It pays to ask!

[SKI1019]

While coming home from some estate sales today, I saw a sign for a garage sale. Not being in a hurry I decides to stop. I found a box in the corner behind a chair that contained three rusty wrench relics. I asked the lady how much she would pay me to take them home and she said if I wanted them, I could have them for free. After getting them home, I cleaned them up and this is what I found. The small wrench is Whitman & Barnes, 1/2" USS, the other two are Lakeside, 5/8" USS and 3/4" USS. The largest is 11" long and the head is 9/16" thick. Not bad for free, huh? Steve
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=740420&stc=1&d=1519521730

 

[Musicinabottle]

While they don't do nothing for me, and I wouldn't have even given them a look, that isn't a bad deal for free.

 

[Richard Cranium]

I too would not of taken them, But free is free, If they make you happy then way to go.

 

[ddawg16]

Yea....you ****

The tough question....how much do you clean them up?

 

[SKI1019]

Yea....you ****

The tough question....how much do you clean them up?

I hit them with a wire brush on the bench grinder then shot them with WD-40.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Nice deal. I would have snapped those up

 

[ssdave]

You guys are just too hard up for tools or maybe for something to occupy your time. I wouldn't have hauled those home if I was required to clean them up even if they had paid me $10. To each their own, though, I sometimes haul home rusty iron things that appeal to me and electrolytically clean some stuff that anyone else would have thrown in the trash.

If you could go to the scrap yard when I'm taking in metal I'm cleaning out of the shop and ask, you'd get anywhere from a half bucket to 2 five gallon buckets of wrenches like those from me! Anything that I get in a box of tools that doesn't sell on ebay goes into the scrap bucket, and goes to the scrap yard whenever I clean out the shop. That ends up being pretty much anything that isn't Craftsman, SK, Proto, Mac, Matco, Wright, Williams, Plomb or Snap-on. Or anything that isn't in sets of Indestro, Bonney, Barcalo, P&C, Stanley, Penncraft, Blackhawk, Hinsdale, Lectrolite, Wilde, Thorsen, Mustang, Vulcan and similar. If it's made in Taiwan, China, Japan, India, or Pakistan and isn't in a fairly new/nice set, it goes into the bucket without even trying ebay. Sometimes I fill up a flat rate box, and sell the box full on ebay starting at postage plus the ebay/paypal fees on the postage plus a dollar. That's hit or miss, sometimes it sells, sometimes it goes into the bucket. I even tossed an old Snap-on dial torque wrench a while back that was in 9/32" size. Didn't bring $4.99 and flat rate postage in 3 tries, so it went into the scrap metal. Also toss a lot of old files, that aren't worth paying to have resharpened. And lots of dull drill bits, cheap wood chisels, and used bolts. I'm always surprised at the amount of junk that is stored in with assortments of tools I buy to get a few choice pieces that I want.

I find it curious what won't sell; based on what people post that they collect here. I guess they only collect it if they find it for free or nearly so, or if they find it "in the wild".

 

[DadsTools]

You guys are just too hard up for tools or maybe for something to occupy your time. I wouldn't have hauled those home if I was required to clean them up even if they had paid me $10. To each their own, though, I sometimes haul home rusty iron things that appeal to me and electrolytically clean some stuff that anyone else would have thrown in the trash.

If you could go to the scrap yard when I'm taking in metal I'm cleaning out of the shop and ask, you'd get anywhere from a half bucket to 2 five gallon buckets of wrenches like those from me! Anything that I get in a box of tools that doesn't sell on ebay goes into the scrap bucket, and goes to the scrap yard whenever I clean out the shop. That ends up being pretty much anything that isn't Craftsman, SK, Proto, Mac, Matco, Wright, Williams, Plomb or Snap-on. Or anything that isn't in sets of Indestro, Bonney, Barcalo, P&C, Stanley, Penncraft, Blackhawk, Hinsdale, Lectrolite, Wilde, Thorsen, Mustang, Vulcan and similar. If it's made in Taiwan, China, Japan, India, or Pakistan and isn't in a fairly new/nice set, it goes into the bucket without even trying ebay. Sometimes I fill up a flat rate box, and sell the box full on ebay starting at postage plus the ebay/paypal fees on the postage plus a dollar. That's hit or miss, sometimes it sells, sometimes it goes into the bucket. I even tossed an old Snap-on dial torque wrench a while back that was in 9/32" size. Didn't bring $4.99 and flat rate postage in 3 tries, so it went into the scrap metal. Also toss a lot of old files, that aren't worth paying to have resharpened. And lots of dull drill bits, cheap wood chisels, and used bolts. I'm always surprised at the amount of junk that is stored in with assortments of tools I buy to get a few choice pieces that I want.

