2022 Garage Sale Thread

[BigLeagueSmoes]

A few weeks ago I saw a FB post about a big lot-of-tools sale with other miscellaneous items, "too much to list!!" the lady said. There were a handful of things that caught my eye including this upright cabinet. She had no prices listed, said come and look and make an offer. Soooo I went and looked! The cabinet (contents not included those were already owned by me) is a healthy 6.5 feet tall, a little worse for wear, some surface rust and surface blemishes, but overall solid. The bottom inside pan is the only part that's not real great. It's not falling apart yet but its rusty enough that I'm considering cutting it out and welding a new piece of sheet metal in there and maybe making some drain holes in it because when I looked at it there was cardboard in the bottom and it was clearly once water logged so I'm thinking water, grime, and rat turds have been sitting in the bottom for who knows how long. Heavy as a boat anchor though. Doors swing good, latches work, and it has nice little side shelves. So I thought to myself, hey, I could put this to good use as a cabinet to put all my welding stuff in. So I asked the lady if she even has a ball park estimate for what she wants for it, just trying to not be rude and throw her a number that was insulting (knowing that I didn't want to spend a fortune on it). And I have no idea how much something like this costs new, but I know how much tool chests and side cabinets for chests costs so I figured it wasn't cheap. She responded, "like... maybe $50..?" and before she finished the word dollars I said DEAL. I felt like that was more than fair. This thing is awesome. And I'm not much for shiny things so I don't mind the cosmetic issues. It serves its function very well as I know have great organization for my small collection of welding supplies.

 

[Outlawmws]

That looks like a nice cabinet - looks to be beefy.

 

[RTM]

Like those inside shelves. Nifty feature

 

[BigLeagueSmoes]

That looks like a nice cabinet - looks to be beefy.

It is quite stout

 

[mikeinri]

Cool, nice find!

Mike

 

[gpw_42]

Nice scores by BigLeague and BB!

BigLeague, you might want to put a brick under each corner to get air up under your cabinet. That'll help prevent further NEW rust, especially if you replace the bottom as you're considering. Nicely organized gear.

 

[mikeinri]

BigLeague, you might want to put a brick under each corner to get air up under your cabinet. That'll help prevent further NEW rust, especially if you replace the bottom as you're considering.

Bricks? Good idea. I have some cabinets sitting on concrete. Was thinking about putting them up on 2x4s, is that a bad idea?

Mike

 

[BigLeagueSmoes]

Bricks? Good idea. I have some cabinets sitting on concrete. Was thinking about putting them up on 2x4s, is that a bad idea?

Mike

2x4 are okay, but will wick and hold water more than a masonry material. In theory the 2x4 could retain water and then the metal base would be sitting on moist wood and could further rust... But that's under extreme wet conditions. Most of the time the 2x4 will dry if it gets wet.

 

[cmccuist1]

I finally got the locked drawers open on my $60 snap on toolbox. There was an assortment of wrenches and sockets in there, including this batch of Snap On sockets, Snap On 90° screwdriver, and a Blue Point 90° Phillips screwdriver.

 

[stormking]

a little find at an uncommon Thursday sale.
T by https://www.flickr.com/photos/119819727@N06/, on Flickr

 

[mikeinri]

2x4 are okay, but will wick and hold water more than a masonry material. In theory the 2x4 could retain water and then the metal base would be sitting on moist wood and could further rust... But that's under extreme wet conditions. Most of the time the 2x4 will dry if it gets wet.

Thanks.

Mike

 

[stormking]

A little different pic. Somebody was a talented whittler.
T by https://www.flickr.com/photos/119819727@N06/, on Flickr

 

[Outlawmws]

Are the heads metal?

 

[BFBOB]

Bricks? Good idea. I have some cabinets sitting on concrete. Was thinking about putting them up on 2x4s, is that a bad idea?

