Not bad for $1, I think

[Bill Houghton]

I went to a "Pack Rat" sale that had been going on for several days.

Over the last year, our son replumbed our house, with me as the laborer; I wound up with leftover copper pipe fittings, and needed a toolbox to store them in.  This box looked like it would do the job, for $1:


When I opened it, I saw the usual pile of junk:


Got it home, started sorting through; yep, plenty of junk.  Some will belong to the metal recycling bucket, some to the trash bucket.  A few mysteries:


The "chain" in the top left corner, above, seems to be a long fabric tube with BB-sized shot spaced periodically.  It's a bit like a pull chain for a light fixture, but in cloth.  Any ideas?

There were several square cotton "bags" sewn shut around what looks like chunks of lead, as shown there to the right.  ??

And a stamped wrench marked "Acme," probably for maintenance on one of Wile E. Coyote's Road Runner catching devices.  Unless I hear that this is fabulously valuable, it's probably going in either the extra wrench drawer, in case I ever need a really thin wrench in that size, or in the metal recycling.

There were some useful tools:


The Husky ratchet is headed for the RV toolbox, if I can get the side designed to accept 1/4" hex bits to work (rusted up right now).  I've owned these fabricated ratchets before, and they are not usually lifetime tools; but Husky offers a lifetime warranty, so maybe it'll last a bit longer.

The file is "Made in U.S.A.," with a logo of a lion facing left.  Any idea who made it?

And then there was this little metal canister:

which, on closer inspection, is an early tape measure

a worthy addition to my little herd of tape measures.

Since I was pleased to have found a good box for the plumbing fittings, and since I'd have happily paid $1 for the tape, I got one of them for free, plus the other little-bit-useful tools for free either way.

[Yadda]

Yep, I would have paid a dollar for that. 

[amecks]

Nice find.  Possibly the fabric pouch/lead weight is a drapery weight that would be sewn into the hem to make them hang straight.

[lptools]

Well worth a dollar bill!!       And, well worth a dollar, Bill!!

[geneg]

The ball chain is probably also a window treatment item.  The weight most certainly are!  The chains rotate the vanes on cheap vinyl blinds.

[p_toad]

agree with Amecks on the drapery weight.  similar smaller ones were made for various pieces of clothing.