Allan R

Yesterday I needed to get a new mid deep socket so I could finish torquing my rear control arms. 10 bucks for a new socket seems a little high, but I didn't want to buy a whole set for 50 bucks.

On the way home I passed by a Seniors complex and there was a big yellow sign attached to the street light. MAN CAVE sale. So I thought, WTH? I don't typically go to these things but it was only 2 blocks from home. There was a senior lady sitting in the garage and it was filled with used stuff. The typical garage sale with used hammers/pliers and odds/ends.

Then I saw the tool box. It was labeled for 10.00 OBO. I opened it and got the shock of my life. Most of the stuff hadn't even been used. An assortment of 1/2" and 3/8" sockets/drives, breaker bar ratchet converters, universal 1/2" etc.

I asked the lady whose tools they were. Apparently they were her husband's. So I asked the typical dumb question, "Does he know you're selling them?" She replied that they wouldn't do him any good because he passed 6 weeks earlier. I felt like crap for asking, and I offered my condolences. Why even bother to haggle for this, so I handed her 10.00 and wished her a good day. My son told me later I should have given her a hug. He's obviously more in touch with feelings right now than I am. I might just wander down there again today and give her one.

Needless to say, her husbands tools will continue to provide service till I kick the bucket or can't use them anymore.

What I bought 'new' for 10.00


The pictures tell the story...






I looked up the manufacturer of these tools - Williams Tools. They're a division of Snap On and they're made in USA. So it's good quality stuff and a real good assortment.

A great score, but on sad circumstances.

slantflat

Don't feel bad Allan, I'm sure any number of other people would have said the same thing. Tongue in cheek, something like that.

This is actually a nice tribute to the fellow. His tools being used and cared for by someone who appreciates them.

jaunty75

I agree. Allan, people die. It happens all the time. It's part of life. I'm sure you made the widow happy by buying the tools and demonstrating that you're going to put them to good use.

I've bought all sorts of tools at garage sales and particularly estate sales, which are often held when the owner has died and the relatives want to clear the house and what's in it quickly. I'm sure they're sad to see the stuff go, but they don't need it, they need to get rid of it, and they could use the money it brings. So use your tools and enjoy them. In your case, you're making three people happy.

59-59-59

How sad- the part where the new socket needs Spanish wording on the label.

jaunty75

Except that that's French. Remember, this is Canada we're talking about, and everything is supposed to be bi-lingually labeled by law, if I'm not mistaken. If it's not required by law, I'm sure it's commonly done, anyway, as there is a significant French-speaking population.

Not that you don't see this a lot in the U.S. For example, I think every Lowe's now has both English and Spanish on all the big signs in their stores.

jaunty75

Actually, "douille longue" translates to "long sleeve" according to google translate. So this means that, in French, you could confuse one of these for a type of shirt!


According to google translate, "deep socket" should be translated in French to "douille profonde." However, I'm wondering if that's really correct as "profonde" looks like the English word "profound", which is what "deep" means in a different sense. That's the problem with automated translators. They don't take account of idioms or subtle differences in word meanings. Going by google translate, we English speakers could call this thing a "deep" socket or a "profound" socket.

I actually like "profound socket." The next time I need a set, I'm going to go the hardware store and tell the clerk I need set of profound sockets. It'll be interesting to see what he shows me, if not the door.

Bunser

jaunty75

????

Missed the Spanish on what? There isn't any Spanish on that label Allan shows. It's all English and French.

Jamesbo

Allan, I'm with Mike, the gent is smiling down on your using his stuff.

MDchanic

Yep. When I die, I'd rather have my tools go to someone who'll use them than have my wife throw them in a dumpster.

As for the labels, Canada, which is made up of areas originally settled by both French and by the English (ie: Loyalist refugees from the new USA ) has two official languages, so labels are required to be in both.
Local rules regarding signs vary, but, in general, if the local population is mostly monolingual, signs can be in only one language, so signs in Quebec are often only in French, and signs in Alberta, where Allan lives, are often only in English.

As for Lowes, I stopped going there the day I saw a 5-foot cubic American flag display with large letters reading "Banderas Americanas" on all sides, and no English text, in Maine, where there are essentially no Spanish speakers, but where there is a large minority of native French speakers, and a large number of French-speaking Canadian tourists, who might actually benefit from text in French.

- Eric

oldcutlass

I don't want most of you guys putting your grubby hands all over my tools when I pass. Hell you probably won't even clean em or put em back where they belong when you done.

