2021 Garage Sale Thread

[Private Lugnutz]

"I'm standing here, now, with cash on the barrel head for that thing you threw in the back of your truck. If you want to take pictures, advertise it, sell it online, wait for a transfer of flickering numerical pixels telling you your bank account went up umpteen flickering digits, wrap it up in a box and ship it, have at it. But this is not eBay and there's a reason the prices are not the same." Or something like that is my go-to disdainful refrain.

 

[mikeinri]

How often is that successful, Lugz?

Mike

 

[Michigan Mike]

Lugnutz I am going to copy that and memorize it.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

How often is that successful, Lugz?

100% of the time. If I have to get that snarky the objective is no longer the item, but my satisfaction in letting the guy know I think he's an idiot.

Let's face it, even some harmless mom and pops are citing eBay at flea markets these days. I don't blame them for trying, and I have walked away with a lot of things at my price after a smile and a simpler "This isn't eBay" version.

 

[bmwrd0]

What Lugz says isn't 100% successful for me, but cash is a great negotiator.

Money talks, BS walks.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Read that again, Beemer. 100% successful at jabbing the seller.

As long as we're in Midweek Musings Mode, y'all remember that seller who got all loud and pissy with me about taking photographs of his things at a flea market?

This was a few years ago. We were still mildly yelling things at each other as I walked away. He was trying to say they were his products and he had a right to protect them. Something about some kind of unscrupulousness that I frankly still can't figure out. How could I sell something without having it and get away with it? And how would it harm him even if that was possible? But I didn't even go there with him. I was just trying to explain to him that he had them displayed in a very public place and had no reasonable legal expectation of privacy. Just the opposite in fact. Easily one of the top 3 weirdest things I have ever encountered at a flea.

I don't even remember what the things were.

Anyway, I ran into him again last weekend. Same flea market. I didn't realize it until I stopped to take a picture. He was rummaging around in the back of his van, he turns around, sees me snapping pictures, and immediately starts in on the same spiel about no pictures. The vendors to the left and right are looking at me like, 'he's been dong this all morning!'

This time I just laughed and walked away.

Here's what caught my eye. A lunchbox birdhouse with a sparkplug landing post.

 

[bmwrd0]

Oh, I am sure you are, Lugz. But, I was talking about myself, as I am not 100%. Not that I won't walk away when there is no deal, but in convincing the seller that eBay is not the way to go. I am just not that confrontational, especially when I might want something later. I think we are talking past each other. /shrug.

But, I also am not a fan of buyers lurking over a toolbox while they check every single thing against eBay prices. Dunno, but I came up working used books in the days before cell phones, and you needed to know what you were buying as things moved too fast to be standing on a phone all day. Most of the people doing this in the book world have no idea about foxing, deckled edges, a first edition vs. a first edition thus, and so on. It really is a lot of specialized knowledge that the 'Bay won't teach you. And I am ruminating this right now as my favorite, the local used bookstore is up for sale, and I know that 5 years ago I would have bought it, but due to life issues I really can't right now (totally appropriate for this thread, as it a used item that sells used items!) Doubly sad, as this is the second used bookstore I have had to pass up in the last 20 years.

I hear you about the weirdness of flea-market sellers though. Having done some version of this my entire life I can't count the numbers of half-mad and just plain odd dealers I have come across.

edit; Oh, that bird box is cool, but I would be all over that princess phone behind it.

 

[3baygarage]

Neat. I abandoned a pile of those lunch boxes recently, steel and aluminum, at the old house. Bought them full of tools a few years back. Sadly many things had to be left behind.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I think we are talking past each other. /shrug.

Yeah. No problem. I'll re-phrase. I am not saying I am 100% successful at talking sellers out of their eBay price. Far from it. I do try, and I start with some shorter, polite version of the above spiel. And sometimes it works. When it doesn't, and they get defensive and/or crabby about it for no good reason, I forego not only the item, but all future dealings with the same seller, and let him have it. I am 100% successful at satisfying myself that I have let them have it!

But, I also am not a fan of buyers lurking over a toolbox while they check every single thing against eBay prices.

Ditto.

I would be all over that princess phone behind it.

At that point, I wasn't about to stand there and ask him about anything else. I have no patience for insane sellers, no matter how cool something is or how badly I need it.

