2020 Garage Sale Thread

[LesserSon]

LS, you must have a great collection of clamp on vises. You seem to find a lot of them.

Your interest galvanized me to combine a few items that were taking up space. I had bought a cast iron tripod base a while ago at Leesport (PA) Flea Market, and had a quarter-sheet of MDF leftover from a project for LesserDaughter2’s senior show. Initially, I cut out two 24” diameter circles (took forever with a sabre saw in a jig) and glued them up, but then realized table vises would twist back and forth along a curving edge, so 30° miter cuts on the table saw, and voila! A dodecagon table top.
But the fun isn’t over yet. While Stanley Victor/Jersey table vises fit up nicely, Bonney Standard and Champion vises do not! Only the Bonney Lehigh vises fit, and just barely. “Measure once,” I guess. I had just eyeballed the Bonneys after I tried a couple Stanleys on the double-thick MDF. I will have to chop out a little recess for each on the underside.
Bummer, but I am even more glad I used MDF instead of the oak I had originally planned on. The thought of all the little dimples on the underside of a carefully finished hardwood table top...I just couldn’t do it. With a little mod, this will do fine.
Edit - there: all better. Probably do a coat of BLO after I turn on the heat for the winter. Humidity is pretty high right now.

 

[LesserSon]

Nothing wrong with posting non-tool stuff P-Man.

I agree! Post up lace and scented candles, if you want.
But a typewriter IS a tool.

 

[3baygarage]

Cool. That looks like a great little collection.
I certainly picked up on that, said LS likes those clamp on vises.
Sometimes I wonder why I never got into the clamp on vises when I would see them at all the sales, they're cool. I imagine they would probably be in a heap of rust right now, that's one good reason.

 

[BlueBomber]

I agree! Post up lace and scented candles , if you want.
But a typewriter IS a tool.

Well....only if you got them cheap as fuel for your shop stove.

 

[pelletman]

Nothing wrong with posting non-tool stuff P-Man. I and others do so regularly.

That is an interesting Typewriter. Very small and seems a bit primitive? Does it have a shift key and upper and lower case?

Yes, it does. But it isn't called shift it says CAP and the little nickel lever locks it down, same with FIG, which I think is for numbers

 

[RTM]

the biggest offset screwdriver I've ever seen--3/8" stock, 6" between the bends.
It has a stamp that reads:

Phillips Lic. -- 7 (Seventh license granted by H. Phillips??)
Pat. No. 2046837 -- 40 (Henry F. Phillips, appl. Jul 1934, granted 7 Jul 1936) (manufactured 1940??)
Bridgeport -- U.S.A. (Bridgeport Hardware Manufacturing Corporation)
Alloy -- No. 3 - 4 Points

]

Looks like a #113. I have an earlier hard copy, will see if it’s in there later today. Oops, it's a 1925, nevermind.

https://archive.org/details/BridgeportHardwareMfgCatalogNo53/page/n21/mode/2up

 

[Old Radar]

Looks like a #113. I have an earlier hard copy, will see if it’s in there later today. Oops, it's a 1925, nevermind.

https://archive.org/details/BridgeportHardwareMfgCatalogNo53/page/n21/mode/2up

Thanks RTM! The 1953 catalog in your link clearly shows it to be a No. 113. The next earlier catalog posted in archive.org is 1940 (posted by twertsy) and it does does not appear in that one.

I would still like to think that the "40" stamp indicates the date but after the catalog went to print.

 

[mikeinri]

That typewriter is amazing!

Mike

 

[RTM]

Thanks RTM! The 1953 catalog in your link clearly shows it to be a No. 113. The next earlier catalog posted in archive.org is 1940 (posted by twertsy) and it does does not appear in that one.

I would still like to think that the "40" stamp indicates the date but after the catalog went to print.

They are pretty close. My 1925 catalog is #23, but the 53 was 1953. 1930 was #25.

Fun to see the start of growth of Phillips tools, from 2 dedicated pages in 1940 to 4 in 1953, with the RA mixed in.

 

[bmwrd0]

Yesterday, after taking a load of branches to the landfill, I thought I might swing by the scrap yard, see if there was anything interesting. This place holds onto the better stuff, and in the past, I have picked up a Plomb 4-way there, along with my Craftsman 6 inch lathe. They can be pricy, but for special stuff, it is sometimes worth it.

