2026 Garage Sale Thread (15th Annual)

[ctuai]

Local online auction ($163): 2 x Sencore VA62 video analyzer; 2 x Sencore CR70 universal CRT analyzer and restorer; Sony 5" KV-25th anniversary Trinitron TV; Lot of speakers and parts.

The win was the 25th anniversary Sony Trinitron. Bought a shelving unit (not shown) and all the bits and pieces came along with it. Soooo many smalls that will take a ton of work, but one never know what's in the grab bag. Interestingly, CRT's are coming back into fashion for retro-gaming, which gives a bit of value to the CR70.​

 

[knock knock]

Thrift store find 1.28 out the door. Wasn’t looking for another strop but the price was right.

 

[four.cycle]

Earthwise visit today after dropping off sister at SeaTac:

Landers, Frary & Clark (New Britian CT) "Hot Water Bottle and the like" (patent 1477261 Dec 11 1923 Frederick A. Hart)


Thorsen 62J 3/8" drive speeder handle which looks to me to be shorter than the one I sent to @Tom "Python" Aycock in his "Secret Santa" package. Am I imagining things? Has some chrome issues - looks like scuffing from rattling around in a box.
The tiny scissors were a freebie, which is a good thing, as they're dull as a stone.

 

[Outlawmws]

Landers, Frary & Clark (New Britian CT) "Hot Water Bottle and the like" (patent 1477261 Dec 11 1923 Frederick A. Hart)

Got a link for the patent? (google refuses to help me...) I always thought those were early canteens just before the WWI/WWII style

 

[RTM]

Got a link for the patent

US1477261A - Hot-water bottle and the like - Google Patents

 

[Outlawmws]

Thx RTM!

 

[gearhead1960]

.....or poke the number at the US Patent Search Engine

 

[four.cycle]

Funny that there are a multitude of those for sale on the web - anywhere from $20 to $80 bucks, depending upon what page you're looking at.
Every one of them cites the patent DATE, but up until yesterday, nobody bothered to find the patent number.
Ran into the same thing yesterday on the same company's "Universal" chopper (patent 591575). I'll bet a bunch of you guys own one of these gizmos. Same deal: all kinds of them for sale on ebay touting the patent date, but nobody dug up the number yet. Go figure.
The company held a hell of a lot of patents.

Before "AI" and "CGI", real artists composed fabulous artwork for lithographed advertisements, like this one below:

 

[LesserSon]

Blue point right angled snips

Still they all scrubbed up nicely, even though sadly the snips have a little bite out of one of the cutting edges. Seem to cut just dandy though on a thin piece off alloy I tried. Stamped as DAR 9A USA I’d be intrigued how old they are.

I have a pair of Craftsman 9 42781 thin-nosed snips that look to have been made by the same manufacturer. I bought mine new around 1990, I think.
EDIT - found my exact pair in the 1988 Craftsman catalog.

By 1995 they had a different part number (9 42771), but look the same.

 

[four.cycle]

^ Midwest made those for pretty much everybody.
this outfit:
Midwest / Midwest Tool & Cutlery, 1210 Progress St., Sturgis, MI 49091 / https://midwestsnips.com/ / est. 1945 / "The Claw" patent 4967613 Nov 6 1990 Richard E. Cone / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/best-aviation-tin-snips-ever.547464/ /

did a ton of private-label production. still do.

 

[Shergar]

Cheers @LesserSon and @four.cycle for the info, not a common find over the alantic, so appreciate the research

They have gone in my useful draw ready for my daughters to yard sale in 2056

 

[d42jeep]

I found three estate sales listed for us to check out this morning. The first sale in Benicia looked the most promising so we started there. We brought home these things.
Several Thorsen tools including most of a 3/8” drive metric set.
Craftsman tools.
Pexto gauge gauge.
Lufkin tape measure. Starrett. Wm.Johnson Inc.
The second sale a few miles away in Vallejo was a bust.
-Don

 

[GarageHobbyist]

Been on another bit of a hiatus. Was laid off just before the holidays 3 weeks shy of 10 years there.
There haven’t been may sales at all, and even less that were interesting.
I found one that started today 40 minutes away and had a picture or two of some tools. Luckily I found a few things that made the drive worth it.