I abandoned a pile of those lunch boxes recently, steel and aluminum, at the old house.

Too bad. You could've had a whole line of birdboxes on eBay for $100 each.

 

[pfaustus]

Used book sales nowadays attract assholes with scanners scanning every damn book for them to resell online. So ******** annoying.

 

[bmwrd0]

Yes, there are the "scanner kids" as we call them. But, considering the number of books that were printed before bar codes, and you can laugh at them all the way to the bank. Those kids are scanning and sending to Amazon for its used book sales, and totally leaving behind the really good and valuable books, from basic pre-seventies works to incunabula.

Plus, they generally have no idea about condition or edition, and lose money on that end of things, before dropping out of the field altogether. But it's still an annoying practice.

 

[bbbarracuda]

"incunabula" Had to look that one up.

 

[LesserSon]

Me too, and I don’t often have to!
Obvious relationship to incubate, incubus, now I look at it. And, I guess, cub, cubby.

Back to hand-held devisives (right?), sellers often accuse me of “looking up” values of things on the internet, often displaying disbelief when I tell them I’m checking my lists of things I already have.

 

[Smokeshow69]

Me too, and I don’t often have to!
Obvious relationship to incubate, incubus, now I look at it. And, I guess, cub, cubby.

Back to hand-held devisives (right?), sellers often accuse me of “looking up” values of things on the internet, often displaying disbelief when I tell them I’m checking my lists of things I already have.

That is why I carry paper lists of my inventory....I have way to much plomb/proto to remember everything...However , the list can also work against me if the seller sees it and knows I need said items to fill some holes... I just kinda feel out the seller before I pull out the list and see where it goes from there..

 

[bmwrd0]

I just try to remember what I am looking for. Which has its ups and downs, as I do get things wrong and end up with multiples. But I just call that stuff trade fodder and move on. But, I do keep track of how much I spend on things in general and if I flip something I usually make enough on it to cover my losses.

It's kinda like being at the track. As long as you are winning more than you are losing, you are doing OK.

 

[Rickster]

I try to never argue prices when buying. I know what price I need to be below and if it’s over that, well, I just say what I’m willing to pay. If they take it fine, if not.. it’s “have a nice day” and I’m on to the next yard sale.

 

[Shelbylex]

Couple of recent acquisitions:

1. Combination wrenches: SK 14mm, SK 13mm, Craftsman -VV- 7mm (I try to stay with either -V-, =V= or older, but I did not have a 7mm), Craftsman =V= 15/16, Herbrand cutters (solidly stuck, will try to save) and wire cutters $2

2. small vise signed only Germany. Not sure who made it. ... Saved by a neighbor from recycling pile and brought to me to be either adopted or for finding a new home ...Free tool!

 

[mikeinri]

Lugz, I sort of figured it was more for personal satisfaction, LOL... I'm sure you start "softer" if you're really trying to convince them.

Otherwise, confront away! Like you said, they probably won't learn, until they keep going home with unsold goods... even then, that's a definite maybe...

Mike

 

[Old Radar]

There was a rare Tuesday sale here, but I had decided the one picture of half a tool chest just wasn't worth my time. Around midday one of my errands was going to take me within striking distance of the sale so I said "What the heck." I didn't bother with my usual preparation--flashlight, magnifying glass, tote bag & address--since I didn't expect much, had a fair idea of the general area and would rely on signage once I got close. I got to the right part of the right street without seeing a single sign and would have driven right by the house except the side-facing garage door was open and I saw some tables set up inside. Still no signs, flags or any cars visible--I started to think I got the day wrong. I went into the garage and there were prices on items so I felt I was in the right place, but no one was around. I started looking things over and finally someone came out of the house. When I asked, he said the HOA didn't allow any signs to be posted and he was just happy that the community gate was open.

The tool chest (10 drawer top box really) was behind some stuff and tucked away in the corner. It was pretty beat and I didn't recognize the brand--it had a bold letter Z shaped like a triangle. The sticker on it said $100 and another said $2.50 per tool. Inside there was a LOT of offshore tools--Taiwan, China, India, couple wrenches from Germany and one from France. There was a decent showing of Proto Professional, but it was all used, abused and worn out. Out of the whole chest I came away with only the Plomb WF-20 hinge handle, the Snap-on M-44 9/32" speeder and the Walden-Worcester 1119 speeder. But as I stood up to go, I happened to glance down at a 5-gal bucket that had a bunch of **** thrown on it and I caught the glint of tubular steel.