I find it curious what won't sell; based on what people post that they collect here. I guess they only collect it if they find it for free or nearly so, or if they find it "in the wild".

As a seller, I also share in this same frustration and befuddlement. I too see things posted in GJ all the time as "look what I found" as if it were something wonderful, but the same things won't sell on eBay for squat. I somewhat agree with you in part is that for many such items, it seems they are only collectible and desirable if acquired for next to nothing. If it costs more than a few dollars, no one seems to think much of them at all. Which tends to indicate that's all they're really worth. If so, then it's fair to wonder why anyone would get excited over 'look what I got' and 'you ****' when it's worth next to nothing. Leaves you scratching your head for sure.

Same thing in the GJ classified ads where members post what they're looking for. I used to look at these and when I had an item someone was looking for I'd message them. I'd get the usual questions about the item and its condition. But when it came to price, if I quoted something much above what they'd expect to by it for at a yard sale, they suddenly disappear leaving naught but the chirping of crickets. A lot of time could be saved if the person would ask both parts of the question up front: not just the first part 'I want this' but also the second part 'for next to nothing'. So I don't bother with those wish lists anymore.

I'm also particularly fond of those who hate anything that was wire-wheeled but wouldn't buy it for anything more than peanuts even if it weren't.

I agree too that for the most part, anything imported has no resale value at all. However, with the US brands you mention that you can only sell if in sets I've had fair results selling singles. I believe certain folks will need them to complete a set. Let's face it, even with the more desirable items, people rarely sell complete sets cheap even at yard sales. They blow them out because they know quite well one or more are missing. The buyers also know that the chances are pretty slim that they'll encounter that exact wrench they're looking for by trolling sales, so they'll choke up and buy the single they need. It just takes quite awhile sometimes for the right buyer to come along.

It's all pretty crazy sometimes.

 

[Sawdustmaker]

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

 

[bubinga]

I like those engineers wrenches for the wood and metal lathe.

Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk

 

[alton1911]

I like single ended wrenches unless they are double ended to start with and have been “bobbed” or cut down. I saw a couple of nice Plomb wrenches that were cut down. While I understand the lack of enthusiasm for such wrenches, I love finding those that interest me. I found these at the local pawn shop. I collect Armstrong arm and hammer wrenches, and Proto wrenches. So I had no problem finding a place in my collection. I wish I could find more.


Thanks
alton1911

 

[DadsTools]

I like single ended wrenches unless they are double ended to start with and have been “bobbed” or cut down. I saw a couple of nice Plomb wrenches that were cut down. While I understand the lack of enthusiasm for such wrenches, I love finding those that interest me. I found these at the local pawn shop. I collect Armstrong arm and hammer wrenches, and Proto wrenches. So I had no problem finding a place in my collection. I wish I could find more.


Thanks
alton1911

I like these too! Have a bunch of them I just cleaned up, mostly Armstrong & Williams, but some marked with an "RI" IIRC. Lots with the older style size designations. No bench grinder wire wheel--how brutish! Degreaser followed by rust remover, then lightly gone over with a fine dremel wire wheel just to remove any remaining residue followed by a light coat of WD-40.

What are these officially called? Are they machinist, engineer, water pump, hydraulic wrenches? I've seen them called by different names.

 

[ssdave]

I've got quite a number of those single ended wrenches in the last year or so. Got a batch of Williams all at once, so I've been thowing the singles I've got since then in with them in an empty toolbox. When i get into my new shop and have a bit more time, I thought I'd put them on ebay and see if they sell. Seems to be some interest in collecting them.

I don't use them myself; I think they're pretty much an artifact of square nut days.

 

[shanny19]

I collect engineers wrenches. I don’t know that I would have gotten too excited over those, because I’ve sorta focused on Williams, Fairmount, and Armstrong.

I am excited as heck to pick up a new one.
SSdave, I would never, ever buy one on ebay because of the shipping.
ebay is for collectors of postcards, beanie babies, and pez. not heavy items, certainly not engineers wrenches.

Dads, hydraulic wrenches have a bigger angle and are less beefy.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

A rose is not a rose is not a rose, and every single head open end wrench is not the same. The only thing a water pump wrench, a SOE engineers' wrench, a checknut wrench, and a service wrench have in common is one head and one open end.

