A Large Collection Of......

[Richard in Smithville]

....of baggies! Yes, baggies! Every time I turn a pen I end up with the little plastic zip lock bags that the parts come in. I have a ton of them now. I could recycle them but it seems a waste to just toss them in the blue bin. Any ideas of how they can be put to good use?

Maybe I could package little bags of exotic sawdust?

[chopnhack]

I hear drug dealers only make about $3.10 an hour, maybe you can subsidize their packaging costs :P

Just teasing....shockingly, that number isn't that far off according to Freakonomics

[TB Roye]

i have every bit of chips.saw dust and shavings I have ever made from pen turning; My grands daughter goes around and clean of the bandsay, drill press and lathe filling all the baggies. She then proceeds to package them in the flat rate boxes I get from ordering kit and blanks. so there is a use. I keep her busy for hours out in the shop

Tom

[windmill]

Bring them to a game store. Lots of board games come with small pieces that need to be stored in separate bags (to avoid a lot of sorting during setup). Small ziplock bags are perfect for that.

[Uncle Cracker]

I use some of them to apply medium or thick-bodied CA glue to spinning workpieces on the lathe. Just open the bag, and stick your index finger in. Put a couple of drops on the bag in the fingertip area, and apply lightly to the work (from the bottom), using your thumb to keep the bag on your finger. The plastic in the bag has nothing to activate the CA prematurely (unlike other application media), and the smooth surface makes for a more even finish. Takes a little practice, but works very well, and no CA to peel from your fingers!

[leehljp]

I use some of them to apply medium or thick-bodied CA glue to spinning workpieces on the lathe. Just open the bag, and stick your index finger in. Put a couple of drops on the bag in the fingertip area, and apply lightly to the work (from the bottom), using your thumb to keep the bag on your finger. The plastic in the bag has nothing to activate the CA prematurely (unlike other application media), and the smooth surface makes for a more even finish. Takes a little practice, but works very well, and no CA to peel from your fingers!

I was going to suggest this also. For this reason I keep them, but lately I have found that I run to the bin with these bags and use them for other odd jobs:

I have two or three bags filled with some fine sawdust that I mix with carpenters glue, epoxy or CA to give good fill in properties.

I use a few bags for small screws and bolts that come from small hard drive cases and also to glasses screws.