Back to The Galoots Progress
So you ask yourself. The bargains are out there somewhere...aren't they? Paddy Odeen (aka Patrick Olguin, one of the OldTools list founders), has undergone a metamorphosis that seems to be typical for many Galoots. At first he reported mediocre to poor results in his tool hunting efforts. Then he reported finding some good stuff in an antique store (by the way, the acronym MF stands for Millers Falls). The next major success story reported was after a trip euphemistically termed a 'family vacation' but otherwise known to the frightened locals as the Looting of Sonora. Paddy began reporting gloats indicating his growing sophistication and knowledge of the local tool scene. Recently he posted an amazing account of another 'family vacation' which appears to have been an extended looting spree of the Pacific Northwest.
Several Galoots have reported the type of progression that Paddy
has. Other Galoots, such as Darren Addy, have also posted experiences
in which they stumble on a bonafide
crammed-to-the-rafters old-tool store in an
out of the way place.
Of course, the preceding description does not in any way
constitute an endorsement of Ebay. There are certainly no guarantees
in your obtaining tools from this, or any other source I have
described. In other words, you are on your own. Myself? I like to
handle and inspect a tool before I buy it so I have mainly stuck to
buying tools at the local flea markets and antique stores.
Check my List-O-Links, I post links to old tools dealers from time to time. And of course, you can always check the OldTools FAQ for information on finding old tools.
Sources lead to other sources. Eventually you may find a store in your area that was right under your nose all the time. A good example of this is the experience of Darren Addy, one of our Nebraska Galoots:
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 1996
From: Darren Addy
To: OLDTOOLS
Subject: Good news: Mother Lode; Bad News:$$$
Fellow Toolfans,
Found a place that I never knew existed before today. I saw tools I
have only heard about (eavesdropping on the porch). Winchester planes,
Bedrock 606, 607C, 608, Stanley 40s, Stanley 78s, Davis cast iron
levels, a #37 Stanley level (all nickel) in it's leather pouch,
Chapman patent planes, Trammel Point sets, brass bound levels, planes
made by the Metallic Plane Co. of Auburn NY (like a 7C equivalent with
an ADJUSTABLE throat!), an ALUMINUM Stanley 7C. More stuff than I
could assimilate. I had never even seen a Stanley 4-1/2 before today.
Now I have seen at least 8 of them!
This guy has been selling for some time and seems to know what stuff
should be going for. You're not gonna steal much from him. Some stuff
he seemed a little nuts on. $1350 for a Davis #4 cast iron level with
inclinometer? $325 for a Sargent 407? $295 for the aluminum 6A?
On other things he seemed reasonable: $28 for a 6C (he must like them
as well as Mr. Leach!). A Stearns adjustable plane fence for $38. His
4-1/2s were all $40-60. A (Wards) Stanley 45 NEW in the cardboard box
with boxed cutters for $135. One of the Metallic Plane Co. planes (a
7c equiv) was priced at only $72 (02 patent date). A nice Stanley 113
for $110. The more I looked around the more I saw. His big Bedrocks
were reasonable.
The guy says he has 400 more planes in a back room. (I think I might
get to know this guy a little better.) He says he has a No. 1 in a box
somewhere. (The guy is NOT organized). Lots and lots of saws, levels,
spokeshaves on and on and on. I know that several of the "big name"
collectors in my area already know about this guy. He has an
expression, "The cream comes off the top". Well, that's OK. At this
point I can't afford cream anyway. I'm still working on the milk!
Two things I saw that I did not know about in the plane department:
One was a Richard & Conover 4C. Can find no mention of them in
Barlow's. Can anyone shed any light?
Secondly, I saw my first infill plane. It was 9-3/4" long and 2-1/4"
wide. Basically a "brick" no knob or tote. The "cap" pivots on a bar
that spanned the cheeks.A wedge fits between the pivoting cap and the
blade (stamped Ohio Tool Co.) Can find no planes matching this
description anywhere in Barlow's. Sound familiar to anyone?
Thanks for any assistance.
Darren Addy
Date: Sun, 2 Jun 96
From: Paddy
To: OldTools
Subject: Saturday Gloat
Evening Galoots, I heard of an antique dealer in San Dimas, CA (the
land East of Irwindale), who had "lot's of old tools" (so said a
snooty dealer in Pasadena). I checked it out, and they didn't have
squat. A wasted trip... but then, wife and kids to the rescue. As I
slouched out of the potpourri- laden dump, I saw wife and kids
gesturing madly to a shop across the street. Three-year old Kenny
hollering, "Tools Daddy! Toooooools!" All traffic stopped as I
semi-gimped across the main street of San Dimas' Oldtown (the cane
still comes in handy as a sympathy generator, while negotiating - hey,
you folks know I have no shame).
