pretty good haul

[J Tiers]

Went to two estate/tag sales today....

First one I was too late for the Clausing 8520, which sold for $825 in pristine condition. I thought that was nearly theft.... but I really didn't need it.... it would have been nice, though.

Second one was the 4th or 5th incarnation of a sale that I had been to before..... but the family had got rid of the estate sale company and were now serious about clearing the place. (It had had an incredible amount of tooling at it.) They were selling toolboxes full for a song, so I bought two, one a toolbox, the other was actually an old-fashioned ladies cosmetic case or some such... each heavy.

One was $5 the other was $4, so a total of $9 for the lot, with the toolbox included..(the luggage case I figured as worthless) I looked through them a little bit and paid.... Most of what was in them is shown here, less some hardware and other items....



Just the socket was worth several times the total, a nice Williams 3/4" drive of a size I didn't have. Ditto for the 1/2" carbide roughing end mill, and the insert cutoff tool. All of the cutters in tubes, and a number of the others are dead sharp, and several still have protective coating from the sharpeners on them.

Much as I'd not like competition, the deals are out there at tag sales.....

[PStechPaul]

I wish there were some sales like that near me, but perhaps there are and I just haven't looked diligently enough. Last weekend I went to the Harpers Ferry flea market and revisited a table where a guy sells tools (like the little B&D grinder I got a while ago). He had a tray with all sorts of reamers but they were of questionable sharpness and at $5 each I thought they were overpriced. But he had some big files that seemed pretty good although rusty, and I got these three for $5:





There were some other interesting photos in your album.

[J Tiers]

Those files.... a tad rusty, eh?

The "vixen file", the middle one, is a bit of a specialty one, actually for old-time lead bodywork and similar work, but does a pretty decent job on wood as well (lead bodywork being a bit rare these days).

If you clean any grease/oil off, typically in "purple cleaner", and then dunk them in phosphoric acid for a bit of time (available at Home Depot), you can get rid of the rust, and maybe slightly sharpen the files..... although phosphoric doesn't eat steel particularly. I think the file sharpening companies actually use nitric, etc.

[jep24601]

Gee Jerry (J Tiers) I think I am going to sneak up your street on a Saturday morning and follow you. All I have seen recently is 50 year collections of junk tools.

[J Tiers]

That one was listed on Craig's list. It had been on "estate sales.net" several times, and was on a street called "Bristow"

The other one this weekend was also on the estate sale site, and had a very nice Clausing 8520 vertical mill (mini-Bridgeport), a Clausing 15" variable speed drill press, lathe, bandsaw, lots of stock, some woodworking stuff, etc.

But you don't need more stuff! You have the same problem as me, lots of projects. I've seen your shop, remember. For that matter you have seen mine, but it was all covered up for the plumbers to replace drain lines at that time.... so, invoking plausible deniability, I can claim (falsely) that its totally organized and everything is working.

Neither of us has any business going to tool sales..... and I bet it doesn't stop either one of us, either.

[projectnut]

Those files.... a tad rusty, eh?

The "vixen file", the middle one, is a bit of a specialty one, actually for old-time lead bodywork and similar work, but does a pretty decent job on wood as well (lead bodywork being a bit rare these days).

If you clean any grease/oil off, typically in "purple cleaner", and then dunk them in phosphoric acid for a bit of time (available at Home Depot), you can get rid of the rust, and maybe slightly sharpen the files..... although phosphoric doesn't eat steel particularly. I think the file sharpening companies actually use nitric, etc.

It's interesting you should mention "lead bodywork". When I was a kid I worked my way through school by working the night shift at the Fisher Body/ Chevrolet plant in Janesville WI. One of my first jobs in the body shop was to smooth the freshly leaded seams with one of those hand files. The guy a few feet up the line would run a torch over the seam where the rear quarter met the roof. When it was hot enough he would wipe a stick of lead over the seam to fill it in. My job was to clean off any of the overburden so anything left could be wet sanded to a smooth finish. I had to wear a hazmat type suit complete with breathable air being pumped in. It was a hot and sweaty job on 90+ degree summer nights.

Fortunately that job didn't last long. Within a year or so the leading went out in favor of a caulking type of seam sealer. It took longer to set up than the leading so the job of sanding and smoothing it got moved to the paint department. When the job changed we still had dozens of the body files. I was able to purchase some from a local scrap dealer, and still have them to this day. They'll never wear out if you use them for wood. You just have to keep cleaning out the teeth with a big file card.

[macona]

Rust on files will not hurt them. In fact, that is one technique to sharpen them, leaving them in the rain to rust. Just use them and the rust will come off.

[J Tiers]

Rust on files will not hurt them. In fact, that is one technique to sharpen them, leaving them in the rain to rust. Just use them and the rust will come off.

Yabbut, it clogs them up, and it drops off too. I clean 'em.

An acid dip is another recognized way to sharpen.

[garyhlucas]

I did not know those were body files for lead. However I had two of them and they worked well on aluminum.

[PStechPaul]

I do some work on copper, and that file should work well for that as well. I have removed rust from tools using vinegar, but it helps to agitate the solution once in a while to loosen the gray-black stuff. Also, you need to degrease the pieces pretty well before applying the acid, and then after you remove them after a few hours or overnight soak, brush off the coating, rinse and dry thoroughly, and then spray with WD40 or other oily protective material. The process can be improved by using electrolysis (electric current through the solution), and then you might consider plating the steel with copper, nickel, tin, or other means of corrosion resistance.

[J Tiers]

Phosphoric takes only 30 min or so. Much easier to remember and keep track of. But whatever works for you.

I NEVER oil any file....

[PStechPaul]

I've never oiled a file, but also I have not generally seen so much rust on them (except one that I found on the ground). I've usually just used a wire brush to remove the rust. But I just wanted to note that, for other tools I had cleaned up with vinegar, they very quickly rusted after the acid treatment, and WD40 helped prevent that. I can see where oil might cause a file to clog up by retaining the filings, but perhaps a very light coat would be OK. Otherwise maybe keeping them in a sealed box with some camphor.

[J Tiers]

When you have cleaned something in that sort of way, that needs washed off with water, don't let it dry off by itself.

First dry it with a towel, then get a hair dryer or the like, and dry it off the rest of the way with hot air.