Plan A: Off the shelf; Plan B: Make it yourself

When there is radiological work to be done, you hope to be able to purchase, readily and cheaply, items for use in doing the work. But if there is no vendor who sells a product for your need, then you have to improvise. Similarly, particular kinds of services may not be available and sometimes even if a product or service is available, the lead time is such that you have to find some way to make do in the meantime. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, we have had to devise a number of open-quotes make-it-yourselfclose quotes items and methods because of our specialized current facilities, several one-of-a-kind retired facilities, and the odd unusual situation that pops up-and because we have had practically every isotope from A to Z here. Several of these items and methods will be described, including the special shields and timesaving devices used for transuranic work, a cask for moving very hot pins, and ad hoc check sources