Mike

Bad idea -wood (and bricks too) wick up water. Use tiles - I have some quarry tiles about 6x6 and close to an inch thick. I use them to keep stuff up off the wet floor. They're impervious to water

 

[Old Radar]

Last week I was poking around the garage at an estate sale when I spied a large ½” breaker bar, ratchet and speeder. At a quick glance, it looked like they were stamped WAR MASTER. That sounded interesting so I looked closer and found the stamp was actually WARDMAST’R. Never heard of that but I was swift enough to put WARD and the ‘R together and realized these were old Montgomery Ward branded tools. I don’t collect MW tools but have always wondered at their marketing predilection of dropping the E from their brand names—POWR-KRAFT—at least with these they used an apostrophe so you would know it was not a type-setting screw-up. Anyway, I put them back on the table and continued poking around. I then came across a beat up old tool box for $45 with double lids with piano hinges on each side—like a cheap version of a GMTK. I opened it up and saw a lot of tools with a healthy heaping of junk—always a good sign!

As I hunkered down to look through it, I kept seeing WARDMAST’R, WARDMAST’R, WARDMAST’R. Long story, short, I jumped up and grabbed the three drive tools back off the table. Even though I don’t look for MW branded tools, I had a pretty good feeling this was a nearly complete set—and who passes that up when you stumble over it?

I went back to the proprietor who was keeping the entry to the sale bottled up and talking a blue streak to the crowd waiting to get in (he is an auctioneer—go figure…) and I waited for him to take a breath. I caught his attention and explained I was interested in the toolbox, but that it had a lot of junk in it for $45 (I put a grimace on my face) and that the three drive tools, priced separately, were actually part of the set. I said I’d be willing to take the box for $40 if the drive tools were included. He told one of his guys to write it up.

I got home and inventoried the WARDMAST’R items and started bending the box back into shape. I found a 1956 MW Spring & Summer Catalog on Archive.org and was able to verify that I had a complete WARDMAST’R 30-piece set, including the Heavy Duty Steel Box, extra strong for heavy industrial use. (I had to laugh at the box description because I’ve seen Batman lunchboxes with thicker gauge steel). The tools themselves cleaned up very nicely. Except for a few scratches on a couple of sockets, they seem very lightly used. The only anomaly is the ratchet. Although it looks like a WARDMAST’R, it is actually labeled POWR-KRAFT 100. I expect it may have been a warranty exchange.






Also included is what appears to be a very early set of Craftsman =V= DOEs, including the 19/32 & 25/32 openings.



Here’s the rest of what was in the tool box, minus most of the junk.



Items of interest:

12-3/4" TUFFY Screw driver from the Swallow Airplane Co. Wichita, KS; Patents Pending (D142,982 Nov 27, 1945) For those interested, this site has a lot of detail about it: https://sabertoothowl.blogspot.com/2007/01/swallow-airplane-co.html
Large Phillips from TG&Y!
First bicycle wrench is stamped WALD. Curved one has no markings.
Four very nice Craftsman =V= ½”d deep sockets including 25/32
Four Tru-Fit DBEs
Winchester 1204 wrench (above the offset screw drivers) double stamped but the Winchester stamp is almost invisible.
Craftsman Circle-Y Lady Foot prybar
Beefiest spark plug gap gauge I've seen--goes up to .080.
All the chisels are mushroomed and/or chipped and/or bent--PO was definitely a **** to chisels!

 

[bmwrd0]

I hit an estate sale, a yard sale and two restores today, here are my finds:

From the yard sale, which showed tools, hunting and camping stuff in the ad. Not much of interest in the later two, but I found some Snap-on chisels, P&C impact sockets (with tray) 4" Cresent, Proto LA taper punch, Plomb 1/4 socket, and a cool, old bottle opener. Also, this vise:

It needs a little work, but for a tenner I couldn't pass it up.

The estate sale yielded a few things:

An unused set of Stanley chisels, Stanley ball pein, early P&C DBE, and a gold pan.

And finally, the two Restores gave up the following:

Tommy bar, Blackhawk extension, Dunlap wrench, and a Proto 1lbs pein.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

12-3/4" TUFFY Screw driver from the Swallow Airplane Co. Wichita, KS; Patents Pending (D142,982 Nov 27, 1945) For those interested, this site has a lot of detail about it: https://sabertoothowl.blogspot.com/2007/01/swallow-airplane-co.html

We also have a very good thread down in GJ Vintageland with lots of examples and info. It's in the Sticky Index.

