Repurposing Salvaged Auto Parts: 3 Unique Projects
Experts estimate that some 17.5 million new cars were purchased by consumers in the year 2015 alone. Many of these cars were meant to replace cars that had gotten too old to drive, or had been rendered inoperable due to accident. Discarded cars often find their way into salvage yards.
If you thought that the auto parts in a salvage yard were good only to mechanics, you couldn't be more wrong. Here are three simple projects that you can complete by purchasing auto parts from a salvage yard.
1. Bar Stools
Items with an industrial feel are becoming more popular among today's high-end home owners, and you can easily recreate an industrial look in your kitchen by taking a trip to your local salvage yard. Large trucks often feature springs as part of their suspension system. These springs can easily be transformed into bar stools with just a bit of effort.
Once you have purchased some truck springs from a salvage yard, use brackets and screws to attach round pieces of wood that have been stained. These wood pieces will act as seats. Bar stools made from old truck springs allow you to increase the wow factor in your kitchen without spending a significant amount of money on designer industrial products.
2. Drawer Pulls
If you are looking for an auto-related project that won't require a lot of time or effort, swapping out the drawer pulls on your cabinets or furnishings with parts found at the salvage yard could be the answer. Many older vehicles featured decorative door handles that can easily be transferred to your cabinets and furnishings.
All you have to do is unscrew the door handles from the old vehicles in a salvage yard, and screw them onto your project using the existing screw holes. The end result is a customized cabinet or dresser that has a bit of an industrial feel.
3. Garden Flowers
You can easily use old license plates from a salvage yard to create some unique flowers to put in your garden. Purchase enough license plates to create a single petal from each plate. Using tin snips, round off the corners of the license plate until each one resembles a flower petal. Drill a hole through the bottom of each newly-formed flower, and join all the petals together using a nut and bolt.
You can add a decorative plate and knob to the center of your flowers if you desire. Use some brackets and screws to attach a piece of steel rebar for a stem, and give your garden a whimsical facelift with your license plate flowers.
Finding creative ways to repurpose old auto parts doesn't have to be difficult. Visit your local salvage yard for inspiration in the near future. Contact a business, such as A & B Truck Recycling, for more information.