Berylco Beryllium slipjoints, a huge plumb bob, Starret 92-9 dividers, a neat oiler I haven’t ID’d yet, a couple industrial thermometers, oxwall stubby wrench set,
and a couple folding rulers, brush, and a 1/2” clevis hook.

Not pictured is a small cross peen hammer I left in the car.

Out the door for $15

 

[d42jeep]

We then headed back across the bridge to a late starting sale in Berkeley. At first we weren’t seeing much but persistence paid off and eventually we found quite a few worthwhile items.
Mayhew pin punch set.Small T.M..& T. Co. end nippers formerly covered with concrete.
PS&W little monkey wrench.
Craftsman tools.
Utica 8” adjustable wrench.
Walden spinner and cool 3/8” drive ratchet.
Cincinnati 4” clamp.
Hex key set made in USA.
Proto LA 1/4” drive ratchet.
The little carry box was unmarked.
-Don

 

[Outlawmws]

Was laid off just before the holidays 3 weeks shy of 10 years there.

That *****! The bad way, actually it double ***** the bad way, with the holiday and your ten years!

I hope things are picking up for you. And if they dumped you 3 weeks shy of some retirement or other benefit vesting, talk to a lawyer. 'Cuase that's just wrong.

Berylco Beryllium slipjoints

I have a 8" pair like that that is in my range box - been there 40 odd years.

 

[GarageHobbyist]

That *****! The bad way, actually it double ***** the bad way, with the holiday and your ten years!

I hope things are picking up for you. And if they dumped you 3 weeks shy of some retirement or other benefit vesting, talk to a lawyer. 'Cuase that's just wrong.

No new job yet. Kind of a niche industry.
I was one of the last ones on real commission pay, they couldn't make me do "free" work so they replaced me with someone on straight salary and no experience for less money. Poor Guy.

I've heard from a former coworker/friend I trained they are hurting a bit and can't keep up. Not to pat myself on the back, I had been around long enough and learned enough that large manufacturer we were a dealer for would call on occasion because I had notes/numbers/manuals for things that they no longer had or couldn't figure out themselves.
I'm in my mid 30's so retirement was a ways off, and my 401k was already fully vested.

 

[mikeinri]

Sorry about your job, @GarageHobbyist. Hope you get a new / better job quickly!

I went through one of those right before hitting a 3-year mark, which DID impact my 401k match vesting date. Long story short: Lawyer meeting took 10 minutes, he told me I'd lose money trying to fight the battle. Right to hire laws protect businesses more than employees.

Oh, and my current employer (and their predecessor) ALWAYS does the layoffs right before the holidays. THAT should be criminal.

Mike

 

[Tom "Python" Aycock]

Wow, how'd we get to middle February already?

Was driving down from the mountains Thursday to do my quarterly python removal contractor gig in the Everglades.

Cruising along the highway somewhere around Hickory, NC I see a yard with cars parked along the road shoulder...yes, estate sale. Pulled in and found tools aplenty down in the basement. Everything was priced too high for my interest except this splendid SAE set of Armstrong combination wrenches for $20. Couldn't pass on it.

The plastic roll case is for an Armstrong metric set...bummer. But the combo wrenches are in new never used condition so all is well!

 

[Tom "Python" Aycock]

Stop number two and three (Thursday) were my favorite thrift store and then the Columbia SC Habitat Restore.

