2025 Garage Sale Thread (14th Annual)

[bmwrd0]

Hey, I saw REM live at Shoreline outside SF, back in '89 I think, on the Green tour.

Anyway, hit an estate sale this afternoon, not great looking from the pics, but I wanted to get out of the house.

I found a small beehive driver (with good tip!), an Indestro 1/4" socket, and two pounds of Unique powder. All for $2.
Then I headed to the Restore that was close by, were I picked up an old tool box for $5, and you can see why here:

A little beat up, could use a better tray (although it is present, so I got that going for me, which is nice) and the best, smoothest feeling leather handle I have come across.

 

[3baygarage]

Cool find on the box.

Had some time to myself on Sunday and hit up the two flea markets and it was an interesting day with excellent weather.

At Flea #1 I witnessed a dispute between a weekly vendor I always like to buy from and a regular weekly “customer” if you will, who is an annoying little jerk. The jerk wanted a refund on an electronic item he bought a year ago. A bluetooth speaker. People were watching and trying to mediate, and the jerk just kept being a jerk and I can’t really get into the details here without possibly offending but there were some things said that shouldn’t have been. I stayed on the spectator side of things while looking at the tools. Eventually the vendor caved and gave a $25 refund after a bunch of lame threats but I didn’t hear what the original price was. I told the vendor at least he got rid of the guy.

Flea #2 I was shopping these storage clean out guys who are there on occasion. They happened to be the ones where I got my cross bar for the long Walden rotating T handle. I was there for a bit when one of the guys had their jacket stolen of the mirror of their box truck, with his wallet, keys, etc.. Everyone looked all around and no sign of it. I will have to catch up with them to see if it was just misplaced but who knows when that’ll be. For somebody to walk off with it behind the truck like that would be the lowest of low.

Both flea stops combined:

-Unmarked Barcalo wrench bundle
-B&D impact socket
-Dasco pry bar
-Billings, Phillips, screwdriver brace bits
-nice Snap-On socket
-Mac mini pliers
-Snap-on hacksaw
-early Craftsman wood screwdriver
-Hinsdale doe
-Indestro angle wrench
-some 4” wrenches from a collector: Malco, Giller, Jaguar, Belzer. I’m happy to add them to the collection.
-Also from that collector, “The Matthews Wrench” Denver, CO 1920’s era one hander wrench.
-Wilde spark plug gapper
-USN brass padlock by Reese


Forgot to add this to the main photo while removing all the gunk in it.

-Diamond Refrigeration Special adjustable wrench:

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Flea #1 I witnessed a dispute

Flea #2...the lowest of low.

Dark o'clock, rained out, and living vicariously through you, 3bay. I've remarked before about the similarities of our fleas, in both the variety and the vibe, and the good, the bad, and the ugly character. The frequent skeeziness is why Mrs. Lugz won't go with me.

Indestro angle wrench

Unusual, in my experience, for a few reasons. I don't recall seeing any Indestro obstruction wrench before, and of all the Indestro wrenches I have seen, of any style, in the "Super Quality" era (I have a tappett collection going...), I don't recall seeing one branded with the full name and location on the shank like that. That's cool.

Jaguar

Nice. But when you saw it, did your head say, JAG-you-ar (like the British), JAG-war (like most Americans), or JAG-wire (like weird Americans, such as my wife).

“The Matthews Wrench” Denver, CO 1920’s era one hander

I was just about to say, "Cool, none on the 'Oddfellows' thread," which is technically true, but there is a connection between this, your other Matthews wrench, and a few of my "Auto-Grip" wrenches that not too many people make. 4.c links them correctly in his A-Z Mfgs Index here on GJ. Not only does AA fail to acknowledge Matthews' earlier wrenches, it erroneously disparages the later wrenches as knockoffs of the Masterench, and fails to understand that Matthews' utility patent came before the Masterench (nee Lynchmead). I will elaborate on the 'Oddfellows' thread.

 

[3baygarage]

-I did some research the other day and found that Matthews had several patents on the wrenches, with some being produced by others. This, the original I believe, is a bit bigger than the others like the Cleveland style.