The Proto wrench in alton's photo above is a service wrench, for example. They have a thinner profile, a tapered handle, and much wider openings than standard nuts and bolts, typically 1 to 2+ inches. These were made for turning big nuts on shafts. Also assembly work. They look somewhat like water pump wrenches, but those are 30* angle and even wider openings for water pump gland packing nuts. (They typically started at 3/4" and went up to 2-3/8" and were eventually eclipsed in function by adjustable slip-joint pliers called water pump pliers. And water pump pliers have been kleenexed into being called, quite erroneously, "channellocks." Erroneously, because not all waterpump pliers use the Channellock - nee Champion DeArment - design.)

Checknut wrenches have a very thin profile, much thinner than engineers' wrenches, and they are never found with "sharp" (or pear-head) jaws, always round.

Page through any old catalog and the distinctions become clearer.

 

[ddawg16]

Some of us like old ****.....the older the better....especially if it's older than me

 

[alton1911]

A rose is not a rose is not a rose, and every single head open end wrench is not the same. The only thing a water pump wrench, a SOE engineers' wrench, a checknut wrench, and a service wrench have in common is one head and one open end.

The Proto wrench in alton's photo above is a service wrench, for example. They have a thinner profile, a tapered handle, and much wider openings than standard nuts and bolts, typically 1 to 2+ inches. These were made for turning big nuts on shafts. Also assembly work. They look somewhat like water pump wrenches, but those are 30* angle and even wider openings for water pump gland packing nuts. (They typically started at 3/4" and went up to 2-3/8" and were eventually eclipsed in function by adjustable slip-joint pliers called water pump pliers. And water pump pliers have been kleenexed into being called, quite erroneously, "channellocks." Erroneously, because not all waterpump pliers use the Channellock - nee Champion DeArment - design.)

Checknut wrenches have a very thin profile, much thinner than engineers' wrenches, and they are never found with "sharp" (or pear-head) jaws, always round.

Page through any old catalog and the distinctions become clearer.

Thank you. I have also wanted to ask those exact questions. I do read a great deal of what wisdom you all share here.
Thanks again
alton1911

 

[DadsTools]

A rose is not a rose is not a rose, and every single head open end wrench is not the same. The only thing a water pump wrench, a SOE engineers' wrench, a checknut wrench, and a service wrench have in common is one head and one open end.

The Proto wrench in alton's photo above is a service wrench, for example. They have a thinner profile, a tapered handle, and much wider openings than standard nuts and bolts, typically 1 to 2+ inches. These were made for turning big nuts on shafts. Also assembly work. They look somewhat like water pump wrenches, but those are 30* angle and even wider openings for water pump gland packing nuts. (They typically started at 3/4" and went up to 2-3/8" and were eventually eclipsed in function by adjustable slip-joint pliers called water pump pliers. And water pump pliers have been kleenexed into being called, quite erroneously, "channellocks." Erroneously, because not all waterpump pliers use the Channellock - nee Champion DeArment - design.)

Checknut wrenches have a very thin profile, much thinner than engineers' wrenches, and they are never found with "sharp" (or pear-head) jaws, always round.

Page through any old catalog and the distinctions become clearer.

Thanks for the explanation, Lugz. As I mentioned, I've accumulated a small pile of these and can see the distinctions you mentioned between them. Apparently, the set of Bonney I found are service wrenches (I think there's about six of them).

I'm still a bit uncertain about the other style names. I guess I'll have to find an old catalog and look though it like you say. Of course for me, if I'm going to sell them, it's important I use the right names in the title so folks who are looking can find them. In the past, I've just tossed all those names in the title and was able to sell them.

I seem to recall that the slip joint style of wrenches with the angled heads were always called water pump pliers as the generic name, regardless to make. And yes, I also recall that folks seem to call them all Channelocks.

 

[Lassen Forge]

Work on old old machinery for a while, and you start looking for stuff like this... I would say, for free, you ****.

I'd wire brush them, hit them with clear lacquer, and put them back in service. And when you remember someone else made their living with them long long ago... then yeah. You smile.

I wonder what else was in those piles of tools...

 

[DadsTools]

Work on old old machinery for a while, and you start looking for stuff like this... I would say, for free, you ****.

I'd wire brush them, hit them with clear lacquer, and put them back in service. And when you remember someone else made their living with them long long ago... then yeah. You smile.

I wonder what else was in those piles of tools...

I think the frustration with sellers like ssdave and myself are the kinds of items you see folks in here get all excited over and yet can't sell these same items for very reasonable prices. It leads you to the conclusion that they're really not worth anything. But, if that were the case, why do folks get excited about them??? It really makes you wonder.

Bench grinder wire wheels are fine as long as it's just to return the tool back to service. From a collectible viewpoint, they just destroy too much of the original surface. I seem to recall a suggestion on the AA site to use fine wet sandpaper. Now there's a thought (?).

