapped out and wasn't clamping the cables. With the stuff rolling around the floorboards of the truck I was able to rig up something to get the clamp tight again.

Wasn't pretty, but got me home and saved me from calling the wrecker or walking to an auto-parts store.

 

[DIYDAVE]

Plumbing, hardware, and TOOLS... Today I had a door, that I had built, that I made a mistake, on. Didn't shim it high enough, ant the home-made wooden hinges I was forced to use, because of the situation, had too much slop, and the door dropped just enough, to make it a several hour job, with a hand plane. Flash back to 2 years ago, when I found a power tool metal box, at a gas station, turned out to be a rockwell door planer kit... Door planed down in 10 minutes flat... If I hadn't thrown the cast off tool in the truck, spur of the moment, I would still be a planin that damn door...