got an old toolbox on CL filled with stuff; what to do with it all?

[BTL-A4]

I got a small Matco MB225 toolbox (circa 1978, I think, per what appears to be a date stamped on the box) on CL for $10 filled with what appear to be mostly automotive fasteners and doo-dads. I've kept some of the fasteners, and I could recycle the rest, but I was curious what you all do with this type of stuff when you get something like this. I don't need any more fasteners or plastic plugs/caps, etc.

The toolbox:


The contents:


Sorted contents:


The plan is to sand the rust off, paint it and use it.

 

[RTM]

If it’s not something I might use, or definitely won’t use, I trash them.

If rusty or bent, it’s trashed.

A potentially repurposed thing will get tossed in the random **** box, where I look first for weird stuff.

 

[23ford]

if i was closer i would take them all 8se some of them all the time

 

[The Cobbler]

some good stuff there " if you need it" but it's probably mostly it's junk if you don't want it.
Our local Habitat for Humanity bags up stuff like that & puts a buck or two price tag on it. it does seem to sell.

 

[danielbuck]

I keep drawers of old hardware like this (a bit better sorted though) they come in handy all the time. if you have space, sort them and keep them.

those wheel studs if they are the size thread you need work great for threading into suspension and steering weld-on threaded ends, to soak up heat while welding.

 

[toolenthusiast]

I was curious what you all do with this type of stuff

Ok, here goes. (I’m in auto body, which will obviously affect my answers.)

• SAE fasteners can go directly in the garbage
• Nails can GTFO before they end up on the floor and in a tire
• 1 single Chrysler plastic rivet does nothing for no one
• Spark plugs are too cheap to keep
• Give me all the wheel lock keys in the world, please
• Quality hose clamps might be worth saving
• Washers, o-rings, little gaskets, etc are garbage
• Fuses, springs, paper clips… garbage
• Air fitting / hose barb adapter is probably useful for something that only the previous guy knows about
• Fender washers, large bolts, and even the axle nut are probably useful for welding up custom tools in the future
• Cheap nylon ring terminals were banned under the Geneva Convention, to my understanding
• Miscellaneous new brake hardware belongs on the customers’ brakes… too late now…
• Gimme all those body plugs

Nice buy!

 

[four.cycle]

put it all in one place - in the center of the driveway is good - take photo from all angles - post an ad on Craisglist in the "free" section - don't include name, address, or phone number.
just say "On curb - on north Smith Street, between South 3rd and South 4th. under a big tree."
It will be gone in less than 24 hours.

i had boxes and boxes full of stuff like that two years ago.
all gone!

 

[GoToGuy_Ron]

The " cheap " crimp terminals are fine for your hobby use. Are you crazy, do know how expensive factory hardware has become, or hard to obtain. It's usually higher quality.
Always keep extra Adel clamps. Keep or give imperial fasteners to hot rod or restoration guys.

 

[toolenthusiast]

The " cheap " crimp terminals are fine for your hobby use. Are you crazy, do know how expensive factory hardware has become, or hard to obtain. It's usually higher quality.
Always keep extra Adel clamps. Keep or give imperial fasteners to hot rod or restoration guys.

You sound like a hoarder

 

[GoToGuy_Ron]

If you ever have to repair antique, vintage, cars, trucks, aircraft having " old original stock ",will the difference between happy customers and " how long?"
Change your mask filters the fumes are killing your brain cells.

 

[toolenthusiast]

happy customers

hobby use

Make up your mind

 

[dutchgray]

If I bought that 95% of it would go straight in the scrap bin, not worth the time to sort out and store for years.

 

[Chris_Hamilton]

If the SHTF having a nice selection of hardware would be invaluable.

 

[JSGAuto]

Looks like time consuming to me = trash.

 

[zendriver]

Metal scrap pile

Iused to get quite a bit in “lots” at estate auctions, a lot of stuff some of a brand new

A lot of it was mixed together or stuff that could not resell easily. It was just overwhelming to deal with, and I didn’t feel like tripping over for the rest of my life

We used to take it to the restore, but there’s not one in our town anymore

 

[mikedodge]

Anything that's rusty or used chuck.
Stick the nuts and bolts in a jar and advertise it for free or $5 online. Someone will want that they're always handy to have if you don't have a lot if them already.

 

[Davefr]

I got a small Matco MB225 toolbox (circa 1978, I think, per what appears to be a date stamped on the box) on CL for $10 filled with what appear to be mostly automotive fasteners and doo-dads. I've kept some of the fasteners, and I could recycle the rest, but I was curious what you all do with this type of stuff when you get something like this. I don't need any more fasteners or plastic plugs/caps, etc.

The toolbox:


The contents:


Sorted contents:


The plan is to sand the rust off, paint it and use it.

