2022 Garage Sale Thread

[Old Radar]

Similar to Beemer's tale above, my drive today was longer than expected because the sale was farther than the area mentioned in the ad, before the address was revealed. And although the sale was "professionally" run, when I walked in the door a large farmer-looking guy in overalls was venting his spleen at the staff, accusing them of unprofessional conduct. Turns out he had driven 100 miles that morning for the purpose of buying a drill press only to be told when he initiated the buy, that it had already been sold at a pre-sale. His beef was the company had neither bothered to mention a pre-sale nor remove the DP from the ad afterwards. The only saving grace (in my unexpressed view) was the DP was Taiwanese.

The long haul produced a small haul for $13.



-- Long C CM Needle Nose and Angled Side Cutter and two(!!) 1/4" Tommy Bars
-- HK Porter era 6' Disston tape measure
-- Starrett 275-6" Toolmakers' Spring-Type Caliper
-- Vintage Starrett Combo Square minus Center Finder and Scribe. Interestingly, while I was cleaning up the parts of the square I noticed the shafts of the locking bolts had patent info stamped into them. The older square head (edge stamped Starrett-Hardened) has Pat. Pend on the locking bolt shaft while the protractor head (edge stamped The L.S. Starrett Co., etc. No. 490) has the number 2,488,440 pertaining to Titanium Dioxide Pigment Production.

At the second sale, I have to pat myself on the back for not caving to the offer of filling a bag and paying $25 for tools and items I was not overly excited about. It was a near thing, though. Ultimately, after hemming and hawing, I came away with only two new-ish pipe fitting brushes for $1.

 

[Madjik Man]

Maybe not the best steals but it's two things I really wanted and got cheap.

Always wanted Turbo Sockets (or any other brand name thereof) and have the Rocketsocket saved in a cart but came across these and thought the $10 was a good deal. I think I've heard of Kimball Midwest, looked them up on GJ real quick to confirm. It really only looks like the 1/2" had any sort of use. The others look untouched.

I just hope the blow molded case isn't the only thing Made in the USA

Also wanted to upgrade the digital caliper to a Mitutoyo but could never justify the price for a DIYer like me. Grab this set for $15. It slides smooth and when I tested it out by zeroing it, opening it up as far as it would go then closing it, it read 0.00 again. Sold.



Kimball Midwest Turbo Torq Extractor 82200 ($10)
Mitutoyo 500-196 ($15)

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I hit Kent's today in Tucson on my way to the airport. Semi-regular stop for me when I go TDY to Ft Huachuca. Old, old, old long time grungy used tool/swap shop place on E. Grant. Ended up putting half of the things in my bucket back after the guy rang it up, piece by piece by piece. I'm like, "Dude. There's alot there. I was thinking X$." He just shrugged. "New rules." I miss Butch, the guy who used to work the front. Very disappointed, but happy with the haul (Lugz 2022_39), mainly trade bait or gifts.



Early Clark-Feather made spark plug gapped is branded CORNWELL.

Fleet slip joints.

Mess o' swivels includes Walden, Bog, wartime Wright, an SK, and the mysterious [S.R.].

 

[Private Lugnutz]

And if the new pricing wasn't enough to piss me off, this sign out front, which kinda makes the word anathema look like an understatement on this thread, certainly was!

 

[RTM]

I have no idea what the Panavise with spring loaded frame is for but at $5 I couldn't leave it behind.

Holding printed circuit board, for soldering I assume.

 

[Shiftless]

I picked up a nasty old suitcase (free) because I figured that somebody would want the nice leather handle. No picture of the suitcase (my visiting 7 y.o. grandson had fun smashing it with a hammer) but here is the handle. If you want it, check the GJ classifieds.

 

[alinc100]

Went back AGAIN to the Craftsman NOS sale. Today was the last day,will resume some weekend in September. poked and prodded and found these items:

 

[Outlawmws]

Wow lots of stories lately! Good finds too!