It's good to know someone is putting them to work.

 

[Farmer J.]

One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Yes, how true. It's nice to collect the things you like and enjoy and not collect them because they're worth money to others.. I often turns out that what is today's common worthless junk turns out to be tomorrows rare collectables. I have always liked to collect old stuff but have lost count of the times I have seen items for sale identical to ones I threw on a bonfire or in a scrap bin years ago.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

If you are in the business of selling vintage antique tools patience is necessary! Most people do not appreciate such things, which works out for me as I do not sell much.

 

[shanny19]

There’s a big difference between finding an old piece in the wild and being excited to bring it home from the garage/estate/pawnshop/antiquestore sale you found it, and actively searching ebay, and paying shipping.

In the last couple of years, i’ve stumbled on and acquired two gigantic Williams pipe tongs. They’re mine now, i love them, and I’ll never ever have a use for them, they’re just my contribution to preserving the past. Some guy built Grand Coulee Dam with them, in my mind. They’re worth a lot to me. Never in a billion years would I SEARCH ebay for Williams pipe tongs and pay shipping. Your pipe tongs on ebay are worth nothing to me.

 

[DadsTools]

There’s a big difference between finding an old piece in the wild and being excited to bring it home from the garage/estate/pawnshop/antiquestore sale you found it, and actively searching ebay, and paying shipping.

In the last couple of years, i’ve stumbled on and acquired two gigantic Williams pipe tongs. They’re mine now, i love them, and I’ll never ever have a use for them, they’re just my contribution to preserving the past. Some guy built Grand Coulee Dam with them, in my mind. They’re worth a lot to me. Never in a billion years would I SEARCH ebay for Williams pipe tongs and pay shipping. Your pipe tongs on ebay are worth nothing to me.

Which affirms what I've said. Some of these things that people get excited about in here have in themselves little or no cash value. You say "they're worth a lot to me" but the "a lot" is clearly not in monetary value. Moreover, it sounds like you're also saying you're excited about them because they're yours, and that you'd hold no excitement at all if they were someone else's. Following that thinking, absolutely no one else in here should be excited about your tongs, and should see them as so much scrap metal.

Makes sense to me.

 

[jywilli69]

While coming home from some estate sales today, I saw a sign for a garage sale. Not being in a hurry I decides to stop. I found a box in the corner behind a chair that contained three rusty wrench relics. I asked the lady how much she would pay me to take them home and she said if I wanted them, I could have them for free. After getting them home, I cleaned them up and this is what I found. The small wrench is Whitman & Barnes, 1/2" USS, the other two are Lakeside, 5/8" USS and 3/4" USS. The largest is 11" long and the head is 9/16" thick. Not bad for free, huh? Steve
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=740420&stc=1&d=1519521730

The lady probably could have used the money, that is why some people do yard sales. Be proud of your deal.

 

[ssdave]

Shanny19, your thoughts are what I've come to also in cleaning out these old boxes. The acquisition of them for somebody is the goal, not the tool. So, no intrinsic value above the scrap steel in them. Once I acquired more usable tools, the ones I had in my junk became excess, and I've pretty much weeded them out of my own stuff now. But, I still end up with more of them that come in with boxes of tools, and have to weed them out. It might give the guys down at the scrap yard something to be pleased to find; but I suspect they get tons of them per year. I'm surely not the only one that has come to the conclusion that's the best way to get rid of them.

 

[Farmer J.]

When all the other tongs in the world have been thrown away and melted down as scrap metal we will all be fascinated to see shanny19's ones...!

Last year I was at a blacksmiths and asked him what were those massive tongs leaning up behind his door.. he said "what tongs"? then looked across and got very excited, he hadn't seen them for decades, and they had come out of a foundry where he used them to grip those pots of molten metal. He went happily off to clean them up and hang them on the wall.

 

[DadsTools]

When all the other tongs in the world have been thrown away and melted down as scrap metal we will all be fascinated to see shanny19's ones...!

But not until then. Until then, they are worth nothing to us.

Come to think of it, we should probably scrap and melt down every antique tool still extant in the world because they're worth absolutely nothing.

Except if they're yours.

 

[ssdave]

I agree about eBay...

I am also that stubborn *** that will rarely ever buy anything from a dealer. I like to buy from garage sales and estate sales.

If I had everything I wanted today, what would I look for tomorrow?

