Tools found in road

[l_bilyk]

I have never found anything, but my Dad driving a garbage truck and he dumps the bins at Canadian Tire, Home Hardware etc. He has found drills, bolt cutters, other power tools, socket sets etc. He's found probably over 1000$ in tools.

Display models? Returns?

 

[Hawk231]

Before I was a teenager, I walked the back roads picking up aluminum cans and returnable bottles for pocket change. PITA to sort the steel from the aluminum, had to pick them up to tell. Found a few tools too. Mostly craftsman and chinese sockets, and the occasional screwdriver. The best score was a SnapOn 1/2-9/16 offset box end.

 

[wilbilt]

4 pairs of pliers over the years, a genuine 12" Crescent wrench, many sockets (shiny stuff gets my attention), etc.

A big rubber mallet and a TH400 transmission on the side of the road, and a 9/16" Snap-On long combo wrench INSIDE a truck tire I was repairing.

I dug up a Snap-On "Octo-Grip" screwdriver in my front yard. The blade was completely rusted, but the dealer warrantied it. (No, he didn't replace the handle, LOL)

I went to a lake to go water skiing with some friends many years ago. While wading in the water on the boat ramp, one of my friends tripped over something. It turned out to be a new Craftsman "Rally" toolbox full of tools. It must have fallen off a tailgate or something.

Worst "find"...a full 2 1/2 gallon gas can in the middle of a bridge against the rail. I stopped (early morning-no traffic) and threw it in the back of my Land Cruiser. It was one of those translucent red plastic ones, and the "fuel" looked a little dark. I assumed it was premix that bounced off a landscaper's trailer.

I drove the rest of the way to work happily, because I had scored some gas as well as the can. When I got there, I popped the cap to pour it in my tank (I had run this vehicle on Coleman fuel in the past, so a little premix wasn't going to hurt it) and almost passed out due to the strong ether vapors. I realized at that point it was full of meth lab residue, and someone had tried to throw it OFF the bridge.

Not to worry, I poured it into the waste oil drum at the shop and kept the can...and I haven't stopped to pick up cans or buckets since.

 

[Finley]

I realized at that point it was full of meth lab residue,

ill bet that stuff is bettter than NOS!

 

[wilbilt]

ill bet that stuff is bettter than NOS!

I don't know about that. It was the nastiest stuff I've ever smelled.

 

[MyDomain]

12" Crescent wrench
8" wobble extension
100' Craftsman tape measure
Mag lite
crow bar
etc

 

[ZRX61]

What did you do with them?

Left em there, I was on a Kaw 900 at the time....

 

[Tim G]

My Dad used to deliver newspapers in his car,early mornings,picked up a ton of stuff on the highway.
BEST score was a NEW Snap ON 3/4 drive rachet...
I bought an old ****** trade in a few years ago for a winter car,paid a hundred for it,took the carpet up to fix the rusty floor,found a Snap on 3/8 long handle rachet,6" extension,and T50 torx,figured the car was free after that!
Fixed a Toyota Camry at work {bodyshop} took the rear bumper off,found a pick hammer that looked real familiar wedged on top of the reinforcement,,,
Asked the boss to check with the lady to see if we had fixed the car before,YUP,it was my hammer,and it had been in there for 3 years!
I don't loan tools anymore....

 

[Firetrucks]

In the last year I have found:
2-2" tie down straps, crowbar, and a couple of screwdrivers all at different times. But all on the outside of a decreasing radius exit ramp on the way home from work.

On another exit ramp 2 months ago I found one of the magnesium two-wheel dollies. Guy behind me saw it as well and flipped me off because i got to it first.

There are advantages to getting off work at 3:00 a.m.

 

[HighOctane]

Display models? Returns?

Yes, they have all worked so far, he just found a nail gun kit the other night too.

 

[HighOctane]

In the last year I have found:
2-2" tie down straps, crowbar, and a couple of screwdrivers all at different times. But all on the outside of a decreasing radius exit ramp on the way home from work.

