Results of Estate sale tonight

[Frederick Skelly]

Poor guy died at 70. Left a shop full of tools. It was pretty picked over, but for $30 I got all of this:
* hardback copy of Leonard Lee’s Complete Guide to Sharpening
* hardback copy of Pat Spielman’s Gluing and Clamping
* 48” Empire level in good condition (No, it ain’t Starrett but it will meet my needs)
* 1 1/2 one pound cans of Johnson’s Paste Wax (cans & contents both in good condition)
* 4 boxes of stainless screws and washers in a couple sizes
* One 18”x18”x1/4” Polycarbonate sheet

I think I did reasonably well.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Nice..

You did well on the 18"X18" Poly & the wax. The rest is gravy.

[Jimmy Harris]

You could flip the wax alone and make a profit off that!

[Frederick Skelly]

Yeah, I was recently wishing that I’d stocked up on Johnsons. When I saw it last night, I went “Gotta grab that NOW!”

[John Kananis]

Frederick, definitely a nice score.

About the wax...a member here (John TenEyck) recently recommended Lundmark to me. I had been out of Johnson's for a while and I didn't like anything else I was finding until I tried the Lundmark. Really, really great product and I don't miss the Johnson's any longer. No fingerprints either.

[stephen thomas]

I hated Johnsons from the first time i opened a can.
What a stench! And then you live with it the rest of the day on clothes and hands.
Not something to have around furniture.

My preference has been Trewax paste wax, but even that might have changed formula. It used to be the highest in carnauba.
That smell was even attractive, and i used it to wax drawer slides in furniture made here - it gives a nice clean smell when the owner opens the drawer.
Sensory effects including olfactory make a great difference to a persons experience and relationship to an item.

I do have a couple partial cans of Johnson's left, bought for waxing machines when my preferred hardware store stopped getting Trewax and before it became easy to find stuff and get it shipped on the 'net.

Also used Butcher's (BWC company) Bowling Alley wax in the past, notably for a sliding board.
I can't remember what it smelled like, so must have been neutral. :)

There are still a lot of past waxes made that always were superior to Johnsons. :)

smt

[George Yetka]

I dont use it much as a woodworker but the smell reminds me of being a kid. 2 times a year my fathers flying club would wash and wax the planes. It would be a saturday with 10 guys waxing each with his own can of johnsons. I was 8 or so the last one of those I went to but I remember dunkin donuts and paste wax smell.

[Jimmy Harris]

I hated Johnsons from the first time i opened a can.
What a stench! And then you live with it the rest of the day on clothes and hands.
Not something to have around furniture.

My preference has been Trewax paste wax, but even that might have changed formula. It used to be the highest in carnauba.
That smell was even attractive, and i used it to wax drawer slides in furniture made here - it gives a nice clean smell when the owner opens the drawer.
Sensory effects including olfactory make a great difference to a persons experience and relationship to an item.

I do have a couple partial cans of Johnson's left, bought for waxing machines when my preferred hardware store stopped getting Trewax and before it became easy to find stuff and get it shipped on the 'net.

Also used Butcher's (BWC company) Bowling Alley wax in the past, notably for a sliding board.
I can't remember what it smelled like, so must have been neutral. :)

There are still a lot of past waxes made that always were superior to Johnsons. :)

smt

I typically use the Hf Staples bowling alley paste wax. It's cheap enough and I can buy it locally. It definitely smells like a bowling alley though. Not unpleasant to me, but definitely noticeable. It's not the best wax I've ever used, but good enough for the money, in my opinion.

But if you're willing to spend more, you can buy P21S online and it's 100% carnauba paste wax. I've got a can of it, and it's great stuff. It's easy to apply and extremely durable. It IS the best wax I've ever used, bar none. But it's just so expensive, that I hesitate to use it most of the time (around $100 a pound). But for the right project, it might be worth it. It's either very low odor or no odor. I can't smell very well, so whatever it smells like, it's not strong enough for me to pick up, unlike most other waxes.

[John Kananis]

So I looked up p21s online (I've not tried it) and I see it's normally used as an automotive wax (which is fine). How is it better than say a straight bar of carnauba wax? Also, what other waxes have you tried that you can compare this with (for better or worse)?


I typically use the Hf Staples bowling alley paste wax. It's cheap enough and I can buy it locally. It definitely smells like a bowling alley though. Not unpleasant to me, but definitely noticeable. It's not the best wax I've ever used, but good enough for the money, in my opinion.