I went into Annies's Antiques, and found what I was looking for: a
booth dedicated to old rust. Not only that, but a proprietor who owned
the tools, instead of the usual consignment deal, where the proprietor
isn't willing to deal much. I dug in.
A couple of shelves of pre- WWII Stanleys, *way* overpriced ($75 for a
rusted jack, $200 for a #4 1/2 Bedrock) greeted me. My heart sank a
little. I picked up a couple of serviceable braces, but SWMBO said no
(she was right). Then I saw a minty fresh MF #4, but couldn't see the
price tag. I feared the worst. $32. Hmmmm. Mebbe I'd deal for this
one. Grabbed a nice push drill (only two bits in handle) for good
measure, and offered the guy $30 for both. "Sold," says he.
The MF was obviously owned by an archetype practitioner of stupid
Neanderthal tricks, because it looked unused. It'd be perfect, save
for the tiny pinholes of rust in the three-piece lever cap's nickel.
Why was it unused? The blade was installed bevel-up, with the cap iron
set about 1/2" back from the blade tip. This made it impossible to
retract the blade. There was about 1/8" of upside- down
blade-and-cap-iron, protruding through the mouth. This must have been
Forrest Gump's plane. The plane must have sat on some old Normites
shelf until he died, then came to me. It's better to be lucky than
good.
Paddy GM/ENB/Starting to feel like there might be some stuff out here
after all.
Date: Mon, 8 Jul 96
From: Patrick Olguin
To: OldTools
Subject: Hunting for Precious Metal in the Mother Lode
Content Summary: Gargantuan gloat and trip report.
Gentle Galoots, I bring to you Left-Coasters, tidings of joy and
encouragement. Not only are there still tools out here, but they're
just as cheap as any dirt farm in Iowa. This is the story of a family
vacation turned into a search-and-hoard mission of epic (by my
standards) proportions.
We drove up SR49 (named for the 49ers who dug and grubbed for gold),
looking for "other" precious metals that had been shaped into bench
planes, chisels, augers, and so on. Our first stop was Merced, a
farming community located in the central valley. Zip. One lousy store,
and it closed at 4:00. It wasn't looking good. No prob, I figured,
this is supposed to be a family vacation, not a 1100-mile tool-hunt.
The drive up through the western foothills of the Sierra Nevada is
beautiful; miles of rolling hills, dotted with graceful black oak
trees (a protected species in this state), little burgs, and swollen
creeks filled by the snow melting nearly 100 miles away. Yep, heady
stuff for a fellow who hardly gets let out of the house these days
:^).
Our destination was Columbia State Historical Park - a spectacular
dud. There was an interpretive woodshop, but the guy confessed that
since he didn't get paid for demonstrating drawknives, chisels, and
treadle lathes (and if he had to *use* those old tools, he'd surely
starve), he dedicated himself to painting the stacks of pukey ducks
that had obviously been gang-cut by some CNC behemoth. There was a
swell #26 that wasn't for sale. The town was filling with locals
turning out for the parade. I'd had enough of Tonya Harding
look-alikes, so we split for the antique district of Sonora.
Lots of potpourri, sachet, and a couple transitional jointers for $60
each. [Big sad face] No prob, I said, this is a beautiful town, and
we're having a good time. We pile into the Bubba Mobile, and head to
our motel on the outskirts of town. I'm consoling myself, trying to
find the place (and avoid tractors at the same time), when my wife,
upon spotting a yard sale sign says, "I think you'd better stop
there." I turn around, park the truck, and stumble into a yard
ankle-deep in rusty iron. There were several milk crates full of bench
planes, and a bunch of other stuff. I dug in!
