OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

275536 Kirk Eppler 2022‑05‑07 Estate Sale Score
Hit a hugely under advertised estate sale today, only a few pix, and none
really showed the magnitude of tools available, just text saying lots.
This was a hoarder's garage and shed.  When I arrived at the opening time,
there was already a couple of people quarrelling in the garage, profanity
clearly heard from outside the front of the house.  Entrance was through
the side gate, into the backyard, where there was a shed, and two spreads
of tools in the yard, plus the packed to the gills garage.  Right next to
the cashier was a pile of stuff, including a couple of OLD vises, the
single attachment swivel type.  Turns out that was someone's pile. Argh. A
skinny walkway into the garage, past the Craftsman stack seen in the ad,
piled with extra stuff, boxes and piles of stuff everywhere.  The stuff in
the yard was only slightly interesting, the shed had three people in it, so
I tried to get into the garage.  Guy I knew was coming out, probably one of
the sources of profanity.  Next guy was rolling out an anvil (~30#) on a
small cart.  Helped him out, then worked my way in.  First cross "aisle"
had a large vise sitting on the edge of the piles on either side.  While
protecting that, I managed to look into various boxes and piles and
cupboards, looking for more.  Off at the end of the pile was a greasy box
with what looked like a plane peaking out.  Grabbed two planes, and decided
it was time to commit, so I relayed my heavy vise, and other goodies to a
pile near the cashier.  I had no idea what they were going to ask for any
of this, and didn't dare ask.  I went back in and grabbed a lot more stuff,
then went into the shed, found some exotic wood stuffed into the rafters,
then circled the yard piles again.  Grabbed more goodies, then went to
check out.


Got a good price on the lot, much less than I expected to pay just for the
vise.  I loaded all my junk into the truck, and went back in for another
pass through everything.


Was fun once the early birds all left, guys helping each other extract
heavy as hell tool boxes from a cabinet, with 4' wide piles of crap in
front of the cabinet, joking about how this was probably "the guy" to fix
stuff in the hood.  As we unearthed stuff, found a Clausing vertical mill,
Craftsman DP and metal lathe, and a 14" vintage grinder.  Lots of survey
rods, guys carrying them that had no idea what they were, lotsa clocks and
old radio equipment in various stages of disrepair.  Heard someone fire up
a circ saw to try to shorten some 2x10s, and when that failed, he tried a
hacksaw, ignoring all the 30 handsaws laying about.  By this point I was
hot and sweaty, my glasses would no longer stay up, so I gave up.  My
second batch cost almost as much as the first, probably due to the nice
Proto puller, with all 4 pairs of jaws.


The seller's goal was to empty the house, and get stuff to people who would
use it.  Two or three of the buyers seemed to be flippers, most others
seemed to know how to use what they were buying.


Anyways, here are some images of the haul, too much for clear pix in one
pass.  Many things will be posted in other smugmug folders if interested.
A few items may get flipped, or I may upgrade my stuff with this stuff.


https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-xXpjWHD


Part of the first pass L-R, bigger brace, 4.5C and 8C Stanley planes, Chas
Parker 206-1/2 vise (128# of goodness), 3 skewed rabbet planes, matched T&G
planes, 2x Stanley 65 spokeshaves, Thorsen box in nice shape, 2x auger
depth stops, IOB, Starrett 99 12" Level, rough IOB, Starrett dial indicator
in a different brand box, tapered pin reamers in a Snap-on socket box,
Machinery handbook 13th edition from 1940's, and an Alford hand vise, no
other accessories.


https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-hh8VHzP


5x Disston & Sons saws (1 panel, 1 thumbhole rip), and a Keen Kutter too.


[image: PXL_20220507_191827488-X2.jpg]


Exotic Wood, I think the two on the left are purpleheart, the one in the
center may be ebony, one looks like walnut, no idea on the other.


https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-sPMD59L


The second pass through, L-R, Japanese sharpening stone, drills, sockets,
rethreading dies, Jacobs chucks, sockets, parallel clamps, 6" pip wrench,
Thor copper face hammer, 1.75#, small files, gouges, 2x auger bit sets in
rolls, Proto puller with 4 jaws, Estwing hatchet and a bunch of NOS handles.


The wife is encouraging me to return tomorrow, see what else has been
unearthed, but I'm running out of places to ditch stuff right now, I need a
major cleanup prior to bringing more in.


Not quite Alladin's cave, or the Menlo Haul, but a nice haul, especially in
light of all the other people there.

-- 
Kirk Eppler in Half Moon Bay, CA, hiding out from the howling wind.


