First rust hunt of the season

[Patrick Bernardo]

The boy had no daycare/school today (he's 4), so I figured I'd take him out on a rust hunt. First place had a Stanley 10" brace, which I passed on. They're common as dirt around here - I should start picking them up and offering them on Classifieds for cost. Better than the 2-bit Ebay dealers who will probably end up with them.

Anyway, at an estate sale that was run by a company (meaning that the prices are higher), I stumbled across a Fulton 8" brace. I've been looking for an 8" for a while - my goal this year is to find a 12" or a 14" in the wild as well. Need to drill dogholes and the 10" is a lot of work. The square is 8", and I didn't have one that was bigger than 6, so I threw it in. Tests square.
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I'm not sure if the house was already cleaned out, because there were a few saws (bent, not worth it) and a bunch of squares and some metal-working stuff. It seemed like it had already been picked through a bit. I'm not sure why I picked up the egg-beater, as it's newish crap with a plastic handle, but my son wanted a soccer ball, and the drill evened it all out to $20. Still, not bad for first of the season.

[Bill Houghton]

That's one of the more interesting tap handles I've ever seen; clever.

You bought the eggbeater because, if you run into a good eggbeater on which the springs in the chuck jaws are missing, you can probably scavenge them from this one (points up toward shiny red eggbeater). I bought an even more frighteningly crappy one at a yard sale specifically to use the springs in a Goodell-Pratt I'd picked up.

[Patrick Bernardo]

Yes, Bill, that's the reason! Err. Great idea - I'll keep it in the parts bin. Now, if you can tell me why I bet a King-3 offsuit the other night, I'll be good.

Yeah, I was interested in the tap set, and they kind of came with the calipers, so I figured I'd try it out. Believe it or not, the taps themselves are in fantastic condition. I mean, the brace itself is just sparkling clean and operates flawlessly.

There were a few sets of open wrenches there, marked simply 'drop forged' that they wanted an arm and a leg for. I was hoping to pick them up for a couple of bucks, and the sellers were asking like $10 each. I guess they're collectible?

[maximillian arango]

Hey Patrick I hate to give you a little competition but since I'm 40 minutes away I don't think I will be invading your turf so I hope you don't mind I ask a question. Where do you find these sales are you just driving around or are you do you find them on CL?

Thanks in advance!

[Patrick Bernardo]

Hey Maximillian, you realize all the good stuff is by you, so I'm actually invading your turf! Lots of barn sales and such in your area. Actually, I had family in Blairstown, and there was a great flea market *somewhere* about 30 miles south of Hope. I only took that route once, didn't have much money, and wasn't really into tools at the time. I only have vague memories, but I do remember there being a ton of planes. The only other thing is that there was a good hot dog stand nearby. I suppose I'll never find it.

[Mel Miller]

There were a few sets of open wrenches there, marked simply 'drop forged' that they wanted an arm and a leg for. I was hoping to pick them up for a couple of bucks, and the sellers were asking like $10 each. I guess they're collectible?

You made the right call passing on those open end wrenches. There are literally thousands & thousands of them out there - how many ever broke or wore out? - and no, the collectors don't care about them either.