I scrounged for nearly two hours, and for the first time in my life,
had to leave some stuff behind because I felt guilty over bagging so
much cheap stuff. Of the notables I deserted were a MF jointer, and a
newer 5 1/4 (yellow background on lever cap, stamped steel lateral
adjuster). I was greasy, grimy, and more than a little nervous, as the
proprietor priced all that I'd chosen. This is how I came out:
8" Witherby drawknife - $10
10" Witherby drawknife - $10
#152 Spokeshave (with green paint stripes) - $10
#3C (three patent date, cracked low knob, but already fixed) - $12
#5 Sargent LIBPOBH - $12
#5C extremely clean (type 7) - $12
#12 1/2 (no blade, replacement already purchased from Ron) - $30
#4 1/2 (WWII) - $12
#60 1/2 block, tiny chips behind mouth - $12
#9 1/2 block - $12
CA Herriman #8 quick-action face vise (1903 patent date) - $30
Irwin 13-piece auger bits, in original box w/instructions - $30
#923 Stanley brace - $12
#80 - $12
Four huge Simonds files - $10
Plumb ball peen hammer, big - $1
Stanley bullnose rabbet plane (English, like new) - $10
#94 butt gage - $10
Stanley #42 sawset $5
Stanley 6" square - $5
Whew!!
...The only old tool on the eastern side of the Sierras was a
transitional jack in the window of a closed antique store. Yeah, just
what I need, another jack plane.
Then, to top it off, we stopped at the Pasadena City College Flea
Market on the way home, where I bagged (with another huge assist from
my lovely wife) a #5 1/2C (type 7) for $30, and a Ohio Tools #72
molding plane for $7. The #5 1/2C had a clean break in the tote which
I already epoxied.
Paddy GM/ENB/Now has 7 jack planes. They're all users. Nope, it's not
a collection. Not me. Not ever. Unh Uhh.
Date: 7/9/97
From: Patrick Olguin
To: OldTools
I have finally waded through the 1,962 e-mails (most were listowner
error messages), and find myself back from vacation, significantly
laden with cast iron objects, of which none are for sale... at least
not yet :). The short version is that I picked up a few planes (yes,
even a few jack planes too), and a few other odds and ends while
ostensibly on vacation. Considering I managed to miss every decent
flea market in Northern California, I think I did a pretty good job of
raiding every antique store from Bishop to Eureka, from Redding to Red
Bluff, from Yreka to Point Reyes. Put 2500 miles on the bubbamobile,
and had a great time.
Hit delete now, if you're operating heavy equipment, or driving a
motor vehicle.
My five year old can now read the word "Antiques" and "Closed" at five
hundred yards. "That one's closed, Daddy! Don't stop!"
In Redding, CA, I bagged the one tool I didn't already have: a froe,
sans handle (I'll make one, after all, I *am* a woodDorker) for $5.
Also snagged a couple folding rules (#54, and #62) for the kids, and a
very clean no-name type 11 #5 1/2 for $15. The funny thing was, this
plane was sitting right next to a broken and battered #4 that was
marked $49. Same vendor. Go figure.
In Red Bluff (a mining town, about 20 miles south of Redding), I met a
nice old carpenter who was selling his collection. He knew his tools,
so there were no steals. I admired his well cared-for tools, and came
away with an Ohio Tools 7/8 dado plane in rather spiffy condition, for
$40. At another shop, I managed to tuck away a Disston D15 (butchered
handle, but good nuts and succulent blade) for $8, and a #15 block
plane (with convenient hang hole), for $12.
...We headed north, via Burney Falls, to Yreka, CA. Made it into town
just in time to get pelted by marble-sized hail. I know this is
nothing for you Midwesterners, but a beach boy like myself was more
than impressed as the hailstones rocked my vehicle (a 3 ton
bubbaburban) as we sat in the parking lot to wait it out. We found a
nice antique shop at the end of town, and after convincing myself I
really didn't need a player piano, I strolled out with a type 2 (I
think) Bedrock 606 for $50, and a dead solid perfect Wardmaster #78
for $35. Oh, and an unused #71 (router plane, Jeff), of the japanned
variety, with all the cutters and the fence. Not a steal, but a pretty
good deal, at $36.
We wandered over to another store in town, and I bagged another
complete Wards #78 (moving fillistser rabbet plane, Jeff) - I have
never seen a complete #78 in an antique store, much less two in one
town! Also got a sweet little #9 1/2 for $12 (another stocking
stuffer). And then we headed for Oregon.
