Creative (?) use of shop tools for unintended (?) use (1 Viewer)

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e9999

Gotta get outta here...
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I was thinking today while baking bread that here I was using a tool for something the designer probably did not anticipate...

One of the pains of baking your own bread is manipulating and dealing with the dough. Very sticky stuff. If you don't know better it's tempting to just clean the mixing bowl in the sink. Bad idea. That stuff may just gunk up your pipes in no time. And then good luck dealing with that.

So, what I do is clean the bowl with water and then dump the water and dough bits on my compost pile. Well fine, but it's a major pain to clean that bowl. It's a round stainless steel bowl from a Kitchenaid mixer. All curved sides, pain in the neck to scrape. And if you use a sponge, that poor thing will look bad afterwards... Welllll..... Enter my...

BONDO SPREADERS ! :D

Comes in a set of 3 IIRC. The smaller one will just very nicely bend to the bowl shape while being stiff enough that it removes the dough very easily. Score! Also works especially well for detaching the dough from the bowl before balling it up. And minimal scratching of the SS.

Yea for shop tools out of the shop!

What have you been using in a different way?
 
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Standing on top of the ROPS for my skidsteer or mini-ex makes a great mobile scaffold!
 
yes, and the bucket of the mini-ex too!
 
well, I like to live dangerously, as you can tell from my OP :) , so I'm all for trying out the bucket anyway. In fact, I've been trying to think of ways to convince my SO that a mini-ex would make a great birthday present in that it would help with house maintenance, so this is all very useful - thanks!
 
Mind you, I've done some sketchy stuff with the mini ex. Here I'm using a length of 4x4 tube steel to extend the reach of the excavator to set the ridge beam on the addition to my workshop.

IMG_3596.JPG
 
Dang, I really need to get one of these. Not easy to justify on a small semi-urban lot, unfortunately. Maybe I should get a ranch after all...

Looks like nice DIY, seems like you built a proper adapter. Plus you get to have some adrenaline pumping as a bonus if the mini ex starts to teeter when fully extended out...
 
Hey, I'm on a quarter acre in town and have a mini ex and a skidloader! :bounce:
 
that's brilliant! (stored in a deep recess of my brain, to be used at some point in the future if memory will serve)

Is that some sort of hydraulic cylinder?
 
ah, just found myself today using electronic circuits cutting pliers (the tiny diagonal ones with 1/2" blade for flat cutting on ICBs) for pruning a small potted tree of extraneous shoots. Worked a treat, way better than any of my garden shears which are way too big for the job. This feels like having bonsai shears but way cheaper.
 
that's brilliant! (stored in a deep recess of my brain, to be used at some point in the future if memory will serve)

Is that some sort of hydraulic cylinder?
Yep cracking a cylinder… it was off a backhoe
 
One of the best pipe wrench uses that I’ve ran across was using one horizontally on a crank pulley to lock the crank so the crank bolt could be removed/replaced….
 
Linesman pliers =hammer
Flat blade screwdriver =chisel, pry bar, set tool, knife, prison shank, drywall saw.
 

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