On another exit ramp 2 months ago I found one of the magnesium two-wheel dollies. Guy behind me saw it as well and flipped me off because i got to it first.

There are advantages to getting off work at 3:00 a.m.

Thats funny, maybe it was his and he was coming back for it?

 

[snorvet]

When I used to run along country roads 20 some years ago, I found several tools that I brought home. But I couldnt quite drag the john boat that was laying in the road. I went back later with my truck and it was gone.

 

[Ken P]

My best ever was / is a 20 piece Craftsman tap and die set. It came with both handles as well. The rest have been stuff like a tape measurer, a BIG ball peen hammer, and an assortment of crappy screwdrivers. I've had to pass on a few things because traffic was too heavy and not worth stopping.

 

[OctaneMotorsports]

I found one of these half buried in the gravel at the side of a road:

Hahaha

Seriously though, I havn't found anything on the road, but if I'm working on a Monday I will go check out the gravel paddock area (kart racing track) and occasionally you will find a socket or a screwdriver. Nothing special though.

 

[ersatzs2]

Just twice: Years ago walking along rte 206 here in NJ to pick the car up from the body shop, feeling pretty disgusted because it was a cold rainy December day, I found a tiny Snap on screwdriver with a green handle on the shoulder. Cheered me right up. Then again in December, last year, at the WKA kart nationals at Daytona, so help me, jogging back from the grid to the tent to get a couple of tools including... hey, whats that in the grass... a 10mm craftsman combination wrench with a racheting box section. It introduced me to the concept of the ratcheting wrench and now I have a tray full.

 

[pl_silverado]

My last find was when i raided an old garage that i had been commissioned to clean out, taxes havnt been paid on it for like 6 years. I found a brand new 10" craftsman table saw, brand new 10" miter saw, and a brand new still in box Craftsman Professional Router. I also found a nice 3/8" chain. I promptly loaded them up and proceeded to sub out the rest of the job

 

[Down Under Bloke]

Found and lost many tools on the road over the years, I also find tools in buildings voids that some else left behind.

Unfortunately I seem to leave to god tools and find the **** ones

 

[NicksTrix]

craftsman 1/4 ratchet, few snap on wrenches in the desert, pair of vise grip pliers, some odds and ends i'm sure. i've donated a few as well. lost a nice matco pry bar that still bums me out. it was about new.... it's a give and take...

 

[wilbilt]

craftsman 1/4 ratchet, few snap on wrenches in the desert, pair of vise grip pliers, some odds and ends i'm sure. i've donated a few as well. lost a nice matco pry bar that still bums me out. it was about new.... it's a give and take...

Holy dredged up thread, Batman!

But I agree it is give and take, and I believe some things are destined to be lost. I have found several things that I promptly lost again, and I figure that's where they are meant to be.

We went camping one time, and while disconnecting the trailer, I looked down and found a nice Kershaw knife. It had an engraved inscription on the handle indicating it had been presented as a safety award, along with the logo of an Operating Engineers' union local. (Funny - a knife as a safety award). Within a week I had lost it, not even a clue as to where.

Installing a satellite TV system, I found a telescoping cable puller pole the alarm installers had left. I was very happy, as I really needed one. Two weeks later, I left it under a house. It was a really nasty, close crawl space, and I never went back for it.

Sometimes found items remain with you. Other times, they are destined to continue their journies.

 

[olds88]

A few years ago a car came in with a flat tire. There was a Craftsman 1/4 inch ratchet lodged into the tire!

 

[fourfeathers]

Best finds for me were an Echo straight shaft string trimmer, and just a few weeks ago, I looked out my window at the last stoplight to my house, and found a Gerber multitool laying next to my truck. It's knife was open, but snapped off. Still has another blade though.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

I have a whole bunch of stuff i've taken out of tyres. House keys, stones, even a gate shackle.

 

[MechanicforLife]

I found a black 9/16 Williams long style combo wrench in the road..
got it in my box

 

[Wrench-Bender]

2' x 6' aluminum walk board is the biggest tool I've ever found on the road.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Found some good stuff at Pull a Part...1/2" older Craftsman ratchet, 16 MM Gear wrench.