 

[saukit]

Took the rest of the week off and spent some time running around today. First place was a bust when the estate sale co that advertised tools informed us that the garage had not been sorted and was off limits. So I left, I had a bit of time to kill and I found myself in a Goodwill Outlet. That was an adventure, it was just a big empty warehouse with huge bins full of goodwill junk and a bunch of people pawing through it all. I couldn't leave this little lunchbox thing behind when I saw the fishing gear in it. You pay by weight at the Goodwill Outlet apparently, and this was $3 worth of scrap.





After the fishing detour I went by the sale I was waiting on to open, turned out to be the worst hoarder house I've been in for quite a while. Garbage everywhere and the pickers had trashed the place, I was fully expecting to run across a rat. I picked up this screwdriver and was struck by how heavy it was, so I took it home along with a few craftsman wrenches for a buck. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the logo, this is the first Stanley Sweetheart piece I've found that wasn't a plane. Unfortunately the handle's trashed but it seems pretty solid.

 

[LesserSon]

Bad idea -wood (and bricks too) wick up water. Use tiles - I have some quarry tiles about 6x6 and close to an inch thick. I use them to keep stuff up off the wet floor. They're impervious to water

BigLeague
It depends on the brick, and equally so on the quarry tile.
Face brick is high-fire ceramic / vitrified, making it impermiable. I think this is the type gpw_42 meant.
There are also many low-fire ceramic bricks for various applications, and brick-shaped pavers, which are concrete-based (not ceramic), all of which will wick moisture.
The quarry tiles I have seen are terra cotta (a low-fire clay base) with an applied sealer (possibly an acrylic), making the finished surface water-resistant, but not the clay body. If the sealer were scratched or otherwise failed, they would wick moisture.
I hesitate to suggest the tongue test for objects of unknown cleanliness, though it is useful for distinguishing vitrified and nonvitrified ceramic. Basically, the tongue will stick to nonvitrified surfaces, as they wick the saliva. On vitrified (and on sealed) surfaces, the saliva just sits there until it evaporates into the air. You could just dab some water onto a brick or tile, and check visually. If the water continues to glisten, it is not being absorbed. If the surface darkens and the water sheen becomes dull, it has absorbed the water and will wick moisture.

 

[BigLeagueSmoes]

BigLeague
It depends on the brick, and equally so on the quarry tile.
Face brick is high-fire ceramic / vitrified, making it impermiable. I think this is the type gpw_42 meant.
There are also many low-fire ceramic bricks for various applications, and brick-shaped pavers, which are concrete-based (not ceramic), all of which will wick moisture.
The quarry tiles I have seen are terra cotta (a low-fire clay base) with an applied sealer (possibly an acrylic), making the finished surface water-resistant, but not the clay body. If the sealer were scratched or otherwise failed, they would wick moisture.
I hesitate to suggest the tongue test for objects of unknown cleanliness, though it is useful for distinguishing vitrified and nonvitrified ceramic. Basically, the tongue will stick to nonvitrified surfaces, as they wick the saliva. On vitrified (and on sealed) surfaces, the saliva just sits there until it evaporates into the air. You could just dab some water onto a brick or tile, and check visually. If the water continues to glisten, it is not being absorbed. If the surface darkens and the water sheen becomes dull, it has absorbed the water and will wick moisture.

I'm not terribly concerned about keeping it off the ground. It is now inside a nice climate controlled shop, with sloped floors and floor drains. It is far away form any water source, and if water were to ever flood the building, or get high enough on the floor to reach the cabinet, I will have much bigger problems to worry about, MUCH bigger and I will be much more aware of what gets put inside of it than the previous owner was (i.e. no dripping wet boots or soggy cardboard or things of that nature). Thanks for the info though. I worked in the hardscape landscaping world for many years building retaining walls, fireplaces, patios, driveways, very familiar with different bricks, pavers, clays, natural stones etc. However I've never used the tongue test before to test for vitrified surfaces, that's a new one! If i were to ever prop it up for any reason, my first choice would probably be a busted up plastic pallet I have laying around. Either use the entire pallet or cut some pieces off and block up the corners. But for now it'll remain on the floor

 

[four.cycle]

Old Radar - that's quite the find there.
That stamped-steel wrench on the left (in your "group photo") looks like a Wald.
And yes - "Wardmast'r" confused me the first time I saw the name - I thought it was some sort of counterfeit!
That set was made by Duro/Indestro - really nice stuff.

