2026 Garage Sale Thread (15th Annual)

[NYBODYMAN]

FBMP has been good to me lately. I responded to an ad for "two rusty tool boxes full of Dad's old tools, make an offer" and set up a meet for this morning. I went and upon opening the tombstone box it was full of Snap-On and USA CMAN tools. The other one had a bunch of antique tools which looked solid. I offered $100 and he countered with $120 which was more than fair. I took a quick look through and it was definitely a great haul in my opinion. I will post the hits soon.

I also missed out on a 3 vise lot for $30 by about 5 minutes. It had a Columbian C43, a Reed No. 204, and a Millers Falls small clamp on vise. Oh well can't win them all.

 

[3baygarage]

A lunch break Habitat stop during the week resulted in some nice finds.

I was surprised to see the 6” Ridgid sitting there, along with the 8” made in Spain.

Kobalt nut driver, Bell System Stanley screwdriver, Bonney nut driver, Craftsman older red handled Phillips and flat pair, small Craftsman nut driver, Hunter tiny nut driver.

Shrader tire gauge, Utica NY Telephone Co. stamped pliers, Stanley and illegible stubbies, L type cross bar.

Wrenches: Stanley, Gray Canada, Blue-Point Canada oddity, Herbrand, Long (Japan).

Bridge Tool Co. St. Louis tack hammer.

 

[alinc100]

Can I borrow that next time I need to get under the dash? Needs legs about eighteen inches longer, 'though.

At first, I thought it was for "enhanced interrogation"--because all despotic regimes choose Snap-On!

Would a folding leg drywallers bench do? I don't have but have seen one with adjustable legs. I just ve teh standard one pictured below. Most of my work is 8 ft and down so these are perfect. Handy at break time too. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gorilla...-with-250-lb-Load-Capacity-GLA-47WP/206127529

 

[NYBODYMAN]

I went through the two Craftsman boxes and here's the results:

 

[RTM]

Here is a haul from a rare Sunday only Estate Sale. Everything moved to the garage while they painted the house, so a bit of chaos. Saw a Craftsman Heritage box just inside the door, asked if selling as one price, or piecing out, and took ten minutes to get an answer, so just started poking thru to grab what I felt was worth dealing with, vs getting a great deal on stuff I did not need. Pulled out these items, offered a price, and accepted.

Proto 6016-3 torque wrench (10-150 ft lbs) set of Craftsman high polished ignition wrenches, plus some extras, 1/2" CMan speeder with the hex handle, CMan hollow leg external caliper, and a Williams s-140 1/2" universal flex.



MLW also picked up the box of sharpening Stones that we left behind at the friends cleaning out last weekend. Grits from 600 to 1200, a 6,000, and what looks like a relatively coarse one

 

[Beerhippie]

Those look a lot like Japanese water stones. If so, they need to be saturated in water before use. It's traditional to use another stone--called a something in Japanese--to work up a slurry on the surface before use.

I have a few and just saturate them and start sharpening, which also brings up the slurry.

 

[rcsuder]

Hit a couple of good estate sales here this weekend here in central Alberta. Most excited about the Rapid Tap and Mystic Metal Mover. Way less than $100 CAN for everything

 

[zachgeo]

I found an amusing item of local interest that I had to pick up for my retired carpenter friend. He used to listen to that radio station during his working days when he had jobs in the South Bay Area.

I remember KPIG from when I would visit my sister in college at Cal Poly SLO back on the late '80s! Fun station.

 

[bluebolt]

Saturday was some of the craziest finds ever! I went back to the estate sale I got all the Snap On at for the Saturday afternoon 1/2 off sale. I was not in a rush so had time to go through things a bit slower. There was a Jobox with a bunch of small tires and wheels in it, some had been bought or removed already and I could see the bottom and I spotted a bit of yellow. Intrigued I removed more tires to get to the yellow. And pulled out vintage door pushes still wrapped in the factory paper. I got excited because a few Pepsi door pushes had been found already. The paper was stuck on hard and I couldn't tell what they were for sure. One had the middle a bit loose and I scraped a bit off and could see Pepsi!

