2021 Garage Sale Thread

[jeffmoss26]

well done. I looked through my stuff and nothing for a lock marked '60' everything I have is a 3 digit code

 

[mikeinri]

@3baygarage $1 each for everything in that post??? You ****!

Mike

 

[Username already in use]

Uaiu You **** on the Atlast X-Y milling vise!

Thanks @txlonghorn1989

Username-nice find in the bullet handle.

Thanks @3baygarage I’m having some trouble getting it to work right. It’s going to need to be disassembled I think.
Nice job at the pawn shop! Those are some nice wrenches you made off with!

I’ve been on the casual hunt for some parts for my early 60s round top 1/3hp craftsman grinder. I need two shields and a tool rest. Well today I snagged a 1/4hp round top with both eye shields and both tool rests for $20. Cheaper than just buying parts!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That bike looks great. I have to say, a sweet bargain Lugz.

Thanks. I have to answer, it was indeed! Based on several on-line sales, late 1950's and early 1960's Cavalier gentleman's bicycles have been selling in the $120 to $175 range, depending on condition.

Congrats on your Pawn Shop haul.

 

[3baygarage]

Thanks guys. One of my better pawn hauls in a long time.

Edit: Yes Mike, each was $1. Plus I was thrilled to find the Leatherman in there! Always wanted one. It needs a little cleaning, it was pretty packed with dirt and grease, the file a little rusty. Actually just gave another (within my budget) Leatherman to my best man and groomsmen.

Username- pretty much all older Blackhawk rats weren’t serviceable. Maybe try to just soak and soak some more in ATF.

 

[Shelbylex]

3baygarage - great pawn haul!!!
Blackhawk rats - can you show close up pictures to see how far they went? If ATF does not help, you can try a very long but potentially useful way which I used a while ago on ratcheting 15mm wrench which I found in the mud (it was relatively good except that ratcheting part was stuck): heated it up couple of time on the stove with smoke coming out - no luck, all rusted... Started slowly soaking it in WD40 (small whack with a hammer on the moving part, spray and leaving it on a leveled surface (used plastic egg box and left it outside due to smell). After several days rusty drop appeared on the other side. Kept going for a week. a lot of rusty drops came out but now luck (well, that's what I thought). Gave up on it, started to disassemble the bicycle and decided to use the "stuck end" - well, I guess that was the last thing it needed - started working and still works...
NB I did not use evaporust as everything was black oxide on the moving parts - did not want to loose it ...

 

[Provincial]

A **** for Pawn Star 3bay!

 

[mikeinri]

I'd be tempted to put the frozen ratchet into a bath of oil (or ATF), and put that into an ultrasonic cleaner. Bad idea?

Mikr

 

[LesserSon]

UNAIU,
Your donor 1/4hp grinder looks like a cast iron preblock? Possibly superior to the 1/3hp block, according to some. The amps are generally a better comparison than horses. I do not have a preblock to judge for myself. The couple I’ve seen at sales needed too much rehab to hook me. But if that one runs, maybe just use it?

 

[Username already in use]

Blackhawk rats - can you show close up pictures to see how far they went? If ATF does not help, you can try a very long but potentially useful way which I used a while ago on ratcheting 15mm wrench which I found in the mud (it was relatively good except that ratcheting part was stuck): heated it up couple of time on the stove with smoke coming out - no luck, all rusted... Started slowly soaking it in WD40 (small whack with a hammer on the moving part, spray and leaving it on a leveled surface (used plastic egg box and left it outside due to smell). After several days rusty drop appeared on the other side. Kept going for a week. a lot of rusty drops came out but now luck (well, that's what I thought). Gave up on it, started to disassemble the bicycle and decided to use the "stuck end" - well, I guess that was the last thing it needed - started working and still works...
NB I did not use evaporust as everything was black oxide on the moving parts - did not want to loose it ...