...Oregon looked a lot like Northern California, only there was no sales
tax, I celebrated that fact, by getting an absolutely astonishing #65,
for $60. That's full retail, but it was so nice, I couldn't just leave
it there. It was my one treat to myself, along with a minty fresh 6"
Starrett combination square, with center-finding head. I found one
antique store in Grants Pass, called The Black Swan. The man there has
some very nice tools: #62, #10.5, #10, #72, #55. He knows his tools,
however, and they were priced accordingly. Not overpriced, but full
retail. The complete #55, with box, was $475, the #62 was $325, the
#10.5 was $225, and the #72 was so high, I fainted. Still, it was the
one place where I found collectible tools, and then I realized that
I'm really a bottom-feeder.
We headed for the coast, and found Eureka (pun clearly intended), CA.
In Eureka, we took a tour of the Blue Ox Millworks Company, run by
Eric Hollenbeck. ...
Ok, more tool-hunting... We blew out of Eureka, and stopped in lovely
little Ferndale, where I found what I consider the most intriguing
find of the trip - a 2/3 scale Disston. It looks every bit like a No.
12 rip saw, complete with nib, but the entire saw, including the
handle, is smaller than my other Disstons.
...We arrived in Fort Bragg (home of a famous person named Ron Hock, and
some lesser-known fella who teaches woodworking) just in time to catch
the Skunk Railroad on a round trip to North Spur, wherever that is.
After catching some much needed sleep on the train, we dropped by
Ron's house, and got the factory tour. Ron has well over 100 sq ft of
shop space, and he uses every bit of it :-). And believe it or not,
Ron actually has some hand planes; two jack planes, even! I knew he
was my kind of guy.
...Heading further southward, we stopped in such hotbeds of tooldom as
Santa Rosa, Sebastopal, and Bodega, netting a spiffy little #9 1/2
(another future stocking-stuffer) for $15. As I browsed the shelf of
old tools, a pasty gentleman in plaid attire sidled up to me, and
asked me if I was an old tool collector. I said no, that I used 'em.
He remarked, "I like old tools," in that same ethereal way that kid
said, "I like the Wizard of Oz," to Ralphie Parker, in the department
store scene of "A Christmas Story." All he was missing were the
goggles. Those of you who know this movie are squirming uneasily in
your seats by now, I know it. :-) He told me he had a garageful of
them in Petaluma (the closest town with at least one stop light).
Edging away, I remarked that the transitional jack sitting on the
shelf might be a better deal if it didn't have the lever cap from a
type 19 #5. Not to be outdone, he mentioned that it had been
refinished too. I didn't notice much, as I generally don't look too
closely at transitional planes as a rule.
We parted company with me holding the #9 1/2 (small block plane,
Jeff), and him clutching air.
The day's itinerary took us out to the historic Point Reyes
Lighthouse...I managed to drag my crusty phlebitic body down and up
the 308 steps to the old lighthouse, and back to the car, just in time
for us to haul a** back to the town of Point Reyes Station, for Val my
old college Pal (the missus) to dash into the antique store for a
quick look 'round.
Val is becoming quite the scout. She recognized some overpriced
drawknives, a dado plane with it's front wedge and nickers missing,
and flew right past them to the sweetest little Type 9 #4C you've ever
seen in an over-priced potpourri-filled antique shop just north of the
Marin Headlands. At $30 (tax-free cash), it was not great steal, but
it is clean, with at least 95% japanning, and since I didn't have a
#4C... I do now. Next thing you know, this woman will be attending
auctions for me...
Vacation time winding down, now. ...The next day is a leisurely tour
of Highway 1 (the pretty one, not that one on the East Coast), where
we stop in Cambria to pick up a nice Type 19 #7C (to replace the Type
10 #7C I found last year, which turned out to have a crack in it, and
is now being cannibalized for parts) and another stocking stuffer #5
(sheered tote, will make replacement). Rolled into the main part of
town to find a tempting red-hot smoking Type 19 #3, but balked at the
$49 price tag. If I didn't already have four #3's, I might have gotten
it :-).
Final tooling stop is Morro Bay, we find another incomplete dado
plane, and pass on it. The last score is a stereoscope viewer for the
missus (I get to make some parts for it), and an orphan Type 19 #4
(yet another stocking stuffer) that appeared to have been used once to
trim some wet paint from a window sill, and then was tossed aside for
a decade or three.
All in all, a great trip, considering it was just a vacation, and not
a tool hunt at all. Nope, wasn't looking for tools. They just sort
of leaped out at us :-).
Paddy
Just say 229 lines to say I'm back from vacation.
Copyright 1997, 1998 Thomas Price - All rights reserved
Portions Copyright Darren Addy - Used with permission
Portions Copyright Patrick Olguin - Used with permission