Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
Nice find. Antique. Williams acquired all of Whitman & Barnes resources in 1920 and the name disappeared completely as a brand shortly thereafter.Number size drill index.
Nice find. Antique. Williams acquired all of Whitman & Barnes resources in 1920 and the name disappeared completely as a brand shortly thereafter.Number size drill index.
BB-You got that right! Day 2 of this sale will probably happen next week.
I was a bit embarrassed at getting such high numbers because I thought getting there 1.5 hours early might get us in on the first call. Oh foolish picker. I heard later while we were waiting to get in that some folks were there at midnight to get first dibs.
There was all kinds of cool stuff at this sale--over 800 pics on the sale page. The guy was a serious collector of all kinds of things: toys, calipers, thermometers, buttons, hub caps, canes, comics, records, CDs, tools, car parts--you name it. That coupled with the sparcity of sales today in the region apparently brought the entire region to this small rundown house.
Once I pulled our numbers, we went for breakfast in the local town and drove 10 minutes to the only other sale nearby. This was a much more upscale house, and SWMBO was tickled to find a few tasteful clothes in great condition at bargain prices. I found a few items too, and we combined our picks for checkout.
No pics of her clothing finds, but SWMBO found these two purple glasses (her favorite color) at the second sale ($5) and the ceramic dish at the first sale ($5). The latter will become a cat food dish.
The first sale was thin on tools but I found a few items worth taking.
3/4 bottle of de-icer - a definite consumable this time of year
Cheap pair of Taiwanese shears
Craftsman 41581 flat blade driver
Billings & Spencer Model B bicycle wrench
Two Klein flat blade drivers
Two aluminum 66704 c-clamps, probably Craftsman
A beautiful crowntop Craftsman 1719 metal protractor saw guide
Got everything above for $12.
Back at the sale, we joked around with fellow pickers until our numbers got called. I made a beeline for the basement looking for a specific piece I wanted for the 2019 Picker of the Year trophy, but alas it was gone, as were a lot of the other stuff I saw in the pictures. We sifted through the dregs and found the following:
Two Snap-on Torq-o-meter torque wrenches, a TQ-175 and a TE250-L, both for $30 each
Everything else was another $5:
Sears & Roebuck cast iron metal ladle, with a dollop of lead still in the cup
Mechanical measuring wheel--turned out to be faulty. I'll see if it is repairable.
Stanley 25" tape measure
Maasdan Red Devil Pwor-Pull wire stretcher
Safety Midget chain lever binder
No-name coil spring compressor
Cool looking vintage ship clock for $15. We got it for our nautical daughter and her boyfriend, but discovered the clock didn't work once we got it home. I may try to fix the movement.
This gigantic auto headlight pod. Absolutely no markings on the teardrop. A guy at the sale said he thought it was from a Ford. For $25, it followed me home. Anyone have any guesses as to manufacturer?
Well, guess what I saw in the pics at this sale?!?
I wouldn't have looked twice at these barrister bookshelves if it weren't for your post. By the time I got inside, the original finish one was marked "sold" for a stickered price of $100. The painted one was still there when we left.
All in all, a fun morning with my favorite gal, who remarked how much she enjoyed going out together to pick and hunt bargains. I'm happy!
Arne73: thanks! I'll send you a PM.BB-
I bought that same ship clock at a sale many years ago. I stripped it out (the ex hated it) bit I still have the Master Crafters movement if you are interested..
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
Thanks! Gotta figure out that SJE never seen that before either.Nice, bmw.
Some great stuff this weekend guys.
Rag- interesting finds. That Plomb wrench is a new one to me, and the Ford stamped driver.
Awesome! Ill research it, I really like that multi! Im gonna hold on to that Yankee I have been looking around and havent seen any others with the Ford script. Im thinking it must have been a factory owned tool maybe in a Model T or A factory....thoughts?its a Empire Plow Co Implement Wrench 7370.
i'm interested in the ford yankee if its available.![]()
Awesome! Ill research it, I really like that multi! Im gonna hold on to that Yankee I have been looking around and havent seen any others with the Ford script. Im thinking it must have been a factory owned tool maybe in a Model T or A factory....thoughts?
Awesome! Ill research it, I really like that multi! Im gonna hold on to that Yankee I have been looking around and havent seen any others with the Ford script. Im thinking it must have been a factory owned tool maybe in a Model T or A factory....thoughts?
i'd say yes factory, lotta wood in t's and a's. i think u can date down north bro's yankee tools too.
Awesome, I hadn't gotten around to looking into it, so that is nice to know.Nice find. Antique. Williams acquired all of Whitman & Barnes resources in 1920 and the name disappeared completely as a brand shortly thereafter.
ALL: I made it out today to meet a guy on his lunch hour that was selling off a few of his old tools and I brought home a cool old 70 pound Craftsman 5183 5 inch wide jaw vise made by Reed. under the cool jaw covers are nice almost unused jaws too.
I had him throw in a couple big clamps into the deal which I probably didn't need, but they are in great shape and should come in handy.
ALL: I made it out today to meet a guy on his lunch hour that was selling off a few of his old tools and I brought home a cool old 70 pound Craftsman 5183 5 inch wide jaw vise made by Reed. under the cool jaw covers are nice almost unused jaws too.
I had him throw in a couple big clamps into the deal which I probably didn't need, but they are in great shape and should come in handy.