I pulled 8 Pepsi door pushes out, still wrapped with paper. The bottom one was rusty.
The estate sale company owners are friends of mine and I decided to mess with the one that was there. I took the one I had scraped the paper off and asked him how much.
He was a bit surprised and was trying to figure out a price and then I told him there were 7 more and his jaw dropped!

I brought the rest of them up there. There was also an extra wire end which they needed for one they already had which had one missing.

After a bit of thinking he gave me one for free as a "finger's fee"! I picked the one I scraped the paper off to reveal Pepsi.

When I got home I pulled the wire ends off and put it in the kitchen sink with hot water and Dawn soap and let it soak for several hours. A lot of the paper came off and I got the rest off with Goof Gone and scraping with my fingernail. The wire ends I lightly scrubbed with fine steel wool.

The sign does have some staining on it from the paper and Louisiana humidity but still turned out great in my opinion. I'm going to keep it and put it on the door between my house and garage.

 

[bluebolt]

I unfortunately also found out someone tried to basically steal a Milwaukee cordless drill at the Snap On estate sale. My friend had used it in a building that was closed to the public. The jackbutt entered the building, took the drill, put an $8 sticker on it and tried to buy it. Luckily my friend was at the checkout table and saw it and got it back. The guy tried to argue about it too!

 

[bluebolt]

I forgot to mention I have an absolutely full truck from both Saturday's 50% off sale and Sunday's 75% sale! Weather was over 100 degrees all 3 days, the estate sale people had free water all the days thankfully! Only the main house had power and I had to take a few air conditioning breaks too! By the time I got home I was dead tired and haven't unloaded yet!

 

[bmwrd0]

I remember KPIG from when I would visit my sister in college at Cal Poly SLO back on the late '80s! Fun station.

Hah! I was in SLO around that time, my dad was a prof at Cal Poly.

 

[d42jeep]

We had stopped by a yard sale at a local mobile home park yesterday but there was nothing there to buy. I asked about tools and the gentleman said that he would get some out for today. We stopped by this morning and he had some set aside for us. My neighbor picked up a couple of items and I grabbed these.

The Brink & Cotton clamp was too nice to leave behind.


It tuned out that the seller had been in the HVAC trade before he retired. I could see the shorty Vaco nutdriver being useful in that business.
As I’ve said in the past, I always pick up the excellent Thomas & Betts crimpers. These were no exception even though they were engraved with the previous owners name.


-Don

 

[bmwrd0]

Sunday around noon, I swung by an estate sale that I had missed on Friday, mistaking the one I found the B&S digital calipers for this one (which was much closer in that that other one, but no problem), and along with two other gentlemen we went through what was left of the rather large and cluttered shop with great pleasure, even remarking to each other that none of us needed any of this ****, but that it was the best time to dig for the oddball remains as it was "get it out of here" price day. Here is what I found:

HF clamp on type multimeter, which is going in the truck as it will not be missed if it gets damaged or stolen, Challenger socket box which is completely filled with complete junk sockets (which will go straight into the Restore donation pile), 2 socket chisels (one of which is a PEXTO), 1/2" drive hex adaptor, 1/2" removable anvil, unmarked 1/4" breaker bar, the book is an Engineers Illustrated Thesaurus, Proto hydraulic wrench, Firestone extension, US marked bicycle wrench, 4 Wards sockets, SK spark plug socket, unidentified 1/2" socket, Challenger spinner, Williams spinner, and a Williams deep socket. All of that for $5. I left behind some nice and useful things, such as a tube bender, rather beat up Presssteel roller, etc., just because I have absolutely zero room for things I might need or the condition wasn't quite up to snuff for me. I do love days and shops like this though.