- I def say Jag-war (wahr?)
Edit: The Jaguar is made by Gedore (Germany). Perhaps not as desirable as the Garringtons. The seller didn't seem to care what any of them were as he had a collection of 4 inches and priced them all the same. I tried to buy the collection but no go. It was a bit of a dance to get them more in my price range, with a child English translator involved and all. Funny thing was last time I asked if he had any 4 inches as he had a lot of other wrenches, and he seemed to have no clue what I was talking about. Maybe he did though as he brought them out that day.

I bundled them with the Matthews, which was fair priced for what it is. On another occasion I almost laughed myself out of the guy's stand when he priced a common Stillson pattern at $120 for another shopper. I found a little screw on the table while looking at the 4 inches. Thank goodness I saw it, it was from the Jag! Needed tightening. You can tell a lot of his pieces have been cleaned harshly in the past too, but it didn't matter in the negotiation. In the end I think we were both happy

-I'm glad you think the Indestro is odd too. Perhaps just earlier? Still struck me as I need this. I know Four Cycle has posted some different examples.

-It's not every time that I see that kind of behavior at either market, but it made for an interesting day. My wife also hates going. Maybe once in a blue moon, and there definitely has to be some food involved. Street corn, or giant pickle on a stick, or some other fun food stuff. I can settle for empanadas or tamales myself.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I did some research the other day and found that Matthews had several patents on the wrenches, with some being produced by others. This, the original I believe, is a bit bigger than the others like the Cleveland style.

Definitely, and earlier! Just posted on the Oddfellows thread.

 

[LostBoy(IRL)]

After a really bad storm Thursday night, highest wind speed ever recorded in Ireland. Without power, water and Internet, Sunday was the monthly carboot and I decided to go. 3 vendors, one of which was a regular I buy from. I had been looking for a blacksmith gate for quite a while, and he had this. Looks right rough because it is! But he went with a decent price and I was hoping for the best under the coats and coats of paint.


I spent a little while with it and it's not as bad as I feared, but not as good as I would like. It's not fully stripped yet, but I know what I'm working with at least.

And I did think the latch was a welded portion before I bought, it does appear to be.
It's a nice addition to my rust collection I think. If it cleans up well, it will be a new gate into the orchard. It won't take cow scratching, but I'll try place it that it will be safe.

Edited for the pure quantity of typos, even for my fat fingered typing it was bad

 

[bmwrd0]

There is a flea like that on the east side of Stockton, CA, were my dad grew up. And, yes, you would find all sorts of stuff, it was a little sketchy, and, no, there was no way my wife would go.

 

[bmwrd0]

Lost Boy, I had heard about that storm and how people were going for the candles. Glad to hear all is OK.

Also, would love to have found that gate myself. It would look good here at the house, and I could get rid of some cheap tat I quickly put up for the dog.

 

[LostBoy(IRL)]

Lost Boy, I had heard about that storm and how people were going for the candles. Glad to hear all is OK.

Also, would love to have found that gate myself. It would look good here at the house, and I could get rid of some cheap tat I quickly put up for the dog.

We had power and water back Tuesday night, Internet still patchy. Nearly 750,000 properties without power after the storm, out of not much more than 2mill for the county, that really puts it in perspective. Emergency services played a blinder though in fairness to them. Still some without power, but considering the damage done, it's some recovery

 

[Private Lugnutz]

it will be a new gate into the orchard.

Post pics when you hang it. (With a view of the orchard, too!)

 

[LostBoy(IRL)]

Post pics when you hang it. (With a view of the orchard, too!)

I should have added 'the new orchard' the gate might be taller than some of the planted trees. But it's a work in progress, 10 trees planted. The 7 apple trees are heritage trees, which I love the idea of. There are groups here who go back over old maps to find the locations of old orchards, then try track the orchard down through the years, if evidence of trees are still visible on Google Earth for example they visit the site to see if Apple trees are still there., if they are they take cuttings. So we have a selection of these trees, cuttings grafted onto root stock, and a few of those they didn't actually know if they were eaters, cookers, or cider apples. Plum and pears also planted. I'll update when I can, but this isn't a priority project, renovating the house in the next few months will take most of my time, even with builders doing the majority of the work there is still a lot of logistics and planning work ahead.

