how did I do this morning?

allen levine

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new york city burbs
picked up these 3 saws, an old c clamp,(cincinatti tool) a chisel, only because I liked the wooden handle, and this little plane, markings 1110, just for decoration.
I paid 25, but only because I was told how old they are.

I almost didnt take the only saw I really wanted, the big 2 man crosscut, because I had my little 2 seater and it wouldnt fit in either trunk, so I wrapped in old cardboard boxes and towels, and carefully placed it in the front seat next to me. It was just so cool looking, will look nice on my wall.

this was a garage full of stuff, and I mean full. There were at least 15 plastic tool boxes filled with old screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, oodles of them, 3 generations of tools.
I also wanted an old bolt cutter, around 24 inches, I thought it was cool because it had wooden handles, and the woman said it was her grandfathers, and the woman was at least 80 y/o, but she wanted 10 dollars for it. too rich for me for bolt cutters.
 

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V cool Allen. The big one will make for a great decoration or log cutting contest at Larrys place if you bring it along. :)

We can cut some of Larrys stash with it.:) lol

Sent from my MB860 using Tapatalk 2
 
Looks like a good haul for $25 to me. :thumb: I remember my granddad having a big 2-man crosscut saw like that, but I don't know who ended up with it when he died. I have most of his old tools, but that one went somewhere else.
 
I think you did fine, but listen Allen, when you drive up to an estate sale in a Porsche, the price instantly goes up. You need to pull up in your nastiest vehicle, not the 2 seater.
 
I search the tag sale/garage sale sections every thursday in the local newsday.
I look for sales that say things like grandpas treasures, or emptying grandmas attic on this one.
Theres usually a ton of people looking, tool hunters are the first ones there.
In a way its sad when I come upon a home that you realize the old lady living there passed away and its a collection of her life, and her late husbands life that people are just rumaging through.
Last week, as I had mentioned, one home, the garage was obviously not entered for 30 years, and my wife wouldnt even let me go through the rusted old junk because the roof looked like it was going to cave in.
And it wasnt a run down home, maybe in the range of 350-400 thousand, but the separate garages are always neglected, especially once the husband is gone, seems the wives never go out there again.
Today, I found those saws buried under piles and piles of stuff. And I mean stuff. The garage was a treasure/junk collectors dream.
not exagerating, there are 25 tag/garage sales this weekend within 25 minutes of my home.
I wont be visiting any of them though, gotta get moving on my cabinets.
 
I wear my old worn out sneakers and ripped tee shirts. doesnt help, most people doing these sales are looking to make money the first day.

I have a 2001 Saturn, with the driver's side mirror held together with duct tape. That's a garage sale car, never my new Rav4.

/that plane is a knockoff of a Stanley 110. The 110 doesn't get much respect, but I have one in my apron, that I hold the blade in with a wooden wedge, as the cap iron (cheap white metal) was broken. It is handy for relieving corners and such. ;)

Nice score on the saws! :thumb:
 
one of the main problems I believe with old tools is the elevated price that the internet adds on.

people who are about to sell old tools look on the internet and try to find a value.

so if a site says, yeah, that plane is worth 85 dollars, they put a 75 dollar price on it at a garage sale and refuse to budge. Ofcourse, it dont matter what the internet says, its what someone is willing to pay.
so for some rusted old plane, that isnt worth 10 dollars, maybe 15, people feel they have gold, and insist the internet says it worth at least 20 dollars more than what Im offering. trash, such trash.

I was going out to pick up a little fruit this morning, and knew of a tag sale 3 blocks from me, and it listed a tablesaw.
so on the way back, even though it was early, 9:40, and the sale said 10 am, I saw a welcome sign, saying, were open, come in.
I was the first one there, so I went into the basement just now, just got back.
He had zero tools, an old dremel sheet sander, a few shovels, 2 axes, some ladders, and a very old craftsman tabletop saw.
He wanted 150 dollars for the saw.(the tag people wanted, not the guy selling it, he was just observing)
I dont care what anyone says, a 40 y/o craftsman saw, not knowing the condition of the motor, or any other part, is worth no where in the vincinity of 150 dollars.
Now, if it had a 50 dollar price ticket, I would have offered 30, given 40, and taken it for my sons garage.

Old tools are so inflated now. shows how the internet works both ways, to educate and to misguide at the same time.

There must be 50 tag sales listed in todays paper on Long island.

If hunting bargains, not only tools are your thing, a trip out here for a weekend could keep you busy 8 hours a day.
 
I often have Clarence Blanchard's guides to Stanley values in my glovebox. I've sometimes shown it to sellers to convince them what fair value is.
There are folks who think they've got gold, I don't buy from them. Then there are folks who think tools have little value, they often have junk. Somewhere in between is where decent purchases can be made.

I have a theory that one reason decent tools are found around here is that rural people tend to be more adept with tools, or anyway, their ancestors were. I find less good tools in the suburbs than I do in the small villages around me.
 
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