2021 Garage Sale Thread

[LesserSon]

I tackled a search for that screwdriver patent. You can go sequentially through patents on
datamp.org/patents/search/shot.php?date=1869-09-07
for particular approved dates. Just change the digits of the date in the address bar.
I looked up all September 7 Tuesdays in an estimated range (1869 1875 1880 1886 1897) and clicked through all the images. There were a dozen or so broken files (no pun intended, although I did spot a Nicholson rasp patent), but hundreds of non-screwdrivers. I only really noticed one screwdriver, and it was not a folder.
I am a little suspicious that
1. the “7” could be a cut-off “T”, leaving the possible dates MUCH broader
2. the tapered ferrule could be from some unrelated patented device, and was utilized to craft an ingenious impromptu folding screwdriver

 

[wrenchguy]

Enough screwdriver for now.
Todays load from online auction that ended last nite.
Hobart Bros. compressor, 1920's. I'll be posting more of this in vintage compressor thread.



Old Graphotype machine, labeled in auction as "dog tag machine".





Chandler-Price letter press, 1800 lbs. of castiron ingenuity & engineering.



Motor from p-press, not original to it.



Beach Mfg. NO.1 Sliding/Rolling Top Saw. Somehow got its way here from the Novo Engine Factory, Lansing Michigan carpenters shop. Saw built 1890's in Montrose Pa. More of this will be posted in vintage table saw thread.



A like new 17.5 tire for my old truck. Now gotta find more like this 1.


7 minute walkaround video of the haul.

 

[wrenchguy]

Knurling is done with a double roller on a lathe. A good operator could do that in less than a minute per shaft.

Why? Its perfectly straight and spaced. I should take this to a vintage machine thread.
Thanks.

 

[mikeinri]

2. the tapered ferrule could be from some unrelated patented device, and was utilized to craft an ingenious impromptu folding screwdriver

THAT'S an interesting possibility...

Mike

 

[mikeinri]

Wrenchguy: Those big old machines are really cool! What do you intend to do with them?

Mike

 

[Old Radar]

That's a big load of huge equipment, Wrenchguy--especially next to my puny submission for the day! At least I didn't pay much. $4 for everything pictured.

Craftsman Impact Driver Set--missing #3 Phillips bit
Craftsman Universal Nut Cracker--9-4772
2 Replacement Cutters for the Nut Cracker--9-4773
Pair of Alligator Clip Test Leads for the E-Tank
No-Name Wrench Keeper

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Couldn't find it in the stickie. Thanks, i'm gonna post there to open the sale thread.

It's newer than the Sticky.

2. the tapered ferrule could be from some unrelated patented device, and was utilized to craft an ingenious impromptu folding screwdriver

I was thinking that as I was searching for additional J.H. Hebblethwaite patents assigned to Ulrich Mfg Co., and there were several, all earlier than the "Handy Hammer" multi-tool (I will post that info in the 'Show your wood (handles)' thread after Mike posts there), but none with a September issue date.

 

[wrenchguy]

Wrenchguy: Those big old machines are really cool! What do you intend to do with them?

Mike

Flipping the letter press (wanted motor) and the graphotype.
Reworking some of the framing on the saw for engine show display and light operation.
Clean up compressor for wrenchguys museum.

 

[mikeinri]

Cool. Are there people still using those letter presses, or is that a museum item?

Mike

 

[wrenchguy]

I don't know, hoping to sell to rich ceo of some company for conversation piece in his building lobby or office. I think they're on the common side of the scale, but might pay for the load.

 

[Outlawmws]

Drat!
I was trying to REDUCE my thread subscriptions.

That's crazy talk right there, LS...

Mike

You could lose your man card!

 

[AK4570]

Y'all and your sleuthing abilities are pretty awe-inspiring.

I dug a couple more items out of a pawnshop today:

Proto 1218 9/16 Combo (do these get the "Pebble" moniker as well?)
Plvmb 5348 7/8 x 1/2 deep (BC date code)

$4

Best regards,
John

 

[Old Radar]

Y'all and your sleuthing abilities are pretty awe-inspiring.