Well, while wandering around through the yard and the various sheds and huts I don't spy too much of interest, but realize that a building that they had never had open when I was there was now accessible! Well, gotta look, don't I? Not much of interest, but a few old toolboxes over on one side. The first I looked in had an interesting selection of mill cutters, but all of it much bigger than anything I can use. The next box looked standard-sized, handles on the ends.

Interesting, so I open it, and what do I see?

A Plomb pebble ratchet! 3/4 drive! But wait, there is a pebble breaker bar too! And then I look at the sockets, and they are all plomb, big ones and small. And if not Plomb, then Proto LA.

So, now I get to thinking, should I just grab the ratchet? Also the breaker bar? Or is there a price on the whole thing? Well, I went and talked to the foreman, but he had no idea what Plomb was or even how to say it. "Seeing that they are vintage l better look them up." Well, my hopes of getting the whole thing for $50 is fading fast, so when he comes back and says $225, I say that is a bit much for me, I was thinking $150...

"How about $200?" Well, it was still a bit much, so I told him I would think about it. Then I get home, start checking prices online, smack myself on the forehead, and went back today, and picked up this 100-pound box of pebble goodness. I am justifying this as it over two months until Xmas and I already have a lot of that taken care of. I can sell the duplicate sockets to recoup some of my costs, hopefully. But you just don't find things like this in the wild too often anymore. By the way, the sockets go from 7/8" to 2-1/2" and I have posted pics of everything in the Plomb thread.

 

[Old Radar]

It's needless to say, so of course I need to say it anyway.

Beemer, You ****. It's like finding buried treasure but without getting sand in your shoes. Congratulations and Merry Christmas!

 

[Outlawmws]

He ***** that's for sure!

Lets hope he doesn't **** himself into a hernia!

 

[3baygarage]

Great rescue. I was just looking at the pictures in the Plomb thread.

 

[3jakes]

It's a rainy Thursday morning and I have already looked at Craigslist & Facebook to see that there are no worthwhile yard sales to travel to this weekend.
Is this what Joe Biden meant when he referenced a "Long Dark Winter"?
Luckily last week I brought home several minivan loads from 2 separate sales that were good out of 15 that were duds.
I call one sale "the pizza pool guy".
I almost didn't go because the sale advertised hardware, construction supplies, pizza oven. But it was on the way to other sales so I dropped by.
There was a suburban yard with a tarp covering lots of electrical fittings, pvc conduit, etc. Nothing I was interested in. I almost walked.
Next to the house was a picnic table with a tarp over it. 5 gallon buckets & milk crates were on top & underneath. Everything was mixed, rusty & muddy.
I saw a bucket with some Armstrong & Craftsman -V- ratchets on top & asked how much for the bucket.
$5.00 was the reply.......... "now we're talkin", (I think to my self as I spot 10 more similar buckets & milk crates)
So from one of the buckets that 1/2 was scrap metal & the rest was usable Peterson visegrips & Wiss shears, I thought these 2 items were cool.
A craftsman push drill that needed some PB Blaster to free up the chuck.
And these old wood pullys with a stamp that reads: Madesco Products, Easton PA.
Rest of the story:
The sale was the estate of a guy that owned a public swimming pool that did his own maintenance, & sold pizza in the snack shack.
More buckets to follow.....

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

Nice find on that Plomb 3/4" set Beemer. I visit that scrap yard every once in a while and have found a few interesting items there but never any collectible tools. Most of their extensive stash is priced on the high side but they are nice people to deal with. Ed.

 

[bmwrd0]

Yeah Ed, they can be pricy. But as you said, they are nice people and it is basically down the street from me. So I swing by every once in a while. Most times there is nothing, but I have found good stuff.

