Interesting. I've never considered looking around and asking if anything else was for sale. Good tip!
After not seeing a lot at a garage sale several years ago, I happened to ask the lady if she had any costume jewelry. She replied, "Costume Jewelry?? Oh my, yes! We got so busy this morning I forgot to set it out".... Being the "First" to look through plastic baggies of jewelry, I found Silver, gold, and a 14kt lady's gold watch for under $10!!! So, I've learned to ask for what I don't see....
There was a "Community Wide Sale" two weeks ago. It was in an up-scale large neighborhood where most sales were clustered into 3 or 4 homes at a time, so once parked, it was like being a kid again and going door to door-Trick-or-Treating.....
Literally, this was the very last street and and very last house before we were leaving the housing addition. A middle aged couple setup two scant tables of kitchen wares on one and sports/commercial caps and sweatshirts on the other at the end of their driveway closest to the street. Not much there, but as always I've learned to ask about costume jewelry AND old woodworking tools, since I'm still looking for a Stanley No. 2 hand plane.
He said, "Well, let me think. Do you need some old wooden glue clamps?"
"SURE", but I had no idea exactly what he was offering.
So, he walked back up to the house, and after a few minutes, down the steep driveway he came clutching something large to his chest. Splayed out past each of his shoulders, at the distance I thought he was carrying a pair of Elk antlers.... It turned out he had two, old parallel clamps that have the wooden threads cut on the spindles. As you'll see in the last picture, in my workshop I have some with the wooden threads, but these were the biggest glue clamps I'd ever seen. The jaws, themselves, measure almost 3"x3" and 2 feet long, and must open 2 feet wide! Made about the turn of the century by
R. BLISS MFG. Co., Pawtuckett, R.I.
I found the words and asked him, "How much do you want for both?"
He replied, "They were my grandfather's from when he was in the Navy. My wife won't let me put them up in the house, so I'll never use them.... I'll take $15.00 for the both."
My knees nearly buckled!
The photo shows them standing in a metal chair with a tape measure..... It was a cul-de-sac street, so I'd walked back to our pickup parked at another garage sale and loaded them. When I came back by their table, my wife rolled down her window as I slowed down with a big grin on my face... She waved, smiled, and then spoke loudly,
"Thank You!! You made my husband the happiest man I've seen in months."