 

[david3921]

We had power and water back Tuesday night, Internet still patchy. Nearly 750,000 properties without power after the storm, out of not much more than 2mill for the county, that really puts it in perspective. Emergency services played a blinder though in fairness to them. Still some without power, but considering the damage done, it's some recovery

Had to look up what "played a blinder" means.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...apple trees are heritage trees,...[ ]...There are groups here who go back over old maps to find the locations of old orchards, then try track the orchard down through the years, if evidence of trees are still visible on Google Earth for example they visit the site to see if Apple trees are still there., if they are they take cuttings. So we have a selection of these trees, cuttings grafted onto root stock, and a few of those they didn't actually know if they were eaters, cookers, or cider apples.

Very cool! And I MUST give you a book recommendation. North Woods by Daniel Mason. It was a Pulitzer Prize nomination a couple years ago that I just got to last year. It's a novel about a single house and apple orchard in the woods of western Massachusetts, told through the lives of those who inhabit it (and expand it, and modernize it, etc) across the centuries, from well before the American Revolution (starting with a retired British army officer who plants a species of apple of his own invention) through 2023, when it was written. The characterizations are intense and zany and in some cases stunning, but throughout the book it keeps coming back to the apples and the orchard, which falls into disarray and eventually ruin and gets forested over and obscured by the construction of the Massachusetts Turnpike, and then finally rediscovered by a University of Massachusetts grad student.

Had to look up what "played a blinder" means.

Funny, too, because I just finished an incredible collection of short stories published in 2023 called The End of the World is a Cul de Sac by Louise Kennedy, who grew up in County Down in Northern Ireland, and it is chock full of dialect. And I don't mean occasionally, like you'll find in the most popular novels, I mean like you're in a pub and you dunna understand a feckin' word anyone is saying! And it's not just the language. The stories have NO FILTER. And I am not exaggerating. It's like you're dropped like a fly on the wall into the houses of modern Ireland and it is as brutally honest as it is heartfelt. Written by a woman, obviously, and most of the stories have central female characters, but it is rough and raw fiction looking at all the hard subjects.

 

[misterbill]

Thursday night FBM find. Proto Professional offset wrench set from the 60s/70s.






Bill

 

[bmwrd0]

I should have added 'the new orchard' the gate might be taller than some of the planted trees. But it's a work in progress, 10 trees planted. The 7 apple trees are heritage trees, which I love the idea of. There are groups here who go back over old maps to find the locations of old orchards, then try track the orchard down through the years, if evidence of trees are still visible on Google Earth for example they visit the site to see if Apple trees are still there., if they are they take cuttings. So we have a selection of these trees, cuttings grafted onto root stock, and a few of those they didn't actually know if they were eaters, cookers, or cider apples. Plum and pears also planted. I'll update when I can, but this isn't a priority project, renovating the house in the next few months will take most of my time, even with builders doing the majority of the work there is still a lot of logistics and planning work ahead.

Oddly enough, my father was a professor of pomology, the study of fruit trees, more specifically stone fruit trees. He did a lot of work with apples, pears, etc. and ran a universities orchards for 30 years. He would have loved hearing this as it was right in his world, what with having a PhD in genetics, but, sadly, passed away a few years ago.

 

[Catfishdan]

I hit up two estate sales today. First one was a bust, but I managed to get rid of 20 bucks at the second one. A plomb 3/4” breaker bar and extension, a wf dbe, and a set of =v= craftsman metric combos with a mac replacement for the 12mm.

 

[SC Fly Guy]

Well, finally on the board for 2025. Came back to WNY to check on the lake house after some serious cold and found a local estate sale. $20 out the door.

Sorry about the orientation, but several Crescent items, including some MoToRKit pliers. Miscellaneous Rusty goodness and an S-K Wayne box.

The S-K Wayne box is pretty worn, but will be a good restoration project.

Various sockets, extensions and ratchets. The cluster on the right are all Craftsman. The ratchets and sockets on the right are no-name/Taiwan and will be donated.

And, finally, a vintage Wenger Hiker that I think clean up nicely.