What I need to do is visit Cherry City more often. I know that Jock has gotten some good stuff there.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I get a lot of expressions of jealousy for the size and quality of the flea markets out here, but I get just as jealous of you scrap yarders. Unaiu lives near a good one, too. There are plenty of them here, but the three that I tried a few times a few years ago don't save anything. All I got was three-head stares when I asked.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

I get a lot of expressions of jealousy for the size and quality of the flea markets out here, but I get just as jealous of you scrap yarders. Unaiu lives near a good one, too. There are plenty of them here, but the three that I tried a few times a few years ago don't save anything. All I got was three-head stares when I asked.

And some of us don't have either flea markets or scrap yards in our areas. :0)

 

[madison069]

Picked up this Stanley 03-043 push drill with 8 bits, and a nice Nicolas file thats hardly used. Found it on the side of the road for trash in a no name brown tool box. So no cost to me!

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

I get a lot of expressions of jealousy for the size and quality of the flea markets out here, but I get just as jealous of you scrap yarders. Unaiu lives near a good one, too. There are plenty of them here, but the three that I tried a few times a few years ago don't save anything. All I got was three-head stares when I asked.

I have a bit of a weakness for good scrap items. Here are a couple pics of a stand I picked up at Beemers local scrap yard last December. I bought the stand thinking I would make a flag pole base out of it but after studying it a while I'm pretty sure it's going to become a three or four tier vise display stand. There are three levels that rotate independently built into it. I could mount quite a few vises around the perimeter of each tier but that project is on hold for now.

Also a couple pics of my "pandemic project" which has been an extension of my shop built completely on a steel structure. I used almost 100% steel that was rescued from scrap piles either at the yard or just prior to being scooped up to go the yard. Even the wrought iron railing around the open deck was once in a scrap pile. The shop project has consumed all my time since last March but with no swap meets this year I needed something to keep me out of trouble. Definitely need scrap sources or friends in the scrap business. Ed.

 

[Smokeshow69]

I have a bit of a weakness for good scrap items. Here are a couple pics of a stand I picked up at Beemers local scrap yard last December. I bought the stand thinking I would make a flag pole base out of it but after studying it a while I'm pretty sure it's going to become a three or four tier vise display stand. There are three levels that rotate independently built into it. I could mount quite a few vises around the perimeter of each tier but that project is on hold for now.



Also a couple pics of my "pandemic project" which has been an extension of my shop built completely on a steel structure. I used almost 100% steel that was rescued from scrap piles either at the yard or just prior to being scooped up to go the yard. Even the wrought iron railing around the open deck was once in a scrap pile. The shop project has consumed all my time since last March but with no swap meets this year I needed something to keep me out of trouble. Definitely need scrap sources or friends in the scrap business. Ed.

That shop expansion sure looks good! What are you putting in there? More plomb or is it destined to become the vise room?


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[mikeinri]

Picked up this Stanley 03-043 push drill with 8 bits, and a nice Nicolas file thats hardly used. Found it on the side of the road for trash in a no name brown tool box. So no cost to me!

You ****!

Free is my favorite...

Mike

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Here are a couple pics of a stand I picked up at Beemers local scrap yard last December.

A vise stand is an awesome idea (one of my favorites, made by Bonney, looked very similar), Ed, but for a second there I thought maybe you were going into the home-made ketchup or beer business! (Ed's Oregon Rock Crusher Ale or Ed's Oregon Rock Crush Catsup would make great brand names, especially if they were a little spicy.)

 

[ugotd8]

Well, not exactly a garage sale (CL) and don't expect any 'you ****' since I paid more than $150 for this but so stoked I found one in such nice condition. Serial number dates it to around 1944 Runs perfect and no wobble (haven't checked runout yet). Seems like it may have been restored at some point, it's just in too good a condition to be unrestored. Standard 14" Delta/Milwaukee with what looks like the original motor? Also came with a Wilton Model 1204 vise.

 

[LesserSon]

When I was a child, my father used to take me on his periodic runs to the county dump. He was an art teacher and was always angling for still-life objects for his students to draw/paint. For a few years an Army Corps of Engineers flood-control project provided scavenging opportunity among condemned but not-yet-demolished buildings. These salvaging adventures, along with flea markets, auctions and estate sales interspersed and often combined with fishing trips to frame my youth.
Here in modern times, my city-of-residence has a metal recycling center, but prohibits the removal of anything. One year, though, I was involded in a KSR project endorsed by the city and had a card allowing me to haul away whatever I wanted. That summer I accumulated a great scrap heap, but eventually it dwindled, and the opportunity has not reocurred. Alas.

