CRAFTY

We think of these as industrial worry beads, but they're really 5/16" dia (8mm) steel ball bearings, ready to be put to whatever ball-bearing uses you might have. Our each is a pack of (50), which should cover a lot of worries, and whatever else you can come up with.

Small pieces of very thin plywood for your craft and model-making needs. You get 18 cubic inches, which will translate into multiple sheets of 3-ply poplar, birch or similar wood at 1/8" to 1/2" thicknesses in random shapes and sizes. Our sample was (6) sheets, 6" long x 2" to 3" wide, some at 1/8" and some at 3/16". Perfect for custom-made dollhouse doors!

A neat bag-o-wood, suitable for model-making, art projects and hobbies of all sorts. The balsa bag weighs almost 3/4 of a pound, and is a random assortment of balsa that may range from 1/8" square strips to a 5" long x 2" square hunk, and lots in between. The basswood may have half a dozen 5" long x 2" square pieces, 8" x 3" sheets, and a whole bunch of 1/16" to 1/8" strips. Whatever the variety of sizes, either bag will total approx 72 cubic inches in all, which is more than it sounds like.

Nothing says crafts like genuine Styrofoam™ balls-older than glue guns, more fun than a barrel of sequins-and you can't have too many. Our handy assortment contains (4) 1", (2) 1.5" and (2) 2" balls which sounds like a do-it-yourself solar system if you ask me.

What can we say about chrome steel ball bearings besides their essential uses? Well, a lot, actually. They're perfect for Rube Goldberg displays and artwork. Imagine them in various sizes in a glass container. Imagine dipping them in paint, rolling them on canvas and making the world forget about Jackson Pollock. They also work as heavy-duty marbles, and might even calm you if you place a few in your palm and work them like a stress ball. See what you can come up with when the wheels start turning? Ball bearings. Wheels turning. We know you got it. You pick the size that suits your bearing needs.

The planets. Sorta. You can own them, or at least one of them. These 2" wood balls with 1/4" holes drilled in them (but not through them) were meant to be planets for a solar system model. A Do it yourself dream. They come in either glossy blue or green. They could also be joints and/or finials for some kind of dowel construction. Nothing to stop you from drilling new holes for a truly custom project. You'll get a mixture of green or blue or all green or all blue. 

Your guess is probably better than ours about what this started life as, but it’s a coaster now. Or a wall decoration. Or some part of an art project. In glass, 4-3/8” dia x 5/32” thick.Textured on one side; the other side is ground around the outside with a clear 1-3/4” circle in the center. Lightly polished edge.

A takeout roller brush from a vacuum cleaner! Has (2) sets of stiff bristles in opposing 180° helixes on a black plastic roller that's 13 1/4" long x 1 3/8" dia. The roller has a 9/32" dia x 7/32" shaft at one end and a 5/8" dia x 1/4"-24 threaded shaft on the other. Makes an odd but effective clothes brush or a hairbrush that nobody else in the locker room is going to have. Or maybe it will fit your vacuum cleaner!

Ferrite toroids, actually. (The Iron Doughnuts was the house band at the Fillmore West in '66.) These doughnuts are for making transformers and filters and other magnetic magic. Ours measure 1-5/16" x 11/16" x 1/2".

This thick glass lamp diffuser measures 10-1/2" x 6-7/8" inside with a 1/4" perimeter lip. The 1/8” thick glass is patterned in 1/16” squares, and the whole shebang is an offset triangle that’s 2-3/4” high at its tallest. We’re thinking small custom skylight cover, translucent birdhouse roof, terrarium lid, non-bellish bell jar or a way to keep your triangular cupcakes fresh.

These are dark gray, open-cell foam tubes, 5-3/8” long x 1-3/4” OD with a 3/4” ID bore. We wouldn’t presume to tell you what to do with these, which is, of course your business, and frankly, we’d be ashamed of ourselves for violating your privacy with a lot of questions. Forget we even mentioned it. Oh, OK, try broom-handle pads, or slice them open like hot dog buns and pad the edge of a table.