Alternate uses of anything

[Mr. Gibson]

I found that the cats make excellent foot warmers. Rechargeable too.

[fortyearspickn]

Three Dog Night  had a similar discovery decades ago.   I like to duct tape the grandkids to the garage door and let them each have a remote.  Makes babysitting a breeze. 

[Murph]

Three pound dumbbell weight on my mic stand bottom/base. I like to extend the top pretty far to keep me away, plus I have a second mic stand for acoustic instruments, which will push you back even farther. I hate the folding 3 legged stands and only use the old school ones with a base. The weight keeps it pretty darned stable.

 

[Twang Gang]

A 3 iron make a pretty good cane when your back goes out.

[Sgt. Pepper]

My 16lb dog gets very upset when the mail carrier delivers the mail. I think she hears the distinct engine sound of a US Mail truck. The mail trucks here in Little River, South Cackalacky,  the driver gets to put a license  plate of their choice on the the front. I am assuming they got to choose. So far I have seen a Grateful Dead one (a Steal Your Face), a USCG one, and a USN one as well. 

So if I ever see - out for delivery, I know right when it gets dropped off, or put in the mail box.

Edited November 18, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[Whitefang]

Grab a cup.  This might be a bit long....

I heard some gink discussing on a radio talk show about how realistic looking toy guns should be taken off the market.  The radio show host allowed that it won't stop kids from using anything, like an old ax handle, yard or broomstick or whatever and wield it as a rifle.  But the "protector" of our children said that was OK because it meant the kids were using their imaginations and that those items, while at the time were pretended guns could also become a wide variety of different items. Like a hobby horse, telescope. baseball bat or whatever else the child's imagination could conceive.   But that a toy gun can't be anything else but a gun.  And I inwardly begged to differ.

When I was 10 I had a battery powered toy M-14 replica  automatic rifle.  One rainy day I,  looking for something to do, tied one end of a length of twine to the rifle's stock and the other end to the end of it's barrel, and voila!   An instant guitar!   I stacked a few 45's on the phonograph's spindle(complete with 45 adapter) and rocked on.    Lemme tell ya.....

Chuck Berry had nothing on ME!! 

On other mundane things...

I find folding utility bills(and bills in general) are good at fixing that wobbly table.

Can't find a toothpick?  The corner of a business card works just as well.  Plastic playing cards are good too and reusable to boot!  

"Gadget hoors";   keep an empty paper towel spool handy to swat your naughty dog seeing as you can't roll a laptop or a kindle.

And can't use them to line a birdcage either, so stock up on manila envelopes.

And now, let's all give a salute to HELOISE, to whom this thread should surely be dedicated.  😉

Whitefang

[CROWB8]

14 hours ago, Mr. Gibson said:

I found that the cats make excellent foot warmers. Rechargeable too.

I have hard wood floors. Cats are also good as a dust mop. Just toss a toy.

[Rabs]

Boobs..   They make very good pillows  😄 

Edited November 18, 2022 by Rabs

[CROWB8]

2 hours ago, Rabs said:

Boobs..   They make very good pillows  😄 

Amongst other things I wont mention here.

Some I will,

Ear muffs and nose warmers.

Edited November 18, 2022 by CROWB8

[jdgm]

A saucer of (distilled - clear) vinegar left in a room overnight is a very effective air freshener.

 

Edited November 19, 2022 by jdgm

[gearbasher]

3 hours ago, Rabs said:

Boobs..   They make very good pillows  😄 

 

1 hour ago, CROWB8 said:

Amongst other things I wont mention here.

Some I will,

Ear muffs and nose warmers.

Unfortunately, it won't work for me. I prefer plums and peaches over cantaloupes and honey dews. But, that's my choice. It's a good thing we have so many different models to choose from.

Edited November 18, 2022 by gearbasher

[Rabs]

Socks can make a good makeshift mobile phone case...

[merciful-evans]

Yesterday I repurposed the lid of a covid test extraction tube. I made a grommet out of it. This was for a security camera power cable out in the porch. 

 

Edited November 19, 2022 by merciful-evans

[RBSinTo]

For years, I've used variously-sized plastic bottle and can snap caps as handy slip-on lens caps.

RBSinTo

[fortyearspickn]

Kitty Litter is good for temporarily storing dead bodies in your bathtub.  From what I've read. 

[Whitefang]

2 hours ago, RBSinTo said:

For years, I've used variously-sized plastic bottle and can snap caps as handy slip-on lens caps.

RBSinTo

What size lens?  I only found can snap caps the size to cover the large cans of Pedigree dog food my dogs ate.  And it didn't fit any of my camera lenses.  But while we're at cameras....

We all know(maybe) that fastening a business card to your flash unit with a rubber band  and bending the card at a 45 degree angle over the flash lens works as a good diffuser.

And bending the corner of plastic cut from a gallon milk jug and fastening it with Velcro  works well too.  Or, if you insist, you can pay $50.00 for a flash head light diffuser.

Save your $10.00.  Use the palm of your hand or the grass your subject is standing on instead of an 18% grey card.  Works just as well since your camera's meter can't tell the difference between grey, green or your skin tone.  

Whitefang

[Notes_Norton]

A large crescent wrench makes a decent hammer.