 

[mikeinri]

Well, not exactly a garage sale (CL) and don't expect any 'you ****' since I paid more than $150 for this but so stoked I found one in such nice condition. Serial number dates it to around 1944 Runs perfect and no wobble (haven't checked runout yet). Seems like it may have been restored at some point, it's just in too good a condition to be unrestored. Standard 14" Delta/Milwaukee with what looks like the original motor? Also came with a Wilton Model 1204 vise.

You almost ****? Looks pretty great to me, especially with that vise!

Mike

 

[Smokeshow69]

You almost ****? Looks pretty great to me, especially with that vise!



Mike

I agree, a suckage bestowing is probably in order based on the condition of the find


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[Private Lugnutz]

When I was a child, my father used to take me on his periodic runs to the county dump. He was an art teacher and was always angling for still-life objects for his students to draw/paint...[ ]...These salvaging adventures, along with flea markets, auctions and estate sales interspersed and often combined with fishing trips to frame my youth.

Two intersections in that story, LS. My father attended the Cleveland Institute of Art for a year in the 1930's before dropping out to joint the Merchant Marines and eventually the Navy during WWII. But he never gave up art, producing a dizzying number of water colors and pastel drawings throughout his life, almost all of nature, all Super-Realism (think Andrew Wyeth). My earliest scavenging memories were driving around the countryside, crawling through woods, and pulling boards off of dilapidated barns, which he used to make frames for the paintings. So, free, by largesse and abandonment, in his mind, anyway. That stopped when old barn wood became a highly desirable commodity and he was afraid of getting shot at with rocksalt. But back to your dad and still-life subjects. I have some of my dad's school "work." This was practical training, for advertising. Hence, the common household subjects. All done with nothing but an airbrush. But I find them gorgeous, and strangers used to take them as Pop Art or post-modern industrial art. I've posted these and a longer version of this story before in Woody's Albert Champion thread on the VB. Some staining, unfortunately. I plan to re-hang them in the New Lugzsonian.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

That shop expansion sure looks good! What are you putting in there? More plomb or is it destined to become the vise room?

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Thanks Smoke. I'm not sure I have the need for that much space for Plomb or vises although that would be nice. The new space is going to be the wood shop. Getting quite a collection of OWWM's that need a dry place to use and enjoy. Ed.

A vise stand is an awesome idea (one of my favorites, made by Bonney, looked very similar), Ed, but for a second there I thought maybe you were going into the home-made ketchup or beer business! (Ed's Oregon Rock Crusher Ale or Ed's Oregon Rock Crush Catsup would make great brand names, especially if they were a little spicy.)

Beer brewing and bottling might be a good hobby to pick up but I doubt I have the aptitude for any task other than head taster. I have seen another pic of a similar vise sales display but can't come up with it now. One thing I like about the script on that base is if I change a few letters i can get from Labeller to Enabeller which is a more fitting description for a tiered vise carousel.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Beer brewing and bottling might be a good hobby to pick up but I doubt I have the aptitude for any task other than head taster.

I have seen another pic of a similar vise sales display but can't come up with it now. One thing I like about the script on that base is if I change a few letters i can get from Labeller to Enabeller which is a more fitting description for a tiered vise carousel.

Here's the Bonney I like. Lower slung than that Economic Machinery ("M'C'Y"... haha gotta love it...) labeler base, and skeletal vs. solid, with wooden platforms, but similar idea.

I've "made" a round vise stand out of an old WWII tripod and a 10lb York barbell.

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

That's the right idea Lugz and that Bonney stand is awesome. The one I was thinking of is very similar but for Rock Island and with a couple more tiers....kinda Christmas tree like. I do love the shape of that heavy labeller base and it's not going to get tippy even with a few "larger" vises circling the tree. Ed.

 

[ChefRex]

I have a bit of a weakness for good scrap items. Here are a couple pics of a stand I picked up at Beemers local scrap yard last December. I bought the stand thinking I would make a flag pole base out of it but after studying it a while I'm pretty sure it's going to become a three or four tier vise display stand. There are three levels that rotate independently built into it. I could mount quite a few vises around the perimeter of each tier but that project is on hold for now.