I pulled out a Mat Jack storage bag filled with about 25 pounds of sockets. Since the first one I pulled out was a Snap-on, I had no choice but to dump it out and go through it, piece by piece. Again, loads of off-shore dreck and more abused Proto Pro. Luckily, no more that half a dozen folks came through the garage the whole time I was there, so I had peace and room to sort through everything, but I was sure missing my magnifying glass!

I piled everything I wanted back into the Mat Jack bag and figured if they went strictly by the $2.50/tool I was looking at $60-70. Since many of the sockets were small, I decided to hold out for no more than $15. When the guy looked in the bag and said "How about $12.50?" I almost countered with $10, but instead said, "$12.50 would be fine."


The entire haul. CCW from top:
- Snap-on;
- Orphan Fleet & Blackhawk sockets and a Williams 9/32 M-102 extension in what appears to be an S-K box. There were definitely no appropriate S-K 1/4" tools for the box (it was filled with China, Japan and K-mart stuff that somehow got left behind);
- Plomb sockets and WF-20 hinge handle;
- Walden-Worcester 1119 speeder;
- Three CM sockets--two =v= and one BE
- S-K Sockets


The shallow 5/8" SO has a 1929 date and is stamped T 19269


Looks like S-K to me.



Quite an array of Plomb. The three on the left are all WF-15s but look vastly different in shape and stamping. The stamps on third WF-15 and the larger 9/16" (USA) next to it are barely imprinted at all. Fifth from the left is WF-29 and has an N stamped next to the first bob. Navy? Next is a CAD WF-14 and the last is a 1/4d 1/2" (USA) that looks brand new but is marked with 2A and is cold broached so I'm thinking 1942.


Name got stamped right on the seam, so it doesn't look too good.


Several eras of S-K.


The Mat Jack will be my new tote for big sales!

 

[saukit]

OR, you ****! Nice haul!

 

[Raineman]

OR, you ****! Nice haul!

X 2

 

[Provincial]

OR, that 9/16 Plomb 6523 socket looks to be for later Ford Flathead V-8 connecting rod nuts.

 

[Provincial]

I was busy last weekend and missed the sales. I happened on one Sunday afternoon about quitting time. I saw no tools when I walked up, but I always ask "where are the tools" even if none are showing. The ladies at the table said they had no tools, but the man off to the side said that he wasn't planning on selling any, but I was welcome to look. He took me past the ribbon into the back corner of the garage, and pulled two planes from the pegboard hooks. One was a late model economy model, but the other was a Stanley Bailey No. 5 in pretty good shape. He asked $10.00 for it, and I gladly paid that. So I didn't completely miss the sales last weekend!

 

[d42jeep]

There was a rare Tuesday sale here, but I had decided the one picture of half a tool chest just wasn't worth my time. Around midday one of my errands was going to take me within striking distance of the sale so I said "What the heck." I didn't bother with my usual preparation--flashlight, magnifying glass, tote bag & address--since I didn't expect much, had a fair idea of the general area and would rely on signage once I got close. I got to the right part of the right street without seeing a single sign and would have driven right by the house except the side-facing garage door was open and I saw some tables set up inside. Still no signs, flags or any cars visible--I started to think I got the day wrong. I went into the garage and there were prices on items so I felt I was in the right place, but no one was around. I started looking things over and finally someone came out of the house. When I asked, he said the HOA didn't allow any signs to be posted and he was just happy that the community gate was open.

The tool chest (10 drawer top box really) was behind some stuff and tucked away in the corner. It was pretty beat and I didn't recognize the brand--it had a bold letter Z shaped like a triangle. The sticker on it said $100 and another said $2.50 per tool. Inside there was a LOT of offshore tools--Taiwan, China, India, couple wrenches from Germany and one from France. There was a decent showing of Proto Professional, but it was all used, abused and worn out. Out of the whole chest I came away with only the Plomb WF-20 hinge handle, the Snap-on M-44 9/32" speeder and the Walden-Worcester 1119 speeder. But as I stood up to go, I happened to glance down at a 5-gal bucket that had a bunch of **** thrown on it and I caught the glint of tubular steel.

