How to scavange for free (or relatively so) parts

Okay, so you have got a whole bunch of great ideas of the next cool gadget to build, but have little or no funds with which to buy parts.

Fear not! Free stuph is easy to find all around you, you just have to look on odd places.

Step 1 Where to look

1. Old projects.
You already bought the parts once, why buy them again? If it doesn't work, cannibalize it!

2. Recycling drop off sites.
Sometimes, if you ask nicely, they might give you old donated items to tear apart.

3. Goodwill.
It may cost a little money, but it is a repository for cheaper alternatives.


Remember, there are no guarantees that you will get what you need, but it is a place to start.

Comments

[davidbruington]

some good solder wick/braid would work well for removing surface mount components that have lots of little pins... such as that DIP switch. :)

[Bigev]

mmm... good to know, but i scrapped the board in April. darn, too late.

[Goodhart]

Yes, and a tiny touch of flux on that desoldering braid can do wonders in needing less heat to remove the solder.  Too much and you have a mess.  Too much heat and....well you already know what happens then :-) 

 

[Spaceman-Spliff]

I`d add a cart of some sort to the list of handy tools... sometimes you stumble across a couple of old cases on a heap - would be sad to just take home one ;-)

[Bigev]

Very true.

[bylerfamily]

Nice!