Treasure, uhhh rust, hunting bounty

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

I don't get to spend much time playing this game, generally due to lack of time and a lack of space for all the devices I might accumulate but I've been itching for a good bench vise for about a year now and finally gave in and decided to devote the proper garage space. After this experience I can certainly understand the appeal of yard/estate sale hunting. But I can also see the danger in accumulating vast amounts of random things. Basically the whole operation is largely a transfer of random rusty objects from one hoarder's garage to another. Then someday when you realize you have a whole barn full of things you don't have time for, you become the rust hunting site and the process comes around full circle. Kind of like the circle of life...but with rusty tools.

Anyway, here's what I found:
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As for my main target, bench vises, I walked away with not one but two! The little guy is an old Wilton. It's got a decent amount of rust and the guide rods will likely lose a little bit of metal in rust removal thus loosening the tolerances. But I bet it'll still make a fine user for me and it was cheap.

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The next one is the more exciting one. It's a W.C. Toles 10" with a genius quick-release mechanism. The guy I bought it from said it was his grandfathers so it's only had two or three owners, and is in good condition except for a little surface rust and the fact that grandpa went nuts one day and decided to beat the brass bench dog down into its hole. I did a quick google search on the company and found very little, but I believe this vise may be from before the turn of the 20th century which is pretty cool. I have no idea when I'll have a beefy enough bench to put it on but I'll definitely be hanging onto this one.

Other tools: A full Forstner bit set for $20. No maker marks anywhere on it so it may be a cheap set but it's still better than the Forstner bit set I had before (I didn't have any before). Some could probably be sharpened but that isn't a big deal.

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A couple nice layout devices. The try square has some significant rust on the blade that will certainly leave pitting when I clean it up but whatever. The bevel gauge, on the other hand, is in great condition by my standards with only a little surface rust. Even the finish is mostly in good condition, and it has the Sweetheart mark on top of that. Next to that, not entirely in the picture is a Buck Bros 1/4" chisel in decent condition. Didn't need one but it was too cheap to pass up.

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Then this thing...I have no idea what it is but I wanted to find out. The teeth are cut like a float, I think, but I couldn't find anything by searching woodworking floats on the internet.

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Huot drill bit set with most of the bits. There have been enough times in which I've needed an obscure, tiny drill bit size so this oughtta fit the bill. Most of the bits are in good shape and decently sharp. The ones that are missing I probably won't even need.

Also in the main picture up top is an EC Atkins saw set with zero rust. I don't think it'll go down enough to a fine enough set for dovetail, carcass, or tenon saws but it'll work for my panel saws that have been needing to be sharpened for about the last year.

Hope other people had a good weekend treasure hunting as well!

[steven c newman]

No wonder my Rust Hunting was so skimpy...it was all up your way....nice finds.

[Stew Denton]

Hey Steven,

Remember down here we only get what's left over from you, Matt, and Jim K., and those are slim pickens indeed.

Stew

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

I can concur on what Stew says at least to an extent. I grew up in Wichita, KS and the antique/high quality tool market in that area is just dismal. I didn't even try looking locally for most things--had to rely on the almighty internet and ebay almost entirely. After spending some time in New England I am a believer in the East-West Theory of Old Tools. I live in a rural area over here so I don't even get the best of it but the woodworking scene in general is much better over this way.

[Stew Denton]

Matthew,

I have lived in Wichita, and a couple of small towns near Wichita, as well as growing up in western Kansas, and believe it or not, the pickens there in central Kansas are much better than down here in the Texas panhandle.

Stew

[Rick Malakoff]

Guy's if you want slim pickins come to Southern California anything with rust commands a price and is considered old/antique!

[Rob Luter]

Here in the Midwest we do OK on rust hunts, but you guys out East have all the good stuff. It's funny how each region has its common items. In Northern Indiana you can't swing a dead cat without hitting all manner of timber framing tools. Mauls, Planes, Augers, Saws, Flat and Corner Slicks, etc. Not talking fine woodworking. All you need to build a barn except the timber. And build they did. In my neck of the woods, they built with what they had. There's a barn near me with framing that's built of solid Black Walnut. It's what was growing locally. It's around 150 years old and no sign of rot yet.

[Brian Henderson]

Guy's if you want slim pickins come to Southern California anything with rust commands a price and is considered old/antique!

That's because hardly anyone in California works with wood, which is a real shame. It's exceedingly rare when anything in the for sale section is within 1000 miles of me.

[Rick Malakoff]

I only have one Swap Meet and thats 20 miles one way and I go one day of each weekend and most of the times the pickins are pretty good Planes, braces and saws.
Squares, gauges, and chisels are few and far between, I buy what ever is out there within reason and I wont over pay because I'm not needing any thing that bad.
Most I ever I paid for a plane was 25$ Bailey/Stanley #6 probably last run they ever made and it was never sharpened.
That's why I go because you never know what you'll find.

[Jerry Olexa]

Nice haul..Good possibilities....Liked your philosophy in 1st post. Thanks

[Patrick Chase]

Huot drill bit set with most of the bits. There have been enough times in which I've needed an obscure, tiny drill bit size so this oughtta fit the bill. Most of the bits are in good shape and decently sharp. The ones that are missing I probably won't even need.

Total nitpick, but Huot doesn't make drill bits AFAIK. They do make nice indices for drill bits that other markers use, for example most Chicago-Latrobe bit sets come in a Huot index. Odds are that's a decent set of bits if somebody (the manufacturer or owner) bothered to put it in a Huot.

[Matthew Hutchinson477]

Total nitpick, but Huot doesn't make drill bits AFAIK. They do make nice indices for drill bits that other markers use, for example most Chicago-Latrobe bit sets come in a Huot index. Odds are that's a decent set of bits if somebody (the manufacturer or owner) bothered to put it in a Huot.

That's correct from what I read, Patrick. I couldn't find any sign of Huot actually making bits but I didn't do any reading until after that first post. I actually don't know what make the bits are but the case is only missing about 25% of them and the ones in there are all in good condition. I don't know if there's a way to tell what kind of steel they're made of but I can't imagine its anything other than high carbon or, if I got lucky, HSS.

[Stew Denton]

Matthew,

Sorry I contributed to some hijacking of the thread. However, back to the main point.

That is one mean looking big vise, and the precision tools and bits, etc. look very good. In short "ya did good!" That vise looks like it could do you good for a very long time.

Stew

[george wilson]

The float toothed tool is an auto body worker's float for hollow places. Really for cutting lead. Possibly Bondo. It won't do much good in wood,though,except to leave bodacious ()chatter marks.

Nice vise,though. I'd drive that brass dog out. Possibly relieving the pressure in it by drilling holes as large as possible FIRST,lest you crack the rather thin cast iron around the hole. That hammered and tight peened brass is lucky it hasn't split the cast iron around the hole. HEED THESE WORDS!!! Then,make at least,a hard wood one. I'd use brass myself,but have the means.

I could offer to make you a dog,but I am getting ready to get my knees replaced,then TRY to help a museum silversmith with no home shop to make a pair of goblets. Who knows how long that will take? And,I'd need the vise to get accurate measurements from down to .001" to get a sliding fit.

[Mike Baker 2]

Not hijacking, but good luck with the knee surgery, George. I have a friend who had his done. Said it was the best thing he ever had done. Like a new man!.