Picked this 10 drawer cabinet a few weeks ago for a unbelievable price.
Awesome, I hadn't gotten around to looking into it, so that is nice to know.
BBR: thanks and I like old CRAFTSMAN & REED products especially vises prior to the year I was born (1956) so it was a no brainer for me even though i'm trying to GET ORGANIZED.
SMOKE: i'm not sure I got as good of a deal as you think I did, but i'm happy with it. since you and I have only had one deal on something I thought I'd never sell (PLVMB TOP BOX) that you said you really wanted it's not a fair scale to measure me on. i'm really an easy target, but of course if I don't really need something I try to buy it for less than it's worth just in case I might have to sell it later to buy something that I like better. I try not to take advantage of widows or widowers of collectors like we are when they have to sell their spouses stuff, but I do like a fair deal on a quality item even if it's only going to sit on my shelf for a while.
in fact I almost made a call to a seller who has a Holland's 16 vise for sale in Portland area that looks pretty sweet, but my bride had me on a pretty tight schedule when we were down in Oregon last week so I didn't have time to see you or any of the guys.
Tex: I haven't looked for a date on this old Craftsman Long C vise made by Reed and not sure I truly believe those #'s are dates stamped in the sides of the dynamic jaw so I'll have to re read that Reed Vise dating thread more and see if I see any reason to believe those are dates. i'll check and get back to you, but I dropped the vise off at my parent's where i'm setting up a woodshop in their basement so i can visit them more often while I dropped off the traveling wheelchair I picked up for them last week. thanks and my bride still shakes her head and smiles when we go for a drive to pick up a vise or old tools. I know she's hoping she doesn't die first so she won't have to deal with all my STUFF without me being here.
ALL: i'm still waiting for the seller to get well so he can help me pull his old cement mixer from the weeds and down a little hill to my trailer and still wondering if any of you have re built an old cement mixer.

Smoke: I was almost positive it was yours hence my post about it.
not sure i have any room on a shelf for it, but it looks like a keeper. are you an Riley still driving up here to pick from my honey holes? i know a great place to eat or have some smoothies made from healthy stuff (ice cream made out of bananas in this one).
how much does your Holland's weigh and you can email me or PM me if you don't want to carry out the conversation here?
ALL: the last time I had a Craftsman 5183 it found it's way to a member's bench in Houston and then he moved to Arkansas and not sure he still has it, but he sent me something i'm still trying to build a stand for hence the few 4-5 inch vises that it took to make that deal. a picture of how to ship a few vises along with a couple more of the other 5183 I owned in case any of you think today's 5 inch vises can compare to an old one.
i'm afraid if I traded with Wrenchguy for one of his generators i'd have to find a new rig and trailer to haul it to my side of the USA.
Found a nice heavy stand today. 12 bucks
View media item 90104
nice find. I have an almost identical stand under my grinder



Thanks, Andy! (That is a wonderful article. The artwork is amazing.) Technically, it wasn't a merger. But what I have not fully understood until now, is that J.H. Williams did not buy the whole company. This explains everything, such as why all the W&B wrenches (e.g., Bulldog, etc) became Williams wrenches, but other products (e.g., twist drills, and twist drill indices, such as Beemer's, which I have always assumed, incorrectly, were just older than the buy-out!) did not.Looks like they maintained W&B quite awhile after the merger.
$20 Craftsman Grinder showed up on CL. .
Drives- I do have your cell number if that will work? I can also email specifics? Which ever you prefer! This vise came from rileysan [emoji23] and it was a local Portland find
Sent from my iPhone using The Garage Journal mobile app
Good grief!! WITH quench tray, eye shields end caps, LIGHT and tool rests???
YOU ****!!
...if it's missing its little rubber feet, I can tell you where to get replacements.
Thank you, BFBOB. Thought it's complete - forgot to check the rubber feet - they are indeed missing. Where do you get the replacements? Once I start restoring it I might need them
Did you use rubber grommets from Lowes?
(https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=249539&page=21, picture on post 420)


I look back at the Driver and notice a small FORD script logon it. Deal.... I have never seen a Yankee driver with Ford logo... anyone?
Driver: Yankee no. 30 with Ford Logo
Rag- interesting finds. That Plomb wrench is a new one to me, and the Ford stamped driver.
i'm interested in the ford yankee if its available.[emoji106]
Awesome! Ill research it, I really like that multi! Im gonna hold on to that Yankee I have been looking around and havent seen any others with the Ford script. Im thinking it must have been a factory owned tool maybe in a Model T or A factory....thoughts?
i'd say yes factory, lotta wood in t's and a's. i think u can date down north bro's yankee tools too.
I have seen a Starrett item that was attributed to the early Ford Rouge River plant and it was hand etched with the stylized Ford logo and 'RR' (confirmed not be be 'rail road') However, I could definitely see that with an item like a screwdriver they would do a bulk order with their logo.
Ragtop, I'm drooling over your DBE finds, especially the single offsets. Re the Yankee Ford driver, I have a similar article. I keep it and several others at work in a display. I'll take some pics tomorrow









JM, last time I bought a box like that it was full of SO metrics!
Ah The good ol days...