Rust Hunting in Georgia - August 6, 2011

Another delayed posting - this one should have been made last week, as these photos are the results of my search on 8/6. I was buried this past weekend so it's just as well, since I wasn't able to do anything other than hit a couple of small yard sales, which didn't amount to anything (I did pick up a stack of James Bond movie soundtrack albums for a $1 each but this is the wrong blog for that). In any case, there were some interesting finds from my previous weekend - enjoy!

I hit two sales, the first was an advertised sale near Brookhaven that showed a few photos of tools in a garage - nothing real noteworthy in the photos but I did see a brace so I was at least hopeful - got there around 11:00 so anything really good would probably be gone, but that still fits into my "bottom feeder" mentality. The items were fairly cheap and included the small Stanley Sureform, a handle for an end vise, a small flat pry bar (these are my favorites for installing and removing trim), a Brown Brothers wrench, Craftsman wet chisel and some auger bits - most appear to be unused (one has the tip broken off). I also found a scribe for a Stanley (I think) combination square - since these are always missing I was glad to find a loose one. I gave up $10 for the small pile.

I didn't recognize the end vise but I think it's US made - only mark is a "BS1" with what appears to be a maple handle.

The second sale I went to was a bit more unusual - this was a sale in my own neighborhood where a retired widow was trying to clean out the basement before the moving trucks appeared the next day - people were scrambling around and I soon found out why - the $1 per long-handled-tool prices should have proved a clue. While I was there they opened her deceased husband's workshop - I was lucky to get the items I found as people were grabbing up things in droves. The first thing of interest were these two West-German-made metal-working hammers - they were hanging above a small post-vise mounted to the floor - it looked like I already missed out on one hammer as there was an empty nail on the left. Got these for a buck each!

I also managed to grab this Pexto 925 "Beakhorn" forming anvil - I hesitate to call it a hardy but in a way that's what it is, or perhaps it was originally sold as a portable anvil? I could see the shaft being slipped into a small slot in the back of a step bumper. I believe the former owner used it in the post-vise as he liked to work metal a bit as a hobby.

I also found this red pulley - no telling what he used it for - looks like something from a barn's hayloft door. It's marked "Durbin-Durco St. L. MO." and it's about 9" in diameter.

And finally, the best thing I found was this small propane forge - for $10 complete with regulator and gauge, I couldn't pass it up. NC Tool Company is still in business - they call this one the "Whisper Baby" - can't wait to give it a try! I think it'll work for the light tool work I like to do, plus I'd like to try making some knives...

I probably should have bought the post-vise but it was a small 2 1/2" version. I own a 6" so I talked myself out of it and by the time I thought someone else might want it, somebody else there had claimed it.

Anyway, I felt it was a pretty successful day - I think I spent less than $30 for everything so it was all way cheap - I like cheap!

-- John

Rust Hunting in Georgia - July 24, 2011

I realized today that I hadn't posted about my latest finds - and further that it had been a few weeks. As I've mentioned previously, the new job has most of my attention - it's going quite well. I originally was hired on a 6 month contract but they gave me an offer 2 weeks in, so starting the third week I became a regular, salaried employee. In any case, these are the tools I picked up the weekend of July 24th. I stopped at two sales (actually one estate sale and then my friend John once again called me about some files he saw at one of our favorite junk stores - managed to find a couple of other things there as well).

I'm pretty much a sucker for packaged old items - these files (mostly unused) are a good example. One of the boxes had a single file and some have some surface rust - however I'm still glad to have them.

Also found was this Irwin adjustable auger that had an extra vinyl wrapped auger with it - the latter had extra blades.

As seen in this photo:

I also picked up that Stanley "D" chisel that's not too bad. The Estwing mason's hammer was bought for a buck at the second sale.

As were the Stanley "Yankee" style screwdriver and the Snap-On wrench. I also picked up the nice drop-light, as the plastic versions I own always melt around the bulb - this one is heavy-duty.

Love these file boxes (I guess that officially makes me a "collector") - and here's some close-ups of the other tools:

This is the first metal handled square I've actually purchased, as I prefer wood-handles, especially rosewood, but I figured this one will still come in handy in the shop and will live near my drill-press.

That wraps up the week of the 24th - I picked up some amazing items just this past weekend - those photos soon.

-- John