Minor Yard Sale Score

[John in OH]

Certainly not a major score, but it does pay to dig around at yard sales sometimes! Usually I just find old clothes, nic-nacks, rusty garden tools and musty books at yard sales, but this weekend I uncovered in a pile of junk a ball pein hammer ... grimy, loose handle, rusty head, spider webs, grease and bird **** all over it. Marked $1.50. What the heck ... I shelled out the cash and carried it home.

Washed it off with mineral spirits, cleaned the rust off with a wire wheel, reset the handle, gave the head a coat of black enamel and the handle a coat of varnish. Best part ... with the rust off the head I found it stamped "Proto" and what appears to be "1313-P".



I think it looks pretty good for $1.50 cash, an hour of work, and a teaspoon of paint and varnish!

 

[whelenfan]

nice!

 

[Zeke]

Good deal. I found a lead hammer and a plastic one. Incredibly, I paid less for the lead one. 2 bucks IIRC.

 

[jw1968]

Very cool. I love finding old high quality Made in USA stuff(like my wife).Not trying to one-up you but I bought a '60's era Craftsman 1hp router on a generic 13"x18" router table, a ball peener,valve spring compressor, an bent feeler gauges for $25--I was very pleased.