-- 
Kirk Eppler in Half Moon Bay, CA 
275537 Darrell <larchmont479@g...> 2022‑05‑07 Re: Estate Sale Score
Wow Kirk, that's quite a score!
I'm glad I don’t run into deals like that, otherwise I would be unable to
work in my shop due to lack of space.

Congrudgulations


-- wood hoarder, blade sharpener, and occasional tool user

On Sat., May 7, 2022, 7:10 p.m. Kirk Eppler via groups.io,  wrote:
275538 JTG <jgrot@s...> 2022‑05‑07 Re: Estate Sale Score
Snip

"... but I'm running out of places to ditch stuff right now, I need a major
cleanup prior to bringing more in."

Gets to the heart of my question.

Jeff
275539 John Ruth <johnrruth@h...> 2022‑05‑08 Re: Estate Sale Score
> On May 7, 2022, at 7:11 PM, Kirk Eppler via groups.io
 wrote:
> 
> The wife is encouraging me to return tomorrow, see what else has been
> unearthed, but I'm running out of places to ditch stuff right now, I need a
> major cleanup prior to bringing more in.

She, Kirk, is a "keeper"!!!

Stash the loot under the bed and other furniture. Buy totes. Hoist it up to the
garage rafters, but whatever you do, DON'T FAIL TO THOROUGHLY PILLAGE THIS
HOARD, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life.

One of America's foremost tool collectors once wrote to me, " You will regret
the things you didn't buy more than the things you did buy! "

John Ruth
Greasing boots at the top of the slippery slope since 1996
275540 Erik Levin 2022‑05‑08 Re: Estate Sale Score
Kirk:

Color me envious. Quite the haul, and a tale well told.

(writing from beautiful(?) NJ, where the rain gauge says 75mm in the last 24
hours and I lost another anemometer to the 100+Km/hr gusts)


*** This message was sent from a convenience email service, and the reply
address(es) may not match the originating address
275541 scottg <scottg@s...> 2022‑05‑08 Re: Estate Sale Score
Hey Hey Brother of mine
What a story, what a score, what a triumph!!
   High quality goods. Life changing sale. Whoo hooh hooo!

   Vise is outstanding. Parker is up there in vises.
That level is incredible! And a Starrett dial indicator too
  The saws are rockin! Is that a 3/4" chuck? 1lb Thor mallet?

Does the knife still work?

OMG I couldn't be any more excited than if I'd found it myself.
Sooooooooooo way to go,............you lucky bastard!! hehheheheeh
   yours scott




-- 
*******************************
    Scott Grandstaff
    Box 409 Happy Camp, Ca  96039
    scottg@s...
    http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/sgrandstaff/
    http://www.snowcrest.net/kitty/hpages/index.html
275542 John Ruth <johnrruth@h...> 2022‑05‑08 Re: Estate Sale Score
Kirk,

Don't keep us in suspense! Everyone on and under the Porch is vicariously
enjoying your acquisitive adventure.

Please! Tell us that you didn't forgo one of the opportunities of a lifetime!
Tell us you went back for another truckload!

Or two!

John Ruth
Metuchen NJ
275543 Paul Gardner <yoyopg@g...> 2022‑05‑09 Re: Estate Sale Score
> She, Kirk, is a "keeper"!!!

Unless Kirk has a wife I don't know about, I'm assuming this was the
hoarder's SWMBO.  If I'm mistaken, I'll be sure not to be the one that
accidently alerts Kim.

Paul, tight lipped in SF.
275544 John Ruth <johnrruth@h...> 2022‑05‑09 Re: Estate Sale Score
Kirk,

Awww...I just assumed that "the wife" that encouraged you to return to the hoard
was your wife! Paul is correct; your OBVIOUS intended meaning is that you were
referring to the late hoarder's widow.

I'm going to make a tongue-in-cheek comment here: I'd solve the problem by
proposing to the widow! That way, I'd score the whole hoard and a place to put
it! ( I am totally joking here! )

Seriously: If it's that good a deal, surely your family and friends can stash a
tool chest or two for a couple of months until you sell off your duplicates.

John Ruth
275545 Paul Gardner <yoyopg@g...> 2022‑05‑09 Re: Estate Sale Score
Miner Kirk has apparently tapped into a rich vein in our neck of the
woods.  What a haul!  Lots and lots of enviable items pulled from this
seam. And quite the treat to read the write up this morning.  There are few
things in these parts that can elicit fisticuffs so easily as an anvil in
the wild going cheap.  Of all the amazing goodies on display, I'm rather
delighted to see the hat trick of rebate planes.  I've been trying to focus
Kasper's "great magnet" energy on these for a few years but I see the focal
point needs calibration and landed with an adjacent Fleabagger.  I'll
adjust my scope and correct for wind speed and try again.  I'd say this is
one for the books Kirk - between Menlo and Pacifica ya think?