 

[seber]

Went to get the Snap-on boxes this morning but the price had risen to $1300 per set. Not even thinking about that. I did pick up a few other things though.
The five inch Wilton machinist vise was %100. The two Sharpe paint guns were $15. The Caterpillar Beckman meter was $2 and works. The Mac tap and die set with metal box was $20. The needle scaler was $10. The number bits was $5 and the Snap-on mid length metric socket set was $30. It is missing the 13mm and 18mm.
For the life of me I don't know what mid length sockets are used for. But these have never been used. I'd have to guess the original owner didn't know either.
This was a local estate sale way out in the boonies. It was fun watching people trying to park along the one lane dirt road with no shoulder. When I left there were several people trying to get unstuck. Luckily there were two Cummins duallys helping pull them out.
That Wilton is about 85 pounds and I am past the point of carrying that very far. Lots of helpful people in this neck of Texas.
I passed on a Norton 850 Commando for $800. It just looked like too big a project. Clearly had been left out in the weather for many years.

 

[mikeinri]

Went to get the Snap-on boxes this morning but the price had risen to $1300 per set. Not even thinking about that. I did pick up a few other things though.
The five inch Wilton machinist vise was %100. The two Sharpe paint guns were $15. The Caterpillar Beckman meter was $2 and works. The Mac tap and die set with metal box was $20. The needle scaler was $10. The number bits was $5 and the Snap-on mid length metric socket set was $30. It is missing the 13mm and 18mm.
For the life of me I don't know what mid length sockets are used for. But these have never been used. I'd have to guess the original owner didn't know either.
This was a local estate sale way out in the boonies. It was fun watching people trying to park along the one lane dirt road with no shoulder. When I left there were several people trying to get unstuck. Luckily there were two Cummins duallys helping pull them out.
That Wilton is about 85 pounds and I am past the point of carrying that very far. Lots of helpful people in this neck of Texas.
I passed on a Norton 850 Commando for $800. It just looked like too big a project. Clearly had been left out in the weather for many years.

You ****!

Mike

 

[LostBoy(IRL)]

North Woods by Daniel Mason.

The End of the World is a Cul de Sac by Louise Kennedy,

I'll check them out, have you read any Roger deakin or Robert MacFarlane, both nature writers I have enjoyed.
I typically try not use colloquialisms online, blinder slipped through though
And I don't even think it's Irish, more English, some reason I'm thinking cricket, a sport I know nothing about. But it's common usage here.
Language is fascinating, the English we use here is influenced by Irish. Irish is grammatically quite different, but it's influence can occasionally be heard in the phrasing of a sentence, the wording can seem wrong to non Irish. Also the Seanchaí tradition is still alive in the way we talk, particularly in a pub setting . Add in slagging (especially in a pub setting, but it's common in households as well, or groups of close friends) and it can get quite confusing.
And.... I just realized that's a longish reply and not exactly related to garage sale or carboot, so I googled a pic of a hammer to disguise this post


Excuse this post, It's been a long day, I'm quite tired, and the French are 'hammering' Wales in the rugby so I can't focus on it.

 

[mikeinri]

I'm Irish-American, and visited Ireland once (Limerick area). It was hard enough to understand coworkers in the lab. Out at the pubs was an entirely different experience. Hard to believe any of that was English, LOL.

Mike

 

[d42jeep]

Shiftless alerted me to a local estate sale yesterday. I’ve been unable to go to any most of the month since my copilot has been rather immobile, so I was flying solo. By the time I arrived, what tools were there were rather picked over but I found a few things of interest.
The Stanley lever was user grade but at least the tubes were intact.
I grabbed the Crescent hacksaw to replace the one I had sent to Fred Knox.
I always pick up Bernard pliers when I see them and when I arrived home I was surprised to see that they were marked Utica as were the long nosed pliers.
The yellow handled snap ring pliers were made by Vaco.

The Dremel accessories were in an otherwise empty Dremel box.
A couple of Radio Shack items.
-Don

 

[NYBODYMAN]

Thursday night FBM find. Proto Professional offset wrench set from the 60s/70s.






Bill

Nice set. I have the matching Proto metric offset set. I need to find this set to please my OCD.

 

[SC Fly Guy]

I grabbed the Crescent hacksaw to replace the one I had sent to Fred Knox.

Nice finds!! Love those Crescent hacksaws, especially because they use the same knurling pattern that they use on their pliers. Being from Jamestown, I think I have a fairly complete set mounted on one of their display boards.

 

[RTM]

I had a nice ES haul today. Found one on the way to work, and there was only one pic which seemed to show a couple of saws, so I figured why not. I had to stop to get gas, so it wasn’t really too far away. (Keep telling yourself that). Got there, and found it was being run by a guy with a mixed reputation on pricing. Some days are high, others are more reasonable.

