Unscrewed: Salvage And Reuse Motors, Gears, Switches

Description:Admit it: you love to explore how things work. Screwdriver and pliers in hand, no castoff electronics or old appliances are safe. But once you've pulled apart your prey, do you really just want to screw them back together again . . . assuming you could? Unscrewedis the perfect resource for all those UIYers--Undo It Yourselfers--looking to salvage hidden treasures or repurpose their old junk. Author Ed Sobey, founder of the National Inventors Hall of Fame, will show readers how to build a desk lamp from an old flatbed scanner, a barbeque supercharger from a Dustbuster impeller, a robot from the gears, rollers, and stepper motor found in an ink-jet printer, and much more. Each of the 50+ deconstruction projects includes a "treasures cache" of the components to be found, a required tools list, and step-by-step instructions, with photos, on how to safely extract the working components. Why pay good money to an electronics store when you probably already have what you need in that old VCR, printer, or hair dryer? Fight the mindset of planned obsolescence--there's technological gold in that there junk!

Perfect for the do-it-yourselfer, this handy guide to household electronics gives the weekend workbench enthusiast a multitude of ideas on how to salvage valuable parts from old electronics and turn them into useful gadgets once more. This handbook is loaded with information and helpful tips for disassembling old and broken electronics. Each of the more than 50 deconstruction projects includes a "treasures cache" of the components to be found, a required tools list, and step-by-step instructions with photos on how to safely extract the working components. Projects include building a desk lamp from an old flatbed scanner, a barbeque supercharger from a Dustbuster impeller, and a robot from the gears, rollers, and stepper motor found in an ink-jet printer. Now, old VHS players and fax machines will find new life with these fun ideas.