Tool Talk
Picture Forum => Picture Forum => Topic started by: Wrenchmensch on May 05, 2011, 12:15:57 PM
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The upstairs in our house cannot take any more of my collected artifacts than the RR lanterns shown on the nuked edition of this tool site. Wrenches are either displayed on pegboards or are stored in boxes in the basement. Displayed wrenches get taken off and placed in one of the storage boxes when a better wrench comes along. I now have more than a quarter ton of taken-down wrenches in storage boxes wrenches which are destined to go soon to a metal scrapyard.
The pictures show some of the wrenches displayed in our basement.
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I thought I had a lot of wrenches!
No thoughts of selling the better ones?
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All I can say is, "Wow!" Thanks for sharing!
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Wow is right....
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Displays are on pegboards, and lesser wrenches get taken off and placed in one of the storage boxes when a better wrench comes along. I now have more than a quarter ton of taken-down wrenches in storage boxes wrenches which are destined to go soon to a metal scrapyard.
Beautiful Collection Bob, and Pleanty of it! I hope you are not serious about taking 500 pounds of old collectable wrenches to the scrapyard, or did I read that wrong?
Wayne
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Maybe they'll end up in Tool, Texas. Here are MrChuck and me by the city sign.
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LOL!
So, did a fellow come out and change the population count
on the sign after you fellows left?
Town names like that always make me wonder....
*Why* did they name the town that?
There just has to be a story behind that.....
...."Ya, over at that place I found a free tool in the road..."
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We went through there rather quickly the morning we went to a tool show and sale in Dallas, and I went back on my way home from Chucks, but neither time did we find anyone to talk to about the town origin. I took pictures of some historical markers that may give some clues. I'll have to look at them again and see if it was explained.
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Wrenchmensch, were you serious about those seconds going to the scrapper, your seconds might be anothers firsts. would be nice to see what you have and you surely have a tidy profit since obviousely they werent so bad the first time that you turned them away.
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...................Town names like that always make me wonder....
*Why* did they name the town that?
There just has to be a story behind that.....
...."Ya, over at that place I found a free tool in the road..."
Tool, TEXAS
History in a pecan shell
Earliest noted settler was William Avant, who arrived around 1835. The town may have once been called Hog Fork but was renamed to honour George Tool, storekeeper. A post office operated for ten years - starting in 1901. At the end of WW11, the 100 people who lived in Tool took advantage of the improved roads and left - leaving behind only forty people by 1950.
In 1965, with the completion of the Cedar Creek Reservoir, the population increased to 300 and then to 1700 by 1990.
Judging by the population count in Papaw's photo, Tool is seeing better times again.
Donny B.
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My definition of SCRAP, picked at random from one of the storage boxes destined for the scrapyard.
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....................................My definition of SCRAP, picked at random from one of the storage boxes destined for the scrapyard...................
Well that blows away my meagre collection. I thought I was doing a bit alright but I guess I have only been accumulating scrap. Oh well, back to the drawing board!
Donny B.
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I thought you were serious about scrapping the stuff till I saw the picture. There are at least four pieces there I would like.
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Ebay proved to be an unreliable alternative to just deep-sixing no longer wanted wrenches. Prices achieved for the display items I placed on eBay last week were as follows:
Herbrand Agricultural Screwdriver $ 3.25
Iron Age cutout wrench $ .99
Mossberg double socket wrench (early model) $ .99
Perfect Handle Tire Tool $.99
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Maybe you should of taken that offer? ;)
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Bus,
Your offer was too generous according to existing market prices.
Bob
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PLEASE don't take those wrenches to a scrap yard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You're choosing to throw away history if you "crush" those implements. I'm with Wayne.... don't take 500 pounds of tools to the scrap yard! cheers, bird
Displays are on pegboards, and lesser wrenches get taken off and placed in one of the storage boxes when a better wrench comes along. I now have more than a quarter ton of taken-down wrenches in storage boxes wrenches which are destined to go soon to a metal scrapyard.
Beautiful Collection Bob, and Pleanty of it! I hope you are not serious about taking 500 pounds of old collectable wrenches to the scrapyard, or did I read that wrong?
Wayne
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Wayne,
You read it right!. And as far as crushing wrenches not to worry, the local scrapyard chips ferrous materials.
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I wish you were a lot closer. If you were I would be glad to give you at least twice scrap price for them.
V/8
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Ha, loved the pictures guys! Well done!
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I heard somewhere that for every tool you send to the scrapyard you get a black spot on your heart. I don't know if that is true or not, but why chance it?
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That is true but its ok if they are Chinese tools.
V/8
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Naw, take them to the scrap yard. Take heaps and heaps of them to the scrap yard.
The nice fellow at the scrap yard puts them in a bucket and sells them to me at the flea market for .25 ea ; P
You would be amazed at the things people scrap....
or , perhaps not...
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Its a crime to sell them to a scrap yard! Punishable by years of regret down the road, don't ask me how I know this.