Started in the garage, spent 30 minutes there, gathering lots of smalls, but never found the saws from the pic. Started moving around the house, found one saw outside, and finally found his indoor shop, downstairs, built into the grade change. Small and cluttered, but the box of saws there. Grabbed a few other tools from there, and went to check out, fearing the worst pricing wise.

Had to wait while he dealt w people spending several hundred $ each, paying by CC, so it went slow. I spread my bag of goodies out, the majority of the garage pile was cheap, one item was $6. Couple of the others from the shop were more, but total was reasonable. May go back on Sunday for 50% off day, and rummage more, when there’s less people around.

The Haul, left to right ish. Brookstone 5 piece mini pliers set, missing the end cutters, in a roll, hopefully from the days when they sold good tools. Next up a Stanley Foursquare plane, sized like a 5-1/4 plane, SS gouge, made in Germany, Schlage doorknob tool, 2x gimlets, auger file, Blackhawk Hexite wrench, another Boos wrench, couple of screwdrivers including an Ivy, monster sized PH probably by Irwin, Kraeuter needle nose,, Vaco reversible bit screwdriver, Bridgeport RA screwdriver, couple of Yankee bits, Utica by Bernard Taxi pliers, 4” and 8” adjustable, Indestro wrench set in a Klip Tite holder, masonry drills, twist drills for a brace, and some unknown Whatzit goodie looking like a Morse taper wedge remover between the Vaco and the candle top right.

 

[jeffmoss26]

The Schlage tool is great for opening beers, so I’ve been told!

 

[NYBODYMAN]

Well, I was supposed to sell some stuff to a guy on FBM who, after negotiating and breaking my balls for more photos earlier in the week, promised to be here at 10 am. Well at 9 am he said he doesn't have a ride and it's too far away even though all week and even last night he said he'd 100% be here. I guess at least he told me. So I did my usual and blocked him and proceeded to check Craigslist because what do we as men do when life throws us a curve ball? We buy **** we don't need damnit!
There has been an older Snap On stack supposedly loaded with older tools on CL for a few months so I texted the guy as requested and he said come on over....$200 buys all the tools without the box. Nice older guy who thought everything was worth a million dollars but remained at $200. It was well worth it as it's all older Mac Sabina, OH, Blue Point/Snap On, etc. I can't wait to go through it all. Here's a teaser!

 

[JMP]

Last night I seen this box of tools posted for $20! The picture is terrible and nearly thought it was some rubbish until I seen the Bell System screwdriver and soon realized there was a Yankee/Bell System push drill and Bell staple gun so I figured that I couldn't go wrong for the price. The haul turned out better than expected.

Listing photo:



The haul:



Bell System finds:





Craftsman:



Mac:

 

[Outlawmws]

Bell System finds:

Nice haul overall!

I have one of that style staple gun, - is that a T-50, like the staples, or is it the narrow "U staple for phone cords? I'm love to find a supply of those U staples for mine...

 

[Outlawmws]

And nothing happening here locally, due to overnight rain - a couple of ES's, but nothing in the pics makes me want to leave the house.

 

[Outlawmws]

Nice haul overall!

I have one of that style staple gun, - is that a T-50, like the staples, or is it the narrow "U staple for phone cords? I'm love to find a supply of those U staples for mine...

So this post made me pull my Heller (long gone for staplers) Bell System Stapler, and do some searching and Mine is supposed to get "TM" round wire U-shaped staples 3/16 wide and 3/8 long - Found a thread in a different forum that was searching for the same.

It turns out a T18 U shape DOES fit, and I had some; tested them and it works! not round wire staples though - these are flat, but I have a stick of them in it now for if and when

Comments in that thread were that current "station wire" is too big for these, you often catch the wire. but older wire or other things should work fine.

 

[JMP]

So this post made me pull my Heller (long gone for staplers) Bell System Stapler, and do some searching and Mine is supposed to get "TM" round wire U-shaped staples 3/16 wide and 3/8 long - Found a thread in a different forum that was searching for the same.

It turns out a T18 U shape DOES fit, and I had some; tested them and it works! not round wire staples though - these are flat, but I have a stick of them in it now for if and when

Comments in that thread were that current "station wire" is too big for these, you often catch the wire. but older wire on other things should work fine.

