2026 Garage Sale Thread (15th Annual)

[WNYflyer]

I played with my father’s childhood toolish toys, and am just old enough to have had new toys made of steel with points and sharp edges. Among my younger family members, I witnessed the progression from wood&steel to hard plastic to soft plastic to foam.

I had a PowerMite Worksop tool set by Ideal Toys, no idea why my parents trusted me with them . Good thing my sister was 4 years older than me and stronger and faster at the time …just kidding….
Google them…….boy times have changed as you noted.

 

[Beerhippie]

Shoot--we had chemistry sets with enough oxidizers and reactants to reduce the average home to rubble!

If that wasn't enough, the local museum (OMSI) Science Store would sell said chemicals to anyone who walked in with a pocketful of money. Any idea what you can do with Potassium chlorate? Powdered metals? Oh, the fun we had....

Grade school libraries had books like The Boy's Book Of Rocketry!

I have ten fingers... amazing.

 

[gearhead1960]

Went to two sales today. The first sale isn't worth mentioning. The second sale advertised a shed with numerous tool boxes and tools. I headed straight out to the he-shed. Tools were the usual Craftsman/Stanley hand tools in mediocre shape or overpriced. I did spot this Craftsman Vise for $20 and figured it should come home with me...

After rummaging through the tool boxes and coming up empty, I started digging and looking under the benches and into the storage boxes and came up with an assortment of treasures....

After spotting gun cleaning gear, not that I needed any, I did find an assortment of tools I did not recognize, specifically what their purpose was, but knew enough to grab them. The lot was $12, so didn't think it was over priced....

Researching the unknown tools led to enlightenment:

This is a U.S. Model 1879 Springfield combination tool designed for .45-70 caliber trapdoor rifles. It serves as a wrench for maintaining and cleaning the musket.

This is a pair of original U.S. Military Model 1855 mainspring vise tool used for servicing firearms. It was designed for fitment on Model 1855 muskets and later trapdoor rifles.

This is a Hawken made percussion capper, used for black powder or muzzle-loading firearms. It is designed to hold and quickly seat percussion caps onto the ****** of a muzzle-loading rifle.

This is a U.S. military-issue combination tool for the Browning M1919 machine gun.

A vintage brass CVA Black Powder Flask, made in Italy. Completely full of black powder.

Haul also included a 7/8 full can of Brownell's Neatsfoot oil, and an Irwin #900 screw starter.

..and a J P Danielson 8" Monkey Wrench...

...the vintage gun tools will find their way onto the bay, eventually......unless someone speaks up.....all in all, some nice finds.

 

[Itinerant]

If that wasn't enough, the local museum (OMSI) Science Store would sell said chemicals to anyone who walked in with a pocketful of money. Any idea what you can do with Potassium chlorate? Powdered metals? Oh, the fun we had....

OMSI is one of my grandsons favorite places, love spending time with him there.

 

[3baygarage]

Made it to my favorite Habitat store today. An odd mix of tools this trip.

- some type of brace bit. Hoping RTM or others can weigh in. Looks a bit blacksmith-like. Some sort of tapered “scoop” with one saroer edge that would appear to do the work.
-Thorsen combo wrench
- Mac Sabina doe and Phillips screwdriver
-red plastic 3/8 spinner wheel
-tiny screwdriver with the handle I like
-Snap-On Pozidriv screwdriver. I snapped it in half testing it. The old style handle has “the disease”.
-Diamond M16 bent nose pliers
-Sargent Sportmate pliers. Can’t make out the rest.
-Sockets are oddball 1/4 dr WardMastr, 3/8 Wrigh hex bit minus the bit, Mastercraft 1/4” bit holder.
-Craftsman Long C chisel
-Superslim British Made 7/8 x 3/4 in excellent shape
-Last bit not least, a chopped up 7/16 hex drive Graham (Coudersport,PA) socket handle with three original sockets, and a socket cap, probably home made, that was with it. I really only grabbed the lot because the handle tells what the sockets are. I’d bet there were 5 sockets originally with the L handle. Graham had a handful of related patents. This one marked JAN 20 ‘20.

