I love the fact that Matthias is practical. I saw some other youtuber uses 4 sheets of new plywood to make a garage desk. I love there are stuffs that can be harnessed and reuse, like caster and stuffs.
That was actually really interesting! I'd like to see more of this. I wouldn't mind at all if this became a regular series.. What will Matthias find this time? :D
You said the magic words:"Process this stuff right away, otherwise it just gets out of hand" (I need to practice this advice more often when I do my trash picking & dumpster diving.)
I'm glad he recognized that it was an economically rational thing to do when you live in an apartment, to dump old stuff. It's not like you can outfit a woodshop in an apartment, and indeed there is nothing else to do with furniture that you can't hold onto. The upside is that, if you live in apartments, you will often find some decent stuff near the dumpsters. I've got a nightstand, a large dresser, a table, and an old wagon-wheel chair that I got near dumpsters in various complexes I've lived in, and I once had a really nice low chest of drawers as well that I had to get rid of to make room for a Clavinova. Wish I still had it. Dumpster-diving == antiquing for cheap people. :-)
Matthias I like the fact that you take perfectly good wood from the trash, make wonderful furniture. One mans trash is another man’s treasure. I do the same with electronics that have been tossed in the trash. Matthias this planet needs more people like you! Your knowledge and skills it what I love watching your videos.
What fun! My first full-size stand-alone shop, approximately 2,300 square feet was 95% salvage, half from the town dump. And you've food the perfect application for those little square yoghurt cups.
I'm encouraged by the fact that the famous Mathias Wandel is not above dumpster diving! There's just so much perfectly useable wood out there, I find some almost every day.
This is some beautiful forward thinking, not everyone has the opportunity to do this exactly. But it's the way of thinking that's beautiful, and that's what people should pick up from this.
After moving into an apartment from growing up in a house I too learned about the endless bounty a single dumpster can provide. Never ceases to amaze me how much undamaged goods people toss out.
Your advice is spot on about processing. I brought home a table top, and 2 and 1 half chairs a year ago. I don't have the legs built. I tore the chair that looked like they dropped it from a second story down for pattern parts, and there is site, in finished. Do it right away, or your shop looks like the greeting when you swung that gate open.
I especially loved the high speed hammering when you were disassembling the bed framed lol. I'm like you, I take everything apart, I always have the right screws and brackets when I need them and havent had to purchase them. There's so much that can be reused but isnt because most people think it's just junk.
Thanks for this! Your reclaiming lumber in early builds got me started with curb-surfing and reclaiming, which is still what I build most of my projects from.
Wonderful video. Thanks Matthias. It really shows how much can be done on a small budget. Makes people say, "Hey, I could do that too". I have often said that it's impressive how much you can get into a small hatchback. I have owned a few, my favourite for loading was my '96 Ford Escort. With the rear seat down, the back of that thing was like a small pickup truck bed. I now have a Hyundai Accent hatchback. It is OK overall. I cannot understand why anyone would buy a small car in a sedan version. It makes no sense to me.
A great reason to own a wagon! I have heaps of projects around the house made from beds I collected from the side of the road. Plenty of places chuck out pallets (often crap wood but you can be picky).
I love that you make good with salvaged materials. It's a real challenge to work with sometimes but a very rewarding outcome. Great videos Matthias. Thank you.
In the back of my mind, I always wondered where he lived. Based on previous videos, I suspect either my home town, or somewhere in southern Ontario... Now I know! That McDonalds/Home Depot is just down the road from me! Cool!
True! This week I am doing a project that involves 38mm Beech Plywood. I got those pieces as scrap from my lumber yard. I could not have left them there even though I had no idea when I would ever need such thick plywood.
You know, I love disassembly videos just as much as assembly videos. Teardowns of electronics, a bunch of ants on a fruit, or a guy taking apart salvaged furniture. There's just something satisfying about a clean disassembly until there's nothing left.
It's surprising what you can find in the garbage. Once you know your are able to put value on it, you have to pick it! Its not only due to economical reasons but also to be responsible with the environment doing recycling. Thanks to share. It should be on your main channel since this is the core of your works, most of the material is recicled!
Ha, I got the same table out of the garbage, used to be a coffee table. Mine was pine, but for someone without a plainer, it was a great find to make a really swanky desk.
I told my children a minute ago, that now I know exactly where the snow went this year and why we have nothing to build a snowman Kanada wins we lose ;) Thanks for sharing so many good quality videos!
I've found a nice LCD tv that just needed a few capacitors replaced. It worked for almost 5 more years before it bit the dust. I got a working portable air conditioner, working compressor head and two side shaft motors that worked fine (8.5 HP and 12.5 HP). I got a lot of cedar once. Lots of crazy stuff.
Man, that old CIBC coin man sticker on that dresser brings back some memories. My first ever wallet was a promotional thing from CIBC with that guy on it. In fact, I still have it.
