Man I hate coming in here. You guys find such great stuff it just makes me want to hit the road every Saturday morning.
I had managed to stay away from estate and garage sales since April. HAD.
In October I received an invitation to a month-long estate sale, described as one woman's lifetime collection. Apparently the house was just packed, so much so that the sale was held in a rented warehouse. Being a 'woman's collection' and seemingly mostly decor and kitchen wares I didn't pay it much attention until I started to notice a few tools in the 'updated' photos. Figuring other guys might be turned off as I was, I finally decided to give it a go and attended on the third weekend. I forgot about women dragging along their husbands. I wish I'd gone the first week. I have been a regular visitor since, 20 minutes here, half an hour there.
The sale has now been extended twice. Each week new materials arrive in addition to old boxes yet to be gone through. I initially tried to approach it in an organized fashion but soon gave up. Anyhow, I thought I would share the results of my labor. This week is set to be their last.
I hope you don't mind it isn't all tools.
Day 1
Initially, I wasn't finding much, then I stumbled across the drill in the bottom of a box. The handle is loose but I was pretty excited to find it. Though they're not tools, I was also excited about the sink drain hardware. The one on the right is at least a $30 item, the one on the left is more. Each much better than the house brand stuff at Home Depot. I am really trying to avoid that place.
Day 2
Jumbo binder clips, cut nails, more solder (I know, not for drinking water. I am planning to do some leaded glass work . . .). The larger group of sockets are Plomb. The others are S-K, New Britian, Proto and Snap-On. I was happy to find the Clipper No. 0 Belt Lacer. The bag in the front contains a new pair of grinder eye shields. I'm sure I'll find a grinder to stick them on.
How about those Niagra Curved Shears? I hadn't seen those before. Anyone know what the item below it is? I do, and for the life of me I can't imagine why I'd know.
A better question may be, 'Why did I buy it?' In general they were charging a bit much for my taste, but bundle pricing made it worth while. As an example, the hand seamer you see above started out at $30. I figure I ended up paying under $5.
Welcome to the weird world of shrunken consumables. The Harbor Freight grinding wheels ($2/box) are 4" rather than 4.5" and the new buffing wheels are 5.5" rather than 6". At $2 for all the buffing wheels, I'm not complaining.
Odds and Ends. Anyone familiar with the Cerrocast material? I know it is used for castings but that's about it. For now they are paper weights. The vintage Singer sewing machine lamp will likely find it's way to eBay.
Day 3
As of today, I've made six trips and I still haven't found the rest of the number stamps . . . I think the Jacobs chuck is from a ShopSmith but I am hoping to fit it to a Davis & Wells horizontal boring machine. Unfortunately it requires a special key (KK). Haven't been able to find that either. Anyone know what the item to it's right is (with the big wing nut)? I think it MAY be for servicing a radial engine. The long box wrench is a Bonney. It was $2. I hate paying more than a dollar for wrenches.
A better look at the mystery tool. Really nicely made, the screw draws up the two hooks. The pointed tip has a 'v' shaped notch in it. It looks like something may have been brazed to the nut at some point.
The bottom are Plomb. Two of the sockets are stamped PWA (Pratt & Whitney Aircraft). I found those in the same box with the curious 'wingnut' tool in the photo above. Across the top are APEX, Craftsman, S-K, Snap-On, and S-K / mystery. The mystery socket is stamped -O- i- 9/16. I'm thinking 'i-' may signify impact but I don't know what -O- (or -0-) means. These were all so dirty I couldn't read them until I got them home.
Wall art. I have a thing for 1930 Fords.
Day 4
Craftsman, S-K, Snap-On, and two Hayco (BMW) pieces. A pair of Peterson Vise Grips, pretty side up.
This is the second pair of Petersons I have found this year and both have been rusty. The first was actually frozen. I traded a clean pair of Chinese knock-offs for it. Both parties 'scored'. Eventually I'll find a pair I don't have to soak.
Day 5
Beautiful Canadian soft-wood rip saw, $2.50. 1" Union firmer chisel, Plomb cold chisel, $3 each. I was really happy to find the Union chisel. Wish I could find more. The dark handled chisel is a mystery to me. I had thought it was a lathe chisel but now I'm not sure.
Mostly Craftsman. The seven in the lower left are German but in poor condition. Can anyone identify the star tipped 'Allen' wrenches. I don't even know what to call them. There is no manufacturer name. (Edit: I think I answered my own question => Powerbuilt® 6 pc Star Key Wrench Set)
More stuff. 12 feet of chain, 30 feet of rope, NOS John Oster replacement switches (Oster blenders?), and solid brass hinges. The painting truly is a painting. Paint on fabric. Not for the garage. Someone inspected it with dirty hands. If I can get the edge clean, maybe I'll re-frame it and give it to my mom.
Day 6
Found a few more. I didn't notice until I was home that I had picked up two 15mm wrenches. It's funny how far and wide the wrenches managed to spread. The rented space is probably 4,000 sf. I just know that somewhere in there is the box with the missing chuck key, number stamps, and other various pieces. One more weekend to try to find it. Maybe I will also find the other three Firestone tires.
Interesting tie tacks. Aerospace employee?
So that's it for now. I don't expect to find much on Saturday but who knows. I didn't expect to find anything to start out with.
All in all, kind of an odd collection of stuff. I've made notable progress filling in the holes in my Craftsman metric wrench and socket drawer. The Plombs of course have a home. My paternal grandfather had a nice collection of Plumbs and Firestones, but they were stolen after he passed away. He is also the reason for the Firestone tire. He worked for Firestone for a time. He had a knack for turning around troubled stores. The shop building my dad and I are planning will have a corner dedicated to his father. The little tire will go there.