 

[CoogarXR]

Sunday around noon, I swung by an estate sale that I had missed on Friday, mistaking the one I found the B&S digital calipers for this one (which was much closer in that that other one, but no problem), and along with two other gentlemen we went through what was left of the rather large and cluttered shop with great pleasure, even remarking to each other that none of us needed any of this ****, but that it was the best time to dig for the oddball remains as it was "get it out of here" price day. Here is what I found:

HF clamp on type multimeter, which is going in the truck as it will not be missed if it gets damaged or stolen, Challenger socket box which is completely filled with complete junk sockets (which will go straight into the Restore donation pile), 2 socket chisels (one of which is a PEXTO), 1/2" drive hex adaptor, 1/2" removable anvil, unmarked 1/4" breaker bar, the book is an Engineers Illustrated Thesaurus, Proto hydraulic wrench, Firestone extension, US marked bicycle wrench, 4 Wards sockets, SK spark plug socket, unidentified 1/2" socket, Challenger spinner, Williams spinner, and a Williams deep socket. All of that for $5. I left behind some nice and useful things, such as a tube bender, rather beat up Presssteel roller, etc., just because I have absolutely zero room for things I might need or the condition wasn't quite up to snuff for me. I do love days and shops like this though.

I have that same clamp meter, I think I got it at the ol' Homier Tent Sale ages ago. Like you, I bought it as a "disposable", and it's still going all these years later. It's not a half bad meter for a cheapie.

 

[JMP]

We had stopped by a yard sale at a local mobile home park yesterday but there was nothing there to buy. I asked about tools and the gentleman said that he would get some out for today. We stopped by this morning and he had some set aside for us. My neighbor picked up a couple of items and I grabbed these.

The Brink & Cotton clamp was too nice to leave behind.


It tuned out that the seller had been in the HVAC trade before he retired. I could see the shorty Vaco nutdriver being useful in that business.
As I’ve said in the past, I always pick up the excellent Thomas & Betts crimpers. These were no exception even though they were engraved with the previous owners name.


-Don

Look at what they are charging for a brand new pair of those crimpers these day's. Anytime I find a good pair for next to nothing, often for less than $5 a piece I will always pick them up and any other T&B tools for that matter.

 

[SC Fly Guy]

The final sale we checked out was close to Stateline and had been picked over for a couple of weeks but I found an amusing item of local interest that I had to pick up for my retired carpenter friend. He used to listen to that radio station during his working days when he had jobs in the South Bay Area.
-Don

That hard hat has stories to tell!!

 

[bmwrd0]

When I first picked it up, I was impressed that it turned on and no one had bought it just for that reason. Also having the leads and manual, I figured what the heck, and grabbed it.

 

[LesserSon]

Sunday morning, MrsLS proposed to drive to Jake’s Flea, since we hadn’t been in a few weeks. I hemmed and hawed about the overnight rain flooding the low portions of the field, mostly for dramatic effect, and sure enough, she upgraded her offer to include buying me a coffee and doughnut. Sold!
As I predicted, the flatter areas were wet and sellers were few, but $6.25 bought me some rusty joy: shop-modified Bonney CV 2839 1-1/4” single-offset dbe, Red Devil pincers, Craftsman nested-diamonds battery pliers, three LS Starrett punches, and an unmarked brass corner bevel shave. Photos show before and after a visit to the (fine) wire wheel.
Leftbehinds included a 5/8 Blue-Point BoXocket single-offset dbe with the patent number, a Snap-on distributor thief-proof nut wrench, and a Bonney 1-3/4” Lehigh table vise. I may already have that BoXocket (though I don’t
know where), and definitely have the Lehigh vise. I also passed up for $1 a 1950s-looking yellow fiberglass spin rod with a copper-painted reel made by some division of Lyonel. The space between the tip and next eyelet on the rod was suspiciously short. After a change of heart, I was actually heading back to that seller anyway, when I saw another guy walking with it, so it didn’t go into the trash.