I'd make a pile for keepers and another one for scrap. Murphy would ensure that I wish I had saved the scrap but never touched the keepers.

 

[930dreamer]

I put all recyclable metal in a bucket/pile so a local scraper can pick up.

 

[sparky 1971]

Through the years I've been in similar situations. There have been many five gallon buckets full of miscellaneous parts from cleaning out service trucks, job sites, the shop etc. Many old timers have given me boxes of parts they will never use and I don't have the heart to refuse the junk they consider valuable. I always told myself that on some rainy day I would organize everything. Without fail, every one of those buckets and boxes was eventually emptied into the dumpster.

 

[Zebu Fellenz]

Earlier this year I bought a bunch of cabinets & organizer drawers that came out of a body shop.

I scrapped/dumped at least a quarter or the contents & sorted out the balance. 20/20 hindsight I probably should have scrapped more.

I say that because I ended up with +20 drawers or neatly organized bodywork supplies and I don't do bodywork or have any interest in it.

Based on your pictures I'd be scrapping +90% of those piles and after I sorted through the few things to keep I'd regret wasting the time and tell myself next time to bin it all.

 

[Wolley]

Most of that is junk. Anything rusted or unidentified can go in the trash. I've limited my collection of that type of stuff to one half bucket to store for future use. I got a former IBM repair person tool box this summer with little storage bottles with part numbers full of useless do dads. Kinda fun to look at then wind into the trash can. I like to break the cycle on this type of junk too, not take it to be donated somewhere.

 

[Pinemarten]

You are going to get differing opinions based on people having different circumstances. One fastener that replaces a missing one during a project will save a trip to the hardware store. How far away is a good hardware dealer? How valuable is your time?

For example........the " SAE stuff direct to garbage" comment might not apply if you sometimes work on old tractors or cars.
The plastic plugs for capping off hydraulic lines beats tape and plastic bags!

 

[908Jim]

Box is sweet, post pics of the restoration.

The rest is junk. Scrap it.

 

[BTL-A4]

Box is sweet, post pics of the restoration.

The rest is junk. Scrap it.

I'm planning to restore the box. I'm debating whether to keep it close to original or paint the body Craftsman Red and the drawers Craftsman Black to match my existing drawers, or go with a different color altogether.

The big bolts (1/2" x 6" long) are $6 each in the store. I'll be chucking most of this, but keeping some of the bolts and washers, along with a few other odds and ends. I forgot to mention I found a bunch of sockets, but not a complete set and no 10mm.

 

[BTL-A4]

You are going to get differing opinions based on people having different circumstances. One fastener that replaces a missing one during a project will save a trip to the hardware store. How far away is a good hardware dealer? How valuable is your time?

For example........the " SAE stuff direct to garbage" comment might not apply if you sometimes work on old tractors or cars.
The plastic plugs for capping off hydraulic lines beats tape and plastic bags!

I live in the suburbs and have 4 hardware stores within 15 minutes.

For some reason I find it relaxing to sort stuff, so I may see what I got and keep what I think I might use and chuck the rest. At least I have a small tool chest to put it all in! Ha!

 

[bcschief]

When I quit turning wrenches, I had 2 5-gallon buckets about half full each because anymore and they were too heavy to move. I still have a lot of it.

 

[driftpin]

I dunno how you got ahold of my ****, I tossed that into the trash for municipal pick-up, but you must've come by and grabbed the bag out of the trash can!

 

[nadogail]

I have a large collection of fasteners, both USS and Metric, more Metric than SAE.

I have learned that it is more economical to buy them in bulk than One’s and Two’s

 

[NYBODYMAN]

Earlier this year I bought a bunch of cabinets & organizer drawers that came out of a body shop.

I scrapped/dumped at least a quarter or the contents & sorted out the balance. 20/20 hindsight I probably should have scrapped more.

I say that because I ended up with +20 drawers or neatly organized bodywork supplies and I don't do bodywork or have any interest in it.

Based on your pictures I'd be scrapping +90% of those piles and after I sorted through the few things to keep I'd regret wasting the time and tell myself next time to bin it all.

Anymore of that neatly organized bodywork supplies you want to get rid of? Let me know what you have.

 

[bb29510]

that a cheap craftman. i got the same one. just trash everything

 

[908Jim]

The big bolts (1/2" x 6" long) are $6 each in the store. I'll be chucking most of this, but keeping some of the bolts and washers, along with a few other odds and ends. I forgot to mention I found a bunch of sockets, but not a complete set and no 10mm.

My issue with this line of thinking is you're equating the value of a new bolt to one with a totally unknown past. That mystery bolt may have seen 10,000 load cycles and is on the verge of failure. There might be cracks, it may have been torqued past yield last time it was installed, it may have been damaged during removal, etc., etc.. So, while the new version is $6, you have no idea if this random bolt you found is still good. There's also the issue of space for me. Unless you have deep pockets and can expand your shop or buy new fancy storage systems when you need to make room, the space they take up waiting to be used also has value.

