10 Great Places For Junk Creation “Extras”

Let’s face it:  there’s really no way to make anything from junk without tools and there’s generally not a good, efficient way to make the tools we need from the junk we see (of course, you can pick up the odd hammer, saw, etc from the trash…but those are fewer and farther between).  So, I decided to compile a list of the places I got my tools (or the places I wish I could have gotten my tools) to make the stuff you’ve been seeing for the past few months.

Here they are, in no particular order (the numbers are just to prove that the number I gave you in the title is accurate):

1. Leatherman Tool Group–multitools, a junk creator’s best friend.  I was given one–and I love it.  Pliers?  Here you are.  Knife?  Got one of those at my belt.  Screw Driver?  Same.  Another good brand is Gerber.
2. Home Depot–You want tools?  They carry sooo many tools–even online!  (Link is to a search for “tools” from main page)
3. Michaels–Crafts galore!  Mostly, the tools I get here are for jewelry, but not always.  (Link is to a search for “tools” from main page)
4. DollarTree–It’s all a dollar.  This just happens to be the dollar store near my house–perhaps your dollar store is better.  If it is, please tell me–I’d like to expand my dollar store horizons!  Paper clips, beads, jewelry chains (if you aren’t looking for silver or gold) are all there, and can add embelishments to your “junk” that can be hard to pick out of your neighbor’s trash–not impossible to get from the trash, just hard.
5. Tandy Leather Factory–leather tools (and leather, if you want to donate a child, it can be that expensive–just kidding).
6. Barge Glue**–Used mostly for shoes (I haven’t been able to justify the price for my own use, but it is supposed to be the best when working with shoes–professional grade).  Link is to Ace Hardware–another good tool/other store.  So is Lowe’s Home Improvement.
7. Liquid Nails–I love this glue.  I used it to fix my wife’s flip-flop sandals (I’ll show you how to do that in the next week or so).  It doesn’t store too well after it has been openned, but it works very well on leather and leather-like materials.
8. Gorilla Glue–if you’ve used it, you know, it is the best at gluing, as long as the stuff you are gluing is hard.  It works well on wood, metal, glass, ceramics, supposedly even concrete (nice!), but leather and other soft-natured things just don’t glue so well, use #6 instead for those.  (Link is to “uses” page on Gorilla Glue Website)
9. Joann–sewing and cloth supplies.  Mainly, I get remnants here, and apolstery thread.  Apolstery thread is incredibly durable, I can’t snap just one thickness of it by wrapping it around either hand and pulling–it cuts me first–that’s how strong the stuff is.  It costs about the same as imitation leather sinew from Michaels.  The faberic remnants are great for covering books or making something smaller (although, remnants can be pretty large–sometimes).
10. Walmart–what don’t they have?  Now, I know what you are thinking, and I did post on the topic of “cheap” vs. “inexpensive.”  Be forewarned, that Walmart is sometimes (often, I might say) on the side of “cheap.”  But, they often have the best prices on stuff like spray paint, small tools, and who-knows-what-else.