It is sometimes what you know ..

The hydraulic press at work had sprung a leak as somebody tried to use it as a 20 ton press instead of its rated ten. The clever folk fitted a new seal and it leaked so they planned to throw it in the skip. I intercepted it and when Gortour came back from lunch, he found it in the back of his car. This week, having taken it in hand, only to find that Clarke don't sell spares, I stripped the ram, bought a new and better seal of the right size and now have a fully working ten ton bearing press for seven quid and an hour's work. I am sure it will come in useful before long.

That'd be the best 7quid you ever spent

My family has a long history of collecting redundant yet still serviceable item, to such an extent that we now have a unit to house the collection.
My father was in aerospace, I straddled electronics / mechanical & my son is in agriculture engineering.
We had a site hut used as a control room on the Olympus engine program. Everything leavings the site required a financial contribution, for that Dads bit was measured in pound shillings & pence, now long gone, The most recent item is a miniature tractor.