I pulled out a Mat Jack storage bag filled with about 25 pounds of sockets. Since the first one I pulled out was a Snap-on, I had no choice but to dump it out and go through it, piece by piece. Again, loads of off-shore dreck and more abused Proto Pro. Luckily, no more that half a dozen folks came through the garage the whole time I was there, so I had peace and room to sort through everything, but I was sure missing my magnifying glass!

I piled everything I wanted back into the Mat Jack bag and figured if they went strictly by the $2.50/tool I was looking at $60-70. Since many of the sockets were small, I decided to hold out for no more than $15. When the guy looked in the bag and said "How about $12.50?" I almost countered with $10, but instead said, "$12.50 would be fine."


The entire haul. CCW from top:
- Snap-on;
- Orphan Fleet & Blackhawk sockets and a Williams 9/32 M-102 extension in what appears to be an S-K box. There were definitely no appropriate S-K 1/4" tools for the box (it was filled with China, Japan and K-mart stuff that somehow got left behind);
- Plomb sockets and WF-20 hinge handle;
- Walden-Worcester 1119 speeder;
- Three CM sockets--two =v= and one BE
- S-K Sockets


The shallow 5/8" SO has a 1929 date and is stamped T 19269


Looks like S-K to me.

Definitely a prewar or wartime S-K 1/4” drive socket set box. That’s quite a haul!

-Don

 

[Private Lugnutz]

It feels very strange to not be headed to my regular Thursday flea market this morning (my dog even looked at me, like, "why are we going for a walk, isn't it Thursday?"), but I blew half my weekly budget on Tuesday. I was so excited about that whole adventure that I just realized I never reported the haul (Lugz 2021_53) here, going straight to its own thread instead. Below is my take-home, but if you don't religiously follow the whole Vintage Board and you missed it, you can see my left-behinds, read the whole story, and see cleaned-up photos in the "A Tool Scrounger's Delight - Old Hardware & Salvage Going Out of Business Sale!" thread.

 

[Old Radar]

Thanks for the vector on the Plomb 6523, Provincial!

Don, those S-K cases in California sure look a lot better than the ones I find here in Texas!

 

[bmwrd0]

$25, newer stuff than I usually go for, but I couldn't pass it up. I haven't finished sorting it out yet, more pics to come.

OK, so here is the story, as we all like tales of our finds. The second stop was an estate sale company's warehouse. They needed to clear out some dead items to make room for an upcoming sale, or something like that. I have found good stuff there at decent prices, but this time it looked like a lot of dreck; newer furnishings, brick-a-brack, nothing of interest. There were tools in a corner, but most looked like stuff I don't need and was too pricy in any case. But I saw this tub sitting on the floor, and from a quick poke, it looked pretty interesting.
BMWRD: how much for the tote of stuff?
salesman: well, there is a lot in there...
BMW: a lot of ****. (which was true, as there were some empty boxes on top.)
Sales: yeah... How much you thinking?
BMW: $20
Salesman: Make it $25?
BMW: Sold.

It turns out it was mostly MAC, with some other stuff:

Ignore the random stuff on my bench, but this is all the MAC. Some new supplies in boxes, such as branded wirewheels, cylinder hones, brake tools, some larger body tools for repairing fenders, a wrench roll, a bunch of ignition wrenches, a full set of flathead drivers, headlight tools (4), 1/2" ratchet, serpentine belt tool, oil filter wrench, punches, scribes, Stanley tape replacement with MAC branding on the package, at least six picks, the list goes on.

But wait, there's more!

a full set of Snap-on torx drivers


Set of Snap-on spark plug hole taps, USA knife in sheath, SK snap ring pliers, a magnet and mirror gizmo, a small Stanley plane, and a Blackhawk (NB) ratchet rebuild kit.

It seems the guy liked belt buckles:


And here is what is left in the bucket:

an ignition analyzer from '97, some hex keys, a Ford wrench, and in the green box is a 7/8" hex key from Holo. There were also some misc. punches and chisels: Mayhew, Proto, Craftsman, Malco.

 

[saukit]

Nice, Beemer! You ****! With your luck lately I expected that wrench roll to be full!

