• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Carla Burke
  • Nancy Reading
  • John F Dean
  • r ranson
  • Jay Angler
  • paul wheaton
stewards:
  • Pearl Sutton
  • Leigh Tate
  • Devaka Cooray
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
  • Timothy Norton
gardeners:
  • thomas rubino
  • Matt McSpadden
  • Jeremy VanGelder

Bike spokes....

 
gardener
Posts: 5174
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio,Price Hill 45205
1011
forest garden trees urban
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I am accumulating a lot of bike spokes.
The mostly seem to be stainless steel,  as they don't stick to magnets and they are too tough to be aluminum.
They come from discarded bike rims I score at my bike co-op.
The rims themselves are used to make crop cages and compost rings.
I can recycle them  but. I'm looking for reuse ideas.
So far I have jewelry wire, chainmail wire, hat pins and meat skewers.
I'm not sure they would be food safe so skewers might not work.
They are threaded at one end and come with a special nut.
Unfortunately it takes a special machine to make these threads, the steel is displaced not removed.
I could cut standard threads on them but to what end?
The wire might come in handy as pins in a joinery project or reinforcement in a concrete project.
The 13 year old in me wants to build a blow dart gun, but ...

 
master steward
Posts: 12490
Location: Pacific Wet Coast
7044
duck books chicken cooking food preservation ungarbage
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I've gotten is deep shit with Hubby trying to cut stainless with tools that are only friendly with regular or zinc dipped steel, which you may be aware of, but not everyone is, so that's just a general heads up.

One thing I've used them for is sticking in the ground and putting a flag with a plant label on.

I've also used them to hold fencing in a ring.

Once I stuck a bunch in the ground to stop a squirrel from digging up my dirt!

 
William Bronson
gardener
Posts: 5174
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio,Price Hill 45205
1011
forest garden trees urban
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Jay, I have abused tools in this manner, for this project even.
It's so easy to use what's at hand, just for a few cuts...
So far my tool of choice is an angle grinder-equipped with masonry blade!
I have used them for plant labeling , using them to hold aluminum tags  in the ground near the base of a plant.
I'm not in love with the outcome.
 
gardener
Posts: 4008
Location: South of Capricorn
2130
dog rabbit urban cooking writing homestead ungarbage
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
so far the only thing i can think of for things that size is to keep cats out of recently-turned garden beds, porcupine style (the Interweb always says forks, but 1) you have these spokes and 2) who the heck has enough forks to fill a garden bed with?
 
pollinator
Posts: 1019
Location: Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
369
kids dog home care duck rabbit urban books building writing ungarbage
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Smoker Rack? Wooden sides, holding the spokes?

Randomly stuck into an upright pole in the ground for climbing plants/vines.

Woven to create a mat or mesh panel.

Prongs into the dirt attatched to wooden bars or frame to support garden mesh/netting over seedlings.
 
Thanks tiny ad, for helping me escape the terrible comfort of this chair.
GAMCOD 2025: 200 square feet; Zero degrees F or colder; calories cheap and easy
https://permies.com/wiki/270034/GAMCOD-square-feet-degrees-colder
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic