What kind of tools have you found in the road??

[BearCuda]

Don't know if a thread like this has been done, but I was wondering what kinds of tools you have found in the road over the years. My first one I think was years ago when I lived in Atlanta. I was working at an NTW ( now NTB). There was an access road to Peachtree Industrial blvd in front of the shop. I glanced out one day and saw something really big in the road. I went out and dang if it wasn't a whole craftsman table saw. The legs were broken and the blade was bent but otherwise fine. No one ever came looking for it and I still have it to this day.

I have also found a Mac pry bar, several matco sockets, screwdrivers, and a 3/8 Craftsman ratchet. The ratchet was funny. I was driving with my wife one day, we came around a bend and it was in the middle of the road. I just say "whoa" and pulled over on the shoulder. My wife's like "What? What?". "That was a Craftsman ratchet in the road back there." "How in the world do you know it was a craftsman?",she said. "I can tell by the shape of it." That dumbfounded her.

I have also found a ton of good bungee cords and most recently a brand new roll of twine.

Keep your eyes peeled. There's always something falling out of or off of people's vehicles.

 

[Chaznsc]

LOL.....a table saw? Only in Atlanta. I found a pry bar once.

 

[Ross/Kzoo]

I found a flat blade screwdriver with a blade about 1/4" wide and about 16" long, weird.

 

[ScaldedDog]

I'm still using an adjustable wrench I found while running in the 80's.

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[chevyred55]

My daughter found a brand new 1/2 Ryobi hammer drill case and all, gave it
to me and being a good dad gave her $100 for her trouble.

 

[Twiggss]

Only tools I have found were my own that I heard flying off after i fixed something.

Heck I even drove about 4-5 blocks one time with my cell phone sitting on my drivers side wiper.

 

[SpannerMonkey]

I found a pair of pliers which flew out of a racing car on the racetrack. I managed to get them back to the pit crew.

 

[3baygarage]

I swear I must have heard 50 stories of guys finding an 18" Crescent wrench in the road. Darn utility companies wasting our money!
I'm one of those people to stop for tools in the road. I'm always on the lookout for stuff. I've come across lots of sockets and screwdrivers.
Snap On screwdriver, Snap on 1/2" impact swivel(I jumped out of somebody else's car at a stop light to get it and there was a Craftsman 18mm 2 ft. away).
A real nice metal ground stake.
Starrett neon green razor knife.
MAC soft face hammer, like new but a little road rash. (I was coming back from a real long bike ride that time and was exhausted. I thought it was a mirage and slammed on the brakes, turned out to be the real deal.)
A nice Craftsman 7/8 polished combo wrench.
Trailer Pins, hooks, etc.
Way too much to remember and list all the finds.
Waved goodbye to a Craftsman ratchet marooned in a busy intersection once.
Yes, I admit I have a problem.

 

[Firestarter Fred]

Found a dewalt drill once. Had some road rash, but still worked. Took it to the pawn shop got a 60 buck credit on anything I wanted.

 

[wrench409]

Snap On 18" prybar - still have it
5 cell Black D Cell Maglight - still have it
Countless 6" crescent wrenches - I've NEVER bought one myself
**** load a Taiwan, Japanese and Chinese junk stuff

The best was the 6" vise grips I found on the way home from work one night. In the center of a brightly lit intersection, I spotted them. Traffic was light so I pulled up and grabbed them, very dirty and greasy but not too bad for a freebie.

I cleaned them up a few days later. On them was a co-worker's name and DL number. He'd lost them a few years back he stated. He was tickled to have them back.


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[James_B]

Something like 15-20 years ago, while changing a tyre in the rain after hitting a particularly nasty pothole, I found this Australian made 70s vintage 1/2" drive Sidchrome sliding T-Bar, just off the side of the road, almost exactly at the safe spot that I stopped to change my tyre.

Before they were taken over by Stanley, Sidchrome was the premiere mechanic's tool maker in Australia (now their stuff is just another Chinese made tool with a once trusted logo stamped on it).

Marks indicated that it's had a pipe cheater bar fitted over the sliding handle in order to deal with what I can only assume was an over torqued wheel nut. I carried exactly the same model and vintage sliding T-Bar in the back of my 4x4 for tyre changing duties, and I've placed my own undamaged T-Bar next to it in the photo for comparison.

 

[loveall13]

Riding in to Prudhoe bay Alaska on the haul road, my riding partner disappeared so I pulled over and waited. He caught up a few minutes later smiling with a whole set of snap on wrenches on a large safety pin.

Jeremy

 

[Nick Danger]

When was I a kid hiking with my dad in the Sierra Nevada mountains around 1970, I found a good wire cutter. My first tool. I used it until this year when Lowes had their Knipex clearance.

I found a Mac 24" long 1/2" knurled handle breaker bar. I was riding my motorcycle home from work after midnight and saw it in the middle of the lane. I circled back and stuck it in my jacket. It didn't even have any road rash.

 

[lorne]

My friends picked up a pallet jack and pallet of sour cream that they watched fall oout of the back of a box truck. At first they just stopped to clear it from the main road and then realized the truck wasn't coming back.

 

[uniballer]

200 pc craftsman set on the side of highway, found 187 pieces! The box was destroyed!
At least it was american made.

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

I found a pair of pliers which flew out of a racing car on the racetrack. I managed to get them back to the pit crew.

Books could be written about what has been found on the race track!

I've gotten some rubber bungee cords over the years. When I see the pretty good stuff the traffic is so tight I don't want to pull over for it. But I've seen lots of screw drivers especially on the road or shoulder. I see lots of 2x4's, 4x4's, 4x6's which I presume have worked themselves loose from under loads on open deck trailers and trucks.

Never any of the good stuff you guys are talking about!

 

[Dick in Wisconsin]

I found a pair of pliers which flew out of a racing car on the racetrack. I managed to get them back to the pit crew.

Books could be written about what has been found on the race track!

 

[75Dually]

I have a theory that if you found a tool on the side of the road, you take it home, clean it up, care for it, it will never be lost again. I must have 20 plus tools that I have found riding bikes, driving, or just walking down the street.

To this day I have never lost a single one of them. In fact each of them have probably become some of my favorite tools in my tool box. Good tool karma if there ever was any!

Take for instance the 2 hammers below. The sledge on the top was found in a project car, and I use it all the time. The second hammer I found in the middle of the road in a small Kansas town. I turned around to see what it was. It turned out to be just a solid piece of round stock welded to a tube handle. Ugly as sin, but man if you really want to beat something into submission and don't want to worry about messing up a good hammer then this is the tool for the job. However you need to go find your own because I found this one and we get along just fine...

 

[parnass]

I walk daily for exercise and have found all kinds of tools, coins, wallets, cell phones, keys, etc.

Found a giant ironworker's wrench, sockets, Craftsman combination wrenches, screwdrivers, Crescent adjustable wrench, claw hammers, a broken tape measure with a lifetime warranty (later swapped in for a new one at Home Depot).

While driving , I once spied a 16 foot aluminum ladder at the side of the road. By the time I turned around, a sedan full of people with their arms hanging out the car windows were driving away with it.

Found a large Camillus lockback knife along the railroad tracks.

Finding cash is even better than finding tools. I found $20 bills in two different parking lots.

Found these working lighters still containing fluid.

 

[McFarmer]

When I was little my mother saw a tool box along the side of our road, she told me to ride my bike down and see what I could find. The old box had broke open and scattered tools for about 20 yards. Mostly sockets and a few wrenches but I thought I had found a gold mine, I remember the ratchet had the selector gone, had to use pliers.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Don't know if a thread like this has been done

Yes, it comes up every few months.

