Uses for old rubber

Conversation
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I have a couple old rubbers in the kitchen drawer for opening jars and other containers. Just wondering if anyone else has come up with some unique hacks for old rubber.

Henry

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That good old rubber is great for padding stuff: like bottom corners of metal tool boxes or padding against stuff that rattles. I keep them around and snip pieces for this and that. Weather strip adhesive and super glue work great for most surfaces. Electrical tape is great too. Yup, just keep some on hand. You can shim stuff with them too. Can’t be too specific here, can’t remember all the stuff I’ve used them for, but over the years those strips have saved a lot of trips to the hardware store. It’s like nuts and bolts…you can’t have enough. And Henry, I’m chuckling…“a couple…”…thousand? :grin:

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I once used one to plug a tire in a emergency situation, I cut the round part of the rubber off and used that part with a plug tool.

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Wow! Unbelievable. I think we ought to have an old rubber hack video show. Guess we all should start saving our old rubbers. They might even become a commodity.

Henry

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Hmmm. Certain dimension…shim stock. Now if we could just find how to get the 3 bucks apiece back. Would that they were a buck apiece like the old days. Thinking cap is on. I may “bump” this thread in a couple years with a list. Fun topic Henry. Maybe you could pick the brains of the scientific folks you network with. :smirk:

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I like fun stuff like this. Will have to think more about it too. Delegate to “Deep Thought” and see what comes out. As I go through the day.

Henry

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On a side note my friend told me last night that rubber expands when it gets cold and contracts when it gets hot. You know when it wears out the cutting edge wears down and actually develops micro cracks that are invisible. I would like to do some research into exactly what molecular mechanisms are responsible for why rubber wears out. And especially if there is some product we could wipe on the edge that would keep it lasting longer. Come to think of it I did discover such a product. I have listed the link in my blog. AND I have figured out a test for comparing different rubbers for longevity. A real simple EZ test. It does require a light microscope however.

Henry