 

[Beerhippie]

Made it to my favorite Habitat store today. An odd mix of tools this trip.

- some type of brace bit. Hoping RTM or others can weigh in. Looks a bit blacksmith-like. Some sort of tapered “scoop” with one saroer edge that would appear to do the work.
-Thorsen combo wrench
- Mac Sabina doe and Phillips screwdriver
-red plastic 3/8 spinner wheel
-tiny screwdriver with the handle I like
-Snap-On Pozidriv screwdriver. I snapped it in half testing it. The old style handle has “the disease”.
-Diamond M16 bent nose pliers
-Sargent Sportmate pliers. Can’t make out the rest.
-Sockets are oddball 1/4 dr WardMastr, 3/8 Wrigh hex bit minus the bit, Mastercraft 1/4” bit holder.
-Craftsman Long C chisel
-Superslim British Made 7/8 x 3/4 in excellent shape
-Last bit not least, a chopped up 7/16 hex drive Graham (Coudersport,PA) socket handle with three original sockets, and a socket cap, probably home made, that was with it. I really only grabbed the lot because the handle tells what the sockets are. I’d bet there were 5 sockets originally with the L handle. Graham had a handful of related patents. This one marked JAN 20 ‘20.

The brace bit is a spoon bit. Commonly used by chair makers for the angled holes of the legs and back slats in the the seat.

OMSI is one of my grandsons favorite places, love spending time with him there.

Different OMSI, really. This was the old place up on the hill by the zoo. I spent much of my teens there, including participating in the summer programs.

 

[WisJim]

If that wasn't enough, the local museum (OMSI) Science Store would sell said chemicals to anyone who walked in with a pocketful of money. Any idea what you can do with Potassium chlorate? Powdered metals? Oh, the fun we had....

If I remember right, we used potassium chlorate and sugar, and powdered zinc and sulfur as rocket fuels, and the rockets were steel pipe with welded sheet metal fins and nozzles welded on. I'm surprised no one was killed or even injured.
And there was no apparent age requirement to buy ammunition or blasting powder and dynamite fuse at the corner hardware store.

 

[Beerhippie]

If I remember right, we used potassium chlorate and sugar, and powdered zinc and sulfur as rocket fuels, and the rockets were steel pipe with welded sheet metal fins and nozzles welded on. I'm surprised no one was killed or even injured.

We learned quick, and one of the most important lessons was to never put explosives or propellants in ANYTHING capable of producing Shrapnel. Cardboard or plastic film cans were our preferred casings. If we needed extra tamping for bigger BOOMS, we wrapped them in duct tape or fiberglass strapping tape. Works very well for Tannerite, too.

KClO4 and sugar rockets... that takes me back.

 

[Outlawmws]

The lot was $12, so didn't think it was over priced....

Yeah that's a USUCK deal!

 

[four.cycle]

.the vintage gun tools will find their way onto the bay, eventually......unless someone speaks up..

^ you sure that stuff doesn't belong in a museum somewhere?

wow.
what a find.

love the Danielson pipe wrench

 

[four.cycle]

-Last bit not least, a chopped up 7/16 hex drive Graham (Coudersport,PA) socket handle with three original sockets,

Graham / Graham Roller Bearing Corp., Coudersport, PA / "K.I.T" (pliers) "Curko" socket wrench / patent 1328428 Jan 20 1920 & D59417 Oct 18 1921 David F. Graham /

"Curko" - quite the find.

I don't think you're going to find a dedicated thread here for Curko or Graham, so here you you:

 

[3baygarage]

Thanks. I was reading about Curko at AA. I don't know if it's from that line. Sure looks like that No. 2 set! Now I'll be on the lookout for a good handle at least.

