Best tool you've ever found in the street

Steve_S · Aug 15, 2008

Another thread got me thinking about tools I've found lying in the street. Most probably fall off work trucks when someone forgot to put it away.

A friend of mine found a Snap-On ratchet and grabbed it just before I did. Darn!

My best find isn't that exciting but it's seen a LOT of use. It's a large Craftsman screwdriver that I named "The Sacrificial Screwdriver". Figured I'd break the warning on the handle and use it "as a pry bar or chisel" until it broke. I've beat on this thing viciously for 15 years and it just won't die. Best free tool ever!

Moose-LandTran · Aug 15, 2008

Never found a tool in the street. However, my mum did find a Snap-on pick in the street, that was my first Snap-on tool (first Snap-on tool was free!) it served me well, and is currently acting as the hand brake handle in my friend's Mercedes-Benz 500SEC.

Stuey · Aug 15, 2008

My father finds a lot. Craftsman 3/8 5/16 stubby double ended wrench. It was damaged so I swapped it at Sears for a 3/8" stubby.

3" 3/8 drive Snap-On socket.

Last week my father mentioned another Snap-On socket he found. I didn't see it, but we talked about it for a moment. He said it had "13" on it, so I assume it's a 13mm socket.

I never find anything nifty. =(

fourfeathers · Aug 15, 2008

Echo String trimmer! yeah for me. Straight shaft pro style, and we still use it 6 years later. Worked great after fixing a leaky plastic fuel tank.

Hoot · Aug 15, 2008

The only thing I've found is a long, flat tip Craftsman screwdriver. Pretty good shape too.

On the other hand, I've lost so many tools on the road that it's not even funny. Always because I was in a hurry to do a test drive after finishing up repairs........

canbug · Aug 15, 2008

I found an older long handle 1/2 inch drive Willams ratchet in the door way of a building one evening. The building was not under construction. It must of been dropped and someone was pissed the next day.

I use that thing all the time and it works great.

Tim.

hamburglar · Aug 15, 2008

I can't say that I've ever found a tool.

I found a Christmas tree on the side of the road once and took it home tied on the back of 69 Z/28. Spending less on the holidays always makes me chipper. That duckbill spoiler was actually good for something for once.

pirana · Aug 15, 2008

I didn't find em in the street but I found a pair ( 7/16 & 1/2" Snap On ) combo wrenches on the floorboard of my mom's station wagon after it was worked on at a local Chevy/Olds dealership. Still got em too. I know, I should have returned them. I was a punk teenager at the time.

rodm1 · Aug 15, 2008

A Gerber Multi-Tool.

harley-haley · Aug 15, 2008

I found a 3/4 drive williams ratchet with a 6 inch proto extension and 1 1/8 inch socket. all still attached to one another and sticking up through the weeds. sold it when I got back to the garage for 50 bucks, I was thrilled then, now I wish I had kept them.

jerryW · Aug 15, 2008

All at different times,

1/2 dr 7/8 MAC deep mpact socket,

9/16 Snap-on short combination wrench, in a junk yard road,

brand new Lisle double flare kit, in the packaging,

8 oz ball pein hammer,

and a wheel barrow!

jerry

lbgradwell · Aug 15, 2008

Sometime in the mid-80s I found a 1941 Snap-on F-10-B 3/8" "Ferret" flex-head breaker bar. It was very well worn, and had obviously seen a lot of work, but was still completely functional. I also separately found a large, flat-tip Proto screwdriver (those old yellow-handled jobs) and a Gray 13/16" x 7/8" open-end wrench about the same time. I remember because my Craftsman combo set at the time only went up to 3/4"!

And then within the past year I found a very rusty Gray open-end wrench from the 1940s in the wall of a house I reno'ed, and my friend found a 1/2" Snap-on combo behind his old kitchen cabinets when we did his place & gave it to me (which is just as good)!

I've found other crappy tools over the years too, but nothing else I remember that was worth mentioning.

EDIT: A later post reminded me of another late-80s find: a Husky CB22 3/8"-drive 10 1/2" extension!

Galvatron · Aug 15, 2008

I've found alot of cool stuff in salvage yards. The tool I got the most use out of was probably some nice needle-nose vice grips.

Fedwrench · Aug 15, 2008

I found a Mac 3 foot pry bar with a large yellow handle.