Adding my congrudultaions to Darrell's.

-Paul, in SF.

On Sat, May 7, 2022 at 4:10 PM Kirk Eppler via groups.io  wrote:
275546 Mike Lynd 2022‑05‑09 Re: Estate Sale Score
" surely your family and friends can stash a tool chest or two for a couple
of months until you sell off your duplicates."


*Sell off your duplicates!!! *

What sacrilege is this?

Mike
275547 Kirk Eppler 2022‑05‑09 Re: Estate Sale Score
On Sun, May 8, 2022 at 2:34 PM John Ruth  wrote:

> Kirk,
>
> Don't keep us in suspense! Everyone on and under the Porch is vicariously
> enjoying your acquisitive adventure.
>
> Please! Tell us that you didn't forgo one of the opportunities of a
> lifetime! Tell us you went back for another truckload!
>
> Or two!
>
>
Okay, you talked me into it.

Being a cool windy morning, after breakfast out with MLW, I took another
run at the estate sale from Saturday.  Things were much quieter today,
there were tool guys and flippers there, but they were much more calm and
cooperative than the day before. Lots of stuff had been moved out or spread
into the aisles reducing the 4 foot high pile down 2 1/2‘ but now 5 feet
wide instead of three.  I found a few new goodies including a small Kennedy
from pre-1947.  I was hoping to find the other pieces from the Alford hand
vise, but no such luck there. I did find a whole bunch of smalls, including
a pile of screwdriver bits that fit into a brace and a bunch of leather
working tools, mostly for decorative work.  I found two boxes of auger bits
that I had ignored earlier, but it appears someone had stripped part of
them out.  I also found another Luxo light, this time with a built-in
magnifier. Couple of chisels and a box of rivets rounded out the first dive
in.

After a brief break to let the dog out of the truck for a potty break, I
dove back in.  A new guy had showed up, a personal call from the owner, as
he knew machine shop work, and eventually took both the lathe and the
partially disassembled mill.  Spent some time helping them clear things,
passing in bits and pieces scattered by the earlier people, and removing
crap in their way.

The host pointed out a green “vise” he might like.  Turns out it was an
arbor press, which he declined.  I grabbed a variable power supply, and
then asked how much for the arbor press.  Just then it started raining, so
a bunch of us helped put tarps in place.  After this, I got the price, it
was decent, so I called it a day.  Spent a little more today than
yesterday, but still no complaints.

Some Details below, but more details will come later, as I dig stuff up.

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-PWR5BL4

L-R, Irwin bit box with a slide out hidden drawer, the Luxo magnifying
light, pile of brace screwdrivers, conical sharpening stone, big Craftsman
DBE, couple of mortising machine bits and chisels, 2 crate opening tools,
decorative leather tools, copper rivets,  2x wooden clamps, box of bits
from Simmons Hardware, another skew rabbet (with a tilted sole), and a tree
saw handle.  I've had a catalog cut of one of those drawer bit boxes saved
on my hard drive since catalogs started appearing online.  The hinges are
in bad shape, so maybe just a model for later.

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-P87B5PX

The 16” Kennedy box, with some metal pieces inside, some NOS drill bits, a
Herbrand 9/16” distributor wrench, some Rimco tools, a 14N Jacobs chuck,
hammer head, an OTC bushing driver kit 814, a Dietzgen level scope, a wheel
from some tool, a Cincinnati C clamp, a box of number drill bit, missing 4,
otherwise NOS Craftsman, and a nifty little hacksaw.  The Kennedy box is
one where the drawers don’t easily remove, and there was a paystub stuffed
behind there from 1947.  It had the usual metal strip with the owner's
name, and buried in the back, under the last drawer, was a paystub from
1947 for the same guy, from a SF company of that era.

https://kirkhmb.smugmug.com/Woodworking/Woodworking-Tools/i-VRVB4kD

The variable power supply, 3 boxes of pencils, and an Atlas 0, a 1-1/2 ton
arbor press. Dates back to the 40's supposedly, before Dake bought Atlas,
and incorporated their lineup.

And yes, Paul had not heard the recent news that Kim and I FINALLY got
married last month.  Bill was laughing at my drive-by gloat last post,
wondering who else would notice.

-- 
Kirk Eppler in Half Moon Bay, CA, where the wind finally calmed down today,
when I am stuck inside.


