Had another physical therapy appointment to keep, so I brought my empty tool bag along just in case. This trip I focused on indoor flea markets and couldn't believe that they were having an indoor flea market at the 4H building at the State Fair Grounds and no admission fee. Over 200 vendors, but as I found out soon, not many selling tools at reasonable prices. I hit a few small shops and one pawn shop on the way from West DSM to the East side, , but not much there.
Once I got to the state fairgrounds, it was a long cold walk to the 4H building. Guessing the building was around 100k square feet. The boss man said you got a 12x13 spot for $45 for the Sat/ Sun. sale and could rent tables for $4 each. They apparently do this the first and 2nd w/e of each month except during the state fair. Some vendors were willing to dicker, but most weren't. The rest of the finds were "bottom feeder-approved". One of the last stops a guy had a whole 4 table set up of nothing but hardware and tools for .50 each. My shoulder bag was getting a bit heavy so I was picky. Found 7 items I couldn't live without. Another vendor had an immaculate Bonney line wrench(maybe 1/2x9/16), but wanted $6 for it and 3 feet away he had the two Bonneys (in the photo below) for .69 each. Go figure. One gal had 4 flying V C-man 3/8" rats in immaculate condition for $10 each, but I took a pass. Her modern C-man rats were also $10. The one pawn shop I did spend money at had a stubby Spiegel slot screwdriver I'd never seen before, so I gave him a dollar for it. Not sure if it was from a Spiegel catalog, but it did have Chicago Ill. stamped on the handle along with "noncombo" whatever that means. The final flea market I visited on East Euclid had 3 or 4 absentee vendor booths that had a bunch of tools and I killed 45 minutes in there sniffing around. I paid $10 for the Williams S-52 ratchet....begrudgingly and $6 for the P&C extension(since I've never seen so much shiny chrome on a P&C tool before) , but all his C-man sockets were a flat $4 each. I didn't need to tell him I'd just unloaded $500 worth the previous week. With guidance from Bonneyman, I got the Williams apart and it was filthy inside Unbelievably heavy duty guts inside this rat. Used Brakleen and the red straw to hose it out and a special mixture of Triflow and Permatex Antiseize compound to protect it going forward.
TOP ROW:
7 or 8 US Crescent items for HeelSpur, 2 "RAY" sockets(brand name or owner? you be the judge),followed by a None Better, Matco 1/4" swivel(.99), Fairmount, really cherry old knurled 1/4 dr. Husky and then 7 or so Thorsen/Wizard Hi-Torque items for Oily.
MIDDLE: Williams S-52 1/2" rat, P&C 1/2" extension(6205), P&C 1278 Pliers(again I paid $5 for them due to condition), The small yellow screwdriver is a Bridgeport, then the Spiegel, The larger yellow one is a Bell Systems "E", and then a like new Pratt Read stubby and an SK 72001 stubby
LEFT SIDE BOTTOM:
Pennens DBE, and a 6018 combo
Proto Combo and Proto pebble DBE(pretty rusty)
Plomb 1125 DBE and a really rusty 3021 DOE pebble
Filson DBE,Williams 1731 DOE, Big V-Series DBE, Channellock 440
LOWER RIGHT SIDE:
GB battery pliers(can't find out much about these, but they were made in Corydon Iowa and I've emailed the county's historical society folks to find out if they have any info on the Co.)
Sparta US combo, 2 Bonney wrenches, Albert Lea Combo and a neighboring Lesota DBE
"P-S"(?) 301 S wrench, Canadian Gray DOE(either an 867 or B67, can't tell),None Better DOE, and a German Hazet 6mm combo.