I grew up with my dad having bins and bins of semi-organized used bolts. More often than not, we ended up driving to the hardware store for a new one anyway because he "didn't want to use an old bolt for this job" so the bins sat taking up space. if I'm saving old hardware, it's getting bagged and tagged and it's saved for a specific purpose.

 

[BTL-A4]

My issue with this line of thinking is you're equating the value of a new bolt to one with a totally unknown past. That mystery bolt may have seen 10,000 load cycles and is on the verge of failure. There might be cracks, it may have been torqued past yield last time it was installed, it may have been damaged during removal, etc., etc.. So, while the new version is $6, you have no idea if this random bolt you found is still good. There's also the issue of space for me. Unless you have deep pockets and can expand your shop or buy new fancy storage systems when you need to make room, the space they take up waiting to be used also has value.

I grew up with my dad having bins and bins of semi-organized used bolts. More often than not, we ended up driving to the hardware store for a new one anyway because he "didn't want to use an old bolt for this job" so the bins sat taking up space. if I'm saving old hardware, it's getting bagged and tagged and it's saved for a specific purpose.

These look new, like the PO bought a bunch, used some and threw the rest in this toolbox. However, I do see your point.

I gave almost all of the metric fasteners to a buddy who likes to work on cars. I don't have the space for these and don't need them for anything.

I threw out almost everything else, especially if it looked broken, rusty or trashed in some other way (many of the threads looked stripped or otherwise damaged). I kept springs, some new cotter pins, a few of the newer-looking fasteners, the sockets (for now) and a few other odds and ends, like a mystery handle and a magnet.

Oh, I found a penny, so the total cost of this was $9.99. I kept the penny.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I have always wanted one of those little side boxes. $10 ? You ****.

Sort the junk,

Good/useful junk KEEP
Bad/worthless junk SCRAP

 

[Wrench97]

I had a drawer full of metric dash screws, torx head bolts, window crank handle screws, dash light bulbs, door latch posts, door checks, pish pin retainers, clips, all that fit Volvo VN and Mack CH's I no longer have a use for and haven't looked for one in 2 years now.......................tossed it all.

 

[four.cycle]

I'm guessing that not very many of you guys ever read Peg Bracken's

"I Hate to Cook Cookbook"
Published in the early 1960s, as I recall.
I learned how to cook several dishes from this book before I was out of elementary school.

Two little pieces of sage wisdom stay with me to this day:

1. Do NOT put the chopped pimentos on top of the macaroni and cheese for the kid's birthday party. Children will NOT EAT food with "stuff" on it.

2. When in doubt, THROW IT OUT

 

[toolenthusiast]

If the SHTF having a nice selection of hardware would be invaluable.

I always wonder about that when I’m watching movies like Mad Max. “Did these warlords take power because they hoarded enough parts to maintain a fleet of vehicles?”… “I wonder if the hypermiler guys are thriving because they can drive really really far on a gallon of gas”… “Imagine all the people that prepped for nuclear war but then regular ol’ societal collapse happened instead”…

 

[Jacobson]

One man's junk is another man's ..........junk.
That stuff was "someday maybe" stuff for his life.
That life is over and the stuff should also go to the grave with it

 

[Robinson1]

I tend to keep bolts nuts and washers. I sort them by size and throw them in bins or other containers that live on a shelf. I don’t go so far as to sort by length. So a bin may contain everything from an inch long to 6 inches long. I actually use a lot of it and have a decent hoard. If I need a bolt I can usually find it. It’s also not uncommon for me to buy a random handful of this and that at Tractor Supply simply so I can add it to the hoard. I don’t keep rusty old junk however.

Construction fasteners can be very expensive and I’m always looking for boxes of stuff I actually use at the flea market. I’ve even gone so far as to buy the $5 bucket of randomness as long as the majority of it was stuff I’d actually use.

I’m actually working on an equipment shed right now and all the shingles have been nailed on with old beat up one pound boxes of roofing nails I paid $1 each for.

Random electrical components I don’t know the history of I shy away from. On the flip side I’m working my way through a gallon bucket of Ideal brand 12AWG wire nuts I paid $3 for. Im convinced someone just poured damaged boxes into a bucket because every nut I’ve used so far has been brand new.

It basically comes down to if you can and will use it keep it.

 

[Robinson1]

• SAE fasteners
• Nails

• Quality hose clamps
• Washers, o-rings

• Fender washers, large bolts

All this stuff is gold assuming it’s not rusty used junk. I know we have different applications but I farm and all this stuff can save the day

 

[rsanter]

I look it over for anything useful.
Often that’s 3-5 of the items.
I would keep those adel clamps...
The rest gets dumped into a junk car (scrap metal container)