Also a couple pics of my "pandemic project" which has been an extension of my shop built completely on a steel structure. I used almost 100% steel that was rescued from scrap piles either at the yard or just prior to being scooped up to go the yard. Even the wrought iron railing around the open deck was once in a scrap pile. The shop project has consumed all my time since last March but with no swap meets this year I needed something to keep me out of trouble. Definitely need scrap sources or friends in the scrap business. Ed.

Quite the project, I long to see your shop someday!

Well, not exactly a garage sale (CL) and don't expect any 'you ****' since I paid more than $150 for this but so stoked I found one in such nice condition. Serial number dates it to around 1944 Runs perfect and no wobble (haven't checked runout yet). Seems like it may have been restored at some point, it's just in too good a condition to be unrestored. Standard 14" Delta/Milwaukee with what looks like the original motor? Also came with a Wilton Model 1204 vise.

Yea, that is starting in the suckage territory.

Two intersections in that story, LS. My father attended the Cleveland Institute of Art for a year in the 1930's before dropping out to joint the Merchant Marines and eventually the Navy during WWII. But he never gave up art, producing a dizzying number of water colors and pastel drawings throughout his life, almost all of nature, all Super-Realism (think Andrew Wyeth). My earliest scavenging memories were driving around the countryside, crawling through woods, and pulling boards off of dilapidated barns, which he used to make frames for the paintings. So, free, by largesse and abandonment, in his mind, anyway. That stopped when old barn wood became a highly desirable commodity and he was afraid of getting shot at with rocksalt. But back to your dad and still-life subjects. I have some of my dad's school "work." This was practical training, for advertising. Hence, the common household subjects. All done with nothing but an airbrush. But I find them gorgeous, and strangers used to take them as Pop Art or post-modern industrial art. I've posted these and a longer version of this story before in Woody's Albert Champion thread on the VB. Some staining, unfortunately. I plan to re-hang them in the New Lugzsonian.

Love the spark plug! I'm sure it is priceless to you.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Thanks Smoke. I'm not sure I have the need for that much space for Plomb or vises although that would be nice. The new space is going to be the wood shop. Getting quite a collection of OWWM's that need a dry place to use and enjoy. Ed.









Beer brewing and bottling might be a good hobby to pick up but I doubt I have the aptitude for any task other than head taster. I have seen another pic of a similar vise sales display but can't come up with it now. One thing I like about the script on that base is if I change a few letters i can get from Labeller to Enabeller which is a more fitting description for a tiered vise carousel.

I like the idea of a space for the owwm! Keeps all the metal fab dust off your machines and boards [emoji23] I need to come out sometime and bring along another forum member. I have been talking up your shop for quite some time so I don’t want him thinking I am full of it [emoji15][emoji23] oh wait, too late [emoji23]


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[txlonghorn1989]

ORC Great stand but far better is that shop extension!!! Great work! Dang! Wow!

 

[pelletman]

I have a bit of a weakness for good scrap items. Here are a couple pics of a stand I picked up at Beemers local scrap yard last December. I bought the stand thinking I would make a flag pole base out of it but after studying it a while I'm pretty sure it's going to become a three or four tier vise display stand. There are three levels that rotate independently built into it. I could mount quite a few vises around the perimeter of each tier but that project is on hold for now.

Also a couple pics of my "pandemic project" which has been an extension of my shop built completely on a steel structure. I used almost 100% steel that was rescued from scrap piles either at the yard or just prior to being scooped up to go the yard. Even the wrought iron railing around the open deck was once in a scrap pile. The shop project has consumed all my time since last March but with no swap meets this year I needed something to keep me out of trouble. Definitely need scrap sources or friends in the scrap business. Ed.

Worcester?! We need to work on getting that back home!

 

[Oregon rock crusher]

I like the idea of a space for the owwm! Keeps all the metal fab dust off your machines and boards [emoji23] I need to come out sometime and bring along another forum member. I have been talking up your shop for quite some time so I don’t want him thinking I am full of it [emoji15][emoji23] oh wait, too late [emoji23]

Welcome any time smoke. Haven't had any visitors in quite a while now...particularly none with carpentry skills.

