When folks come to visit in our shop, we try to remember to offer them a bottle of water, especially in the summer. Most of the time, we then find half-empty bottles of water set down around the shop! What to do? Well, one area of the shop is dedicated to shaping and finishing metal—sanding discs, Scotchbrite wheels, steel grinding wheels, etc. Much of the time, aluminum gets pretty hot while you’re shaping it, so a little cooling will keep you from burning your fingers. So instead of carrying them to the restroom to empty, the half-empty bottles get placed on the grinding bench for use in a small butter tub. A quick dunk and aluminum is once again cool enough to handle and the bottles magically empty!
Now the only problem, of course, is carrying the empty bottles to the recycle bin.
