Baltimore
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- Feb 18, 2013
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- Maryland/Vermont
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Thread Owner
Hi everyone!
Each and every one of you guys and gals would have been blown away by the place I got to pick last weekend. Truly incredible. Here's the backstory:
A friend of mine works in a welding shop in an old warehouse deep in east Baltimore. His shop is on the first floor, and a strange old wiry guy named Gary occupied the entire top floor. He was a carpenter, welder, machinist, folk artist, and most of all, an extreme hoarder. This guy's big focus was tools and parts of tools. Dozens of shelves and drawers packed with odds and ends, he had at least 5 of every piece of wood or metal working equipment one could ever need, dating from the 1850s to modern times. Everywhere was covered in heaps of parts as well, you probably could have assembled a few dozen more lathes and grinders and whatnot out of the stuff on the floor.
Apparently Gary was very bad at paying rent, so the owner took action to evict him. After taking about a dozen truck and trailer loads of stuff from his place, Gary disappeared somewhere into the southern US, never to be heard from again. Even after taking that much, he still left an entire warehouse worth of stuff for the building owner to deal with, including 25+ cats that he abandoned (he took the 7 or 8 dogs). I went twice, and I still feel like I only scratched the surface. I just wish I knew more about tools!
So here's what I got, for $200 in total:
here's everything, taking up space in my hallway.
A couple disston saws, some clamps, some monkey wrenches, all in a milk crate plus the wheels for $20. The saws are well worn and patina'd, but for so cheap I figured what the hey. One is late 1800's, the other is early 40's, both are common. The monkey wrenches should bring maybe 20 each, the clamps 10, the belt 15.
A prontor Polaroid shutter. found it in a desk drawer, the guy tossed it in for free. Examples with the lens attached sell for $80-100, this one has half of its original box but no lens to I'm going to try for $50 and see what happens.
This was in the scrap pile outside, got it for $5. Turns out it's the base to a pennzoil lollipop sign, and is very valuable! still mostly has its original paint, it'll probably pay for everything! (toe for scale) pennzoil base | eBay
Beautifully patina'd Globe 4 drawer file cabinet, picked for $15. here's a slightly cleaner one: Antique 4 Drawer Globe Tiger Oak Wood Card Index Filing Cabinet 3 x 5 Cards | eBay
A kennedy machinists toolbox, $15. Mine is a little rough and missing it's door, but still worth more than I paid: kennedy machinist tool box | eBay
A couple of brass and copper fire extinguishers, pulled them out of the scrap pile, $5 each. Thanks to whoever posted about these recently (tamrock? tallone? one of you guys.) Would have passed right by otherwise.
Beautiful old Starrett Height Gauge box, $10. The box with the tool inside sells for $400+, this box is much older than all of the ones on ebay and still has all of it's paper labels. I'm going to put it up for $100 and see what happens.
A couple texaco cans, the lil guy was free and the big one was $5. The little should be good for $20, here's a great example of the big one: Vintage 5 Gallon Texaco Oil Can | eBay
Mine is missing the cap but has nearly perfect paint under the dust, plus there are none active right now so I think I could get a similar price.
Fans, as always. $5 each. Only one works, 3 are missing cords, but for $5 I decided I'd rescue them from certain doom. I think repairing them should be as easy as replacing the cord, if not I'll put them up as parts.
Beautiful Berns Air King floor fan from the 1940's. Slightly overpaid at $50 (the guy was stubborn and I couldn't leave it behind), but after some research it seems like this fan is quite rare, and under the dust it is in great shape, and it works! There is no history of them on ebay, I might put it up for some outrageous price like $400 and see if I get any bites.
Some old iron wheels, turns out these are pretty valuable, I threw them all in the milk crate with the tools in the first picture. The one with the wavy spokes might bring $50, I might put the other two in a lot for 40 or so. There were dozens of these laying around, I should have gotten more!
Here's my whatsit: It has 2 old wooden casters on one side, feet on the other, and a hole with a tightening bolt where some kind of pole might have gone. I saved this from the scrap pile, i figured old decorative iron always has a little value, also thrown in the $20 milk crate. Any help is appreciated!
Not pictured is a Gregory frame pack for backpacking that I got for $20, I gave it to my dad. Apparently it's a sought after classic that's no longer in production. Could have probably brought $200+, but the value of a giving it to my dad far exceeds that
. Also picked up a Goose Down insulated Sierra Designs sleeping bag for $10 that looks like it was never used, it would bring $100-$150 but I'm adding it to my collection.
Also, In all seriousness, if anyone is in the Baltimore area and wants to go to this place next weekend, I will happily take you there. All I ask in return is a ride to and from and some new knowledge! I have no idea how picked over it will be, but it's not a public thing. It's one guy inviting his friends who invite their friends. Feel free to send me a PM. Just to clarify, I picked out most of the small antique-ish stuff when I went, but if you have an intimate knowledge of industrial sized metal and woodworking tools and parts then this could be worth your time.