Got the S-K T-bar, wrenches Thorsen, S-K and the Wizards from the thrift store for a massive $5. Found a huge bin of sockets at the Restore and sifted through it all to find these: Action, Billings, Bonney, Blackhawk, Fleet, Herbrand, Challenger, Husky, Master Mechanic, Master Pro, Marco, Mustang, PowrKraft, Proto, S-K, Snap-On, Stanley, Thorsen, TRW, Trutest, and Walden. The Restore had sockets priced at 50 cents for 1/4 drive and $1 for bigger but they gave me a %10 veteran discount too.

Finished out the day with a relaxing night at Kings Bay Nuke submarine base, FKA Military Ocean Terminal Kings Bay, a US Army post from 1954-1978.

 

[3baygarage]

Nice hauls there guys. I hit a a great shop cleanout sale today. A company purchased the building which belonged to an elderly man. It was his man cave I was told, but for the most part is was a giant shop/warehouse. Lots of great stuff.

Everything was up for grabs being sold by the manager of the business. I was hoping to dig through the large tools chest pictured. Turns out they were sold yesterday. Oh well, there was tons, and I mean tons of stuff. I couldn’t have been much happier because the people were nice and the sale was so chill with no one bugging me.

Some nice older tools mixed in the place.
True Value drill with bits in handle, Dasco nippers, Henry Disston saw, DR Barton draw knife, Russel Green River knife, Crogan The “One-Man” Tape, unmarked small claw hammer, Trimble & Fink screwholding screwdriver (very unusual), Eiffel plierrench, Kraeuter pliers, unknown tiny hammer.

Barton

Henry Disston.
Paging RTM. If what I’m reading online is correct, this stamped name saw dates 1840’s to 1850’s!. No medallion, maybe replacement handle?

Unmarked antique cast iron skillet. Maybe Excelsior. Dremel clamp on vise. Horstman Go Kart wrench. Need to research this some more. Cousances France cast iron pot with lid, very heavy.

Mixed 3/8 set. Mostly Thorsen USA sockets. P&c nail set.
Ohmite alittle Devils vintage bin of drawers. Neat color.

Brown & Sharpe wire gauge. Funny, two gauges on this page.

5” Wilton vise. Guy running the sale was saying nfs, he wanted the bench and vise. I tried to buy a brass steam whistle off the wall it was NFS. Probably pretty valuable. It was rigged up for an air line. Anyway, he wouldn't sell the whistle so I made another appeal for the vise. He asked me my offer. I didn’t make an offer and put it back on him and he says “Give me 30 for it?”. SOLD!!! I was ready to remove it but he stuck his employee on that.

 

[3baygarage]

Shop clean out cont..

Lots of misc. hand tools that were on the benches and wall. Ford wrench, green Diamond adjustable, green Fuller wrench, metal. All pein, Cal Van brass hammer, Japan tiny bolt cutter, 2 vise-grips, Indestro SAE wrench set, HWI spark plug socket, handcuff key (needed one for cuffs found last year), several Starrett bits, Millers Falls vise, Stanley bevel and flat head drill bit,Craftsman nut splitter.
Pliers are Cee-Tee Ford style, H&S, Channellock & Champion Dearment, unknown, more vise-Grips, Utica, a few small stainless pliers, small Lindstrom. Harley flip screwdriver, Snap-On orange pry bar, S-K magnet driver, Cattaraugus pocket knife, Master Lock with combo.


My favorite find. Getting ready to leave and noticed this. Must have walked past it 5 times. Priced at $2. Tested first and works good.
Emerson Electric pedestal fan.


After the shop sale I hit up one more thing, a community sale at a park. There were a lot of vendors but it was late when I finally made it. First thing I found, couldn’t believe it was still there. Old made in Germany multitool. Can’t make out the other markings. Edit: Hoffritz brand.

I like old multitools. The craftsmanship involved in this thing, how the pliers function, really cool. I’ll have to try and figure out the name if I can clean it up some. By far my favorite find of the day over the fan and Wilton.


Also, Red Diamond chisel, Millers Falls gouge, and Blue-Point rounded bolt remover.

