Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Mrs. Ego's running shoes were worn out but she continued to run in them, refusing to get a pair until someone listed a second-hand pair of her favorite brand/style on ebay.

A few weeks ago she found a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor women's shoes in the trash. They were her size but she decided not to keep them. She sold them to someone in-person for $30 using OfferUp.

A few days later someone listed her running shoes on ebay. She was the only one to bid on them. $13 + $15.75 shipping + tax = $29.76. Today they arrived. They appear to be brand new.

@Gilberto de Piento

Yes that is a good idea. As of now there are no kids running around though so we're set. The blade is surprisingly dull too. Most of the splitting action comes from the wedging action of the 5/8" steel. Still wouldn't want to fall on it though!

@Ego

Great score! And real good luck for the listed shoes being her model and size!

I recently realized I need better dust collection in my shop - for the very fine dust (1 micron stuff) not captured when sanding or using table saw. Jet or Powermatic units go for $500 - $1000.
Basically, I followed this video:
https://youtu.be/Uzpn09OIyqw
Got the blower for free from local HVAC contractor. Cleaned it up at the car wash, checked out balance and wiring and capacitor - all good. Bought $25 worth of electrical components to wire it with a switch and installed in an IKEA kitchen cart I’d been using in shop. It fit perfectly! Also, these blowers move a lot of air and are pretty quiet. I may make another and try to sell on CL.

If there’s interest, I can post pics of one I built.

Yes please post pics if it isn't too much trouble. That set up sounds fantastic for weld fumes as well. My respirator does a great job, but if I could help it out by sucking some fumes right out of the area, and for cheap, that's be great!

Here are a few pics of the DIY dust collector. I was able to use filters that are the same size as our furnace, that was a plus. I used Merv 13 for inner and a cheaper pre filter in front of those.












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Blower I got can be wired for three different speeds - as in video, I wired for slowest speed, which moves plenty of air. I took the motor off prior washing the unit out at a local self serv car wash. It was pretty grungy (owners probably never changed air filter). Amazingly, after cleaning and reassembly, it was still perfectly balanced and ran great!

Also used some spare (frost king) weather stripping around filter mount openings as needed to seal.

Cool project. Remind me of a those similar things people were making with filters and a box fan early in the pandemic. Also a smoke eater or a chalk eater at a climbing gym.

For welding you can also buy a device that has a tube that you put right next to the weld while you are welding so it sucks up the smoke directly. Like a dust collector attached to a saw.

Not much a dumpster diver as of late but something told me I should check out an old favorite spot yesterday. Ended up with seven loaves of brownberry bread. All labeled at $5.29 a loaf. All sitting right on top.

Found this art desk by a dumpster, almost brand new, 125$. Like most nice things I have found near dumpsters, it is the first search result for its name on amazon.

Nice find on the desk! I got a desk like that for drawing a few years ago and it's great. Really makes drawing a lot easier.

I bought two sets of rusty dumbbells last Friday for $50 at the swap meet. 1 set of 35lb and 1 set of 40lb. I wire brushed the rusty spots on the 40 pounders then painted them from a half-used can of black spray paint I had laying around and listed them on craigslist. Sold the 40 pounders today for $80.





I am keeping the 35 pounders for now. I don't mind the rust on the weights but worked to get the handles clean using the wire wheel on my bench grinder. With the rust removed, I sprayed them using a half-empty can of clearcoat.

Ego wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 4:01 pm

I bought two sets of rusty dumbbells last Friday for $50 at the swap meet. 1 set of 35lb and 1 set of 40lb. I wire brushed the rusty spots on the 40 pounders then painted them from a half-used can of black spray paint I had laying around and listed them on craigslist. Sold the 40 pounders today for $80.

I am keeping the 35 pounders for now. I don't mind the rust on the weights but worked to get the handles clean using the wire wheel on my bench grinder. With the rust removed, I sprayed them using a half-empty can of clearcoat.

Awesome. I've always used a little bit of vinegar (and some baking soda afterwards to neutralize) to do the heavy lifting (heh) before wire brushing, which makes it a lot easier to get the rust off.

Slevin wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 5:34 pm

Awesome. I've always used a little bit of vinegar (and some baking soda afterwards to neutralize) to do the heavy lifting (heh) before wire brushing, which makes it a lot easier to get the rust off.

Thanks Slevin, I will give the vinegar and baking soda treatment a try on the other set.

For a while now I noticed one of the vendors at the swap meet filming himself while setting up and selling in his space but never asked what he was up to. Today I learned that he has taken something from nothing to another level. He also films himself trolling the alleys of town looking for things to sell and shows the entire process from finding to flipping on his youtube channel. He titles the videos of his trash picking, "Lo que tiren en el USA". What they throw away in the USA.

He has 2 million subscribers so he must be making more on the videos than the stuff he sells.

https://www.youtube.com/@EstiloDeVidaEl ... oma/videos

Ego wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:46 pm

He also films himself trolling the alleys of town looking for things to sell and shows the entire process from finding to flipping on his youtube channel. He titles the videos of his trash picking, "Lo que tiren en el USA". What they throw away in the USA.

I often imagine my turn-of-the-century born grandparents witnessing the stuff up for grabs curbside and for pennies on the dollar at thrift stores. It would boggle their minds much like Estilo de la Vida’s followers.

Ego wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 15, 2023 4:01 pm

Sold the 40 pounders today for $80.

It's funny, the prices of new weights go up, the price of scrap metal goes up and down, but the price of weights on craigslist is always $1 a pound. The only thing that made the price change was the great covid home workout trend of 2020.

I found a few weights on the curb the other day. They are a bit rusty but I'm going to see how much I can get without painting.

Frita wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 18, 2023 2:57 pm

I often imagine my turn-of-the-century born grandparents witnessing the stuff up for grabs curbside and for pennies on the dollar at thrift stores. It would boggle their minds much like Estilo de la Vida’s followers.

This is so true. His joy in finding things is contagious and I could imagine my grandparents being equally excited.

Mrs. Ego just came in and said, "There are some treasures in the third trashcan from the end. The box is too heavy for me to get out. HURRY!" I went down and found a box with a perfect crock pot, blender and a toaster. I am so thankful I found someone who get as excited about this as I do.

@Gilberto, $1 a pound is a good round number to remember when I find weights in the future. I saw some today at the swap but didn't buy them because I wasn't sure if the smaller weights are the same price per pound, but it looks like they are. Good to know!

I love seeing and hearing about people using the "just pick it up" methods and strategies. I've said that phrase so much with a couple of my friends and my mom that they use it as normal language with me.

Ego wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 17, 2023 1:46 pm

That is insane. Mrs. Animal and I just watched a couple of his videos, one at the swap meet and this one where he went around looking for stuff. In the span of one morning, he finds a widescreen tv, multiple chairs, 2 carseats, a brand new carpet, some tools and a whole number of other things. All new or nearly new! He doesn't even have to do repairs or much of anything to sell them. Just pick them up and bring them to the swap meet. We watched mouths half open and shaking our heads in disbelief. The waste is excessive!

It was cool to see how much fun he was having with all aspects of it and how he seems to not take advantage of his bounty and gives people some good deals.

“Liberated” 5 dozen eggs from the supermarket dumpster. Happy Easter to me;)

We found 2 unopened packages of diapers at the transfer station. Baby animal is in luck as they are just her size. Over 2 weeks worth for free.