Now get off my lawn and beat it.


Allan on the other hand would probably take care of em.

joe_padavano

Funny you should mention this. I've had exactly this conversation with my wife. I'm less worried about the tools. I told her that there's probably $100K worth of rare parts in the barn and she needs to get someone who knows what this stuff is worth if something happens to me.

Her response is that I should bar code everything and dump it in a database.

MDchanic

That'll keep you busy. And out of trouble.

Smart lady.

- Eric

pogo69

Now, whereabouts do live??

Aron Nance

Hell, Lowe's, Home Depot, Sears, WallyWorld, Sam's...........where is Spanish not being used in the banners/on the boxes/etc. Really burns me up.........I believe we still speak English here. I could go on and on and on....but don't want to bore you. Now............after my "soapbox special", glad you got the sockets, and I'm sure the widow is happy that someone will put them to good us...............I think I would still stop by and give her a hug..........imagine she needs one/or/two/or/three about now.

Bunser

To quote Octania: "The sarcasm is strong in this one."

OLD SKL 69

Like others said Allan, the tools are now in a good place. I really never think about going to a sales like that but maybe I should, you never know what bargains are waiting.

marxjunk

ive been going to estate sales like crazy lately...and i gotta tell ya....the people that do estate sales do not care about your stuff...they are interested in the gross of the sale and thats it....they give the stuff away..i'll post some pics of all the starrett stuff i got in the last month for 5 and 10 bux a pop...ive been buying every US made tool i find..some stuff all the way back to the 20s...at a dollar a piece...some new..some used, almost all made in the US...and wow..i forgot how good our stuff really was..

ive also been buying war memorabilia for nothing...ive gotten stuff from the civil war to korea...mostly because i enjoy it...but the greatest generation is about gone and most of their stuff is going to collectors and they are peddling it...but most ends up in the dumpster or donated...what a shame..

im also stuck on art glass right now..and have no idea why...but thats a different story..

what i started to say was...if you have stuff ya like and is valuable, get it down on paper so your loved ones can do something with it, because the stuff aint worth crap value wise in an estate sale...

oldolds88

been telling my youngest son what everything is or goes to . my oldest isnt into cars or tools. also been labeling stuff,because i went thru my dads stuff. out of three boys,i was the only one who knew what things were.my brothers were like,just dump this crap, i dont think so!! i have some williams tools,they will outlast anything else.

rustyroger

Williams is a well known brand in the UK too.
I still have a couple of Williams torque wrenches that have been giving good service for 30+ years. I had them recalibrated a couple of times, that is to say I had them checked out and they were still accurate.

Look after them (like you wouldn't) and they will be good to go long after you.

Roger.

TomOD

That socket set is from the same ea as the car that you are working on. Very appropriate.

coppercutlass

That's a great score and I'm sure she was happy someone would keep those wrenches turning. I find it ironic someone would complain about "spanish wording" yet it's french. Makes ya think the kind of people who make blank statements like that. People do forget we are tourist in other countrys I bet it would be a real inconvinence if at a mexican airport they had no english wording on their signs. Yet they speak spanish and have english on their signs to accomedate the people who don't speak the language. I believe we should encourage people to speak english but you gotta remember we don't only do buisness with america so we have to accommodate those other countries we deal buisness with. I bet you would be pissed if you bough a vw and it was in all.german because some gearman said we speak german that's that.

Olds442redberet

I am constantly on the look out for tools like these. They are the best made and most affordable tools available. I once traveled two hours one way in order to buy a vintage vice. Tens times better than the crap they make these days.

I also love to here the stories from the previous owners. There stories ad meaning and value to the tools I buy.

I only wish I had my Grandfathers tools. They were sent to the dump. What a shame.

You should enjoy using those vintage sockets while working on your vintage Cutlass.

MDchanic

I have no problem with Spanish language "subtitles" on signs and products in the US, so long as there is an audience there to read them.
I understand that any business will lose money if it doesn't speak the language of a decent proportion of its customers, which was why I made the point about Spanish signs in Maine, where the non-English minority speaks French (as is the case in adjacent New Hampshire, northern Vermont, and Quebec). It's blind idiocy to post 2-language signs in a place where nobody speaks language #2 (and pretty much everybody understands language #1).