But if you're willing to spend more, you can buy P21S online and it's 100% carnauba paste wax. I've got a can of it, and it's great stuff. It's easy to apply and extremely durable. It IS the best wax I've ever used, bar none. But it's just so expensive, that I hesitate to use it most of the time (around $100 a pound). But for the right project, it might be worth it. It's either very low odor or no odor. I can't smell very well, so whatever it smells like, it's not strong enough for me to pick up, unlike most other waxes.

[Rich Engelhardt]

P21S - like most other car waxes - has silicone.
You need to take special care that it doesn't transfer to the wood you're processing.
https://www.p21s.com/carnauba-wax-msds/

[stephen thomas]

but the smell reminds me of being a kid. 2 times a year my fathers flying club would wash and wax the planes. It would be a saturday with 10 guys waxing each with his own can of johnsons. I was 8 or so the last one of those I went to but I remember dunkin donuts and paste wax smell.

I can see how that would make something even as foul smelling as Johnsons, a wonderful nostalgic aroma. :)
However, was that in the 50's? Early 60's? Rag & tube airframes? Painted aluminum spam cans? Or were they polished bright/no paint?
I've been around/owned small airplanes since the 70's and much later incorporated a flying club. That is not a product i've ever heard of being associated with them. But it could be good if you didn't have to smell it. Maybe especially for bare polished aluminum, which is rare these days.

OTOH, I did seem to recall a "Johnson Wax expedition to South America" airplane, restored in a museum somewhere.
So googled. (It was SC's dad, HF that actually did the expedition)
It is interesting both from the carnauba wax story, as well as numerous other connections including FL Wright.

https://www.scjohnson.com/en/about-us/the-johnson-family/hf-johnson-jr/hf-johnson-jrs-carnauba-expedition-was-a-life-changing-adventure

smt

[Pat Germain]

Why was the estate sale pretty picked over? Were you not aware of the sale until most of it was gone? Or, maybe the "good stuff" went to select people who have early access?

These estate sales are big mystery to me. My mom and dad recently sold just about everything that was in their home through an online estate sale. A local company in Arkansas came to their house to photograph and catalogue everything. Then it went up on some web site. Almost all their stuff sold quickly and at very low prices. But I have to admit, I wasn't interested in any of it. I strongly suspect almost every buyer was a reseller; flea market vendors, used furniture stores, e-Bay stores, etc.

I just looked online for estate sales in my area. I saw a lot of cheap furniture. There were some antique furniture pieces, but I would have no idea what the value would be on those; or if they really were antiques. I saw some riding mowers, but who knows if they run correctly? The only power tools I saw were a bunch of cordless drills. There was exactly one woodworking tool. It was a Craftsman miter saw.

I sometimes hear people say they got some amazing woodworking tools at great prices at an estate sale. How does one do this? I'm wondering if the system is rigged for dealers as it is with car auctions.

[Jim Becker]

Pat, I recently went to an estate sale for a local woodworker one street over...'posted a thread about that. I unfortunately, didn't even learn about it until the first two days had passed and yes, it was pretty picked over. But there were still a few gems. Timing is everything and it's also very likely that most estate sales are not chock full of woodworking gear. So luck is also involved.

[Warren Lake]

I learned detailing from a US guy and years later tracked down a top guy here, Hes upped what he does since I learned from hjm and one of thing is Ceramic coating. Not been able to visit for a bit but Id think the Ceramic might be harder to use and have some details to pay attention to but it likely would last better. Ive not asked if there are any things in it to keep it out of a shop re finishing. They dont paint at his place just mechanical repairs and he does his detailing. Ill ask next time what is in it and know i mentioned to him past it might be worth trying on machinery.

Any carnubas I had did not have silicon in them and I specifically used products that didnt have fillers. I wanted all scratches out of paint not to hide them. A polished car will glow if its done right with nothing on it.

[Rob Luter]

Why was the estate sale pretty picked over? Were you not aware of the sale until most of it was gone? Or, maybe the "good stuff" went to select people who have early access?

These estate sales are big mystery to me. My mom and dad recently sold just about everything that was in their home through an online estate sale. A local company in Arkansas came to their house to photograph and catalogue everything. Then it went up on some web site. Almost all their stuff sold quickly and at very low prices. But I have to admit, I wasn't interested in any of it. I strongly suspect almost every buyer was a reseller; flea market vendors, used furniture stores, e-Bay stores, etc.

I just looked online for estate sales in my area. I saw a lot of cheap furniture. There were some antique furniture pieces, but I would have no idea what the value would be on those; or if they really were antiques. I saw some riding mowers, but who knows if they run correctly? The only power tools I saw were a bunch of cordless drills. There was exactly one woodworking tool. It was a Craftsman miter saw.