Thanks @Shelbylex - The ratchet isn't frozen per se, but instead of easily rotating in either direction (which it will if I do it manually), it wants to just switch directions. I've got it soaking in penetrating oil right now. It seems to be loosening up. I'll try the ATF/acetone and see if that frees it up even more.
I've attached a pic but I'll post more in the Blackhawk thread over on the vintage forum.

UNAIU,
Your donor 1/4hp grinder looks like a cast iron preblock? Possibly superior to the 1/3hp block, according to some. The amps are generally a better comparison than horses. I do not have a preblock to judge for myself. The couple I’ve seen at sales needed too much rehab to hook me. But if that one runs, maybe just use it?

Both of the grinders I have now are pre-block round tops. The 1/3HP is a Delco made and the 1/4HP is Packard electric. So, the 1/4 can go away, I won't need them both. I'll post some pics over in the vintage forum in the block grinder thread.

 

[Shelbylex]

It would be great to save the ones you got , Username Already in Use- I never saw one in the wild!

Seems like it's a time of saving the ratchets. I got a large haul of rusty tools on September28 (I will post it when I clean up at least some - way too much rust and dirt). Among them was this stuck 71M. I already disassembled it (it was not even assembled properly as you can see), cleaned a thick layer of almost stone density grease/dirt from inside and it's already sitting in ATF for a week with some improvement (started moving but very poorly)

 

[mikeinri]

Along the lines of some of the existential discussions we've been having here lately...

Does "in the wild" have a universal definition here?

Does it mean something you've seen in person (even if you were alerted to it by a CL or other ad)?

Or, does it mean something that you tripped over at a garage (or other) sale, not knowing in advance that it would be there?

Or, something else entirely?

Mike

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Great question. Speaking only for myself, "in the wild" means in person only (NO on-line presence), at any kind of second hand (not retail) sale (i.e., flea market, estate sale, yard sale, etc).

I'll be curious to see how much variance we get on this.

 

[AE2]

Along the lines of some of the existential discussions we've been having here lately...

Does "in the wild" have a universal definition here?

Does it mean something you've seen in person (even if you were alerted to it by a CL or other ad)?

Or, does it mean something that you tripped over at a garage (or other) sale, not knowing in advance that it would be there?

Or, something else entirely?

Mike

For me "in the wild" means that I have seen in person with my own two eyes. Photos online or publications don't count.

 

[bmwrd0]

Well, it's kinda like hunting. When you are out and about and you see a deer, that is "in the wild". On the other hand, if you see a deer on TV, that is not in the wild.

 

[Username already in use]

I’m on the same line of thinking here. “In the wild” speaking to coming across something in person. A chance occurrence.

 

[RTM]

I tend to agree with "in the wild" as my own two eyes. When talking about how rare certain tools are, I will exclude tool shows from my "in the wild" sightings reporting. Where its on the ground available in the general public, not a niche

 

[Shelbylex]

Agree. In the wild for me is seeing it for sale personally at any place (store, yard sale, etc...)

 

[LesserSon]

I’m sure I tried it when I noticed others using it, but I’m not comfortable with it. It is a metaphor, with the tools analogous to animals. But while colorful, I find it imperfect, because while both wild and domesticated animals may be found either in the wild or in captivity, ALL tools are domesticated, and can only be found in captivity. A tool found discarded or lost might be considered a stray, I suppose, but it is not in the wild.

 

[LesserSon]

We also use the metaphor of the hunt, which seems spot-on to me, but we are hunting domesticated species. Like captive-bred trout, pheasant, chukars, and escaped swine, tools can be hunted, of course, but themselves are not wild.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

"In the wild" is not describing the tool; it's describing the environment it was found in. It distinguishes second hand marketplaces (again, fleas, estates, yards, etc) that are much closer to the tool's original environment (one step removed from finding it in someone's garage or basement etc), sitting there in the open air, no identification labels, no packaging, and very often no price tag, and no fees or taxes, and again, no electronic interface. As opposed to CL, eBay, etsy, GJ Classifieds, etc, where it is much more formally identified, labeled, priced, and presented as a product of commerce - in many cases because someone already found it in the wild!