Personally, I come from NYC, where Spanish (or at least Spanglish or Newyorican) is a very strong second to English, and where it is definitely helpful to speak both, especially if you work with the public. When I was growing up, there was no "illegal immigrant" (a political topic which I won't go near) issue in NYC with regard to Spanish, since the vast majority of Spanish speakers were Puerto Rican US citizens - like it or not, it was only about language and culture, in a place that has been home to millions of immigrants from every country on Earth (and a few from elsewhere, if you watched "Men in Black").
In NY, it made sense to post signs in both languages, because plenty of people spoke either one.
Now in NY, there are so many immigrants from other countries, that you see lots of signs in Chinese, Korean, and Russian as well. All part of the flow - a hundred years ago, you'd have been hard pressed to find a sign on the Lower East Side that wasn't in Yiddish, Chinese, or Italian.

I firmly believe that if you come here to live, you need to learn the language, but the reality is that most people, especially adults, cannot just pick up another language 1-2-3.
My own great-grandmother spoke essentially no English till the day she died - she spoke to her children in Italian, and they, since she forbade them to speak Italian, replied in English. On the one hand, she made a strong point by making her kids speak English, and they all grew up completely "American," but on the other hand, none of them was ever able to speak the language of their ancestors, and I had to learn the language from scratch to be able to travel back to the "old country."

On a related note, an Italian-American friend of my father's is a Presbyterian because when his father came to the US as an immigrant, speaking no English, he didn't know about Protestant churches, and assumed that every church was Catholic, as it was in Italy at the time. He brought the family to the nearest church every Sunday, which was Presbyterian. He didn't understand a word of the sermon, but he hadn't understood the Latin mass either, so it didn't seem odd to him. It was years later that he discovered that he hadn't been going to a Catholic church, and by then his kids were all Presbyterians.

Language is a funny thing.

- Eric

kitfoxdave

Allen, enjoy the tools. They now have a good home again. I went through my dads stuff a couple years ago. Kept the tools (many had stories to go with them) My brothers and nephews did not really want much of any of it. My son on the other hand really appreciates them. Some of the plumbing tools are now being used by the 4th generation (some of my grandfathers tools are in there as well). As I gather tools together, I look for good quality stuff for the long run...(perhaps 3 to 4 generations...)

And PLEASE give her a BIG hug from all of us. I know my mom really needs them, and I am SURE that this lady would as well!

BackInTheGame

I had the same experience as the OP. About fifteen years ago I went to a garage/estate sale. The woman's husband had died unexpectedly in his mid-forties and she was preparing to move out of state. Prices were clearly marked. I paid $600 for a three chest roller unit with more than $3600 worth of tools inside, most of which were Snap-On and Dewalt. The deceased had owned and maintained aircraft. And did it well if the tool set was any indication. I have used nearly all of them in my own work on my 442 resto, truck, dirtbike, late models, etc.

Allan R

Gosh, I didn't mean to stir up anything political about languages or anything. I already used the 3/4" deep socket (1/2" drive) to get into that awkward rear control arm nut on the LS. These are really sturdy tools and are in really great shape. I didn't know they were 70's era, but I'm not surprised. It was a great find and don't worry - they'll be cared for and looked after very well.

Just to clear up some of the language issues about the 3/4" socket I bought from the store? NONE of the store fronts or signs out here in AB are bi-lingual. It's all English so any of you who want to visit our fine Province will have no trouble reading them, and probably 99% of the people you will meet also speak English (to what degree I can't guarantee). You will have to adjust for the speed limits though as they are all in metric. Don't be caught doing 30 mph in a 30 km/hr school zone or you'll likely end up in the pokey.

There is (as Eric pointed out) a requirement to label some merchandise being sold new with alternate languages on either the package or instructions. I recently opened my new cell phone instructions and there were about 15 different sets of language instructions in the 'quick set up' manual. But for the most part, we do everything here predominantly in English. The exception to that in Canada is Quebec who actually have a 'Language' policing policy where French MUST be the predominant posted language on everything.

I must admit, that 10.00 toolbox and contents was one of the best purchases I've ever made.

MDchanic

Nothing political about it, Allan. We're not allowed to do that. It's all philosophical.
And everybody's been nice.


Could you please translate this message into French and send it to all of your Quebecois compatriots, Allan?
We see lots of them here in the summers, and it seems that nobody has told them this (or maybe nobody translated the letters MPH into French for them).

I swear the next "Buy Me Souvenirs" ("Je Me Souviens") that I find myself behind, doing 40 kph in a 40 mph zone, I'm going to run him off the road.

- Eric

Olds64

That is very cool Allan. You can't beat the price either.