Saukit - is that Mitchell 300 still in operational order? Bail spring working properly?

 

[Raineman]

OR-Nice dig. The Wardmastr ratchets are out there. I sold one recently on the auction site, cheap enough. I'll check to see if I have another, I know I had 2 at one point in time. (EDIT: I looked, no dice)

 

[Smokeshow69]

Last week I was poking around the garage at an estate sale when I spied a large ½” breaker bar, ratchet and speeder. At a quick glance, it looked like they were stamped WAR MASTER. That sounded interesting so I looked closer and found the stamp was actually WARDMAST’R. Never heard of that but I was swift enough to put WARD and the ‘R together and realized these were old Montgomery Ward branded tools. I don’t collect MW tools but have always wondered at their marketing predilection of dropping the E from their brand names—POWR-KRAFT—at least with these they used an apostrophe so you would know it was not a type-setting screw-up. Anyway, I put them back on the table and continued poking around. I then came across a beat up old tool box for $45 with double lids with piano hinges on each side—like a cheap version of a GMTK. I opened it up and saw a lot of tools with a healthy heaping of junk—always a good sign!

As I hunkered down to look through it, I kept seeing WARDMAST’R, WARDMAST’R, WARDMAST’R. Long story, short, I jumped up and grabbed the three drive tools back off the table. Even though I don’t look for MW branded tools, I had a pretty good feeling this was a nearly complete set—and who passes that up when you stumble over it?

I went back to the proprietor who was keeping the entry to the sale bottled up and talking a blue streak to the crowd waiting to get in (he is an auctioneer—go figure…) and I waited for him to take a breath. I caught his attention and explained I was interested in the toolbox, but that it had a lot of junk in it for $45 (I put a grimace on my face) and that the three drive tools, priced separately, were actually part of the set. I said I’d be willing to take the box for $40 if the drive tools were included. He told one of his guys to write it up.

I got home and inventoried the WARDMAST’R items and started bending the box back into shape. I found a 1956 MW Spring & Summer Catalog on Archive.org and was able to verify that I had a complete WARDMAST’R 30-piece set, including the Heavy Duty Steel Box, extra strong for heavy industrial use. (I had to laugh at the box description because I’ve seen Batman lunchboxes with thicker gauge steel). The tools themselves cleaned up very nicely. Except for a few scratches on a couple of sockets, they seem very lightly used. The only anomaly is the ratchet. Although it looks like a WARDMAST’R, it is actually labeled POWR-KRAFT 100. I expect it may have been a warranty exchange.






Also included is what appears to be a very early set of Craftsman =V= DOEs, including the 19/32 & 25/32 openings.



Here’s the rest of what was in the tool box, minus most of the junk.



Items of interest:

12-3/4" TUFFY Screw driver from the Swallow Airplane Co. Wichita, KS; Patents Pending (D142,982 Nov 27, 1945) For those interested, this site has a lot of detail about it: https://sabertoothowl.blogspot.com/2007/01/swallow-airplane-co.html
Large Phillips from TG&Y!
First bicycle wrench is stamped WALD. Curved one has no markings.
Four very nice Craftsman =V= ½”d deep sockets including 25/32
Four Tru-Fit DBEs
Winchester 1204 wrench (above the offset screw drivers) double stamped but the Winchester stamp is almost invisible.
Craftsman Circle-Y Lady Foot prybar
Beefiest spark plug gap gauge I've seen--goes up to .080.
All the chisels are mushroomed and/or chipped and/or bent--PO was definitely a **** to chisels!