OR when I saw the pic of the Starrett square I was thinking an early version - Nice find!

For me it was two dollar day: I slipped out for an Estate sale, getting there about 9:30 then found a late YS after 4 PM!

Spent exactly $2 at each one.


Estate sale: 2 Prop bottles, and a clamp on rail style vise




Then in the afternoon I dug these out of junk boxes, except the Klein's and the all steel BP (My 4th, all slightly different...), which someone had pulled out and were in the grass.

Some light rope, Wire bender, tongs for I think sterilizing canning jars, a couple of countersinks, adn after when OI was asking if he had any of X, Y or Z, he came up with the Aladdin box with a mantle for free - Unfortunately the mantle is broken
p

 

[3baygarage]

Went back AGAIN to the Craftsman NOS sale. Today was the last day,will resume some weekend in September. poked and prodded and found these items:

That looks like a serious Craftsman collector.

Nice find on the OTC ratchet wrench.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...

 

[Shiftless]

...

Looks like a glass of beer in front of the camera. The setting look a lot like a school classroom.
?????

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Looks like a glass of beer in front of the camera.

Yup. When my posts don't summon a peep, my fallback is always a glass of beer. In this case, the Thunder Canyon Doble Diablo at the Tucson airport!

 

[gpw_42]

... at the Tucson airport!

Almost cross-posted that, but you beat me to the punch. At least my sniffer calibration isn't out to lunch, lol.

Looks like you had some decent scores at Kent's. That wasn't on my radar when I was in/out of Tucson semi-routinely. Glad it was never this time of year, yikes!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Glad it was never this time of year, yikes!

No, this is actually a nice time of year here in the high mountain desert. It's monsoon season and all the storms rolling in across the mountains from Mexico bring cooler air with them. And the flickering lightning behind the clouds at night with almost zero light pollution are amazing.

 

[alinc100]

That looks like a serious Craftsman collector.

Nice find on the OTC ratchet wrench.

Place was nuts with NOS.... Is the OTC valuable?collectible?desirable? They had a second one there I could grab in the Sept. sale it was $3. I only bought it because I don't see them in the wild ,I only see them in your posts

 

[Old Radar]

When my posts don't summon a peep, my fallback is always a glass of beer

Didn't figure you for an instant gratification guy. Hey, it's Saturday and baring any sales, I like to sleep in a bit.

I've only been to Ft. Huachuca once, over a decade ago. All I remember is the long drive time between different areas on the Fort and visiting an old iron bridge (RR I think) that had no road or tracks leading to it from either end.

 

[ecotec]

Almost got skunked. Spent $1…

 

[Provincial]

Nice picks on the rebound, bmw!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I've only been to Ft. Huachuca once, over a decade ago. All I remember is the long drive time between different areas on the Fort and visiting an old iron bridge (RR I think) that had no road or tracks leading to it from either end.

Hmm. Are you sure you weren't drinking doble diablos?

Seriously, I've spent considerable time at Ft Huachuca off and on for many reasons (school, training, testing, exercises, etc) since the 90s and one week every month for the past 7 years and that's not ringing any bells.

There are a few small iron foot bridges over washes that can seem kind of odd and conspicuously unnecessary in the dry season.

Conversely, there are a few areas with abandoned RR tracks that seem weirdly out of place. Just a few decrepit ballasts and very short sections of rail. I'm wondering if this is what you remember. Not everyone knows about them or where to even find them, so someone who knows Fort Huachuca well showed you or you ran into by accident. They are pieces of the old El Paso & South Western Railroad that became part of the Southern Pacific. A branch from the Benson-Douglas line at Lewis Springs that went to Sierra Vista (then still known as Fry) and terminating at a SP station on Fort Huachuca. My best guess would be that maybe there's an abandoned bridge I am not aware of.

EDIT: I just called a long-time friend and colleague who retired as a CW4 there and works there as a DAC now. He thinks you're talking about a low timber and iron trestle in the Gatewood Housing area. No tracks and no road on either end. They left it and built the housing around it.