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Its a crime to sell them to a scrap yard! Punishable by years of regret down the road, don't ask me how I know this.
yep, I agree, the Chinese tools are in a different category. But, as ToolsorDie said, those tools discarded are punishable by years of regret down the road..... don't ever through away good tools (NOT those Chinese/ Japanese?ect. tools). PLEASE don't ever scrap those tools. There are plenty of us persons that would be happy to pay you the "scrap metal" price plus shipping. Please don't let those tools go to waste.
Believe it or not, but some of those tools may have literally built this countries infrastructure. Please don't let those tools go by the wayside. Let one of us know before you send them to a scrap yard. I'm sure you've already heard this from a number of persons. I hope all is well. I hope you will respect the history tools are a part of of.
cheers, bird
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Do all wrench collectors "speak with forked tongue" or is it just the ones on this post? I have had an ad for 12 wrenches running since August 30 and 74 viewers have looked. These wrenches came from the boxful of excess tools that I keep. They are not priceless rarities. They are fairly common wrenches, though not oriental junk, most are 75 or 100 years old, but no takers at $20, so I dropped to $15 and still no takers. I am getting close to taking the Wrenchmensch approach. Whoever posted "NEVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY" has not tried to work in my shop or find anything in my storage trailer. Let's see a show of hands. How many of you are among the 74 viewers. There, see, shame on you for beating up Wrenchmench.
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I think we are under the impression that Wrenchmensch's wrenches are top of the line ones judging by the ones he has posted here. A serious collector for certain.
I have looked at your sale posts, but either have or don't need any you have posted. I have too many wrenches myself, but am not going to scrap any of them.
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OK, Papaw, anyone who expends the time and energy to referee this marvelous blog gets a "get out of shame free" card. Only 73 viewers need be ashamed.
The question remains. What to do with great piles of excess, not valuable, but old wrenches when you run out of room, energy to keep moving them or both.
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The question remains. What to do with great piles of excess, not valuable, but old wrenches when you run out of room, energy to keep moving them or both.
Maybe offer them for free if the recipient pays shipping and a small fee for packaging, better than the scrap yard getting them.
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about twice a year i end up with a steel toolbox full of old rusty and worthless (to me ) spanners and adjustables.
one mention of free old tools in my local pub and one of the farming boys have bought me and pint of beer and become the boxes new owner,
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Guys, guys....
I live in the still uptight eastern Mid-Atlantic region where a) public drinking is reserved for the unmarried young and thugs, b) there are relatively few serious wrench collectors, like one every 70 miles or so, and c) there is, as a consequence, no serious wrench auction opportunity for profitable disposal of surplus within a reasonably attainable geographic area. I agree that wrenches were instrumental in furthering the industrial revolution in the U.S. I also hold that variation in wrench designs are irrefutable proof of America's historic"freedom to think". Having said that, the world seems largely indifferent to wrench preservation beyond the scope of an individual's personal collection. In the end the only alternative here, since heirs and assigns are rarely wrench collectors, is the scrap yard.
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wrenchmensch i am actually coming down on your side on this,,but i am lucky enough to get rid of my scrap with little effort,
at the end of the day you or anyone here would not throw out a classic tool,,,,but ScraP is Scrap
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My memory sometimes takes a while. I figure at my age, my hard drive is just about full and with my obsolete operating system, I am lucky to find any memories at all. Anyway, I remembered seeing this at an Antique Truck Historical Society Convention in Boston in '88 or '89. A GREAT way to display old tools. I don't know if the guy is still around, but if someone knows who he is, maybe there are better photos than mine. I hope that no valuable wrenches were harmed in the making of this display.
http://s1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb373/johnsironsanctuary/Wrench%20Art/ (http://s1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb373/johnsironsanctuary/Wrench%20Art/)
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Do all wrench collectors "speak with forked tongue" or is it just the ones on this post? I have had an ad for 12 wrenches running since August 30 and 74 viewers have looked. These wrenches came from the boxful of excess tools that I keep. They are not priceless rarities. They are fairly common wrenches, though not oriental junk, most are 75 or 100 years old, but no takers at $20, so I dropped to $15 and still no takers. I am getting close to taking the Wrenchmensch approach. Whoever posted "NEVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY" has not tried to work in my shop or find anything in my storage trailer. Let's see a show of hands. How many of you are among the 74 viewers. There, see, shame on you for beating up Wrenchmench.
WOW, I don't think anyone on this sight would want to upset you. When you said, " Do all wrench collectors speak with forked tongue, or is it just the ones on this post?" I think that took many of us by surprise. I am certain that no one on this site would want to upset you. This is a site where we love wrenches, history, and, along the way, find a few good friends.
I realize that you have tried to sell your wrenches and are upset that they haven't sold. I guess a number of persons have looked at the wrenches you wanted to sell and have not bought them. As a result from you not being able to sell the wrenches, you said, " Let's see a show of hands. How many of you are among the 74 viewers . There, see, shame on you for beating up Wrenchmench."