I dug a couple more items out of a pawnshop today:

Proto 1218 9/16 Combo (do these get the "Pebble" moniker as well?)
Plvmb 5348 7/8 x 1/2 deep (BC date code)

$4

Best regards,
John

Yes. According to Alloy Artifacts: "The pebbled size field design was used on Plomb-marked tools in the late 1940s, and Proto continued to use this style for a few years."
As usual, interesting designs that add cost but not function are eventually cut back before being cut out...

 

[AK4570]

Yes. According to Alloy Artifacts: "The pebbled size field design was used on Plomb-marked tools in the late 1940s, and Proto continued to use this style for a few years."
As usual, interesting designs that add cost but not function are eventually cut back before being cut out...

Thank you for the info, Sir, and I hope this spring evening finds you and yours in good health. I've managed to find 3 in 3 different stops over the last 2 days... Maybe the start of a trend!

Thank you again, and best regards,
John

Sent from my SM-A115A using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[mikeinri]

How does that add cost? Don't they just stamp those size markings?

Go to 2:18...

Mike

 

[Private Lugnutz]

I'm not as well-researched on Plomb Pebbled size fields as much as I am on Plomb Pebbled shanks, which were introduced as early as 1944 (AA and others are wrong about them being postwar), but my hunch is that the Pebbled size fields were a sort of stylish, though shrinking echo of the same concept, which was not wholly cosmetic. Advertising suggested Plomb believed there was a grip advantage to the pebbling akin to knurling, a concept they were always fiddling with (e.g., Name-Nurl grips on pliers). EDIT: See my Plomb Pebble thread in Index in Sticky on VB for more.

 

[Old Radar]

How does that add cost? Don't they just stamp those size markings?

Go to 2:18...

Mike

Those stamps and dies don't last forever. They wear out and have to be replaced. Q/A of "style" adds time and cost. "Style" also wears out and has to be replaced. The cost of that coming up with, designing and initial production of that style also costs time and money--those are major reasons the more modern the tool the less intricate the tool.

Otherwise we would still have things like this:

 

[RTM]

Those stamps and dies don't last forever. They wear out and have to be replaced. Q/A of "style" adds time and cost. "Style" also wears out and has to be replaced. The cost of that coming up with, designing and initial production of that style also costs time and money--those are major reasons the more modern the tool the less intricate the tool.

Otherwise we would still have things like this:

Back when people could have nice things. That’s a beaut.

 

[bmwrd0]

And now a word from our sponsor;

Spring has sprung, and sales in much of the world are starting up in force. In my neck of the woods, today I have more sales locally than I can hope to make it to, and in the nearby capital, there are countless more. And as we head into this wonderful time of sunshine, occasional clouds and rain, temperate weather, and sweet breezes, we should take a moment to reflect on whom is making great inroads in our picking community.

As some of you may have noticed over the last few months, indeed as long as I have been hosting this tread, I have not been posting any score on who gets the most of the coveted "You ****!" And this is by design. As we learned last year, there are people who choose not to use this phrase, and instead, go for terms such as "some guy" or "well played" or whatever else they may feel is appropriate. And some people might not like the pressure that this puts on them, nor the pressure they feel is put on others. All well and good, but it does make it a little bit more difficult to give everyone an idea of who is really kicking *** and taking names in the "look what I found!" that is the lifeblood of our thread.

So I am instead asking for everyone involved in this project to keep a mental note of what they think of as a solid picking, and towards the end of the year nominate whoever you though makes a good candidate for Picker of the Year and for Thread Host. And I will make periodic reminders to do this. Yes, it is homework, but it is the fun kind, where you get to go back and look at what bits of rusty junk we drag home to our spouse's discontent. Don't worry, I will go back and help by pointing out some of the great finds.

