Just Junk Today

I loaded up two old refrigerator/freezer things this morning and a stack of metal sheet roofing that was so rusted up it was coming apart and tearing almost like paper.

The old fridge/freezers were the type that they started making I think back in the late 40's or 50's with the locking handles that are illegal to leave laying around these days because they would lock children inside. I am just guessing that these were used as feed storage or something, all I know is they have been in the barn rotting away since before I was born.

They also weighed at least 300 pounds each. In fact I would say closer to 400 pounds because the entire load weighed in at 850 pounds and I doubt that stack of rusted paper thin metal sheets amounted to even 100 pounds altogether. I know it took everything my step dad and I had to lift em up into the bed of the truck and neither one of us are exactly weaklings. Although I will say they were more awkward than anything else due to the rounded corners and the old style design that didn't leave much of any place to get a handhold on em.

One thing about this old farm is there was a lot of  junk laying around. Stuff like that tended to just accumulate since no one was living out here. I don't think anyone even knew the old used roofing sheets were out there until I started clearing the brush from behind the barn. I have removed piles of old fence wire, beaten up metal water troughs, and over 100 years of rusting hammer heads, pitchforks, you name it. I would say 75% of the junk has been in there well over 50 years as my mother only used part of the barn and never bothered to clean the stuff out that was there when they bought this place originally back in the early 60's.

What I have taken to doing now is loading up an old fridge/freezer and then as I clean out a section of the barn or outbuildings throwing all the metal parts into the already loaded freezer to hold it. Last trip I had over 100 four to six inch pulleys in an old wooden crate that fell apart when I touched it. These pulleys would have been great to have around except they were so rusted together they were almost one entire mass. I have also found fence stretchers, hay rake tines, buckets of lag bolts, an old wood stove, well the list is endless. Stuff that would have been worth something if it hadn't been allowed to rust away for decades.

A few items have made me down right mad or disappointed too. I found three bayonets and six magazines along with three oil bottles that I am almost sure were for Enfields. Was kinda hard to tell because of the rust and the bayonets wouldn't even come out of the metal scabbards but the magazine shape was pretty distinctive. They didn't come from anyone in my family because my Mother has been the only one to use this place before we bought it from her and no one but me has ever owned an Enfield.

Oh well I did get $70.00 bucks at the scrap yard for all that rust and I am damned glad to get rid of it. Why I would have paid to get rid of it so being able to scrap it is a bonus. This is like the fourth load I have hauled out of here and I can tell you scrap prices are way down. I think the first load I took out last year was only 650 pounds and I got more money for the trip. The big pile of scrap metal at the center is also much smaller than I remember it being. Not sure if that tells us anything but usually a booming economy pays better prices for scrap.

Keep Prepping Everyone!!!!