SteveC
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2017
- Messages
- 15,228
WithJack Black out of commission (really hope you’re feeling better soon!) and unable to do his usual Thursday market visit, you Guardians are going to have to settle for my trip to the University of Minnesota’s surplus warehouse (or “Reuse Program,” as they call it). It’s open to the public on Thursdays and Saturdays.
This place can be a bit overwhelming, and often contains quite a lot of useless junk. But if you’re willing to do a bit of digging, sometimes you can find something worthwhile. Here’s what it looks like when you walk in.
I’ve been on the hunt for something new to store my knives in, as the old parts cabinet I’ve been using is now overflowing. What I’d really like to get is a metal flat filing cabinet, the kind you’d use for storing maps or blueprints, but they’re expensive, and I’ve found it hard to find a good used one.
This place regularly posts new items they have on Facebook (I’m not on Facebook, but my wife follows them and shows me anything of interest that they post). Yesterday they posted these, which they called “storage boxes with specimen display drawers,” and I wanted to take a look and see if they might work for storing knives.
Although they were all turned on their sides and I couldn’t really slide the drawers out, I found a couple more that had extra drawers stacked on top, and I let my HHB give one of the drawers a test run.
I do think these would work quite well for knife storage, but they were actually bigger than I expected (and a bit ugly, if I’m being honest), and I don’t know that they’d work for the space I have. They were also asking $200 each. So I passed, and will keep looking.
(Also, I’m not exactly sure what kind of specimens they were storing in these. I should’ve had read the labels on the drawers in that second photo. I’m afraid you can’t really make them out from the picture. I know a drawer in another one was labeled “Racoon.”)
Since we were there, we walked around a looked at all the other random stuff they had. We’ve had some luck finding interesting/useful stuff here and at the ASU surplus in Tempe when we lived in Arizona, so it’s always worth a look. But like I said, you do have to be willing to sort through quite a lot of junk. Here’s a pic from the back corner of the warehouse, opposite the entrance.
U of M trash can, anyone?
Laboratory glassware for the aspiring Walter White.
And who doesn’t need a used prosthetic leg?
The prices here can be all over the place, and sometimes seem a bit high (they were asking $50 for the leg), but they try to move stuff out pretty fast, so after a couple weeks everything gets discounted a bit, then discounted again and again, a little more every week, until they’re practically giving it away.
Although I didn’t need a fake leg, I didn’t leave empty handed. Earlier this year, I bought three matching bookcases here, which replaced some old bookcases we didn’t really like anymore. Today I found a fourth one exactly like the others, so I couldn’t pass it up.
This one is missing some shelf brackets, but I had to get a few brackets for the first three I bought, so I know where I can order more. It also turned out that they’ve had this one out for a while, and it was discounted quite a bit. I paid $8 for it.
Once we got that loaded up (these bookcases are, irritatingly, just a couple inches too long to close the tailgate), Scout and I grabbed a quick lunch, which we ate at a park before she had to go to preschool for a few hours.
The leaves are just starting to turn here in MN.
Thanks for taking us along. I didn't know about this [place. I may have to check it out sometime
Creature of habit here. I think the ocean shot is on turnout father south than last week. Los Tres Chiles at the Mexican restaurant tonight, with condiments. View attachment 2337863View attachment 2337864
Great pic of your Albers !
That's a real looker Steve
Thanks Jack and I hope you start to feeling better soon !
Sweet !
I give up, what does it slice?
Will take a few days to wear off I'm sure but it won't stop me from doing anything. My hope is if I contract Covid or the flu that it won't be severe. Got Covid for the third time last August and the symptoms were what I would describe as mild; like a head cold. One of my golfing buddies is a nurse and said that the latest statistics on Covid hospitalizations is that over 95% of people who have been hospitalized, in our area, from this awful virus have not had any immunization shots. 
Maybe I'll have a shot of my Highland Pard today to ease my shoulder pain a bit.
I hope you don't get it again buddy. This is my third time, more severe than the last two, but it still just like a bad flu, with a few nasty extras thrown in 
What a place! 
The most I paid for one bookcase was $20.