As a side note, we are currently at over seventy pages of goodness for this year, with over 1400 individual posts. Now, this is slower than last year at this time, not surprising due to our real-world distractions, which do not bear mentioning in the specific. Let us just say that getting out there has been a bit of a challenge for many, and let us all hope that this clears up quickly.

So, with all of that out of the way, let's get out there, enjoy the weather and have fun finding fantastic (searches mind for F words...) Finds!

 

[Levaughn]

I picked up these items at an Estate Sale. $10.

S-K Wayne 3/8 Ratchet # 45160
Craftsman 3/8 "V" Ratchet # 43781
S-K Wayne Extension # 45128
S-K Wayne Extension # 45126

The larger sockets are S-K Wayne.

 

[mikeinri]

Those stamps and dies don't last forever. They wear out and have to be replaced. Q/A of "style" adds time and cost. "Style" also wears out and has to be replaced. The cost of that coming up with, designing and initial production of that style also costs time and money--those are major reasons the more modern the tool the less intricate the tool.

Otherwise we would still have things like this:

In the grand scheme of things, I'd say "cost" to make the stamp/die to make the pebble style marking on the surface of a wrench is night and day different than making something like that level (which is incredibly cool, BTW).

But, I'm always bewildered by the decisions made by bean counters (and the management teams that fall in line with that), but that's a whole different thing...

Mike

 

[LesserSon]

I agree that plain surfaces, devoid of ornamentation, are less costly than complex ones to set up and crank out. They are made even cheaper by the relative ease in polishing and finishing - with lowered need for exactness and fewer details to get wrong. Certainly, in markets driven by lowest cost production, plain jane wins.
BUT we are living in the post-modern age. We can value flourishes of functionless ornament side-by-side with bare-bones utility. In the modern age proper, when these stripped-down patterns were first developed, there was an aesthetic of clean lines and bare surfaces that permeated ALL consumer goods. Traditional details were chopped off of existing furniture and architecture, clothing was altered - fashion demanded featurelessness.
What I despise in NEW tools (and other goods) is not that they lack ornament, but that their patterns are optimized for automated production (not hand-fit nor function), which makes them ugly. I don’t find older full-polish, minimal-ornament tools inherently ugly, because they were still made with the user’s hand and efficient function as top priorities.

 

[3jakes]

Friday 2 community yard sales.
Picked up some barbell weights to flip on ebay (not pictured)
In general, prices seemed a little high on things like clothing. Always looking for blue jeans for cheap. One place was selling them for 10 bucks.
Stimulus checks chasing less produced goods?
But I digress.
Got a Blue-Point vise grips, made in Spain.
And a Blue-Point utility knife, unscrew the big wheel & it spring hinges open to change blades.
Paid $2.75 for them
At another location, saw a visegrip in a bag with a $5.00 tag on it.
Then saw the chain & investigated.
"Cool", ... a Peterson 20R.
Also cool is the fresh in box Peterson replacement chain.
I would think the pliers rivits would wear out long before a chain?
Also in the bag were some fresh masonry bits.
Can't wait to hit some Lancaster sales tomorrow morning.

 

[txlonghorn1989]

I agree that plain surfaces, devoid of ornamentation, are less costly than complex ones to set up and crank out. They are made even cheaper by the relative ease in polishing and finishing - with lowered need for exactness and fewer details to get wrong. Certainly, in markets driven by lowest cost production, plain jane wins.
BUT we are living in the post-modern age. We can value flourishes of functionless ornament side-by-side with bare-bones utility. In the modern age proper, when these stripped-down patterns were first developed, there was an aesthetic of clean lines and bare surfaces that permeated ALL consumer goods. Traditional details were chopped off of existing furniture and architecture, clothing was altered - fashion demanded featurelessness.
What I despise in NEW tools (and other goods) is not that they lack ornament, but that their patterns are optimized for automated production (not hand-fit nor function), which makes them ugly. I don’t find older full-polish, minimal-ornament tools inherently ugly, because they were still made with the user’s hand and efficient function as top priorities.

