Twenty five bucks! And I could've gotten more stuff for that same $25, but I just can't handle too much "stuff" around the shop. These things are REALLY grungy and have not yet been cleaned up. Here's the haul.
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| A small box of tools |
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| And all laid out |
The Stanley #5 is far from a collector's item, but it alone is worth $25. And then the Starrett combination gauge with square/45 degree, protractor and centering heads is worth far more than that!
The #5 is probably a type 16 to 19, though I can't tell for sure just yet - I'll investigate further when I've cleaned it up. It has "VICTORY" and "MADE IN USA" written on the iron, indicating post WW2. It's also got a bogus excuse for a replacement screw at the front of the tote. The depth adjuster is black plastic or hard rubber - possibly leftover parts from the shortages during WW2. I have a feeling it'll clean up to be a nice user.
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| Stanley #5, type 16-19 (probably) |
The Starrett combo gauge will also be a nice user. I really love Starrett stuff. The ruler needs a bit of work and the three heads are gnarly with dirt and oil and sawdust, but I'll get to that stuff later on.
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| L. S. S(tarrett). Co. Athol Mass. U.S.A. |
I was really hoping to find more than one auger bit, but they said somebody had just walked away with a bunch of them. This one is 11/16" ("11" stamped on the square tapered shank) and the lead screw and spurs look to be in good shape. And it's from Jennings, not Russell Jennings or any other combination of Jennings. Not sure that says how old or good it is, but I think it'll work like a champ.
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| C. E. JENNINGS & CO. No 10 (it took a while to find this marking) |
Next is a Stanley #51 spokeshave. I've got a couple of #151 (or equivalent) shaves with the two depth adjuster nuts, but I've never had one of these older style without the adjusters. I realize that the adjusters were a major improvement, but I couldn't just let this spokeshave sit there, so I added it to the box. The blade says "STANLEY" and both the blade and body say "MADE IN USA". I'll see how well it performs later.
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| Stanley No 51 |
Then there was this little pair of pliers/cutters, Stanley #84-120. It says JAPAN on the other side, so probably made in the 60's to 80's. But they are in great shape and I needed something like this.
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| Stanley pliers |
Then there were the files. The little box of Nicholson (made in USA) files made my eyebrows jump when I saw it. At first I thought it was a box of triangular needle files for sharpening very fine saws, but each file is different. I have some similar files and I use them all the time.
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| Box of Nicholson files The tangs have stamped: NICHOLSON - USA and "2XF" (double extra fine?) |
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| Bottom to top profiles: round, oval, thin diamond, square tapered, half round with safe other side, flat tapered and triangular |
The other files I grabbed include a Grobet riffler-type file, two triangular files (a 4" double extra slim Nicholson made in USA and a 6" slim taper file of unknown make), and a knife-edge file.
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| A few files |
Lastly, there were a couple of triangular sharpening stones, one fine and the other a bit more coarse. You never know when these might come in handy.
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| Triangular sharpening stones |
All for 25 bucks. I don't always get the chance to get out to garage sales, but this one was fun. I could have spent a couple more hours there just looking at all the stuff. There were two scroll saws - one by Dremel and one Craftsman. There was a Craftsman bandsaw/sander (huh?) - I'd love to get a bandsaw, but this one didn't seem to be that solid. There was at least one powered grinder. And so much more.
All for now. Maybe I'll post later about cleaning some of these up and trying them out.
The Starrett items should clean up nicely. Square and center heads are the forged type. If the first cleaning approach doesn t quite do the trick, i have used some very fine grit wet sandpaper. One thing I always clean out first are the two small grooves next to area where the rule sits inside the heads. After that almost all of the two dozen vintage Starretts that i have refurbished turned ouf to be dead accurate.
ReplyDeleteGoood luck
Ak
Thanks for the tips, Alfred. I'll have to give a closer look to see what you mean by the two grooves. I know there are usually two tiny raised ridges, one at each end of the rule slot, that can be filed carefully to "re-square" a square head. Do you mean the tiny grooves either side of that raised ridge?
DeleteYes, the gooves beside the ridge on which the rule slides. I ve noticed that those can be clogged wit h grime and sometimes prevent good operation of the square. I refiled one square head but it was a cast iron head. I would be surprised if you had to readjust. Check the edges of the rule too to make sure they are ok.i had one that had some epoxy remnants just enough to interfere with squareness
DeleteI had to go back and check last night after reading your message. Those grooves were totally gunked up. I'll get to a complete cleaning of these things in a few weeks.
DeleteOne more quick note: to 'scrape' the gunk out of the little grooves I use honing oil or wd40 and a 'sharpened' wooden popsicle stick. With a onesided bevel it removes the gunk without damaging.
DeleteYou got a few good buys there old mate. The Starrett is worth atleast minimum $200 and the saw files have gone up in price as well. Atleast in Oz.
ReplyDeleteI know! The Combo square is probably worth about US$100 here. A good find for sure! Can't wait to start cleaning them up, but it might be a few weeks ...
DeleteYes, definitely Matt a hundred easy, hee they are 200+. You should visit them regularly and resell them. Unfortunately in this country due to all the prrice hikes their resell value just isn't there anymore.
DeleteHey bud name's Aaron. Wanted to ask you about that drawknife you posted about in 2020. I acquired one very similar with the exception of size. Mine is 9", that is the only marking on it. So my question is did you ever find who it was made by? Thanks man.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delay, Aaron - just found your comment this morning in my spam bucket. No, I've never been able to figure out the maker of that drawknife. Just looked at it again now and the corrosion/pitting makes it impossible.
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