Thanks as always for looking and reading, hope everyone else had a great easter weekend!
Each and every one of you guys and gals would have been blown away by the place I got to pick last weekend. Truly incredible. Here's the backstory:
A friend of mine works in a welding shop in an old warehouse deep in east Baltimore. His shop is on the first floor, and a strange old wiry guy named Gary occupied the entire top floor. He was a carpenter, welder, machinist, folk artist, and most of all, an extreme hoarder. This guy's big focus was tools and parts of tools. Dozens of shelves and drawers packed with odds and ends, he had at least 5 of every piece of wood or metal working equipment one could ever need, dating from the 1850s to modern times. Everywhere was covered in heaps of parts as well, you probably could have assembled a few dozen more lathes and grinders and whatnot out of the stuff on the floor.
Apparently Gary was very bad at paying rent, so the owner took action to evict him. After taking about a dozen truck and trailer loads of stuff from his place, Gary disappeared somewhere into the southern US, never to be heard from again. Even after taking that much, he still left an entire warehouse worth of stuff for the building owner to deal with, including 25+ cats that he abandoned (he took the 7 or 8 dogs). I went twice, and I still feel like I only scratched the surface. I just wish I knew more about tools!
So here's what I got, for $200 in total:
here's everything, taking up space in my hallway.
A couple disston saws, some clamps, some monkey wrenches, all in a milk crate plus the wheels for $20. The saws are well worn and patina'd, but for so cheap I figured what the hey. One is late 1800's, the other is early 40's, both are common. The monkey wrenches should bring maybe 20 each, the clamps 10, the belt 15.
A prontor Polaroid shutter. found it in a desk drawer, the guy tossed it in for free. Examples with the lens attached sell for $80-100, this one has half of its original box but no lens to I'm going to try for $50 and see what happens.
This was in the scrap pile outside, got it for $5. Turns out it's the base to a pennzoil lollipop sign, and is very valuable! still mostly has its original paint, it'll probably pay for everything! (toe for scale) pennzoil base | eBay
Beautifully patina'd Globe 4 drawer file cabinet, picked for $15. here's a slightly cleaner one: Antique 4 Drawer Globe Tiger Oak Wood Card Index Filing Cabinet 3 x 5 Cards | eBay
A kennedy machinists toolbox, $15. Mine is a little rough and missing it's door, but still worth more than I paid: kennedy machinist tool box | eBay
A couple of brass and copper fire extinguishers, pulled them out of the scrap pile, $5 each. Thanks to whoever posted about these recently (tamrock? tallone? one of you guys.) Would have passed right by otherwise. Beautiful old Starrett Height Gauge box, $10. The box with the tool inside sells for $400+, this box is much older than all of the ones on ebay and still has all of it's paper labels. I'm going to put it up for $100 and see what happens.
A couple texaco cans, the lil guy was free and the big one was $5. The little should be good for $20, here's a great example of the big one: Vintage 5 Gallon Texaco Oil Can | eBay
Mine is missing the cap but has nearly perfect paint under the dust, plus there are none active right now so I think I could get a similar price.
Fans, as always. $5 each. Only one works, 3 are missing cords, but for $5 I decided I'd rescue them from certain doom. I think repairing them should be as easy as replacing the cord, if not I'll put them up as parts.
Beautiful Berns Air King floor fan from the 1940's. Slightly overpaid at $50 (the guy was stubborn and I couldn't leave it behind), but after some research it seems like this fan is quite rare, and under the dust it is in great shape, and it works! There is no history of them on ebay, I might put it up for some outrageous price like $400 and see if I get any bites.
Some old iron wheels, turns out these are pretty valuable, I threw them all in the milk crate with the tools in the first picture. The one with the wavy spokes might bring $50, I might put the other two in a lot for 40 or so. There were dozens of these laying around, I should have gotten more!
Here's my whatsit: It has 2 old wooden casters on one side, feet on the other, and a hole with a tightening bolt where some kind of pole might have gone. I saved this from the scrap pile, i figured old decorative iron always has a little value, also thrown in the $20 milk crate. Any help is appreciated!
Not pictured is a Gregory frame pack for backpacking that I got for $20, I gave it to my dad. Apparently it's a sought after classic that's no longer in production. Could have probably brought $200+, but the value of a giving it to my dad far exceeds that
. Also picked up a Goose Down insulated Sierra Designs sleeping bag for $10 that looks like it was never used, it would bring $100-$150 but I'm adding it to my collection.Also, In all seriousness, if anyone is in the Baltimore area and wants to go to this place next weekend, I will happily take you there. All I ask in return is a ride to and from and some new knowledge! I have no idea how picked over it will be, but it's not a public thing. It's one guy inviting his friends who invite their friends. Feel free to send me a PM. Just to clarify, I picked out most of the small antique-ish stuff when I went, but if you have an intimate knowledge of industrial sized metal and woodworking tools and parts then this could be worth your time.
Thanks as always for looking and reading, hope everyone else had a great easter weekend!
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