Rust Hunting in Georgia 2011.11.12

Just a few things from a sale I hit on Saturday - this one was well advertised and apparently quite a bit had already been sold by the time I got there. I did miss out on a nice body vixen body file mounted in a tension handle (already have one but you never know). Everything that was left was fairly cheap - actually the stuff I bought was dirt cheap - most of what you see was in the quarter pile.

The larger of these hammers was the most expensive item I bought at $3 - guess no one wanted it. I think it's a useful size - about 2 pounds. The ball pein with a broken handle was a quarter and seems pretty well made - it's marked but hard to read.

I was hoping the micrometer was a Starrett - but no it's a Craftsman and the only one left that wasn't rusty that still worked (I left two others that were basket cases) - for a dollar I couldn't complain. I also got the Craftsman thread chaser for a buck.

I threw in the fret saw which I actually purchased at another sale for $5 - it's not as good as my old Millers Falls but I figured it would work as a backup. The real prize from the sale was this Atlas Steady Rest:

This was in the quarter pile. That's right, I found an Atlas steady rest that fits my 6" Craftsman-branded Atlas metal lathe for a quarter. Never would I have imagined ever, EVER finding such an odd-ball item that I can actually use so cheap. If you look you'll see that one of the "fingers" is missing. I believe I can find a replacement relatively easy (or fab one up if need be). I checked it on my lathe and it fits perfectly.

I asked about the lathe while I was at the sale - the guy said it was long gone and in really rough shape. The buyer claimed everything would need to be rebuilt (going from this part it just looks very dirty). No telling what it went for but I would have liked to seen it. Funny that the buyer missed this part.

Well, that's it for me - fairly slim pickings but I've had so much luck so far this year it's probably time for things to settle down (running out of space!).

-- John

Rust Hunting in Georgia 2011.11.06

I hit the aftermath of a huge tool sale - sounds like the guy just picked up everything he could find and then left it to his widow to deal with (hopefully the same won't happen to me!). In any case, the sale started on Thursday so by the time I hit it Saturday morning, most of the better items were gone. Being the consummate bottom-feeder I still managed to find a few items - I spent a little over $30 for everything (it was discounted being the last day, plus I got some off for buying so much). Many of these items were marked $1 with I think $3 being the top price I paid (less discount).

First up a saw jointer, some new Stihl chainsaw blade files and a holder for same.

Next are some of my favorite "vixen" cut files:

And then some later Buck Chisels (they look crappy but I cleaned one up - stained but not pitted), a tiny press, brick chisel and a tap handle:

Here's a group of handled tools, an awl, dental pic, flat-blades for a brace, Marples driver, putty knife, some sharpening stones and a couple of utility knives (sucker for those - seems you can never find one when you need one):

A whole slew of replacement hammer handles, mostly in hickory or ash:

4 small cross-pein or ball-pein hammers (red-handled one marked Plumb):

A bunch of micro-Pony clamps:

A Starrett Horizontal Gage Holding Rod in box and a Starrett 6" rule with cover (incidentally, someone stole an expensive micrometer from the sale):

Here's a close-up of the saw jointer - marked Disston:

And that tiny press (like to call it an arbor press but I think it's for pressing circuit pins - in any case too "cute" to pass up):

The tap handle is marked "Morse" and "Made in USA"

And here are some detail shots:

Guess that about wraps it up - there were still a lot of tools at the sale - mostly junk or stuff I already had a lot of - One very decent Stanley #12 scraper with rosewood handles for $20 (decent deal) but it was missing the scraper blade.

-- John