I sometimes hear people say they got some amazing woodworking tools at great prices at an estate sale. How does one do this? I'm wondering if the system is rigged for dealers as it is with car auctions.

I saw an announcement in the local paper for one. I was there when it opened. The old boy that had died was a tool collector. He probably had 150 planes alone. An auctioneer sold off everything, mostly in small bundled lots. I picked up a couple very clean Millers Falls planes (#4 and #4 1/2 size) as well as some other odds and ends. The score of the day was this clean Starrett Square set. I think I gave $20.

https://live.staticflickr.com/1895/44195703212_80fefa4410_b.jpg

[Pat Germain]

I saw an announcement in the local paper for one. I was there when it opened. The old boy that had died was a tool collector. He probably had 150 planes alone. An auctioneer sold off everything, mostly in small bundled lots. I picked up a couple very clean Millers Falls planes (#4 and #4 1/2 size) as well as some other odds and ends. The score of the day was this clean Starrett Square set. I think I gave $20.

https://live.staticflickr.com/1895/44195703212_80fefa4410_b.jpg

Wow, nice score.

Maybe when I'm retired I can focus on estate sales. As a full time employee, I don't have a chance.

[Jimmy Harris]

So I looked up p21s online (I've not tried it) and I see it's normally used as an automotive wax (which is fine). How is it better than say a straight bar of carnauba wax? Also, what other waxes have you tried that you can compare this with (for better or worse)?

I was going to say that it's much easier to apply and remove than a straight bar of carnauba, but it still seems to last about as long and offer about as much protection. It has around the same consistency as most other paste waxes I've used, perhaps slightly thicker and harder, but nothing like a straight bar of carnauba or paraffin.

But finding out it contains silicone, I probably won't be using it on wood anymore. That's a shame. I really liked that stuff.

[Jimmy Harris]

I didn't know that P21S had silicone in it. I guess I just glanced at the ingredients and didn't see the word "silicone" and thought it was alright. That's on me for not doing the proper research.

Well, thanks for the heads up, Rich!

[Rob Luter]

Wow, nice score.

Maybe when I'm retired I can focus on estate sales. As a full time employee, I don't have a chance.

As I recall I took a day off. I have problems burning accrued vacation days and thought it might be a great mental health day. It was. Breakfast out, auction score, day in the shop cleaning and sharpening, a couple bourbons on the deck, no thoughts of work, a nice dinner with my bride. In other words perfect. I retire at the end of the year and am looking forward to more days like that.

[Frederick Skelly]

Why was the estate sale pretty picked over? Were you not aware of the sale until most of it was gone? Or, maybe the "good stuff" went to select people who have early access?

These estate sales are big mystery to me. My mom and dad recently sold just about everything that was in their home through an online estate sale. A local company in Arkansas came to their house to photograph and catalogue everything. Then it went up on some web site. Almost all their stuff sold quickly and at very low prices. But I have to admit, I wasn't interested in any of it. I strongly suspect almost every buyer was a reseller; flea market vendors, used furniture stores, e-Bay stores, etc.

I just looked online for estate sales in my area. I saw a lot of cheap furniture. There were some antique furniture pieces, but I would have no idea what the value would be on those; or if they really were antiques. I saw some riding mowers, but who knows if they run correctly? The only power tools I saw were a bunch of cordless drills. There was exactly one woodworking tool. It was a Craftsman miter saw.

I sometimes hear people say they got some amazing woodworking tools at great prices at an estate sale. How does one do this? I'm wondering if the system is rigged for dealers as it is with car auctions.

Hi Pat.
I didn’t find out about the sale until late, so it was picked over.

As far as how one finds bargains at estate sales, I think some of that is just luck (eg, I stumble on to a sale) and some of it is probably effort and vigilance (constantly checking sale sites like Marketplace, etc).

[Ron Citerone]

As I recall I took a day off. I have problems burning accrued vacation days and thought it might be a great mental health day. It was. Breakfast out, auction score, day in the shop cleaning and sharpening, a couple bourbons on the deck, no thoughts of work, a nice dinner with my bride. In other words perfect. I retire at the end of the year and am looking forward to more days like that.

Retirement and bourbons on the deck.............................2 of my favorite things!

[stephen thomas]

...picked up a couple very clean Millers Falls planes (#4 and #4 1/2 size) as well as some other odds and ends. The score of the day was this clean Starrett Square set. I think I gave $20.

Good taste in tools!
If you got the hinged 2pc cap irons, that is especially good - those planes are very similar to contemporary Stanleys, and yet so much better constructed.

I don't use my flea-market Starrett combo squares much, but it is fun to have them when useful.

Nice scores.

smt