I think things have gotten confused. For some reason you hold some degree of animosity towards the rest of us folks on this site. There isn't anyone that I know around here who would want to upset or offend anyone. For some reason you have gotten upset. I don't know what to say, we love persons that are interested in old tools. I welcome any person that can teach me about old tools, history, or anyone that can teach me something that I don't know. I'm only speaking for myself. But, this has never been a community that "shuts persons out."
So, for whatever reason, johnsironsanctuary, we've upset you. I'm sorry for that. But, I think I can speak for our community, we love anyone that's interested in tools. I'm not sure what went wrong. Maybe someone else can shed some light on this.
cheers, bird
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bird, pardon me for sticking my nose in here, but i think johnsironsanctuary was mostly joking and also pointing out that while there was some howling about wrenches possibly winding up in the orphanage, there is no long line of folks looking to adopt wrenches about to suffer a similar fate.
I think he was just illustrating the dichotomy in a humorous way.
Correct me if I'm off base here johnsironsanctuary.
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Thanks kxxr, you read me correctly.
Bird, sorry if I ruffled your feathers. I'm not angry at anybody. I was poking some fun at pulpit pounders. My angst over not selling the pile of wrenches was not intended to sound genuine. To quote Robert Burns the Scottish Philosopher, " Oh would that God the giftie give us, to see ourselves as others see us". This is a wonderfully friendly group that welcomed me without reservation and I am grateful for that. There are way too many blogs that are full of angry people.
John
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Today is our weekly Man Cave neighborhood retiree conviviality session. The guys are pretty smart. I will put to them the quality and scrap wrench disposal problem I have described to you. I will report back to you anything they say which has not already been foreseen or prognosticated by you all.
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wrenchmensch,
I was hunting through Google images this morning and found this.
If "Wrenches tell of man's freedom to think", they really should have a proper place to do it.
Here we have the Wrenchmenschbench.
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It looks familiar... Is there a logo on the other side? Not Select Steel, I imagine...
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The logo on the other side says "Naugahyde Wrench Co"
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Man Cave Report: It was suggested by one of the neighbors this afternoon that I go directly to the Smithsonian with an offer to give the wrenches to them.
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If nothing else, the salvation army or St Vincent's or somewhere like that should take them. Some lucky tool collecting soul will have a bargain bonanza and the $$ will go for a good cause.
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bird, pardon me for sticking my nose in here, but i think johnsironsanctuary was mostly joking and also pointing out that while there was some howling about wrenches possibly winding up in the orphanage, there is no long line of folks looking to adopt wrenches about to suffer a similar fate.
I think he was just illustrating the dichotomy in a humorous way.
Correct me if I'm off base here johnsironsanctuary.
MY MISTAKE!!! sorry folks, glad you pointed that out.... didn't mean to cause a scene!!!!! I missed the humor.... yes, there's not exactly a line of folks beggin' for old wrenches..... unfortunately there seems to be a large line of folks lookin' for those Taiwan wrenches. What a shame. If they picked up one "old" wrench in one hand and picked up another three Taiwan wrenches in the other hand, they'd realize that they weighed the same. You would think that would be a clue as to the quality of a wrench.... obviously not so!!
Call me crazy, most folks do..., but, the weight of a tool can tell a lot ...
cheers, bird
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MY MISTAKE!!! sorry folks, glad you pointed that out.... didn't mean to cause a scene!!!!! I missed the humor.... yes, there's not exactly a line of folks beggin' for old wrenches..... unfortunately there seems to be a large line of folks lookin' for those Taiwan wrenches. What a shame. If they picked up one "old" wrench in one hand and picked up another three Taiwan wrenches in the other hand, they'd realize that they weighed the same. You would think that would be a clue as to the quality of a wrench.... obviously not so!!
Call me crazy, most folks do..., but, the weight of a tool can tell a lot ...
cheers, bird
Maybe not such a shame, Bird. Such folks will pass over the good ones, leaving them for us to find. The fact that people put up with the Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and India made junk shows how many people are willing to pass over quality for cheap nonsense.
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The law of supply and demand actually applies some what to wrench collectors. High end collector cars are worth a lot because there are more people that want them than there are cars. If our parents had not scrapped obsolete cars, we'd be up to our ears in collector cars and they wouldn't be worth much. My point is that scrapping a few 9" Auto Wrenches or Coes adjustables probably won't swing the marketplace one way or another, but it is shame to see 80 or 100 year old tools die after surviving for so long. I like the St. Vincent de Paul alternative. It's like an afterlife for tools.
Side note: m fumich took mercy on my wrenches. They will have a good home now.
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About scrapping cars. The wealthiest man I know has kept his early 20th c. Cadillac because he had the funds and the fascination to do so. Most if not all old cars were scrapped to provided reusable steel to make weapons, and more cars. What we didn't use, we sent overseas after WWII for the purposes of ship building and automobile manufacturing.