WLGS Sale Went Really Well C. Drew Wrench??

[dimwittedmoose51]

Sorry, but never had time to photograph the 10x20' piece of real estate I rented for the World's Largest Garage Sale here at National Cattle Congress, but getting moved off the north wall and into the middle of the building was a pisser at first, until they opened the flood gates and folks started streaming through.  The radio station ended up renting all 163 spaces.  My space was right next to two steel I beams that helped hold up the buildings roof and that was a great place to string several of my canoe cam straps together and support a shade tree banner that said"Tools and Guy Stuff"  From anywhere in that 100k sq. ft. building you could see that sign and from 7- noon I had a steady stream of lookers and spenders; some coming through 6 and 7 times.  Things slowed down a bit over the lunch hour, but then picked up once more in the last hour from 1-2.  The elderly ladies on either side of me sold very little in the way of dolls and quilts/ baby clothes and bric-a-brac, but then there were dozens of those folks selling that stuff.  The booth two spots away from me had a few tools and being there before anyone else could see what was for sale was a big plus.  Got a Shummacher battery charger needing one alligator clip for $5, A MAC timing light for another $5, and a 24" aluminum handled Ridgid pipe wrench for $10 that had perfect teeth.  One booth had an old SK 1/2" box and sockets that were real rusty, but he nly wanted $5 for the mess, so.....One other booth had some really old rusty stuff for a few bucks and a pristine Shopcraft metal sheet sander for $1.50.  The real finds in those boxes was a C. Drew and Co stamped offset DOE  15/16"x1" and I know little about this outfit.  Prolly keep this one, since it's a fist for my collection.  The other find was the Snap=On 1" drive 1 1/2" 6 point impact socket that must weigh 2-3#.  Will make a great paper weight until I find a drive tool for it   lol.

Since my space this time around was 10' wide and 20' deep(opposite of the wall location), I simply set up 2 strings of tables and had a traffic aisle in the middle.....not many other options.  This sale more than made up for the poor turnout last fall when all the "guy stuff" buyers were in the deer woods.  There were the usual lot of folks trying to "gentile" me down on prices and I simply told them to come back after noon and if they wanted to gamble that the item would still be there then, we'd talk.  some did and some didn't wanna gamble and bought right then and there.  haven't checked with the radio station yet, but there had to have been over 3000 people pay a dollar a head to come and shop; that coupled lwith the ad campaign they did over all 4 of their radio stations in the market, well the $45 booth space made sense if you didn't want "the general public" milling around your house.

Several other flea market and such sale opportunities in the coming months.....stay tuned.

BTW, the same day, there was a huge Antique tool auction over in Humbolt; 90 minutes to our west.  Anybody attend that?  Run by Midwest tool folks and Kastli did the auction.

[OilyRascal]

The other find was the Snap=On 1" drive 1 1/2" 6 point impact socket that must weigh 2-3#. 

If you have a 3/4" drive ratchet, you can find a 3/4" F to 1" male adapter.  If you can't find one let me know and I'll send you a China version for free :)

I picked up a Snap-On 1" drive 2-5/8" impact socket yesterday.  Talk about beefy to carry with a ratchet and ext down the hill.

Glad your sale went well.  I'll keep reading Fortune looking for you on the cover.

[jimwrench]

 That Drew wrench is interesting as they evidently were into shipbuilding tools and you are a long way from any ocean. I think that is a keeper. Sounds like you had a good sale. I didn't know Drew made any wrenchs;as a matter of fact I coudn't even spell Drew yesterday.

[john k]

Glad you had the people come by your stall.  I've been at swap meets where I get stuck way out back, and had to talk to myself, but am good at that.  The Drew wrench, didn't some shipbuilding take place along the Great Lakes during the second world war?   I also think that the ore freighters were built in Michigan and Wisconsin.   At school there was a six inch, 2 inch drive socket for a machine tool, it's almost hard to get the mind around those oversize sockets like you found.   So you made your stall rent plus some extra it sounds like.

[rusty]

C.Drew (Kingston,MA) was making more general tools by the 70's - 80-s, things like Cats paws, wrecking bars, chisels etc....

The company does go back quite a ways, they are mentiones as adding on to their factory in Kingston in 1891....

They are listed under 'Ships tools' in 1895...

But by 1905 I find them listed under many trades, brickleying tools, calking tools, veneer(?) , chisels (cold/cape,carpenters) Plumbers tools. Hawsing,rivit tools & rivits,

By 1970 they are listed as a division of Kingston Tool Corp...

Oddly, there isn't much in between, and for a company with fingers into so many things, I don't see them much...

[dimwittedmoose51]

The C. Drew Wrench is a simple (okay, offset a 1/4" maybe) stamped steel unit.  It looks more like an old bicycle tool than anything ie a thin spanner.  I got one hit on an antique auction website for a similar wrench as a lot of stuff  up for auction, but that was about it.  Since I only have one, it'll stay here for now.  Sorry 1930, this one would be RIGHT up your alley.


BTW, today's auction and yard sale hits were outstanding.  Gonna leave it as a  tease  for now and start another thread later tonight or tomorrow. Today,  I picked the right auction for tools and the right small Iowa town for city wide yard sale days!!!!