 

[jeffmoss26]

Small estate sale haul today, $6 and change. Will try some evaporust on the channellocks.

 

[Marsim]

Saw a "yard sale" sign in front of a beer distributor this morning. Got these for $10 each, and they work.

 

[Outlawmws]

Awesome USUCK sized haul 3bay!

 

[Beerhippie]

Saw a "yard sale" sign in front of a beer distributor this morning. Got these for $10 each, and they work.

YOU **** mightily!

The damned power supplies for those would alone be a U **** for $10 each!

 

[knock knock]

Family run estate sale. Second day $10 out the door.

 

[tym]

A few small finds at ReStore after dropping off a box of donation items. My rule: buy less stuff than I just donated.

Not pictured: two bottles of ReStore soda.

 

[jeffmoss26]

Ours used to sell pop and water, not anymore

 

[tym]

That's too bad. Picked up some root beer and cream soda. It's great in the summertime to cool off after mowing the lawn.

 

[knock knock]

Forgot this little fella I got for a buck from another sale. Does anyone know how good the Williams line wrenches are compared to their Snapon brothers?

 

[Marsim]

Really cool lit up. Wish I had more cash on me. Plugged in at least 20 before I found these 2 that worked.

 

[Squez]

Swap meet couple finds
Plomb 3430 5260 and Proto/plomb 1136
Utica wobble extension & 400-61/2 plyers?
Mac x1e
Armstrong tappet
Craftsman v slide breaker
Odd plyers with side cut no 102-6 bernard
And a odd looking set of locking plyers whale tool corp
Total 17.00

 

[Outlawmws]

Does anyone know how good the Williams line wrenches are compared to their Snapon brothers?

The quality is on a par, The finish is less polished.

 

[zanyad]

5” Wilton vise.
...
he says “Give me 30 for it?”. SOLD!!! I was ready to remove it but he stuck his employee on that.

Priced at $2. Tested first and works good.
Emerson Electric pedestal fan.

Great finds, @3baygarage! You ****!

Saw a "yard sale" sign in front of a beer distributor this morning. Got these for $10 each, and they work.

Neato! You ****!

 

[d42jeep]

We went to the last day of an estate sale 10 minutes away. The only tool at the sale was a pair of Channellock 420s which I grabbed. At least the sale was close to home. My wife picked up the chalk for the kids and I got the un-used rat trap.
I cleaned up the Channellocks which had owners markings on both sides.
After a quick stop for groceries, we were off to the next sale listed as a warehouse clean out in lower Berkeley. We found an odd mix of tools and managed to ignore dozens of boxes of fishing tackle and a huge quantity of fishing rods.
I can always use new DeWalt bits but my favorite find was the oiler. My wife scored the Jeep for our granddaughter.
I gave it a gentle cleaning and added it to the others in the basement.

-Don

 

[Smokeshow69]

*****-

3bay- for the cheap wilton and the super cool fan!
Squez- dual mark dbe

 

[bmwrd0]

Nice find in the Klein Curves, Don. Those are my favorite strippers.

 

[RTM]

My weekend was a loss. Tried to go to an ES 20 minutes after opening time on Fri, line of about 15 people. Saw two or three people walk out/ away with nothing, said screw it. Ad only said Garage to Rummage, no pix, no detailed text. Limited number admitted language.

Late Friday evening, they added another day, with a bit more description. Since I was going past, tried to stop again. Now an hour after opening time, about 30 people in line, again, several left empty handed, not sure if bailing on the line, or nothing to buy. Oh well, still not staying. Never saw merchandise leaving.

 

[d42jeep]

I agree. We used to go at starting time, often standing in lines. Now we go well after starting time and if there is still a line we move on to the next sale.
-Don

 

[bmwrd0]

I feel you about lines. I know there are... groups?... of regulars at ES that all know each other and that is their socializing time, but this isn't something I am interested in being a part of. Too many other, better things to do with my time.