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I sometimes don’t know what I need until I see it, and chances are I’ll see it here.

Salvage yard, junk yard, scrap yard, recycling center—what you call it likely has some bearing on how you view these places filled with society’s unwanted detritus. But to me, “That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” Salvage yards, while filled with junk from most folks’ point of view, are frequently a source of inspiration, as well as materials, for my next project.

Now, I’m not talking about auto salvage yards, although those can be full of exciting treasures waiting to be found as well. I’m talking about salvage yards containing a glorious, random assortment of stuff—a jumble of machine parts, drums, shipping containers, pipes, sheet metal, unidentifiable metal structures, and industrial equipment. If you haven’t been to your local salvage yard, you need to go at least once—you’ll likely be amazed at what you find.

When I start thinking about a new project, I often take a trip to my local one, Moses B. Glick, LLC. It’s my go-to for steel, stainless steel, and aluminum sheet metal or tubing, but there’s plenty more in its aisles. I know the layout of the yard, so when I visit, I usually start far from the things I came for, and leisurely stroll through the rows and rows of stuff. Sometimes I find the inspiration in something I spot to solve a challenge in a project I’m working on. But often, I’m just curious to look through the piles of bits and pieces. As I explained to my young son on one visit, you never know when you’ll stumble upon a gem—which has him picking up and examining every piece of metal he finds, trying to calculate its value as a treasure.

At this particular yard, a friend stumbled upon an old Big Joe rechargeable forklift for $300. A used battery, some cables, and a new solenoid, and he had a working machine to move heavy stuff around his shop. Sometimes you don’t know you need something until you see it. And if you need shop fixtures like welding tables, heavy metal workbenches, or warehouse shelving, a salvage yard is the place to search—you’ll often pay scrap rates, by the pound. That generally works out a lot cheaper than buying something new.

On a recent trip, I spotted a few things I’m going to need down the road when I get closer to setting up my mechanical shop, but nothing I needed right now. I did spy a treasure I couldn’t pass up, though: an antique plate lifting clamp for $35. Made by the Merrill Bros. of Maspeth, New York, it’s designed to lift materials between 3⁄4 and 1 1⁄4-inches thick and weighing as much as 1,000 pounds. Will I use it much? Probably not, but it’s a cool piece of industrial equipment history.

Next time you have a big project and before you head to the hardware store or one of the big home improvement chains, look up your local salvage yard. Stop by and see what they have. You might find some inspiration in addition to materials for your project. And you never know when you’ll stumble upon the thing you absolutely need once you’ve seen it.