





I almost had a friend who works over there pick it up for me, but something told me not to.

Very typical R.T.E.C. set, Slew. Everything in my first set was caked in dried cosmo and all of the pieces in sets I recently found and sold were all caked in still-jellied cosmo. All my first set's sockets were Walden-Worcester, except for the 3/8", which was a Craftsman BE, so maybe not so random. Also, these weren't US Army Ordnance Dept kits, they were Signal Corps. I think you may have missed the eighteen (18) sets I recently picked up, all surplus. Nine (9) Williams No. 1285-P electrical sets and nine (9) R.T.E.C sets, all the exact same configuration as the Williams sets, with Plomb spinners. The other pieces were either R.T.E.C., Wilde, or Walden-Worcester. And I was able to trace it, thanks in large part to the identical Williams sets, to Signal Corps set TE-41 (6R 55503). Williams was their primary supplier. See the R.T.E.C. thread here, and the Williams thread,My 2nd RTEC find, and one I probably won't ever top,the wrenches seem to still have cosmoline. sockets are Walden, except one 3/8 drive that was randomly in there. and none of the square sockets that the GMTK kit would call for. Spinner and bar have no markings, and I cant make out whats on the pliers under the preservative.
This one didn't fit, and maybe deserves special mention, because I don't know what it is.
I know it's Plomb, with an NAF number, and super thick feeler gauges.
If you're referring to the "Engineers' Gage" (41-G-4, 41-G-180) in the Navy ASO Catalog Class 41, the blades were much thinner (.002 to .15) and it had a wire gage blade and a tapered thickness gage blade.The heavy feeler gauge could be an 'engineer's gauge', but I can't read the NAF number on the gauge to help you track it down.
I wanted to be a part of this exclusive club for a long time, but membership cards were hundreds of dollars, or half a state away. Sunday, on a dark corner of Craigslist, an estate seller was trying to get a few bigger items out prior to the sale, and pricing them opposite of how I would have. She wanted $120 for a membership card, and agreed to hold it to the next day.Concord is an hour and a half or more down the road, and I almost had a friend who works over there pick it up for me, but something told me not to.
And an old $75 grinder (with a crappy pic so you cant see it has the lamp as well as the stand)
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Jake,you’re getting wild in your retired days.
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WWII navy badass turned fine carpenter Mr John H Chapman left a few things behind for me. He marked them too, his Social security number is etched in the box twice.

Etching your social security number on your tools was common place. Working for the federal government meant your employee number was also your social security number.
Well before personal computers, back when you trusted most people.
I've got two 1940s Delta woodworking machines - a 14" drill press and a 14" band saw. Both are etched with the original owner's SSN. Makes them all the more special IMO.
Somebody must've died.I snagged this Bonney roll cab from the local recycling yard today. Straight as an arrow, with key. It baffles the mind to think about why someone would scrap a box like this. Apparently, if I had been a day or two sooner, I could have had the top box as well...
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Wow, that cleaned up nicely. Man was it dir-tee!The hammered finish is beautiful (see Pic 1) and there is really only one bad spot (see Pic 2). I am going to preserve everything else, remove the red metallic "ARVIN" decal, and try to touch up that bad spot with a close color-match.
Here's the neat part. The heater is named after Richard Hood Arvin, a former arms and ammunition salesman who had invented a heating device for Ford automobiles. In 1920, Arvin, who had applied for patents for his heater but lacked the capital to manufacture it, offered his product to Indianapolis Air Pump, a precursor to Noblitt-Sparks. The Arvin Heater Company was formed in 1920 with Mssrs Arvin, Noblitt, Sparks, and Redmond becoming sole stockholders. Noblitt-Sparks was later formed out of that.
This particular heater has a date stamp (an inspection stamp, by the looks of it - see Pic 3) of NOV 21 1943. Right in my collecting wheelhouse!![]()
The hammered finish is beautiful (see Pic 1) and there is really only one bad spot (see Pic 2). I am going to preserve everything else, remove the red metallic "ARVIN" decal, and try to touch up that bad spot with a close color-match.
Here's the neat part. The heater is named after Richard Hood Arvin, a former arms and ammunition salesman who had invented a heating device for Ford automobiles. In 1920, Arvin, who had applied for patents for his heater but lacked the capital to manufacture it, offered his product to Indianapolis Air Pump, a precursor to Noblitt-Sparks. The Arvin Heater Company was formed in 1920 with Mssrs Arvin, Noblitt, Sparks, and Redmond becoming sole stockholders. Noblitt-Sparks was later formed out of that.
This particular heater has a date stamp (an inspection stamp, by the looks of it - see Pic 3) of NOV 21 1943. Right in my collecting wheelhouse!![]()
Picked these up this morning at an estate sale just over an hour away. Complete set ofOld-School Craftsman double box wrenches along with several extra's.
Hi, Robbie B! This Garage Sale thread represents the end state of what you want to do: get stuff sold. People who post here show off the stuff they bought on the used market. This thread is not a place to advertise your stuff for sale, but I'm happy to give you a few pointers for the places we normally find the stuff we post.So how does this whole thing work? I’ve got some Stuff I’m thinking about letting go of since I’m not wrenching for a living anymore. How is payment normally done? PayPal I assume? I’ve never sold stuff online like this before so I’m curious as to how it normally goes down.
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Picked these up this morning at an estate sale just over an hour away. Complete set ofOld-School Craftsman double box wrenches along with several extra's. Snap-on stubby ratchet, some sockets and a couple of wrenches, a puller and a screwdriver. Four Plomb pebble combination wrenches and a Matco maroon hard handle screwdriver.
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I don’t even know why I bought this... but I did. $10
I have one of those in my attic from when I was growing up
Those are collectible... most folks don't still have them in the attic, and the tools are missing if they do. Nostalgia sells!