 

[bigbubba]

I have found all sorts of tools,bungee cords and such. The best by far was a new 1 horse deep well pump! Was driving in the snow in a nearby town and saw a box sticking out of a snow pile at the edge of the road,My uncle jumps out to grab it and i wound up having to help him get it outta the snow. I knew these were pricey so i ran an ad in the paper for a couple weeks.Nobody claimed it so i stuck in the rafters of our shop,8-9 years later our well caved in and we had to drill a new well. Guess where that pump is now.

 

[6768rogues]

A few days ago I found two nice heavy duty ratchet straps in the road about a mile east of my house.

 

[David99]

I found a Snap-on 1/2 inch drive 3" inch (I think) extension embedded in the left rear tire of my Bonneville.
Made a heck of a racket after going in.

 

[KRB52]

3/8 breaker bar with a socket (can't remember what size), Craftsman tape measure when I was in college (used that for years, road rash and all, until my wife left it out in the rain and the paint with the markings came off), various sockets, 1/4 drive breaker with a deep socket on it (again, the size escapes me.) That one was packed with dirt and grease, but cleaned up nice.

I work part time in a hardware store and you wouldn't believe what is left behind by customers. Several tape measures (nothing that we sell), a plastic set of vernier calipers (I've got to learn how to use them one of these days), a few other odds and ends. Many times, the rusty, greasy bolt or nut the brought in gets left behind. Those get tossed.

 

[AMCguy]

When I was a kid riding my bike, I found a mechanic's long reach magnet. I played with it at first because I had no real use for it. That was about forty years ago. I still have it and use it regularly.

I've found many an item over the years.

I once came around a curve on the highway early in the morning on my way to work and found a 12' Misty River aluminum boat complete with 9.9 Mercury outboard, oars and life jackets. It took a while, but I got it into the back of my pickup. About five miles further down the road I came to my exit. There, pulled off, were a couple of old guys with an empty trailer scratching their heads. So I stopped. I was happy to help them get it back on their trailer. If I hadn't taken that exit they never would have seen me drive by and I would have had no way of finding them.

 

[D.J.]

I've also found various tools on the roadsides and in traffic lanes the best of which was a 16" approx Craftsman pry bar.

 

[Garageguy65]

I have found a few items over the years.. I was going to work one day at 5am, driving my truck. Rounding the corner there was a Werner extendable ladder, fully extended laying on the side of the road. I think it was a 24 foot one. It will reach the top of my 2 story home. Slammed on the brakes and she went in the bed of my truck.. No markings..

Few years later found a 12 foot a frame fiberglass ladder side of the road.. No marking again..

Watched a 12 foot extendable ladder slide off a guys trailer. Loaded it up and ran him down and gave it back to him.

Few crescent wrenches and screw drivers, flat blade shovel.. Nothing special..

Found 3 bales of roll in insulation on the side of the freeway at 5am that went in my truck and then in my garage attic.

Found a set of Klein 1005 crimping tool 10-22 awg crimpers.. Those are my favorite find. Use them alot.

Found a $100 bill and a $50 in a parking lot, found a wad of $20 ($100 worth also) driving thru the mall parking lot. Those went for tools

 

[boomer12831]

I have found a surveyers ( I think you you call it post, the thing with the #s on it) also an aluminum painters pole that works great. A couple pairs of pliers.

 

[stockcar36]

I work for TXDOT and I've found dozens of tools including several diagonal cutters, linesman's pliers, screwdrivers, adjustable wrenches, ratchets, sockets, a barrel pump, utility knife blades, welding goggles, welding rods, some money, and even a good BEL radar detector that's in my pickup now. I've also found trailer hitches, ratchet load binders, tires and wheels, shop rags, wheel chocks, a push lawn mower, gas cans, pieces of pipe and steel, spray paint, WD-40, etc. I'm like a raccoon...I'm always looking for something shiny!