Trash picking is useful. Reusing, recycling or upcycling is environmentally much better than just dumping it. Finding solid wood is a problem though. Most is particle board or MDF. Pieces of particle board I have enough. MDF till now I do not use at all. The explanation about the dresser was very good. Inefficient use of space, who would think of that? It seemed like the drawers were (partly) made of plywood. In that case I would have taken it because plywood is rare (and therefore expensive) over here. Very informative video. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Matthias. I've been following you long enough to have seen some of your picks before, but this was still interesting because of the "processing". That newer screw and parts drawer really does come in handy!
I agree with your comments about processing your finds quickly or they will get out of hand, I have first hand experience of this with a double garage full of unprocessed finds.
When hauling stuff with an open hatchback, there was a tendency for exhaust fumes to be drawn inside. Fixed the problem by keeping one of the front windows open.
Hatchbacks rule! Love your ethic on reusing, and to process it right away. No sense in someone else's problem becoming your problem. 5:10 * feels insufficient * That is _awesome_ .
Great video as usual....I try to grad old computer desks at times like those cheap particle board Saunders/ Walmart types just for the hardware at times!! Drawer slides come in handy for many projects and they some of those desks will have three or four slides on them at times!!
About a month ago my sister found of all things a really nice slab of white marble in the garbage next door. She lives next to a business that deals in eco-friendly caskets, and I guess it was intended to be a grave marker before it wound up in the garbage. This thing is 17 inches by 23 inches and probably weights about 30 pounds, and it only has a small bit of damage on two corners, which I guess made it unsuitable for a proper grave marker. She had me make a small table out of hardwood so it could be used as a table top.
What a refreshing change to go for a ride around Matthias´neighbo(u)rhood, see the whole process of lumber and fastener acquisition and be reminded that trash picking, far from being somehow a vaguely dirty and shameful activity, is actually a way in which the solo citizen can help to address some of the inefficiencies and wastefulness inherent in modern life.
pretty amazing thing about furniture, the steep prices people pay for it, what its actually worth, how it gets thrown out, and how difficult it is to actually get rid of something like a couch or mattress. i got a perfect leather sofa and loveseat onetime from a richy area for free. throughout life i have always got the stuff free or cheap.
Well done Matt, problem here in England is that it's illegal (in most parts) to retrieve waste from enclosed corals like that one, once it's put there it belongs to the council. Also at the recycle center if you see something you like that someone else is throwing away you are not allowed to have it, they will actually crush it rather than let you have it. True in my area anyway.
Once in a year in my village one can put out bulky waste and a big truck is comming to pick it up. This time I took my car and drove the streets around to pick up all the nice lumber I found. Turns out somebody threw away some pretty old furniture, looked like handmade without power tools, so pretty old and not some ikea stuff. And it was made of african hardwood (sapele). So I was pretty lucky getting my hands on this nice wood, beside a lot of pine wood boards too.
I live in an old neighborhood in New Orleans. I find old growth pine, cypress, and Spanish cedar in construction dumpsters all the time. I rarely have to buy lumber.
I like the Honda Fit with the 5 speed transmission. I have the same car. No Center console armrest is a problem for me. I have a cardboard box stuff between the front seats testing out different sizes. I would be interested if you build one. Thanks--Really enjoy your stuff.
Love it with a kid that doesn't have money to be spending on wood I found most of mine on the side of the road or in the town burn pit. All great wood still.
I would like to see your cabinet of fasteners in more detail: How do you organize all those different pieces of hardware? I would love to see a video on this topic.
Nice haul! Somebody tossed a good solid wood bed frame (headboard about 6' tall!) out of one of the local apartments. Saw it on my way to work. Dang but it was gone by the time I came back. You've got to be fast, heh?
Yeah, hatchbacks are wonderful. Roomy back areas plus I can get 8' lumber up the passenger side and close the hatch still. Also tickled to note you drive a stick shift (as do I).
Probably the best place to go dumpster-diving is a military barracks. Soldiers throw away a lot (a LOT!) of very nasty things, but they also throw away a lot of good stuff. The laptop I'm using right now was found in a dumpster, as were the dozen or so that I repaired and sold on craigslist. I've also found a great many things that I have used or stashed against future need - things that are not terribly expensive, but add up over time, and are annoying when you need one and have to run to the store to buy. Wifi routers, USB cables, HDMI and VGA cables, headphones... All kinds of things. That's not even to mention the recyclables. I made thousands of dollars on recyclables alone during the time I was stationed in a state where the deposit was 5 cents per container. I also found unopened cans and bottles of beer (beware of twist-off caps, though. Soldiers like to put things in them and recap them) and other things. Soak all of the unopened containers in a bucket of bleach-water, and you're good to go. Loose change. Rugs. Clothing. Flashlights. Speakers. As said in the video, it's hit-and-miss, but you have to mine a lot of rocks to get the gold. All of my wood lately comes from work. We get material laid flat on large pallets, so I have an endless supply of 2x6 and 4x4 lumber. It's usually knotty or cut from the edge of the log, but I have made some pretty decent furniture from it, and floored my entire attic in 2x6. He's certainly right that custom pallets are the best!