 

[crazytrain]

I found a Estwing framing hammer one the shoulder of the road the other day.

 

[Fugio]

Are you guys finding these things because you live out in the middle of no where......because I dont see this kind of thing living in close proxsimity to Dallas

Dude, I recently found a 4 pound craftsman engineer's hammer on IH-30 in Garland. Pulled over to get it and a garbage truck ra over it and snapped the red fiberglass handle a few seconds before I got it.

Took it to Sears and they handed me a brand new one. A $23 hammer for 5 minutes work!

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-48-oz-engineers-fiberglass-hammer/p-00938261000P

 

[Fugio]

Mainly what I get is ratcheting straps that have broken or fallen off. I have a HUGE collection of hooks now.

 

[Deadsquiggles]

Found this Thorsen 15/16" obstruction combo wrench in the road one day.

 

[Davidad1]

16'0 extension ladder, numerous hammers, screwdrivers, channel locks, lineman pliers , combination wrenches . My wife tells me I can spot a tool driving 70 miles per hour on the freeway from 1/4 away


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[eborcim]

found a decent garden rake on the shoulder a couple of weeks ago

 

[John in OH]

My best ever was / is a 20 piece Craftsman tap and die set. It came with both handles as well. The rest have been stuff like a tape measurer, a BIG ball peen hammer, and an assortment of crappy screwdrivers. I've had to pass on a few things because traffic was too heavy and not worth stopping.

Yeah, I hear ya about the traffic!! Once I stopped a little too suddenly to pick up a large clevis along I-271 outside of Cleveland one evening. I thought I was either going to die instantly like a rag doll, or cause a huge multi-vehicle pile-up!! I'll never do that stupid move again .... no more picking up tools along major interstates for me!!

 

[howsths]

Found 6" Channelocks and Channelock lineman pliers. Both in the middle of the street, different streets and times. One of the times my daughter was with me and thought I was nuts pulling over for a tool.

 

[Ponchoguy]

A toolbox with some tools glued to the bottom of it, which I cleaned up (the tools and the box), some loose tools in a Craftsman rollaway I bought (which was jamming the drawers, so I took them out to investigate and found some goodies), a Snap On PTR700G air ratchet with a 1/2" Craftsman socket (which I swapped out) that I almost tripped over going for a walk, a 20' Craftsman USA tape measure that I DID trip over going for a walk (launched me into a fence, almost comical), a wire nipper on a car in a junkyard (and I actually needed it right then and there!), half of a Craftsman socket rail in a junked car (which was exchanged), half of a Craftsman nutdriver in a Buick Electra's distributor with an Oldsmobile 307 under the hood (which I exchanged and the clerk at Sears laughed and asked where the other half was....he warrantied it, was just joking), and various other curbside finds over the years, including the Walker jack that ya'all read about here.....

Also bought a floor model Husky tool box combination that was jammed/locked closed. I waited with baited breath for a week while Stanley sent me a new key. When I opened it, there was a Klein 5 in 1 screwdriver and other various tools in it.....

 

[Ponchoguy]

My favorite among the bunch is my 3/8" Craftsman 43784 ratchet. I found it out walking with my Dad in 1976, as it fell out of the rot hole of a moving car. I still have that ratchet (although my Dad has passed away) and it's my "go to unit". It's never been serviced, only cleaned.

I think of my Dad when I use it. It was probably one of the first tools I learned how to use (I was five in 1976....).

 

[RiverRider]

When installing a manual deadbolt in the entry door of my garage to prevent another theft of my tools, I left a new rat tail file somewhere on my pickup. I looked for that file for a couple of weeks and found it laying in the road that enters my subdivision from the highway.

I left my multimeter on a tractor when I did a service call on a two-way radio. I called the outfit within the hour when I realized what I had done. Of course, no one there had seen it. Um hmm.

 

[mtds]

A Snap-on 1/4" drive 5/16" 6-point deep socket. Unfortunately, while the socket was in great shape, it was packed with some gummy vegetable matter that was a real pain to clean out.