 

[3baygarage]

Place was nuts with NOS.... Is the OTC valuable?collectible?desirable? They had a second one there I could grab in the Sept. sale it was $3. I only bought it because I don't see them in the wild ,I only see them in your posts

Yeah I don't see many either. I wouldn't say they're particularly any of the above, I just think they're neat. Have a few wrenches in "ratchet" handles from OTC, Snap-On, Proto.

 

[Outlawmws]

4 planned stops LOTS of TOO's not many things worth getting...

1t stop Yamaha Phillips - TOO 2 SK sockets, Screw starter - TOO thermometer, mini Coke Glass - TOO Blue bottle

$5.25 all told:




TOO - $10 Banjira or Miniature Sitar

 

[LesserSon]

The **** chisels are Utica, a novelty to me.

A mystery to me no longer after today. Mayhew has been making chisels since the 1850s. This one is identical in every respect but the logo to those Utica-branded ones. I wasn’t going to buy it, then remembered the 1/4” Utica was snapped.

 

[LesserSon]

Hit Jake’s Flea, then a nearby church flea, finally the small flea outside Weil Antiques.
$25 for this May 1965 1/3hp block grinder, which I cannot post for some dumb “Oops! We ran into some [undisclosed] problems” reason. Well, here’s the label, anyway…It has one cracked-glass steel-rimmed eyeshield, missing the other, and missing both outside wheel enclosure caps, of which I have extras.
The rest was $12.

I have an identical but incomplete ratdriver set, to which I’ve been adding Taiwan sockets.
Turns out they should be Japan!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

The rest...

Nice find on the Botnick ratcheting screwdriver.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

...Kent's. That wasn't on my radar when I was in/out of Tucson semi-routinely.

It wasn't on mine, either, by the way, until mid year 2019, when MR. X kindly (or cruelly, depending on your perspective!) tipped me off to it. I've been keeping a regular tally of my gleanings from that particular source ever since then on a separate thread down on the VB that you may not have seen, linked here.

 

[BlueBomber]

Normally, I don't post "found-along-the-roadside" finds when it is my own stuff, but I do when I find additional stuff!

When the oil breather cap fell out of the Corvette engine compartment after some, uhm, vigorous acceleration coming home from a car show last night, I went back today to walk the roadside where I heard it hit the pavement and ting-t-ting-ting into the weeds. I found it, thankfully, and also harvested two golf balls, possible escapees from a nearby driving range. When I got home, SWMBO asked "Why?!". A fair question, since I don't play golf. "You never know!" was my reply, which is the same exchange we've had on many things I've brought home.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I found it, thankfully, and also harvested two golf balls, possible escapees from a nearby driving range.

I bet the smile on your face was bigger than the smiles on the lost balls! (You might not get that lingo if you don't golf...)

EDIT: Good segue for old picker story, though. My Uncle Dutch was a mushroom harvester. He always had gobs of them in various stages of being dried or frozen. One of his favorite haunts were the woods surrounding golf courses. In the process, he found A LOT of balls. I mean, his garage was loaded with every imaginable receptacle, including 50 gallon drums. Which he would then sell by the bucket to golfers for practice.

 

[Madjik Man]

I need help with some of the acronyms

TOO
NOS (new old stock?)

 

[d42jeep]

Target of Opportunity. I wish I had seen any today. Only one yard sale with a few tools.
The spinner is kind of interesting. Marked Chrysler Motors Corp. Master Tech Award. Username tells me that it was made by Bonney.
-Don

 

[Old Man Roger]

Normally, I don't post "found-along-the-roadside" finds when it is my own stuff, but I do when I find additional stuff!

When the oil breather cap fell out of the Corvette engine compartment after some, uhm, vigorous acceleration coming home from a car show last night, I went back today to walk the roadside where I heard it hit the pavement and ting-t-ting-ting into the weeds. I found it, thankfully, and also harvested two golf balls, possible escapees from a nearby driving range. When I got home, SWMBO asked "Why?!". A fair question, since I don't play golf. "You never know!" was my reply, which is the same exchange we've had on many things I've brought home.