Interesting. I don't think the T50 staples go with this stapler but I have yet to figure out how to load staples in this thing yet. It is pretty crusty with thick corrosion in places and don't feel like handling it at the moment.

 

[RTM]

I figured that I couldn't go wrong for the price. The haul turned out better than expected.

yeah, I agree could not go wrong, and you didn't.

 

[Marsim]

One of the better estate sales I've been to in awhile. Everything was almost given away so the house can be put on the market Monday. All in for $21. I felt bad but the guy running it said "no worries".

 

[Outlawmws]

That Enron stuff brings back some bad memories...

 

[JMP]

Haul #2 for today! Just happened to spot a Craftsman 1/4 set for $20 and ended up with a few more finds along the way. The rest of the stuff I paid $33.

 

[SC Fly Guy]

Well, I was supposed to sell some stuff to a guy on FBM who, after negotiating and breaking my balls for more photos earlier in the week, promised to be here at 10 am. Well at 9 am he said he doesn't have a ride and it's too far away even though all week and even last night he said he'd 100% be here. I guess at least he told me. So I did my usual and blocked him and proceeded to check Craigslist because what do we as men do when life throws us a curve ball? We buy **** we don't need damnit!
There has been an older Snap On stack supposedly loaded with older tools on CL for a few months so I texted the guy as requested and he said come on over....$200 buys all the tools without the box. Nice older guy who thought everything was worth a million dollars but remained at $200. It was well worth it as it's all older Mac Sabina, OH, Blue Point/Snap On, etc. I can't wait to go through it all. Here's a teaser!

Last night I seen this box of tools posted for $20! The picture is terrible and nearly thought it was some rubbish until I seen the Bell System screwdriver and soon realized there was a Yankee/Bell System push drill and Bell staple gun so I figured that I couldn't go wrong for the price. The haul turned out better than expected.

Listing photo:



The haul:



Bell System finds:





Craftsman:



Mac:

One of the better estate sales I've been to in awhile. Everything was almost given away so the house can be put on the market Monday. All in for $21. I felt bad but the guy running it said "no worries".

In the name of expediency, those are truly **** WORTHY hauls. Nice finds!!

 

[bmwrd0]

Today was the Elks Club monthly swap in the city just south of me, and as I have found some really good stuff there in the past really cheap, I make a plan of going, especially if there are other good looking sales down there, as it is about 45 minutes away. Today was no exception:

Holder of Craftsman Metric sockets, pocket oiler, two file handles and a odd wood handled driver.

 

[alinc100]

A packaged arrived today, much later than it should have, beat torn and taped. The seller apparently thought a large volume of air would cushion a 14 PC Super-Tuff Wrench set on it's journey from Ohio to Michigan. It's been lingering in transit for over a week. Post office did a helluva job getting it to me after I reported a lost/delayed package yesterday. Thankfully the wrenches look minty.

 

[bmwrd0]

The other interesting sale was an estate, showing a bunch of lawn mowers and electric motors, and mentioned that it had a "shed full of tools." Well, it sounded just OK, so I went there second. Should have gone first. That shed was a garage, packed with all kinds of stuff, very little priced or disturbed, just the way I like it! So, here is what I found:

Let me tell you, there are few things I like better than a sale were you have to really dig, just get in there and find the gold, and this was one. An ex-mil ignition wrench set, drill bit catalog, industrial switch, Craftsman puller, nippers and a Renault wrench (I love auto marked wrenches).

And after I left (needed to use a bathroom) I went straight back!

a second wrench roll, Williams extension, Blue Point DBE, magneto tool, MT2 adaptor, hex adaptor, and various sockets (MAC, Billings, Walden, Chrome X, Plomb). And what was in that second wrench roll?

A complete set of Vlchek black oxide DOE's, along with a Williams S wrench and a Ford wrench. All together I spent $20 at that sale, and loved every minute of it!

The next sale I went too, well, I didn't even make it too the sale before the piss poor driving of the attendees and ***** actions of the neighbors turned me away. Or, I would have like to turn, but instead had to back down a one lane hill in the rain as people do not understand right of way (person heading uphill has ROW) nor that you and you friend need to allow people to back into your driveway to allow them to turn around. Then I headed home.