 

[3baygarage]

The brace bit is a spoon bit. Commonly used by chair makers for the angled holes of the legs and back slats in the the seat.

Ahh, thank you Beerhippie.

 

[gearhead1960]

^ you sure that stuff doesn't belong in a museum somewhere?

wow.
what a find.

love the Danielson pipe wrench

Most of the items are already being sold on the Bay. I don’t have a use for them and will likely put them up for auction at a reasonable starting price and let the market determine their value. The Hawken and the Browning 1919 tools seem to be rare. I’m not a collector, again will see if the market is interested in establishing a value. I’m sure the museum groups keep tabs on the market and bid when deemed important….

 

[four.cycle]

^ to be fair: I would have no clue as to their rarity - I don't know much about firearms other than how to use them.

 

[four.cycle]

I woke up pretty early this morning. Checked Craigslist and found five garage sales with 3 miles of my zip code. First one was right around the corner - I should have just walked over there.
Second one was an estate sale. I walked through the house, out the back door, and into the garage where they had all manner of hand tools laid out on big tables, all wrapped with blue masking tape and marked with laughingly ridiculous prices. I may have been there all of 90 seconds before I went back out the door.
The third and fourth were okay.
The fifth was actually the annual Holy Cross Church annual fund-raiser, where I picked up the Craftsman top box for $30 bucks.
It has a wonky bottom drawer, but my new fancy-schmantzy Fujiya pliers will make short work of fixing that issue.
I spent too much money, but I had fun.

Interesting old beat-up metal box full of odds and ends for five bucks, containing an assortment of stuff - mostly oddball fasteners - but it did include a cheapie pair of groove-joint pliers, a try-square, and a model 328 "Quaker City" hacksaw, apparently manufactured by Disston. I only really wanted the saw, but the lady said $5 bucks for the whole box, so I didn't argue.
Also picked up an unopened package of one-inch sponge brushes and a package of clothespins, which will come in handy at the cabin, because they always keep disappearing up there.
A Plomb dbe that will most likely find its way south at some point.
Goldblatt and Rose masonry tools
Oxwall 1/4" drive 5 piece socket set that I grabbed as a novelty

That old jack I picked up off the sidewalk when I went down to the Russian deli yesterday - not sure if it's any good or not.

1992 Murray 21-inch walk-behind with a little B&S Quattro on it - I'll cannibalize the power plant for another deck, strip the wheels off and peddle them on ebay, and the scrappers can haul off the rest. The original owner was happy to push it up the driveway and help me load it into the truck.

Craftsman top box from the Holy Cross Church sale.
Brass hose nozzle with no markings
Unmarked fractional drill index. Not sure why. I own two or three already. Wonder if my buddy can use it?
Tiny Stanley screwdriver
Silicone-tipped tongs for my mom's house since she doesn't own a decent pair of cooking tongs
Stanley 199 knife
Japanese fan (from the Land of the Rising Sun, no less.)
Tiny little metal pencil box

Probably spent more money today than I should have - almost $50 bucks - but I'll flip the box, sell a mower, and triple that easily.

To save you the trouble of hunting, the Fujiya pliers are available from Harry Epstein.

 

[RTM]

some type of brace bit. Hoping RTM or others can weigh in. Looks a bit blacksmith-like. Some sort of tapered “scoop” with one saroer edge that would appear to do the work.

The brace bit is a spoon bit. Commonly used by chair makers for the angled holes of the legs and back slats in the the seat.

Actually, I hate to disagree with @Beerhippie, but I think it's a tapered reamer.


The spoon bit I know of has a fixed diameter once you get past the nose. Those are used for the weird hole angles that are then tapered with the reamer.

Dunbar's class does used a tapered reamer, but a more modern looking solid body, it seems.

 

[Beerhippie]

The spoon bit I know of has a fixed diameter once you get past the nose. Those are used for the weird hole angles that are then tapered with the reamer.

Right. I started feeling like I was off as soon as I posted--but the mysterious limit on edits....