WOOS1 · Aug 15, 2008

Found a 19 MM Snap-on 1/2" drive impact socket last week. Found a Craftsman old school fine tooth 1/4" ratchet about three months ago. My best find was a long handle 1/2" Wright ratchet. I was 7 or 8 while riding along with my father and brother, when we came upon a toolbox in the road. Me and my brother were scrambling to pick up everything while my dad looked out for cars (not much traffic). We waited a while to see if anyone came back, but to our luck they did not. :bounce:

fourfeathers · Aug 15, 2008

Found a Matco/Armstrong swivel impact socket, and another time a Snap On swivel impact socket. Road rash on both, but usable.

cruiser808 · Aug 15, 2008

Nah, ya can't find anything here in Hawaii. If it's not nailed down, someone will steal it in a flash. Hell. they'll even steal the street!

jimvannoy · Aug 15, 2008

I have found enough tools at junk yards to fill up one of my keep in the car/take to the yard boxes. Found a complete 3/8 drive socket set last week in the parking lot of a gas station. It was a HF type cheapo set but what the hey I threw it in my truck bed tool box. Best find was a big Snap On ball pein I found in a parking lot.

paramudduck · Aug 16, 2008

I found a Snap On 1/2 inch breaker bar once. Stopped to fix a flat and saw it on the shoulder of the road ahead of me.

wantedabiggergarage · Aug 16, 2008

Only found two....

The First one I saw fall out of the vehicle (guy driving like an idiot). It was a two wheeler. We left it where he could see it and claim it for about three weeks, then they told me to take it home.

The second, I was driving (no one around), slowed, swerved and grabbed a hacksaw that was sitting in the middle of the street. (afraid of what it may have been used on)

tatra · Aug 16, 2008

you mean that fell off the back of a truck?

Brad54 · Aug 16, 2008

I've found a couple craftsman crew drivers, a Snap-on 3/8 drive 4-inch extension, a Snap-on socket (don't remember the size), a combo wrench (3/8, 7/16...one of the common sizes up to 9/16, but don't remember the size but it was Cman or SO)
Recently found a combo wrench that's open end on one side, and flare nut on the other. Don't remember the make, but it's beat up, and I keep it in my drawer of "good" tools, so I guess it's a snap on.

When my son was a little tyke, about 4, he found a no-name needle nose pliers on the street in the neighborhood and brought it home to me. The Craftsman Professional needle nose is now in my junk yard/travel box, his is in my shop box where I can use it and smile every time.

The best in our family though, has to be the Black And Decker 1/2-inch contractor drill my dad found in an Illinois snow bank in the '50s. Aluminum case with a D-handle on the back, the trigger handle on the bottom and a screw-in pipe top handle. Model Number 1. 350rpm. Dad eventually got it back from his father, kept it in the basement for a couple decades with the dried cord cut off. When I was 17 (in '87) he gave it to me and said if I had it repaired I could have it.
The local B&D repair shop put new brushes in the motor and a new cord on it for $18.

I've used it a lot for boring 1-inch holes with an auger bit through two pressure treated 6x6 timbers for landscaping projects. Once on a rail road tie, the auger grabbed the metal piece they pound into the ends and stopped spinning. I think the world stopped rotating for just a second, because before I knew what happened, I was on the ground.

-Brad

JB740i · Aug 16, 2008

Found a pen in it that had a knife in it. Pull off the upper part of the pen and there ya go. Don't remember finding any tools in the road though.

goodfellow · Aug 16, 2008

I never find anything -- but am very good at loosing tools. That's why the road box is filled with cheaper odds and ends that I won't miss if it walks.

arthur1920 · Aug 16, 2008

snap on ratchet, extension and socket in my car...figured out which mechanic left it there and brought it back.

Some kind of long cutting tool to remove windshields...brought it back to the window place.

on the road...

snap on 9/16 deep socket.
snap on 3/8 x 5/16 long dbl box end.

various craftsmen wrenches.

a cheap no name screw driver minus the handle that went right through my tire.

and ta dah a Klein 9 inch linesmen pliers.

caper · Aug 16, 2008

My dad used to work for the ministry of transport in ontario,his beat was the 401 thru toronto.He literally has storage containers full of tools he has picked up off the highway.The guys on the crew call it road kill.I usually raid the containers when I go to visit and rob the snap on and mac stuff :bounce:

I have many snap on screwdrivers ,sockets,wrenches and ratchets that came from that highway.

jayoldschool · Aug 16, 2008

I have the exact same screwdriver. My parents bought it for me when I was about 15 and just getting into cars. I'm 35 now, and it looks about the same as yours. Mine has a decent 15 degree bend in the shank from something over the years, and like you, I haven't been kind to it.

Best free tool in the street? A nice pick axe that the local work crews forgot. Great for clearing ice at the end of the driveway.

Steve_S said:
Another thread got me thinking about tools I've found lying in the street. Most probably fall off work trucks when someone forgot to put it away.

A friend of mine found a Snap-On ratchet and grabbed it just before I did. Darn!

My best find isn't that exciting but it's seen a LOT of use. It's a large Craftsman screwdriver that I named "The Sacrificial Screwdriver". Figured I'd break the warning on the handle and use it "as a pry bar or chisel" until it broke. I've beat on this thing viciously for 15 years and it just won't die. Best free tool ever!

Brandon_Lutz · Aug 17, 2008

I've only had the pleasure of finding two tools. One was a Snap On 3/4 end wrench in the yard near the highway. Don't know how it got there but I found it while mowing the yard.