So, more like spotting and pulling the trigger on a deer in the woods than driving to the A&P and picking out steaks or chops or ground beef from an assortment of steaks and chops and ground beef that passed through a formal butchering and warehousing and distribution process and many hands between the open air and the freezer section.

Personally, I think the word "found" is another one that can get a little twisted. When I resort to buying something on-line (eBay, CL, etsy, etc), I didn't "find" it. Someone else did, and they advertised it, by name. I would hardly call typing words into a search field on eBay or CL "finding." So I never use that term. I acquired it. Period. Unless it was unidentified or I spotted it in a large wrench lot. That kind of online shopping (trolling through misc. wrench lots) - which I just don't have the time, patience, or beady eyes for, comes the closest to the experience of sifting through a pile of tools or a toolbox at a flea market or estate sale or garage sale.

For me, the lack of identification and labeling "in the wild" is almost as important as the in person requirement. They go hand in hand. There's usually little to no knowledge involved in buying tools that are being sold on CL, eBay, etsy, GJ Classifieds, etc. For the most part, that has all been done for you. I understand that there's an element of expertise that may come into play to recognize something that has been mis- or under-identified. But for the most part, the deer have been herded into the pen for you. Little to no work on your part. "In the wild," that is not true. You have to know your stuff.

So I think it's an apt way to separate the degree to which a tool has traveled in its journey from a PO and into the hands of new owners.

But I'm not trying to persuade you, LS. Just giving you my rationale for why I think it works for me.

 

[Outlawmws]

I'd be tempted to put the frozen ratchet into a bath of oil (or ATF), and put that into an ultrasonic cleaner. Bad idea?

Mikr

That should work well I've stopped using "cleaners/chemicals" directly in my USC, and use a second container with the nasty stuff; the USC tank gets water - clean water...


On the topic of the hunt. I don't see it any different than the hunting I did last week up north for deer, and both are "instinctive" in me. you use whatever senses you have available to find something worth bringing home. Eyes, ears, nose, touch...

Sometimes you score, sometimes not. When you score you get the same euphoric feeling, and depending on the size of the score, an instant "oh shoot... now the work begins..." (Think about it, a big score at a sale may also be a huge project... getting a deer is not the end of the game; NOW you have to gut it get it back to camp or rig, skin it, clean it, bag it, bring it home and ultimately, butcher, wrap and freeze it... )

 

[LesserSon]

Yes, I have harvested, processed, prepared and eaten wild game, from squirrel to deer. I am familiar with the literal model.
What I said (TWO descrete comments in TWO descrete posts) is,
2 - The object is NOT like a deer. It is like a dried-up cow or lame draft horse, sometimes we’re lucky and it’s a hen that lays.
1 - The ratchet or first edition or kerosene lamp is NOT located in an environment that is wild. In the case of estate sale, it is exactly where it was last used. It is like hunting a sheep in a sheep pen. At a garage sale, it is selected by the owner and generally (under/over) priced, like home-grown eggs or tomatoes or zuccini along the roadside. At a flea market it’s gathered and dumped on a table like tilapia or farmed mussels or prawn or whatever the trawler caught (not our own crab trap) in a fish market.
I agree that shopping online is a different experience, more like ordering honey-cured ham from a honey-cured ham website or groceries from Hello Fresh or Hungry Root, but the difference is convenience (but not quite as convenient as Grub Hub or Uber Eats) and lack of exercise and the USPS loses 10% of your orders if you can’t arrange local pickup.
That is why I think “in the wild” is a colorful but imperfect metaphor.

 

[bmwrd0]

In the end, I am of the opinion that it comes down to whether you stumbled across something, or if you went looking for a specific object. So, sure I guess you could say that you stumbled across something on eBay or Craigslist, or that you spotted something specific in a listing on Estatesales.com and rushed out to beat all the other people who might have seen it. And one is in the wild, and one is not. But mostly it is a turn of phrase. Much like beating a dead horse is.