The belt buckles and the knife remind me a lot of growing up, all the men had a buckle like that and a Schrade knife.

 

[Old Radar]

The **** goes to the thread host!!

 

[Outlawmws]

Yeah, definitely suckage there!

Brand on the knife?

 

[Cruzan80]

My guess is a Schrader Old Timer

 

[bmwrd0]

Looks to be a Frontier, Imperial Stainless.

This was also in the box, I have never seen one of these:

 

[saukit]

What a haul bmw, congrats! I went to an unusual mid week sale listed as a "picker sale". It did seem to fit the description, unfortunately most of the good stuff was gone as I couldn't get there until the second day. I left a big timber slick head there even though their price was reasonable, I didn't really want the project as this one had no handle. The guy there said they sold most the stuff on the first day, and it sounds like there were some nice old woodworking tools.

I did manage to find a few small things for $10. For another $8 I could have gotten the timber slick but left it behind.

First was some Craftsman Kromedge saw blades, I just get these for a knife making buddy but when I got them home I thought the packaging was kinda cool so I took a pic of them. I see a fair amount of these blades but have never found any with packaging in anywhere near this nice of shape.



I also found a few wrenches, there were very few mechanical tools left so it was odd to me that these ones were left behind. Maybe I'm just not as selective as the guys that know what they are doing!

From the top, Lectrolite DBE, what I believe is a Barcalo offset DBE (thanks Don), Vlchek DBE, Thorsen combo and some weird Plomb thing. Finally a Penens DBE and large Klein implement that I only bought because I thought that maybe someone on GJ wanted it I have no idea what it is for.

 

[Provincial]

One more "you ****" for bmw! Nice picking!!!!

saukit, that Plomb "crowfoot" is really quite unusual. Probably a special tool for aircraft or military.

 

[LesserSon]

bmwrd0 ***** for the bin of “mostly ****” LOL!
saukit also *****, but it makes me a little sad to see those 40-50 year old NIB MIUSA 10” blades going to a knife maker without putting in a few years on a table saw, first. Sharpenable, dedicated-purpose teeth. Nothing at all like the general-purpose, thin-kerf carbide tooth blades selling in bigbox stores today.
A new Klein linemans wrench retails for $70+.

 

[Raineman]

and some weird Plomb thing.

Probably a special tool for aircraft or military.

That weird Plomb thing is a torque adapter. It is used with a torque wrench for bolts that are unreachable with just the torque wrench and a socket. At 90 degrees from the head of the torque wrench they are the same torque. Straight off the end of the torque wrench adds about 25%. If on any other angle, there are calculations to make. There are videos about them.

 

[LesserSon]

Others getting popup Google advertisements on the site?

 

[Provincial]

That weird Plomb thing is a torque adapter. It is used with a torque wrench for bolts that are unreachable with just the torque wrench and a socket. At 90 degrees from the head of the torque wrench they are the same torque. Straight off the end of the torque wrench adds about 25%. If on any other angle, there are calculations to make. There are videos about them.

Not necessarily. Up to, and including, WWII, many wrenches that attached to square drive extensions were not intended for use with torque wrenches. They were merely a way to reach a nearly inaccessible fastener. It was expected that most work in the "field" would not be done with torque wrenches, and work that required one was to be done at a higher level.

Even critical applications, like cylinder base nuts on aircraft engines, had special wrenches that attached to square drive extensions (3/8" square in this case) that were not used with torque wrenches. These particular wrenches were used at locations that only did minor maintenance, and replacing one cylinder was near the top of the difficulty rating for the jobs they were authorized for. The real torque adapter for this job was only distributed to Depot level facilities.

I'm not saying that this tool is not a torque adapter. I'm saying that it is just as likely that it was not intended to be one. We will have to find out the application to determine this.

 

[bmwrd0]

Nice finds Saukit, especially the Plomb and the linesman's wrench. I have... memories of one hanging from my belt when I had to scurry up a pole. If I had to use it, it meant I was getting away from my usual duties and into the world of actual an actual linesman, not an I&R tech like myself.

 

[Raineman]

I'm not saying that this tool is not a torque adapter. I'm saying that it is just as likely that it was not intended to be one. We will have to find out the application to determine this.

I got ya'. May explain why that Plomb looks curved too.