Allan R

You'd get no argument from me if you did. BTW, I grew up in the era of mph so it took a while to get used to the change when it happened. But then then GM/Ford/Chrysler also got decals made to put on the speedos to help with the transition up here. Cost around a buck I think to buy one. To me 40 mph isn't very fast at all - the same as around 60 km/hr up here. Most dogs can keep up with that enough to bite your tires... I'd be more likely to be the guy going the actual speed limit (or +5 over) and still hindering some drivers. But at least I help give them options for passing. Driving my 72 (mph) is still a comfortable feeling. On busy roads I just keep up with traffic and ignore the speed limit. IMO that may be less risky and safer as long as I've got a safe following distance.

I also hate being caught behind slow drivers who won't pull off or have the decency to do the speed limit. I got caught behind a line up of them (7 including 2 motorhomes at the front) a month ago in the mountains (danger zone). I pushed my little Sonata 3.3 V6 up to 180 km/hr (112 mph) during the pass. Scared the poop out of the missus and my son. Good role model for his driving experience huh?

Much as I'd love to translate for the 'other' section of Canada, I doubt it would do anything much other than start an Anglo/French pissing match, so no thank you. I don't understand Quebec any more than you understand Mexico.

MDchanic

Oh, I understand Mexico just fine, and if we'd thrown them some more economic and democratic development dollars than we did over the past 75 years, with a few more strings attached, we might have improved their economy and government and be dealing with them the same way we deal with Canada now. In the long run, raising them up a few notches economically would be worth a whole lot more to our economy than helping some African or Middle-Eastern country.
But nobody's voting for me for Emperor...

Nobody understands Quebec, least of all the French (in France), so you're not alone.

- Eric

ent72olds

Allan.....the fact that even crossed your mind......

Allan R

Erik, you know how garage sales 'usually' involve some degree of haggle. And this woman was no hag, she was as sweet as apple pie. To some extent everyone is always looking to do that 'one upmanship' so it makes them feel better? Heck, I should go down and visit with her to make sure no one else 'robs' her... She'll do ok. I think it was a relief for her to do some cleansing as part of dealing with moving on. I told my wife to sell everything of mine when I croak except the Cutlass. I want her to have that because she's been so patient with me as I've been working on it for the past 3 years. My son isn't interested in mechanical things so it would be a waste passing stuff on to him; they'd just collect dust and get forgotten or sold anyway.

copper128

Geez, Eric - here on the far end of NY we have just the opposite problem with "Canucks".
All the Ontarioans (?) blast past us like we're standing still. Apparently they think they're still on the QEW express lanes

ent72olds

Ain't that the truth! They love to drive with each other in drafts also....the NYS Thruway is like a superspeedway when the Canadians come on down!

Allan R

Ahhh, I see you've met my cousin John..... He leaves everywhere 1/2 hour late and gets to his next appointment 15 minutes early.

That's not a great cross sampling of Canadians as a whole though. Well maybe the younger ones... I'm sure there's a mix from all countries that drive like there's no tomorrow.

True story. My buddy Kim was an RCMP officer. One evening he pulled over a lady doing close to 80 in a 55 zone (mph). He asked her why she was going so fast. She replied she was almost out of gas and had to hurry to get to a gas station before her tank ran dry. He followed her to the closest gas station and let her off with a warning. Hey, he's blonde. Whattaya expect??? She was cute or something??

ent72olds

LOL!

Jamesbo

Allan,

Although, I paid slightly more for this hand made carpenters tool box [with hand tools] I just couldn't let someone’s daily work companion go to Goodwill.

kitfoxdave

When I was a teenager MANY years back, an old farmer that lived down the street had neat old cars, tractors, all over his place. (as youngsters of about 4 we used to walk down with my grandmother to get milk pet Bessie on the nose and drop the change in the empty milk bottle in the cooler) Later on the section of the barn collapsed one winter. He dragged out a cabinet makers tool chest and left it outside. He opened it and showed me the inside. Outside was in rough shape, inside was inlaid with mahogany and holly. a beautiful piece of work. He would not give it away or sell it. when he passed many years later, the tool chest was still outside and completely ruined. I always felt badly that such a nice piece of work was not passed on.

Allan R

That's really cool Jim - you don't dare change anything on it. I see stuff like that on antique shows in a special category. It pulls in surprising $$ to the right collector. That one has the rustic look so many peeps find desirable. One thing I like about hand tools - they never run out of electricity or burn out a motor....