The other tool was a non marring hammer. Found it on a small street while riding my 3 Wheeler to go spray some fence rows.

mickeyone · Aug 17, 2008

Best stuff found Klein hi voltage linesmans,the ones with the orange handles,a12 inch craftsman channellock on a dirt bike track,and a craftsman crescent wrench in home depot parking lot .I see stuff all the time not worth getting killed for on big highway.I keep driving

Coach James · Aug 17, 2008

Have found several but the best, I think, is a Cornwell 3/8 ratchet with a plastic comfort handle. A few scuffs on it but works great. Very smooth.

I found several MAC screwdrivers, nutdrivers and picks in my van last year after some warrenty work was done on it at the dealer. Took them back the next day and gave them to the service manager. From his reaction, you would have thought I just gave him a million bucks.

Coach

supra129 · Aug 17, 2008

You guys are sure lucky. The only thing I've found is a 15mm Craftsman raised panel wrench. I saw it shining in the road and stopped to pick it up. My wife thought I was crazy!!!

joshboogie · Aug 18, 2008

My Brother found a whole tool bag in the middle of the road with a Ryobi 14.4v drill still in the case. Contents of the bag were:

Set of standard ratcheting wrenches (I forget the brand but I still have them)
Aviation sheers (yellow handle)
Lots of electrical connectors
Lock Tite
Teflon tape
(I think that was all)

Personally I can't remember finding any tools ever. But I'm sure there are a few people who have found some of my tools. lol

tg6392 · Aug 18, 2008

found a super-expensive stihl br 600 gas powered leaf blower in a ditch, but the real owner stole it back after seeing us use it

Uncle Buck · Aug 18, 2008

What I have found on the roads, in ditches, or out and about at different times.

Last week, no name claw hammer
3-4 fire extinguishers, all large, full and functional at different times
36" name brand bolt cutters
Skill saber saw and 3/8" drill in bushes while riding bike as a kid
combo pliers, neddlenose forget names, still in the box found at different times
(2) 5 gallon buckets of new Mobilvac hyd fluid
a few s drivers of forgotten brand
I dont recall any professional mechanic brands such as SO in any of my finds.

mikester · Aug 18, 2008

The only tool that I ever found on the road was an adjustible wrench that I still have. That had to be about 10 years ago. I did pick up 6 or 7 packages of insulation that fell off a truck coming back from Peekskill NY. I was coming back from looking at a snowblower attachment for the old John Deere that I had at the time. The blower was junk but all of that insulation saved me some money when I did my garage walls. From what I remember I had almost enough to do most of it. I just cant believe nobody else stopped to get it. They were spread over a 1/2 mile or so. My buddy that was with me was laughing his **** off as I was picking them up. As far as tool scores a guy that I work with was driving home from work and found a Honda generator in the road. That has to be an expensive loss for whoever dropped it. There were alot of houses being built is his area. Im sure the contractor was surprised when he found out that it was gone.

NUTTSGT · Oct 27, 2009

This looked like a good thread to bring back.

Fedwrench said:
I found a Mac 3 foot pry bar with a large yellow handle.

I found one of these in my garage when we bought the house. :thumbup:

I found a few tools here and there but can't remember where. I did find an Napa brand 1/4 driver with a recessed end to use a rachet with it.

I'll try to get a pic of the broken wrench that was found in a tire .

I also found 6 sheets of 1/4 OSB in the street, picked it up and lined it against the tree in the in-laws front yard. ( two houses down where I found it) Nobody claimed it, so we used it sheeting the interior of a buddy's garage

mrshaun · Oct 27, 2009

I have found my customers tools and they were thrilled when they saw them on the truck.
one led light
sgd4g screw driver
3/8 3/8dr snap on socket
I missed a torx socket in houston I almost got ran over trying to get to it
12inch snap on prybar still use it.
many other no name tools and they go in the box at home.....
You can spot a snap on tool a mile away if conditions are right.

Richard Givan · Oct 27, 2009

An Estwing framing hammer in new condition. A Stanley adjustable wrench, also like new. One day on the Daniel Boone Parkway, a bonanza of duct-working pliers and tools that were strung out a few hundred feet apart. It was like a scavenger hunt that day. Various other tools.

I have perfected a slow down (don't stop), open the driver's door, reach down and ****** technique over the years.

wineslob · Oct 27, 2009

I've found a 3 cell Maglite in the middle of the street, it works perfectly.
While I was walking the train tracks along the Feather River (fishing trip), in a fairly remote area, I found some "modified' Snap On adj pliers. The jaws have been thinned down (ground) and part of the rubber coating on the handles has been removed. I'm guessing a crew was working on the tracks, they were replacing the wood ties with concrete, and left/dropped them.

mrjsl · Oct 27, 2009

paramudduck said:
I found a Snap On 1/2 inch breaker bar once. Stopped to fix a flat and saw it on the shoulder of the road ahead of me.

WHat are the odds of having a flat right next to a snap-on 1/2" breaker bar? When I was a teenager, me and my friends used one to do tires on vehicles in the shop until my dad figured out we broke a socket doing it. He made use use the tire tool after that.

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