As usual, wonderfully articulated and well said LS. I always enjoy reading your comments.

 

[mikeinri]

LesserSon, You make a lot of good points.

As I was writing my last post, it occurred to me that the ornamental stuff seemed to go out if style, but I wasn't sure if that was driven by the market (actual consumers), or Marketing Departments (pushed by the dreaded bean counters, LOL)...

Mike

 

[dodge610]

Grabbed this at a local garage sale the price was right


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[mikeinri]

Wow, that's in nice shape! How rare are JC Penney tool items (especially cabinets)?

Mike

 

[dodge610]

Wow, that's in nice shape! How rare are JC Penney tool items (especially cabinets)?

Mike

Not sure I have only seen one other of the JC Penny boxes in the 8 years i have been looking.

 

[mikeinri]

Wow, I'd say that makes it pretty rare!

Mike

 

[dodge610]

Wow, I'd say that makes it pretty rare!

Mike

I would guess saw one 2 weeks ago and before i got there to buy it they had sold it only 2 i have seen.

 

[Ryan_340]

Scored 2 Wilton vises from a moving/estate sale. $50 for the C-2 & $20 for the 2" baby!

 

[LesserSon]

Ryan - wow!

 

[d42jeep]

We went late to an estate sale in Pleasanton, CA. We expected the Wilton Bullet to be gone and sure enough it was. We picked up a few smalls and the prices were fair. We wasted our time with two more sales but there was nothing worthwhile. The Blue Point grease gun was like new, the pair of nutdrivers were Bridgeport.
-Don

 

[mikeinri]

D42jeep: What's that Irwin tool?

Scored 2 Wilton vises from a moving/estate sale. $50 for the C-2 & $20 for the 2" baby!

Ryan - wow!

There's an understatement!!!

Mike

 

[youinreverse]

Scored 2 Wilton vises from a moving/estate sale. $50 for the C-2 & $20 for the 2" baby!

Amazing finds. You ****! That power arm for the baby bullet is worth ~$200 on its own.

 

[d42jeep]

D42jeep: What's that Irwin tool?






There's an understatement!!!

Mike

It’s an Irwin expansive bit, adjustable to drill different sizes of holes in wood. It’s missing it’s larger cutter but I probably have one sitting around. Here is one I found in 2019 at the Tahoe flea.
-Do

 

[mikeinri]

Wow, that's really cool, never saw anything like that before.

Mike

 

[bmwrd0]

I ended up hitting around six sales today, but only two offered up anything I was willing to pay for.

The first stop was an older lady selling off her late husband's tools. Some good stuff in there, but mostly things I don't need, and I am trying not to buy as much these days. Snap-on 3/8s, Proto 3/8L, two SK Waynes, an Armstrong 3/4 and a Blue Point pinch bar. She asked $2 but I slipped her a $5.

The next stop had a bunch of cheap **** that was overpriced. After that, it was to an estate sale with few tools but lots of vintage radios, which I don't need at this point. After that was an estate sale doing final clearance, and I had been there six months ago, and they probably were taking that long as things were very expensive still. But I managed to find a couple of things:

an old magazine for home craftsmen! With ads by Walker Turner, South Bend, Atlas, and other favorites of ours. $1

A Wisconsin ACN. Missing the gas tank and air filter assembly, it is in pretty good shape and should be a fun project. And boy, does that thing weigh a ton! $5

And the final stop was a bust, but a nice country drive anyway.

 

[jwsia]

Estate sale today

75 Deere 520
15 for the Reed 103
40 for all the cast iron


All the cast iron is old Warner with 1 piece of Griswold #9 that I will keep. I need to learn how to clean it all up and season it. The only cast iron pan I have was seasoned when I bought it.

The Little Reed had to come home with me, its nice under all that paint. I just need to make a ball end for the handle.

Happy hunting

 

[mikeinri]

BMW: Nice stuff, as usual! Surprised you didn't go back to the first stop after striking out at the second one!

Mike