That wardsmastr set is made by Indestro. There were several companies who made their tools including the wright and the plomb subsidiary pennens. Nice pull for the price!

 

[txlonghorn1989]

I was going to ask saukit if that was a Mitchell 300 but maybe four.cycle has already identified it. Nice find on the lunchbox and fishing gear. Mepps spinners have always been a favorite of mine and those Garcia Mitchell spinning reels are excellent.

 

[MisterEd]

Today's adventure was one of those deceased husband estate sales; Vietnam era Navy Corpsman (because someone has to take care of the Marines).

Three Griswold pieces and a Wagner. Oh . . . and a Stubby Screwdriver.

 

[four.cycle]

"I was going to ask saukit if that was a Mitchell 300..."

I could well be off a number or two... looks like a 300 though.

Do you collect Mitchells ??

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I was on TDY at Ft Huachuca this week, and I am counting it as one very long extended pick (Lugz 2022_14).

I arrived on Monday. On my way to 143 Street Tacos (see Pic 1) on foot, I hit a guns-and-gear type pawnshop right outside Buffalo Soldier gate. My expectations were very low, which is why I was so excited to find an older (guessing 50s) Wiggy in its original leather case, which has a really nice Square D logo on it (see Pic 2). You know what's going in the case!

Today, on my way to the Tucson airport, I hit my second hand tool shop stop, where I promptly sold the Wiggy for twice what I paid for it, which took a dent out of the price of the tools I bought (see Pic 3).

I spent a good two hours scrounging in bins, roto-bins, and boxes only to put half of what I found back, when I found out the guy I normally deal with passed away, and the new guy wouldn't give me any bulk discount. It's funny how these places go, though. I'm sure you've all experienced similar. They killed me on the Herbrand (long reach) and Armstrong (15* x 22-1/2* angles) tappet wrenches (which I'm sure they're thinking have more user value), and practically gave away the Duro midget set (everything on the right is Duro and the sockets are all -D-I-, the lone socket and rat are Crafty BE 3/8-dr), the K-D adjustable hack saw, and the alligators (TBD). The funky socket thingie on the right, which I haven't fully figured out, is NAF.

 

[saukit]

Saukit - is that Mitchell 300 still in operational order? Bail spring working properly?

I was going to ask saukit if that was a Mitchell 300 but maybe four.cycle has already identified it. Nice find on the lunchbox and fishing gear. Mepps spinners have always been a favorite of mine and those Garcia Mitchell spinning reels are excellent.

Here's a pic, looks like a Mitchell 308.

4cycle, the bail works properly, it stays open and flicks closed when you reel. Drag seems fine and it reels without any loud grinding noises It's a bit draggy to reel but I'm probably comparing it to a 12 bearing Shimano which isn't really fair.

If you want it let me know, I'm not attached and mainly just grabbed it to rescue it from the landfill. It definitely has lots of that 80's vintage charm!

 

[four.cycle]

^ ahhh! I thought it was the larger 300, sorry. I don't need any more! I have about two dozen old Mitchell reels now, and at least that many trout rods!
That 308 is nice little unit. Put some light mono line on it and try it out.

 

[saukit]

^ ahhh! I thought it was the larger 300, sorry. I don't need any more! I have about two dozen old Mitchell reels now, and at least that many trout rods!
That 308 is nice little unit. Put some light mono line on it and try it out.

Ha! I’m with you on the whole too many reels/rods thing! This one will go to a good home so my kids don’t drag it around the beach.

 

[mikeinri]

I know almost (OK, actually) nothing about fishing, but is the drag adjustable on that reel?

Mike

 

[Outlawmws]

Yep it is. the "wing nut" on the front of the spool adjusts it. The button in the middle releases the whole spool and you can quickly swap them out. They also, at least in the 300's/larger reels, made deep and shallow spools (using light line, or heavy?)

 

[d42jeep]

I was on TDY at Ft Huachuca this week, and I am counting it as one very long extended pick (Lugz 2022_14).