 

[LesserSon]

Sorry - that’s meant to be “discrete” - I am out of edits for 24hrs.

 

[LesserSon]

Oh, come on, Host: that is my favorite emoji!

 

[txlonghorn1989]

Great question. Speaking only for myself, "in the wild" means in person only (NO on-line presence), at any kind of second hand (not retail) sale (i.e., flea market, estate sale, yard sale, etc).

I'll be curious to see how much variance we get on this.

I've always thought of it exactly the same Lugz.

 

[Provincial]

Here is one for the crowd to chew over. I noticed an item in a photo on Offerup that interested me. The listing was sort of a "come look and make an offer" and could have been applied to one, many, or all items. There were other listings from the same seller which varied from firm pricing to vague. I messaged that I would like to look at the tools, and was invited to come over to a storage unit nearby. Once there, the lady pulled out several tubs of tools, mostly junk. Mixed in were some interesting items, especially the one that caught my eye in the photo. I ended up buying the whole lot for fair, wholesale-level price.

Here is the photo. Who will be the first to identify the desired item?


It will take me a few days to digest the purchase and post the interesting stuff. The item above is interesting, but not the best one!

So the question for the crowd: is this "found in the wild" or does the Offerup ad make it something different?

My personal opinion is that something found in a local (easy driving radius) ad is "found in the wild," whereas something that has to be shipped or requires a road trip longer than a reasonable commute, is not.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

That is why I think “in the wild” is a colorful but imperfect metaphor.

None of this matters, of course, because as soon as we get off this philosophical fugue state we're in, we'll all go back to using the same terms we prefer anyway, and politely, indifferently ignoring the ones we don't.

But for what it's worth, it seems to me as if you're finding the metaphor imperfect for reasons that are literal. It never will make sense from that perspective, because there is no such thing, it should go without having to say, as wild tools. Or domesticated tools. They're inanimate objects and at no time during the use of the figure of speech "in the wild" is anyone thinking of them as animate.

Nevertheless, for many of us, the activity of acquiring tools in person at flea markets or estate sales etc feels, metaphorically, more like an act of hunting and scavenging than the act of ordering groceries online that arrive later by DoorDash does.

And remember, much like tools at flea markets, estate, yard, and garage sales, when hunting, you don't always see, much less bag, wild game. On the contrary, though, every single time you log on to your favorite restaurant's menu, there are always dozens of prepared meals waiting for you. You're always going to get something to eat.

Hence, why, for some of us, it's more like hunting boar than picking up a pack of Boar's Head bologna.

Much like beating a dead horse is.

Snerk.

Here is one for the crowd to chew over.

will take me a few days to digest the purchase

Double snerk!

is this "found in the wild" or does the Offerup ad make it something different?

For me it falls into the same category as visually picking through photos of lots of miscellaneous wrenches on eBay, as I described here...

That kind of online shopping (trolling through misc. wrench lots) - which I just don't have the time, patience, or beady eyes for, comes the closest to the experience of sifting through a pile of tools or a toolbox at a flea market or estate sale or garage sale.

...which does come very close to making the "fleaBay" name that eBay sometimes erroneously gets more valid.

In your case, it's even closer to meriting the "in the wild" qualifier. Yeah, the ad with the jumble of tools photo was online on Offerup, but nothing was labeled or identified and you had to use your own wiles to visually sift through it. And even better, you went over in person to paw through it and verify your find.

As for the object of interest, that is of course very subjective. It could be anything. If that was a flea market table before me, I can tell you what I would pick up to look at closer, in order.