Plumbers Teflon Tape can temporarily fix the cork on the end of the saxophone neck and keep the mouthpiece from falling off

Blue painters tape will keep a loose 'foot' on a music stand, just wrap it around a few times and put the foot back on.

Those wire and plastic things that keep open coffee bags re-closed make good wraps for groups of wires running along the floor or behind your desk

[RBSinTo]

1 hour ago, Whitefang said:

What size lens?  I only found can snap caps the size to cover the large cans of Pedigree dog food my dogs ate.  And it didn't fit any of my camera lenses.  But while we're at cameras....

We all know(maybe) that fastening a business card to your flash unit with a rubber band  and bending the card at a 45 degree angle over the flash lens works as a good diffuser.

And bending the corner of plastic cut from a gallon milk jug and fastening it with Velcro  works well too.  Or, if you insist, you can pay $50.00 for a flash head light diffuser.

Save your $10.00.  Use the palm of your hand or the grass your subject is standing on instead of an 18% grey card.  Works just as well since your camera's meter can't tell the difference between grey, green or your skin tone.  

Whitefang

Whitefang,

I used to take a lens or a lens shade with me into the supermarket, and walk the shelves looking for jar caps and snap caps that would fit. A few times a good fit required a bit of trimming the interior surface of a cap, but with few exceptions I usually found what I needed.

As for your other suggestions, I've found over the years that many items whose name was pre-fixed with "photo" meant that they were incredibly over-priced. A fishing vest cost $35.00 at the outdoor store, while a similar item called a "Photographer's vest" sold in the camera store for $85.00.

So, being the resourceful and handy fellow I am, I've always tried to re-purpose, or when items I needed simply didn't exist, make them myself.

RBSinTo

Edited November 19, 2022 by RBSinTo

[merciful-evans]

I used my doorbell as a bird scarer. 

The sparrow's nasty abrasive chirp was ruining the peace & quiet as I took my early morning tea. They were in my privet hedge (no not nesting) by my window.

I took the wireless doorbell speaker and secured it inside the hedge. I took the doorbell push button off the door and kept it beside beside me by the window. Every time they sounded off I pressed the bell push. 

I began with the Dog Bark sound, but found the clatter bell worked best. 

Last year I removed the hedge entirely and got my doorbell back.

[Mr. Gibson]

I use floor dry instead of kitty litter, dries the turds out and doesn’t give you that flowery cat crap smell I hate. 

[Whitefang]

20 hours ago, Mr. Gibson said:

I use floor dry instead of kitty litter, dries the turds out and doesn’t give you that flowery cat crap smell I hate. 

My ex and I used to breed silver Persian cats.  That was back in the day when we still got a daily newspaper.  And found placing a section in the box instead of litter(or floor dry, which does also seem a good idea) makes clean up easier.  Just roll it up and place in a plastic bag and out to the trash can.  The newspaper(at the time) cost only $1.35 a week.  Litter for six cats cost much more.   And good neighbors were happy to let us take their old newspapers off their hands.

22 hours ago, merciful-evans said:

I used my doorbell as a bird scarer. 

In our previous house, we used those stacking decorative bordering blocks to make a flower bed in front of the porch in front of the house.  Was finding feral cats using it as a public restroom.

I got a couple of those loud  screeching motion activated Halloween decorations and put one on each end of the flower bed. Soon as one jumped in there the decoration would start screeching and the cat was off like it was jet propelled.  After a few weeks I tried an experiment.   I removed the batteries from the decorations and noticed the cat's didn't bother with using the flower bed any more.  I thought maybe they'd come by and see those "monsters" were still there and they decided to go elsewhere.  

Whitefang

[jaxson50]

I don't know if someone already mentioned this, but when I have to disassemble, repair and reassemble something,  I use old egg cartons to help with the process. 

I number each hole, starting with the back row, 1 through 12. Then turn it around repeat. 

Then as I disassemble what ever it is I'm repairing. I place the items as they come off in the egg carton when I reassemble I just turn the egg crate around and everything is already laid out, numbered and easy to find.

[gearbasher]

7 hours ago, jaxson50 said:

I don't know if someone already mentioned this, but when I have to disassemble, repair and reassemble something,  I use old egg cartons to help with the process. 

I number each hole, starting with the back row, 1 through 12. Then turn it around repeat. 

Then as I disassemble what ever it is I'm repairing. I place the items as they come off in the egg carton when I reassemble I just turn the egg crate around and everything is already laid out, numbered and easy to find.

Great idea. I service pocket watches as a hobby. Another tip to disassembly and repair is: Lay an old white T-shirt (or something similar) down on your workbench and do the job on top of it. This way, any small screw or part that drops doesn't bounce down to the floor and is easily seen on the white surface.

[Big Bill]

On 11/18/2022 at 7:27 PM, Rabs said:

Socks can make a good makeshift mobile phone case...

I use them for things I shall keep to myself.

[VillanuevaO]

On 11/18/2022 at 9:00 AM, Mr. Gibson said:

I found that the cats make excellent foot warmers. Rechargeable too.

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puedes mirar aquí para cada profesional y alumno

I like such elements. They simplify our life. First of all, you will need to find the alternative usage of the thing. Then to test it. And only after that, when all the tests are successful, you'll be able to use it in your ordinary life. To avoid any problems.

 

Edited November 21, 2022 by VillanuevaO