Recycled Wiring

[AlanG]

I've been doing this for a number of years now but thought that some members on here might not do it or have even thought about it.

My washing machine gave up the ghost the other month and i've just taken out the drum to use for another garden project. That left me with the metal carcass and the wiring loom. The wiring loom is of a decent thickness that i can utilise it for many scratch building items on models. Aerial cables, aircraft wiring, hydraulic pipes etc. Just to give one little example.

On one little 15mm x 10mm block on the control panel (the one with chips and resistors on), i took 4m of 0.1mm copper wire off! (see below pic).

Now some of you may say, yeah so what? But that wire alone will probably last me at least 10 aircraft builds. Not bad for 10 minutes work whilst watching the news.

Yes i could have bought it off evilbay for £1.99. But that's not the point of this. I got it from something i have already paid for and has now served its purpose.

Recycle guys n gals. It might just save you money.

[Steven000]

That's great Allen, I cut off power cords and cables too in the past for hobby projects. Very handy indeed :thumb2:

And not to forget : your washing machine will now live on forever in your future builds ! :tongue-out3:
Steven

[Jim R]

Very sensible and worth doing. I picked up a handful of wire bits the other day from by one of those telephone boxes. The engineer had discarded quite a few short lengths. I also pulled apart an old CD player/radio for 'bits'. I also save polystyrene packaging.
Jim

[Guest]

If you’re ever in the position to take apart an old TV or computer monitor with a cathode ray tube (CRT), they are very good sources of copper wire. You’ll find at least two spools on the narrow end of the CRT, and probably more elsewhere inside the device. One screen will last you a lifetime

[rtfoe]

I follow the electrician when he does repairs in the house and pick up whatever is being discarded. You get some really thick copper wire and a range of other gauges.

Cheers,
Richard

[Road of Bones]

I use the core from the wires for an old set of headphones for really thin wire.

For stiffer wire (antennae on AFVs, for example), I use old guitar strings, or the offcuts from changing to a new set of strings - often you can get a length with a bit of winding around the core, which makes for the spring at the base of modern antennae quite nicely. (I have 10 guitars, so I have a modelling lifetime's supply of old strings!).

[JR]

Iv'e two old ice cream tubs full of off cuts and stripped cables, each time some electrical device ends its life out come the cutters !
The cable Jim has mentioned is great, I saved all out extension lines when replacing with modern phones.

[Mini Me]

Even in 1-87 scale I have found a use for old speaker wire which is very fine. It is perfect for making tow cables for armoured vehicles. The number of strands you use determines the final diameter so you can do a wide range of vehicles...here is one example. Rick H.

[boatman]

YEA Alan I stripped down an old video s the wires an drive belts an gears an cogs will come in handy for me to hopefully work my gun turrets on my tiger I think we moddelers all do something like that at times as you got to make the dosh stretch
chris

[colin m]

I think we moddelers all do something like that at times

I get to wonder around a lot of telephone exchanges - always one eye out for something abandoned - some of these places are like 'gold mines' for old useful tat.

[ozdell]

Hi guys, I reuse the wire harness I make up on my model train modules on new modules just a mater of using heat shrink to cover the bare wire form where old feeder wire wire soldered, wire cost too much.

Tony