Now that the Boeing Surplus Store has closed in favor of online sales, what’s a poor tinkerer or hobbyist to do? Well, one option is to check out the UW Surplus Property Store and Auction. The next auction is coming up on Saturday morning, and the list of items for sale is enough to make a Bond villain tremble with excitement. Some stuff that caught my eye:

• A metal sphere


• Miscellaneous cutting tools


• Video cameras and lenses


• Palettes of Macs and PCs and Suns


• Barcode readers


• An injection molding machine


• A drill press


• A liquid nitrogen freezer system

The store is usually pretty well stocked, too. You won’t find the big industrial machines or lab equipment there, but you can get decent office furniture, industrial kitchen supplies, computer, monitors, peripherals, and cool doodads, parts, and pieces. The store is open two Tuesdays a month, and on Saturdays after an auction. Keep an eye on our calendar page for dates and times.