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Cheap Bstrd Thread

Janger

Janger

(John)
Vendor
Premium Member
Post ideas and things you have done to show off your inner cheap bstrd. Especially when the "correct" solution is a total rip off. Show us the cost and what you spent instead. I mean when you have a great alternative not when you a buy a crappy thing because it was the cheapest and have to replace it in 5 minutes. Or maybe that is a good thing to post too.
 
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Vacuum bags. $20 each???? HD are you insane? No problem I don't shop there anyway. They are less on Amazon, but I don't shop there either. How about a garbage bag instead? They might be $2 each. I just tied the bag around the inlet with a bit of wire.

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ah.. no. see this is the clever bit. put the motor intake part right in the bag, not on the other side of the bag which is of course the usual way. The disposable bag filters the air more than this approach. I do have a filter thing on the intake so it's not horrible. maybe it will need more maintenance to clean out the intake filter more frequently. You could just use no bag at all and then dump the bin into your garbage can. So I tried that, and the garbage trucker actually stopped and got out of his truck to chide me and let me know this is not allowed as it poofs dirt/sawdust all over his truck and the alley when they lift and empty the bin! o_O He didn't see me that week, he actually remembered and stopped the next week when I was out in the alley. tsk tsk John behave better.
 
I try very hard not to fall into the trap of being a CB. It usually ends up costing me more than if I had just gone ahead & spent the money in the first place.

Now, my father-in-law, I swear he was the cheapest SOB on the planet.
 
Janger said:
So I tried that, and the garbage trucker actually stopped and got out of his truck to chide me and let me know this is not allowed as it poofs dirt/sawdust all over his truck and the alley when they lift and empty the bin! o_O
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Wow the garbage man doesn't want to get dirty or dusty, that's really something. I guess you need to have clean garbage.
 
Garbage man! I’m shocked it’s “ Sanitation Engineer “
I had a buddy that when he was young wanted to be a garbage man so he could wear those big gloves.
 
Janger said:
ah.. no. see this is the clever bit. put the motor intake part right in the bag, not on the other side of the bag which is of course the usual way. The disposable bag filters the air more than this approach. I do have a filter thing on the intake so it's not horrible. maybe it will need more maintenance to clean out the intake filter more frequently. You could just use no bag at all and then dump the bin into your garbage can. So I tried that, and the garbage trucker actually stopped and got out of his truck to chide me and let me know this is not allowed as it poofs dirt/sawdust all over his truck and the alley when they lift and empty the bin! o_O He didn't see me that week, he actually remembered and stopped the next week when I was out in the alley. tsk tsk John behave better.
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This guy wear a silk work shirt and suede work boots? Got to be the fussiest garbage man ever.
 
JustaDB said:
I try very hard not to fall into the trap of being a CB. It usually ends up costing me more than if I had just gone ahead & spent the money in the first place.

Now, my father-in-law, I swear he was the cheapest SOB on the planet.
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Let's see...

I once worked with a guy, who I was told by another co-worker, that when he goes out for supper he calculates the tip and keeps it. That money that would've gone towards a tip now goes into a "vacation savings" instead. The co-worker who told me the story said that he and his wife seen this first hand. After the supper his wife said, being a former waitress, that she never wanted to go out for supper with that guy again. That is next level cheap IMO.
 
The only thing I can think of recently that might qualify for this thread is about a year ago when I replaced the intake manifold tuning valve on my wife's 2009 Chev Uplander.

I took into consideration what the part does and where it is located in the engine before choosing to go to an auto-wrecker instead of buying from an auto parts supplier. A part like that from the wrecker is not going to leave me concerned about safety. As well, based on where it is situated in the engine I wasn't worried about it getting damaged by others hacking away for parts.

I pulled 2 from the auto-wrecker's hoping that at least one would be in good working condition. Got 2 for $30. The first one I put in is still working to this day. Next cheapest alternative from a parts supplier was $114.00 before taxes and shipping.
 
I buy my work clothes from Valu Village or the Sally Ann. Always much cheaper than Big Bill or other such things, even though I get used jeans for about eight bucks instead of that snazzy fifty-dollar cotton drill.
Last time I went, I needed a short-sleeved shirt for the summer.Got two nice grey golf shirts for $2.50 each. When I got home, I realized that they were both better than some of my "good" shirts, so now they're "good" shirts and two of my others are work shirts.
 
If I have or can get the schematic I purchase expensive non working electronic equipment on eBay for 1/10 or less. I then fix and in some cases keep and in other cases sell.

Best one was an AC calibrator. When working the sell for >$10k. Paid $54, because the schematic was unavailable to the public. I tried getting the schematic from the company labeled on the instrument and the guy basically laughed at me, said send it in we will fix and calibrate it for $10k. Turns out that instrument was actually designed by another company in the UK and then sold and rebranded. I contacted the original company and a phone call later and the friendly salesman sent me a manual complete with schematics. One bad leaky diode 50c part (it was a bit tricky to find it). Sometimes being a CB pays off.

Most of my CB activities are manual labour type stuff. I have hand dug about 500' of trenches for irrigation. Just trenched around the perimeter of our shed 48' to install chicken wire barrier to keep the critters out, I didn't mind the ground hogs and foxes but when Mrs. Skunk showed up it was time to get out the shovel. They quoted us $60 per linear foot, that's more than I paid for my mill or lathe.
 
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