A Tale of Two Boxes, Decisions, and Choices
On Saturday, I had some errands to run, along with meeting an old friend for beers in the afternoon. So, I checked if there were any interesting sales in the area I would be in, and it looked like a couple filled the bill. So, off I went.
The first was the home of someone with varied interests, and it looked like some interesting tools and radio stuff. Well, the radio bits were priced higher than I would like, and it looked like the tools had been gone over pretty heavily before I got there, along with a roller cabinet marked NFS. But I managed to pick up some interesting things:
A 60's vintage Craftsman pruning saw, some Kroil and cutting fluid, a chart of decimal equivalents, an early Yankee push drill (forgot that for the pic), and a Barcalo wrench roll. I will always pick up a decent one of those!
After that, I headed out to the other sale, which was described as a "gentleman farmer." Should be good! Well, it wasn't that great. But as I walked back to the tool shed, something caught my eye. Is that a P&C logo on that old toolbox? Why, yes it is! And so I rushed over to it, admiring the logo the whole while. Well, the box was a little beat up, and a little pricy! But, it was mine now, and it should be worthy of a restoration.
But, next to it was another old box, one I had seen before, but I couldn't place it. And it was priced a little higher. So, I looked it over as best I could in the half-light of the shed, not seeing any identifying marks. Looking back at the P&C box, I pull out the half-dozen bits of distributor guts, old magnets, and other heavy detritus, and ask the fellow working the outer section of the sale to hold it for me, while I look around. I immediately head over to that other box to look at it one more time. It has a front drop-down panel, two drawers with metal loop handles, a carry tray, and a hipped roof. But I still cannot make out a logo. And it is missing a carry handle on the top. Well, I don't walk too well, use a cane as a matter of fact, so I left that one on the ground where it was resting.
Now, I don't carry that much cash on me, as it forces me to stay on a budget. So, I had enough money on me to pick up just one, and I chose the P&C. I paid, took the long walk back to my truck, and I headed out to meet my friend.
But I got to thinking about it on the drive and took a good hard look at it while waiting for Doug to show up.
That is a pretty beat-up box. No carry tray, the handle and latches are pretty rusty, as well as the corner pieces, and the hasp won't move. What was I thinking? This is starting to look worse and worse. And I started thinking more and more about that other box. So, when I got home that night, I started doing some research in earnest. And I realized what I passed up.
To Be Continued...
On Saturday, I had some errands to run, along with meeting an old friend for beers in the afternoon. So, I checked if there were any interesting sales in the area I would be in, and it looked like a couple filled the bill. So, off I went.
The first was the home of someone with varied interests, and it looked like some interesting tools and radio stuff. Well, the radio bits were priced higher than I would like, and it looked like the tools had been gone over pretty heavily before I got there, along with a roller cabinet marked NFS. But I managed to pick up some interesting things:
A 60's vintage Craftsman pruning saw, some Kroil and cutting fluid, a chart of decimal equivalents, an early Yankee push drill (forgot that for the pic), and a Barcalo wrench roll. I will always pick up a decent one of those!
After that, I headed out to the other sale, which was described as a "gentleman farmer." Should be good! Well, it wasn't that great. But as I walked back to the tool shed, something caught my eye. Is that a P&C logo on that old toolbox? Why, yes it is! And so I rushed over to it, admiring the logo the whole while. Well, the box was a little beat up, and a little pricy! But, it was mine now, and it should be worthy of a restoration.
But, next to it was another old box, one I had seen before, but I couldn't place it. And it was priced a little higher. So, I looked it over as best I could in the half-light of the shed, not seeing any identifying marks. Looking back at the P&C box, I pull out the half-dozen bits of distributor guts, old magnets, and other heavy detritus, and ask the fellow working the outer section of the sale to hold it for me, while I look around. I immediately head over to that other box to look at it one more time. It has a front drop-down panel, two drawers with metal loop handles, a carry tray, and a hipped roof. But I still cannot make out a logo. And it is missing a carry handle on the top. Well, I don't walk too well, use a cane as a matter of fact, so I left that one on the ground where it was resting.
Now, I don't carry that much cash on me, as it forces me to stay on a budget. So, I had enough money on me to pick up just one, and I chose the P&C. I paid, took the long walk back to my truck, and I headed out to meet my friend.
But I got to thinking about it on the drive and took a good hard look at it while waiting for Doug to show up.
That is a pretty beat-up box. No carry tray, the handle and latches are pretty rusty, as well as the corner pieces, and the hasp won't move. What was I thinking? This is starting to look worse and worse. And I started thinking more and more about that other box. So, when I got home that night, I started doing some research in earnest. And I realized what I passed up.
To Be Continued...