 

[captain14]

When I took my new pup to the vet the second day I had him we walked around the
Parking lot to take care of business. Lying in the Middle of the 4 lane road was a craftsman locking pliers damaged by traffic. Took it back and exchanged for a new one that week.

 

[Jeff May]

one really nice framing hammer, pliers, a few screwdrivers, and yea, bungee cords.

 

[CharlestonJoe]

I have found a few tools and money as well, but my most memorable find was a case of Jack Daniels. I was in highschool at the time and a buddy was riding with me. We were grinning ear to ear on our find and we shared our find at the next bonfire party.

 

[bob from indiana]

WhenI was a kid I found a Williams 18" adjustable wrench beside the road. I still have it.

A couple of years ago We were it town and i saw a nice prybar on an entrance ramp. We circled around and picked it up, it was a Snap-on 30" bar.


Last month my wife found a black finish 15" crescent wrench in the road near our home. She had our daughter get it. I called a neighbor who has a backhoe/dumptruck business and it was one he had lost.

Over the years I have found several chains in the road but my best find was a bedliner for a Ranger pickup. I traded it for a tool case. I try to watch for stuff as I travel but sometimes it is to dangerous to try to get them.

 

[stroked93]

250 ft tape, 8 ft aluminum step ladder, 4 ft fat max level 2 orange hard handle snap on screwdrivers, pruners, a receiver and ball, numerous ratchet straps that's all I can remember but I pull over and get the stuff.

 

[CHRIS P]

I work for a salvage yard so we find lots of cool things...money, tools, aftermarket stereo equipment, pictures, clothes(it's amazing what people leave a car looking like), jewelry, cell phones.
The best i ever found on the side of the road when i was a kid was a gold bracelet(which i gave to my mom), a leatherman multi tool, and a nice fiberglass handle rake.

 

[TOOL_MONGER]

like others I have found lots of things... estwing claw hammer, lots of wrenches, a two wheel dolly... the most recent and memorable score was at a signal light I was stopped at. A truck with a service\mechanics bed on it ran the light and turned in front of me. I heard a racket as he went by. I looked in my side mirror to see something laying in the road. I backed up and got out to find a 20' log chain that seem to pull with it a 30 ton air\hydraulic bottle jack. I looked down the road and the truck was gone, couldn't believe he didn't hear it being dragged off of the metal flat bed.... Kept it in my truck for a few days in case I recognized the truck again... now it sets in my shop waiting for me to build a press....

 

[MScott]

I found a 3 lb. ballpein hammer once on a city street in the pouring rain. Had to drive all the way around the block because of traffic. Another time I found a SO 1/4" ratchet with a 10mm deep socket. My daughter found a gas powered ice auger lying along the road.

 

[Deadhead]

Found a medium sized JoBox full of Dewalt and Bosch tools, Radio, hard hats, ext. cords and everything else.
The Mother Load.
Me and my grandpa loaded (drug) it up on the lawn mower trailer we were pulling and turned around and went and put it in the shop. I called the local police department and told them when someone starts looking for a unique toolbox that they had lost to call my number so that they can identify it. They told me that if no one called in 30 days it was mine.
Next day the phone rang.
Dude named everything in there right down to the scratches on the box.
Gave it back because that guy made a living out of that box.
He offered me some money for the honesty but i didnt take it. told him my grandpa taught me better.

 

[Not Bob]

Riding on I-80 to work one morning near Dixon (CA), found a really sweet handtruck in the fast lane directly in front of me. Problem was, I was doing about 80mph, and said handtruck was doing roughly 60 mph and slowing rapidly, but the thing was rolling as strait as an arrow, so I knew it had to be a pretty good quality tool.

Alas, as I was rolling past my find, very closely, it occurred to me that this fine piece of equipment would be very difficult to ******** to the bike, and once I rolled past the obvious original owner pulling over in the median, I knew that I'd have to let this find go.

Oh well, maybe next time.