The vintage single end offset socket wrenches, one large, one small, upper right. For markings.
The vintage nippers in the upper right. I don't need them, but if it was a good or particular brand with a cool logo I might be interested.
The vintage chisel or what looks like it could be a chisel lower left. While I can't see the markings from here, the way they are laid out look like it could be Plomb and I have a small collection going.
The vintage small pipe cutter, only for the markings. Could be something flippable.
The puller, or what looks like it could have been the yoke of a puller. Bottom center. For markings.

I'd ignore most of the chrome wrenches, except that little combo jutting off from the striking end of the chisel, which looks like it could have a ratcheting open end and an interesting raised panel on the shank reminiscent of Duro-Chrome.

Even though it looks like pot metal, I'd pick up that combo wrench dead center with the high frame forging of the shank and the open end jaw head. For markings.

And even though it has rubberoid handle sleeves, I'd probably pick up the pliers to look for markings.

I would ignore everything else.

From here, the only likliest purchase, for me, would be the single end offset socket wrenches, and the dental pick. I have a couple, but you can never have too many. Great for cleaning tiny complex areas in tools.

I've always thought of it exactly the same Lugz.

 

[Raineman]

Who will be the first to identify the desired item?

Bonney flare nut combo wrench under the plastic toy wrench in the center? (or not, looks like a combo swivel now that I look closer)

Is that yellow nut driver in the lower center a Bonney?

I don't know, my shot in the dark.

 

[seber]

So the question for the crowd: is this "found in the wild" or does the Offerup ad make it something different?

The set of Allen wrenches is very nice, but I'm wondering about that skeletal combination wrench.

 

[LesserSon]

And you say you lack the beady eyes for such image-peering?
Lest anyone be misled by recent posts, I have enormous respect and admiration for your knowledge, spirit and dedication, Lugz. I frequently stumble across, or am directed to, threads and discussions I had no idea existed, and you have been there, chipping away at, or blasting through, the unknown.
Your example, as that of hosts and frequent posters, past and present, is inspirational to me.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

but I'm wondering about that skeletal combination wrench

I think we're talking about the same one, only you used a much better, much more efficient word for it!

Even though it looks like pot metal, I'd pick up that combo wrench dead center with the high frame forging of the shank and the open end jaw head. For markings.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

And you say you lack the beady eyes for such image-peering?

Haha. I'm okay with one image at a time. Photo after photo, for hours and hours (there ARE guys who do go through those kinds of eBay sales like that...), and they're more like this...



As for the admiration, the feelings I can assure you, are mutual. (The old Debate Clubber in me is never far from the dialectical surface.) It's a big weird dig, this hobby, and we need all the archeologists we can get. (Yes, I took an appetite suppressor, and I am switching metaphors on purpose! )

 

[LesserSon]

Hmm…what did Provincial see? Not common nutdrivers, nor precision screwdrivers…not hosebib ells, fuses…
Yeah, I’m drawn to that combo, too…skeletal, pot metal, plastic…beryllium?

 

[pfaustus]

My personal thoughts on “in the wild.” To me in the wild encompasses all the places we look for tools not existing solely to sell us tools. https://www.mjdtools.com/ , MWTCA or the tailgators flogging tools outside one of those do not count. I put ebay in the same category because it is easy enough to go there and only see tools, especially nowadays when most of the sellers seem to be full time pros, aka dealers.

Back when my Mom was an antique dealer in the pre-internet era, there were “finders”. They were wholesalers of a sort. These were the guys (they were mostly guys) that went to weekly estate auctions, estate sales, tag sales, etc buying antiques to sell to dealers. They would show up in the driveway, open the back of the truck, and try and sell stuff they had found to Mom for her to resell. Another variety would buy stuff all year, then go to one of the big less selective shows like Brimfield (or Adamstown? - I haven’t been there since I was a kid being dragged along by my Mom when she was hunting) and try to sell it off to the dealers and higher end finders hunting there.