ORC Great stand but far better is that shop extension!!! Great work! Dang! Wow!

Thank you tx. A lot of time involved but a fun project and nearly complete now.

Worcester?! We need to work on getting that back home!

So many incredible cast items from vises to lathes seem to have come out of the North East states that I'd love to take a road trip up there someday just to see what treasures are still left. Not to mention the Historical sites and museums. Maybe one day. Ed.

 

[LesserSon]

Great artwork, Lugz. Those images isolated from any background remind me of a talk Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell gave at the Allentown Art museum a couple years ago. Julie mostly spoke about her recent work, but Boris talked about his early days struggling to make a living painting prosaic items like refrigerators for advertisements. Even in his later fantasy art, the figures often remain isolated from any significant backgrounds or context.
My dad did pencil sketches (that’s me as a lad, modelling the dynamic tripod grip) and watercolors (we passed that sheep shed on the way to the township dump - I mistakenly referred to it as a county dump in my last post). I prefer his winter scenes, executed with a limited palate. He is colorbind, unable to distinguish different greens, so grass and other plant life was often weird mixes of teal and olive. He revered Andrew Wyeth, and I sometimes think Christina or Helga is lurking just out of view in some of his paintings.
My taste as a teen ran more toward the work of N.C. Wyeth; I was enamored with George Catlin and later the Hudson River School, particularly Asher Brown Durand. I guess what I really like is illustration.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Welcome any time smoke. Haven't had any visitors in quite a while now...particularly none with carpentry skills.









Thank you tx. A lot of time involved but a fun project and nearly complete now.







So many incredible cast items from vises to lathes seem to have come out of the North East states that I'd love to take a road trip up there someday just to see what treasures are still left. Not to mention the Historical sites and museums. Maybe one day. Ed.

Well I guess you caught me[emoji23] I don’t know if I am as skilled as some of the guys in here but I am handy with a hammer and nails. Maybe we can meet up next month or something since there are no swap meets or other things on the horizon



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[bmwrd0]

Two intersections in that story, LS. My father attended the Cleveland Institute of Art for a year in the 1930's before dropping out to joint the Merchant Marines and eventually the Navy during WWII. But he never gave up art, producing a dizzying number of water colors and pastel drawings throughout his life, almost all of nature, all Super-Realism (think Andrew Wyeth). My earliest scavenging memories were driving around the countryside, crawling through woods, and pulling boards off of dilapidated barns, which he used to make frames for the paintings. So, free, by largesse and abandonment, in his mind, anyway. That stopped when old barn wood became a highly desirable commodity and he was afraid of getting shot at with rocksalt. But back to your dad and still-life subjects. I have some of my dad's school "work." This was practical training, for advertising. Hence, the common household subjects. All done with nothing but an airbrush. But I find them gorgeous, and strangers used to take them as Pop Art or post-modern industrial art. I've posted these and a longer version of this story before in Woody's Albert Champion thread on the VB. Some staining, unfortunately. I plan to re-hang them in the New Lugzsonian.

Items such as these paintings often make up for much that is missed in the days and years after a close loved one passes. I have on one of my bookshelves a hardbound copy of my father's dissertation (typed by my mother). I cannot make heads or tails of much of it, it being on the genetic variations of African Violets when subjected to gamma radiation. But it is a bridge to a man and a father I miss so much. I am sure you will always cherish those paintings.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Amen, and very cool keepsake, Beemer. And there are more visceral signs of him everywhere. For example, my youngest daughter, 21, is artistic, and studying Design & Merchandising, and I have already framed some things that she laughs off as just fundamental doodling, like recording a musician warming up. She doesn't understand how these simple background quads remind me of him. He died before she was born.

To get us away from the nostalgia and sentimentalism (apologies!) and back on topic, does anyone know what this (see Pics 2 & 3) is? Plomb Ell handle for more size context. Not a stump the chump question. I don't know. I think it might be a plummet, maybe, for depth finding. Or is it a snake? It's iron, not lead, and made for tying a line on the end, that's for sure. I just found it cleaning up a corner of the basement I haven't touched in 30 years!