I like to buy from estate and garage sales, too. But, when I'm trying to complete out sets or replace broken or autographed pieces in my sets, sometimes ebay is the only place to get them, or at least the easiest. Some of the tools are being sold by dealers, particularly the one at a time sales. But, most of them I end up buying are just kids getting rid of their fathers stuff after he dies. Just online estate sales. Usually a mixed lot of stuff, with one or two things I need in it. If I'm lucky, I resell the stuff I don't need and more or less break even or at least end up with a reasonable cost in what I keep.

I've been buyng essentially anything Proto that I don't already have for about 15 to 20 years. And, I still find stuff all the time I don't have. I think I got about 5 pieces last week I didn't have; and saw 2 on ebay that I didn't know existed. So, now have a part # to search for.

I'm grateful for the guys that post up stuff they don't want on ebay. Gives me the opportunity to get a lot of things I otherwise couldn't find locally.

 

[jdoe213]

Great deal!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I am not above buying the odd tool on ebay, or even whole sets if it is something I have been looking for. You will pay more, but some times you can't resist!

 

[davethorik]

Sometimes you can find better deals on ebay than local, even with shipping. That being said, ebay is like here in that sometimes you see things you didnt even know you needed.

I've also limited my wrench buying, unless its 1) above average in shape, 2) a brand im interested in collecting, 3) unusual, or 4) i know it is rare, i feel no compulsion to buy rusty junk.

 

[DadsTools]

Sometimes you can find better deals on ebay than local, even with shipping. That being said, ebay is like here in that sometimes you see things you didnt even know you needed.

I've also limited my wrench buying, unless its 1) above average in shape, 2) a brand im interested in collecting, 3) unusual, or 4) i know it is rare, i feel no compulsion to buy rusty junk.

That's about where I'm at with it.

 

[PelicanPines]

Least you can do is send that lady a Domino's pizza... prepaid.

 

[JR 42]

Wrenches in old dead standards are cool!

But like most guys on here, I'm slowly acquiring what I find in person for cheap, not scouring ebay to complete a set of anything old, strange, and impractical.

I would definitely have taken those wrenches home for free. Nice catch!

JR

 

[disston]

I have bunches of wrenches like those. I try to find a use for them sometimes. When taking apart an AOD transmission 20 years ago I found I had a special box end wrench that fit a large nut inside that was difficult to reach with anything else. I have a couple of open end wrenches that fit the large bearing splitter I use.

I certainly haven't found a lot of use for most of the junk I collect but it does feel good to sometimes be putting these old tools back to work.

 

[fowldarr]

Hey OP, since this thread kind of derailed, I just wanted to say "nice find". Those look like some cool old wrenches.

 

[four.cycle]

The dichotomy between what ssdave describes above and my observations of Ebay is like night and day.

Just when I get to that point where I believe Dave when he says there are some brands you can't even pay people to haul away, some joker will bid up an old 3/8" drive ACTION SAE socket set (with an open-gear ratchet, no less) to $40 bucks.
Two weeks pass, and a completely intact, virtually unused Stevens Walden 21-piece socket set priced at a lousy $20 bucks times out with no bids - twice.
Part of my "job description" was being able to observe market trends and patterns and make my best effort to predict what would sell and what would not.
I've watched Ebay tools for over two years now, and I am more convinced now than when I first started that there is nothing about Ebay that makes any sense; the buyers are even screwier than the sellers.

I try not to make value judgments about what other people "collect". It might not be my cup of tea, but somebody out there wants it for their collection.

As for the comments about "not paying shipping" by avoiding Ebay, I have to wonder if the gasoline being burned while driving to all those swap meets and garage sales is free.
Self-service regular 87 octane is $3 bucks a gallon here (if you pay cash.) Shipping costs of $5 or $6 bucks is cheap compared to driving all over Hell's Half Acre looking for some "deal".

YMMV

 

[SKI1019]

Hey OP, since this thread kind of derailed, I just wanted to say "nice find". Those look like some cool old wrenches.

Thank You Sir! Well this thread did take on a life of it's on. I didn't mean to poke a hornets nest. I was just glad to rescue a few old tools from the scrap pile. I'll never try to build a set but if someone comes along with that effort, I'll pass these along to them, for free! I just enjoy the hunt and when I find a goodie, it makes it all the better.

 

[ssdave]

Thank You Sir! Well this thread did take on a life of it's on. I didn't mean to poke a hornets nest. I was just glad to rescue a few old tools from the scrap pile. I'll never try to build a set but if someone comes along with that effort, I'll pass these along to them, for free! I just enjoy the hunt and when I find a goodie, it makes it all the better.

That's what makes this fun. Look for what you want, and it's like a treasure hunt, and fun when you find what you're looking for, or something even better that you didn't ever know you wanted. I've found some incredibly nice things at estate sales that I didn't even know existed, much less that I wanted them.