If you are shopping where the finders shop, it is in the wild. If you are buying from a dealer, it isn’t. The borderline is someplace like Brimfield (or the swap meet at Eatontown dragstrip for a vastly smaller scale example), which probably has 50 or 100 guys selling tools, but it isn’t a tool show, most of those 50 have other stuff too, and those guys are mixed in with 1000 other folks selling other stuff. That counts as in the wild, because you are still hunting for the tools mixed in with everything under the sun and the sellers expect many or most of the buyers to be dealers.

 

[mikeinri]

Thanks for all of the interesting responses. When I first saw the term being used here, I thought it was the equivalent of "in the flesh." In other words, seeing it in person (regardless of how you got to it, but not in a museum), vs. seeing pics of them in books / catalogs / antique tool websites.

I bought a set of thread repair split dies from eBay, to keep and use. I have no intention of selling them. Did I "return" them to the wild?

Mike

 

[Private Lugnutz]

If you are shopping where the finders shop, it is in the wild. If you are buying from a dealer, it isn’t.

I like it, p. It provides for a little more nuance on the margins. There are dealers at flea markets, for example, and buying from them there is not that much different than buying from them in their eBay store. Prices are lower, but it's pretty much a portable compilation of their inventory. So not everything at a flea market is in the wild. Conversely, those miscellaneous unidentifed wrench dumps on eBay. Yeah, it's online, not in person, but it's more like finding than buying from a dealer. So not everything online is, er, um, tamed.

Back when my Mom was an antique dealer in the pre-internet era, there were “finders”. They were wholesalers of a sort. These were the guys (they were mostly guys) that went to weekly estate auctions, estate sales, tag sales, etc buying antiques to sell to dealers.

They're still out there! Easily 8 out of every 10 guys shopping at Collingswood are antique shop dealers or finders looking for things to sell to dealers. And everybody knows everyone else. It's the same faces every week. The toy guys, the LP guys, the watch and jewelry guys, etc. Collectors are few and far between, and because of that, they know us, too. Casual shoppers are almost nonexistent. Columbus is different. Lambertville is different, too. The ratio of collectors and casual shoppers is much higher. I think it's because of all the house liquidators/clearout guys at Collingswood. It's like a smorgasbord of estate sales in one place. Collingswood is some ********* picking.

 

[3jakes]

From last weekend.
I was debating if I should go out or not, as yard sales were few & far between.
The closest was a neighborhood sale, so, I thought I would at least try that.
I mapped out the neighborhood ahead of time, so as not to miss any houses.
Only to find that this was one of those "neighborhood" listings made by a single person to drive people like me to their sad small amount of stuff that I am not interested in sales.
Not happy.
Now that I was out on the road, may as well head to the next place.
It had some photos of tools that had price stickers on, but couldn't read the amounts.
Several ebay boxes were in the background, so I was guessing they were "dealers" & no good prices would be found.
But first, there was a TOA sign on a phone pole. I'm here might as well stop.
Lots of kids, tupperware etc. but over in the grass was a small green lock box with $15. price.
Things are looking up!
Two good Snap-on drivers & a very nice baby Peterson.
The Craftsman & other stuff will be an easy flip at fleamarket & I'll have the keepers for free.

 

[3jakes]

On to the next location.
Had to park in a municipal lot & walk around to a small what looks like a "junke/antique shop"
Lots of ((to me) expensive glass & wall hangings etc.
There were the tools!
Big wrench! .... wait, is that price $20.00 or $2.00? That's $2.00 says the shop owner....
I started to make a pile.
The 3/4 breaker extension & socket.... no price. How much is that? $15.00 he says.
Green SK box lot priced at $15.00
This was a place where art was valued highly, but the tools were just in the way.
My kind of place.
Bought a few more pieces, but these are the highlights:
Proto Pro. 1-5/8 2 bucks.
NAPA 3/4" breaker w/Snap-on 3/4 x6" extension & Snap-on deep socket..... 15 bucks
And the 15 dollar SK lot is a mix of SK & Craftsman sockets, but the swivel sockets, extensions & ratchet are all SK.