I'm told they make good file handles.

 

[Davefr]

The planned stops were pretty much a bust but we did OK "free ranging".

The machinist tools were all super cheap. The most expensive item was the Fowler magnetic digital protractor for $15. Pretty much everything else was .50-1.00/ea. The machinist square were from England and Korea. The Korean is really stout.



I can understand the usefulness of the short end of this Bondhus Hex Pro Torx driver set but why the bit at the long end?



The clamps were all $1.00/ea except for the Starrett at .50. Are these Kant Twist clamps very useful?


$1.00 ea for these. I've never seen Hunter before. Is this for the alignment machines?



Ancient US Army Shovel. It looks like it predates the fold out blade style. WW1???


A tub of stainless steel Torx screws for $10.



At the last stop was this Bonney tool chest in really nice shape for $20. Don't need it but couldn't resist.

 

[Outlawmws]

OMG Dave:

Thou Suckith THIS MUCH!

​

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Ancient US Army Shovel. It looks like it predates the fold out blade style. WW1???

Yes, Dave. Good intuition.

Technically, and not to be picayune, it's a Model 1910 (M-1910) Intrenching Tool. They became known much later on as entrenching tools, and E tools for short. The T handle is for carrying in the haversack, under the meat can pouch, which had a canvas tab with eyelets for the T. They were used in the Interwar years and were still in the system right up through WWII, when they were re-designed to fold. But those serifs on the "U.S." are a WWI tell. Yours is a beautiful example, with black finish metal and natural wood. Most end up being slathered in OD green by a militaria community that tends to want to slather everything in OD green.

That would make a great museum quality preservation project!

 

[3baygarage]

Nice haul Dave.

Hunter brand- what I know about he name is it turns up on generic Japan socket sets and wrenches, and some ratchet are twins of Truecraft. That wrench (neat looking wrench) has the look of a Japan wrench me. A quick Ebay search has a 1/4 Japan socket set, and the label shows Hunter as what appears to be a division of Marshall Industries (whatever that is) El Monte, California. A mini wrench set package says Santa Fe Springs, CA.

There are certainly Hunter alignment tools, but idk if the two are related.

 

[Outlawmws]

Dave, the Army shovel may be WWII I recently was told some T handle shovels were issued, but I have not been able to verify yet.

It was used in France in WWI for sure (same shovel?)

EDIT - Lugz is faster and more knowledgeable than I!

 

[Outlawmws]

And the "Cant Twist clamps are used by welders and fabricators, and the copper tops keep them from being welded in place. Great buy! they are expensive!

the long end of the torx - sue as a spinner after either breaking loose or initial installation. another nice find!

 

[83VillageRepair]

I hit Kent's today in Tucson on my way to the airport. Semi-regular stop for me when I go TDY to Ft Huachuca.

Never really had a desire to return to Tucson or Ft Huachuca until now ...

 

[83VillageRepair]

Holding printed circuit board, for soldering I assume.

I was issued one when I went to US Navy 2M soldering school in the 80s and yes for repairing circuit boards. Very handy

 

[joseywales]

Well we haven't been yard sailing, etc. in quite a while. We went to a regular flea market to get my inlaws out and about. I wasn't expecting many deals. It was hit or miss, but the hits were strong.

Craftsman 12 piece metric wrench set. As new. Made in Japan, so 70/80s? $8. Man, these have much smoother edges than my mid-80s USA from my early days as a mechanic. I'm glad I grabbed these.

Craftsman 14 piece (11) standard/metric nut driver set, mostly as new. one is roughed up and it's missing 3 drivers . $6, with the box. I'm not sure why I bought these... Honestly, some of the folks selling looked like they're falling on hard times. Several were actually younger, so it ruled out semi-retired folks.

 

[Davefr]

Guys, thanks for all the info!!