I just saw a bunch of curved wrenches (S Shaped) at an garage sale.
What telltale signs do I look for to find the ones that are worth the most to flip?
I already found a tractor combination wrench Farmall/IH combo wrench marked L9.
Thank You
Well, its pretty simple, actually......you just need to find the kind of older wrenches wrench users really want, and are willing to pay for.
Those are, generally, Snap-On and Plomb, if in really good un-rusted condition, and, to a lesser extent, the Williams, Armstrong, and other 'good makes', of which there are quite a few.......have a look through the 'Alloy Artifacts' internet site to see all the different makes, and learn to determine 'vintages' by details of appearance.
'Condition' is the determinant......a 'new old stock' appearing older Snap-On or Plomb wrench will sell.....'so-so' or 'run of the mine' looking ones may sell, but not for very much $ ....old tools, with rare exceptions, are very much a 'buyers' market'. When idly 'garage sale' or 'flea market' browsing, I've gotten a few of the rare ones, which went for good $ on ebay, some 15-ish years ago, but I must have handled and inspected over a thousand tools for each uncommon one found. This is fine if just done for amusement, but if I'd been trying to make even 'minimum wage' finding and selling stuff, I'd have been sadly disappointed.
The generality of old misc. 'farm wrenches' are pretty much value-less, except for rare 'collectible' ones marked with the name of some obscure farm equipment manufacturer. Look up 'Wrenching News' for examples.
I've gotten some rather large number of old rusty wrenches 'thrown in' with other batches of stuff I'd bought.....all too often, this was one of those 'cheap $...or free for the hauling.... for the whole bunch, but you have to take everything' deals at estate sales, etc. A few times, I laid a layer of these on the 'floor' of my glass-blast cabinet, so they'd be de-rusted with over-spray when glass-blasting parts. Once clean, I'd refinish them with 'Oxpho' and give them to friends who liked to decorate walls with old widgets. Most of the 'farm equipment wrenches were originally painted black or red, so, if one had traces of paint, i'd try to match the original.....again, just for amusement.
In short, if you really want to make some $ dealing in tools, you will have to buy out the equipment at plant or business closures, or the estate sales of old mechanics or machinists. Being 'on the spot' with cash when a business is closing out, and able put down a few thousand $ for 'everything' is the way to get a worthwhile deal.
cheers
Carla
