ALWAYS SCROUNGE — because whatever it is, you never know, it might come in
NEVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY — because whatever it is, you never know, it might come in
IF YOU RUN OUT OF SPACE — build another shed
My grandson turned up with his metal detector. The shaft was broken. “Will you fix it, grandad?” Not “Can you?” but “Will you?” Subtext: if you fail grandad, you will lose a lot of credibility.
I wondered why the bottom half of the shaft was made of plastic, when steel tube would have been better. I experimented with a little piece of steel tube held above the coil assembly and soon realised that any ferrous material would affect the operation of the detector.
I remembered that in 1983 when I had been making CB radio aerials I had scrounged some plastic tubes from a friend who — let’s say — had ‘access’ to large quantities of such things. Armed with my Poundshop micrometer I investigated my large heap of plastic ducts, channel, strip, and tube. I found a tube that had the exact inside diameter I needed. It had sat unloved, but waiting for its moment of stardom, for forty years. I cut a 6" piece from the 20 foot length.
A snag arose. I realised that I couldn’t use steel bolts. Without much hope I scanned the shelves. In a dark and rarely explored corner of a shed I found some crumbling cardboard boxes. I brushed the dust off and to my delight found one box labelled “4BA x 1½" brass machine screws qty 200” and another labelled “4BA full nuts brass qty 1000”
I could have thrown out that plastic tube at any time since CB went out of fashion in the mid-1980s, but I didn’t. Many times I looked at it and thought, “No, hang on to it. IT MIGHT COME IN.” Thank goodness I was so prudent.
Why I am the owner of several boxes of brass machine screws and nuts? Why did I ever think I’d need 1,000 brass 4BA nuts? I don’t know. I just can’t imagine. But I’m glad I have them. One day the remaining 994 MIGHT COME IN.