Latest auction buy

[Cherryville Chuck]

The latest auction buy. A little over $20 with their fees and taxes added on. I was surprised to find all the irons well sharpened. A little lapping of the backs and a touch up op the bevels and they were done. A type 19 Stanley smoother and a hybrid Rockwell #5. Stanley 151 and 63 spokeshaves. The 151 was cracked and brazed but works well.

Surprisingly, the Yankee style screwdrivers all came with bits and quite a few of the bits were Robertson square drives which I didn’t know existed. The previous owner made a few bits to fit the two Stanley #30 drivers out of standard hex bits. The smallest of the drivers is a German Dunlap which came with 4.5mm drill bits. I’ve been using those to make screw starter holes and it’s almost as easy as using a power drill. It’s a bit of fun to go back to basics.

[Stick486]

The latest auction buy.

WOW!!!
nice score...

[Herb Stoops]

Brings back memories of my grandpas and dads tools. The whisk brooms look well broke in.
Herb

[Nickp]

Better hurry up and hide...what a steal...!

[Biagio]

Charles, I still cannot get over
(a) how many auctions there are in your part of the world (which I think qualifies as being off the beaten track);
(b) how many auctions you attend.

Nice score.

[Cherryville Chuck]

Brings back memories of my grandpas and dads tools. The whisk brooms look well broke in.
Herb

All of this was well used I think. The irons on the planes and spokeshaves are noticeably shorter than new. I remember Yankee screwdrivers being common in the 50s. My dad had one. No idea what happened to it.

[Cherryville Chuck]

Charles, I still cannot get over
(a) how many auctions there are in your part of the world (which I think qualifies as being off the beaten track);
(b) how many auctions you attend.

Nice score.

I am out a distance from town. No local yard sales and it's not worth driving into town to have a look. I do check out FB marketplace and have scored some items that way. I never used to go to this auction. This an auction house that's been around for at least 50 years I know of. They used to have a weekly auction in a small building. Between bidders and items there wouldn't have been much room so it wasn't worth going.

Covid required them to change their business model. They now use an online service which posts individual lot pictures (not available before) and takes care of the bidding online. Since they don't need space for bidders they can fill the building with merchandise instead. I can have a look first online to see if there is anything I'm interested in and go in and have a look if I need to inspect anything in person the two days prior to the auction. I have had really good luck with bins, totes, and boxes of mixed tools like this one. They are often shoved under a table or shelf and don't get seen by most people and the pictures don't always do the contents justice. I've been lucky to spot some diamonds in the rough at times.

The auction house has a sale every 3 to 4 weeks on average now and has way more people bidding so the forced change has been a blessing in disguise for them.

[Herb Stoops]

Brings back memories of my grandpas and dads tools. The whisk brooms look well broke in.
Herb

All of this was well used I think. The irons on the planes and spokeshaves are noticeably shorter than new. I remember Yankee screwdrivers being common in the 50s. My dad had one. No idea what happened to it.

The Yankee drivers were in use well into the 80's, The battery drill motors replaced them for driving screws. The yankee drills were common up to then also.
HErb

[Biagio]

I have a Spiralux brand spiral screwdriver that I bought 45 or so years ago, before variable speed drills were common (or affordable - my first drill was a Bakelite Millers Falls 500 watt drill which I had until it was swiped some eight years ago). I still use the Spiralux from time to time - better torque control for finicky jobs. Spiralux was a British company, bought out by the James Neil Group who also own Eclipse. The brand now only attaches to hand riveting tools.
The collet only accepts the designated bits (two flat blades and a Phillips). Had not thought of a square-drive, should be possible to bodge up, but am not going to try - am already overcommitted for the rest of my natural life.

I have a plethora of projects, some started, others with the parts lying around. My wife says she will not let me go quietly - will keep me on life support until I get rid of everything. Some of the unfinished/unstarted electronics projects are now so out of date, that it is no longer worthwhile. I no longer even remember what some of them were about, or why I wanted to tackle them.

As for tools, I keep finding things I had forgotten about, some never used. I am trying hard to discipline myself to stop looking at specials, but somehow cannot convince myself that I do not need (as in ever) a TIG welder or a bandsaw or a plasma cutter. Late last year, I bought a Rockler Corner Key Dowelling jig at a close-out - not sure I will ever use it.

[Cherryville Chuck]

I have a plethora of projects, some started, others with the parts lying around. My wife says she will not let me go quietly - will keep me on life support until I get rid of everything.

I have to make sure somehow that my wife never reads your last post.

[Cherryville Chuck]

Something else I wanted to show about the bits for the Yankee drivers I got is that the previous owner made some of them from regular everyday 1/4 hex drive bits. He ground the bottoms to 1/2 thick and then ground a groove where the ball detent engages the bit. These only fit the Stanley 130A models I got but it means I don’t need to worry about running out of bits for them. Plus I can make drivers that were never available like torx for example.