I arrived on Monday. On my way to 143 Street Tacos (see Pic 1) on foot, I hit a guns-and-gear type pawnshop right outside Buffalo Soldier gate. My expectations were very low, which is why I was so excited to find an older (guessing 50s) Wiggy in its original leather case, which has a really nice Square D logo on it (see Pic 2). You know what's going in the case!

Today, on my way to the Tucson airport, I hit my second hand tool shop stop, where I promptly sold the Wiggy for twice what I paid for it, which took a dent out of the price of the tools I bought (see Pic 3).

I spent a good two hours scrounging in bins, roto-bins, and boxes only to put half of what I found back, when I found out the guy I normally deal with passed away, and the new guy wouldn't give me any bulk discount. It's funny how these places go, though. I'm sure you've all experienced similar. They killed me on the Herbrand (long reach) and Armstrong (15* x 22-1/2* angles) tappet wrenches (which I'm sure they're thinking have more user value), and practically gave away the Duro midget set (everything on the right is Duro and the sockets are all -D-I-, the lone socket and rat are Crafty BE 3/8-dr), the K-D adjustable hack saw, and the alligators (TBD). The funky socket thingie on the right, which I haven't fully figured out, is NAF.

The funky socket thingie is an aircraft spark plug socket. Here is a Snap-on one from my NAF box.
We finally ventured out to our first estate sale of the year. I was happy to see everyone masked up.
-Don
Here is a Bell System marked screwdriver from Irwin
The Vise-grips are in the evaporust
The Diamond pliers and Stanley chisel cleaned up well

 

[txlonghorn1989]

I could well be off a number or two... looks like a 300 though.

Do you collect Mitchells ??

I wouldn't say I collect them. I have picked up a 300 and a 308 in the last few months. The 308 I plan to use. I love fishing ultralight.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

Don Good to hear you got out to a sale and everyone was still wearing their masks. What is the driver just above the Stanley chisel? I've got one that looks just like that. Not sure why I've never gotten rid of it. I can't recall right now if it's marked or not.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The funky socket thingie is an aircraft spark plug socket. Here is a Snap-on one from my NAF box.

What's the purpose of the free-spinning ring in the middle, Don? That's the only aspect I couldn't figure out. I was thinking maybe something like a rotating grip on an extension, but it's not as if you could grab it while spinning what I assume is a bar through the cross-drilled hole on the back end. I was going to look it up when I returned. Taking the red eye!

 

[d42jeep]

I believe that the spark plug must be down a deep recess and the ring keeps the socket centered to prevent breakage. Hopefully one of our aircraft mechanics will be able to shed more light on what aircraft they were used on.
-Don

 

[d42jeep]

Don Good to hear you got out to a sale and everyone was still wearing their masks. What is the driver just above the Stanley chisel? I've got one that looks just like that. Not sure why I've never gotten rid of it. I can't recall right now if it's marked or not.

I’m not sure what brand it is. I’m gathering some likely screwdrivers to use as handle donors for spinners whose original handles have self destructed. Here is one I’ve done in the past.
-Don

 

[wrenchguy]

Its deep close quarters to the somewhat fragile aluminum cooling fins. Aircooled engine.
edit, I don't think aviation plugs at that time were porcelain.
edit,edit, maybe not aluminum.

 

[bmwrd0]

I hit four estate sales yesterday, and one used book sale. The first two sales were more trouble than worth, and I only picked up the Proto LA 5469 flex speeder. I have one but didn't want to leave that behind. The third sale had some good tools, but the seller had no idea how to market them, so I didn't get there soon enough. Oh, well, so it goes. But I picked up the Distton D8 with a good etching (1896-1917) and the set of Crafty line wrenches. The next stop is where I picked up the Proto nut driver set, unused! But it still has the smell, not too surprising for 40yo handles. Also got some fine wire and targets.


The book sale was great though, and I should have started there!

Four original SF magazines from the Forties! If you look at the pic closely, you can see some of the author names; these are the brightest lights of the golden age of SF. Also, I picked this up

I will put more pics up in the Books thread, but it is from before WWII, has full-color spreads and diagrams of all the systems of a ship: Boilers, Refrigeration, Gas Engines, etc.