-- 
Kirk Eppler in Half Moon Bay, CA 
275548 Bill Kasper <dragon01list@g...> 2022‑05‑09 Re: Estate Sale Score
i can finally say congratulations in the large, my friend.  CONGRATULATIONS
to you and kim.

and i'm surprised, way back in your earliest report of this, that you said
"i need a major cleanup before bringing more stuff in."  isn't that what
friends are for?  i am sure kim wouldn't mind. :)

the variac is a nice one, i have one that looks identical.  take a pic of
the motor plate (whatever) showing its amperage etc..  simple to check, if
the fuse is good:  plug in, set to 0, insert probes into hot and neutral
(on a dmm set to ac volts), and bring up to 30v.  it should read somewhere
near that.  then move up 60/90/120, and you'll see if you have a straight
line or some variance.  i always set mine to actual output voltage rather
than using the scale on the top...

glad you were able to get to this haul, and looks like you got a ton of
great bits.

bill
felton, ca
just say "whew, i can have a chat about your nuptials with the other
fleabags, now."


On Mon, May 9, 2022 at 9:40 AM Kirk Eppler via groups.io  wrote:
275549 John Ruth <johnrruth@h...> 2022‑05‑09 Re: Estate Sale Score
Kirk,

First, congratulations on tying the knot. Great drive-by.

Second, I think you are being far too selective!!! You're only taking the cream
of the crop! There are probably things you can sell or trade at a profit; go get
'Em !

Very wise to get the bitstock screwdrivers, dowel chamferer, countersinks, and
the Yankee bits!!! You've now got the perfect excuse to have multiple braces and
Yankees, each with a unique sort of bit!!!

Your first post showed a natural Japanese Waterstone, finishing grade. Sheesh!
The likelihood of finding one of those in the wild is very small !

John Ruth
Metuchen NJ
275551 Erik Levin 2022‑05‑09 Re: Estate Sale Score
Day two looks like a real win! Congrats on that. And the wedding.

The arbor press is a cutie of a thing and the bit-brace screw drivers are a
great score.

I gotta say that, to me, the pencils are the MAJOR score. There's nothing like a
good pencil. I get weird looks when I glom them up, but a few years ago I ran
through the last of my old Blackfoot's and classic Faber-Castels, so glom them
whenever I can, especially the from about 3H to 4B grades. I dread running out
of inserts for my Tru-point pointer. Recently, I did replace the blade on my
draftsman's prism sharpener (leaves the lead untouched) and may need to
modernize there next time.

Question on the Kennedy: Can you post photos of the drawer slide setup? Just
curious how they have changed.

Also, if you haven't dealt with them before, check the powerstat wiring
carefully, and look for shorts to the core/frame. I had one go a couple years
ago, and, fortunately, it was on a GFCI. Also, check the configuration (0-120V,
0-140V, or something less common) to avoid unfortunate incidents. That looks
like a 3A unit. Did I guess right?

*** This message was sent from a convenience email service, and the reply
address(es) may not match the originating address
275553 Thomas Conroy 2022‑05‑11 Re: Estate Sale Score
John Ruth said to Kirk Eppler: "surely your family and friends can stash a tool
chest or two for a couple of months until you sell off your duplicates."

And Mike Lynd replied: "*Sell off your duplicates!!! * What sacrilege is this?"

Hush, Mike, you'll spoil John's Cunning Plan. See, he persuades Kirk to park
lots of "duplicates" with  us, and after a few months he forgets about them, and
we don't remind him. Then we get to keep the "duplicates." Easy-peasy.
Kirk, please add my congratulations to all the others. You couldn't have found a
nicer partner, or (as best I can judge) one more suited to you. May you both
live long and happily.
Tom Conroy
p.s. For those of you who don't know Kirk personally, he is perhaps the most
generous galoot I know. Where others take pleasure in finding and accumulating
tools, he seems to take even more pleasure in passing them along to appropriate
homes. I have often benefited from this character trait of his, and feel a bit
treacherous in making up the Cunning Plan I foisted on John---but I'm not going
to suppress it. Someone might smile.   t.
275554 Paul Gardner <yoyopg@g...> 2022‑05‑11 Re: Estate Sale Score
Sir Tom has a cunning plan...

>See, he persuades Kirk to park lots of "duplicates" with  us, and after a
few months he forgets about them, and we don't remind him.

you forget you are talking about a man who catalogs his tools on
spreadsheets, accessible by mobile phone, and consults them routinely
during our Flea market ramblings.  No chance of him forgetting.  I think a
modification is in order.  Convince Bill that you desire a certain item
that happens to be one of Kirk's duplicates/triplicates, Kasper casually
mentions it in passing to Kirk, and then see it magically appear on your
doorstep the next time Mr. Eppler is passing through the East Bay.  Really,
it's foolproof.

Paul, in SF




On Tue, May 10, 2022 at 5:20 PM Thomas Conroy via groups.io  wrote:

Recent Bios FAQ