 

[bluebolt]

Rain was possible this morning so I needed to unload the back of my truck with all the wood stuff in it from the Snap On estate sale. This is both Saturday and Sundays stuff. How do you like my packing LOL. At the very back is 3 rolling shelf bases, 2 of them have shelves and the 3rd one doesn't and is going to be used as a rolling firewood rack. I included a photo from the estate sale. There is also a vintage school desk, gas can, Dead End sign, 14 of these military mine wood crates and a few other small items. I've still got to get stuff out of the cab of the truck. Of course the hoped for rain missed my place again. I spent $40 Saturday and $109 Sunday. Back to work!

 

[bluebolt]

More stuff from the estate sale from Saturday and Sunday. The Coleman lanterns I only bought for the USA made globes. The bolts and nuts in the the hardware box are mostly Grade 8. The Brinks and Cotton vise is USA made. I've never sern this aluminum body Crown logo Craftsman plane before. The Twirlit is a paper punch. The shirts I'll be using this winter. The pin vise is a Starrett B. I'm going to use that plastic pain brush holder for rulers and yardstick.

 

[Tarantula]

Last call estate sale, mostly empty but I found an incomplete Easydriver set hidden in the shed, an old B&D router, 95% full Minwax can, Craftsman slotted, and a beat up Stanley combo square. Wood box too!

 

[INSP380]

Todays grab…..Dumpster dive at work. Fished these all out this morning and went right to the guy with 3 days left. “Were these yours?” Yep….WTH? “I told you to save this **** and I’ll take it home” He said…” sorry I didn’t think you’d want this ****”. More to come…

Steve

 

[knock knock]

More stuff from the last haul. First double sided Proto socket that I have picked up.

 

[Beerhippie]

Todays grab…..Dumpster dive at work. Fished these all out this morning and went right to the guy with 3 days left. “Were these yours?” Yep….WTH? “I told you to save this **** and I’ll take it home” He said…” sorry I didn’t think you’d want this ****”. More to come…

Steve

Seriously? You want that ****? It's old, man!

 

[INSP380]

Seriously? You want that ****? It's old, man!

It never ceases to amaze me. I gotta check things like this daily. I now carry my light so I can see what falls to the bottom. Bunch of wasteful nuts in there…Lol.

 

[WNYflyer]

From the past weekend, family run estate sale for a former machinist at Kodak

Proto brass hammer, Snap-On 3/8 ratchets, Snap-On 3/8 extension


Snap-On line wrenches in SAE 12 point, Snap-On angle wrenches SAE

 

[RTM]

I've never sern this aluminum body Crown logo Craftsman plane before.

beware, those are generally awful planes. Friends have had very bad things to say about them, hard to adjust, crappy ergonomics.

 

[coachwash]

Stopped in at a thrift store while the wife and I were down in Galveston this past weekend. Picked up the 25ft tape measure for $3 and I dug through their 2 for $1 tool bin for the wrenches and screwdrivers. $5. Some were very crusty.

 

[bluebolt]

The last of the stuff from the Snap On estate sale. A Canada Dry shelf I disassembled fir transport and cleaning, Dead End sign and a Snap On KRA-412 folding side shelf.

 

[bluebolt]

Picked up this 2/79 Coleman 200A lantern from an antique store yesterday for $44 with tax.

 

[Outlawmws]

Picked up this 2/79 Coleman 200A lantern from an antique store yesterday for $44 with tax.

One that clean would be hard to pass on for that!

 

[knock knock]

Random midweek stop at some thrift stores. Not a bad $5 haul.

 

[Outlawmws]

What is the aluminum disk thing?

 

[knock knock]

Floor drain

 

[Beerhippie]

The fence company next door is going out of business and having a big yard sale starting tomorrow.

As I cruised by after lunch, I notice ol' Harold, the owner who's retiring, out in the yard organizing. He was happy to let me do a little pre-picking.

So I got me a new project



and mechanism of injury!





$15. Hopefully the rebuild kit isn't too steep.

I haven't knocked any teeth out with one of these in many years!

 

[Outlawmws]

I haven't knocked any teeth out with one of these in many years!

I didn't get my teeth, but my left thumb got (de)nailed once! -Not fun!