Gar's Tips & Tools - Issue #182

Access to tools, techniques, and shop tales from the diverse worlds of DIY

Buying/Selling Vintage Toolboxes

Continuing the vintage tools theme from our previous issue, I ran into this video on YouTube about buying old toolboxes full of tools at yard and estate sales and reselling the contents for a profit. In the video, Chris from the Ultimate Recycler buys two boxes, one for AUS$20 and one for $40. The $20 box looks like it’s mainly cheap and exhausted tools, but he still manages, after some cleaning, to get over $100. He estimates that the $40 toolbox will get at least $150. He concludes that, even with a not-so-great collection, you’re still likely to return 4-5 times what you paid. This would be a fun side hustle/hobby for those of us who like trading in “old iron.”

Understanding Over-Center Mechanisms

Over-center mechanisms are a type of bistable mechanism, meaning they have two stable states—think of your bicycle kickstand or a cupboard latch. Toggle clamps, anyone? In This Old Tony video, the always good for a laugh and a great education, Tony looks at the physics, construction, and application of these useful and ubiquitous mechanisms. I certainly knew of a number of these devices and how they worked, but didn’t know the name for this category of mechanism and the physical science behind their function. Great stuff!

Sharpening Wheels on Tube Cutters

In this See Jane Drill video, Leah Bolden shows how easy it is to replace the cutting wheel on a tube cutter and how to keep the cutting wheel you have by sharpening it on a leather strop.

Removing Sticky “Soft Touch” Coating

It’s called “soft touch,” “premium textured feel,” and “rubberized finish.” It’s that coating found on some consumer products like flashlights, binoculars, kitchen items, and personal electronics. No-slip grip. It feels good. For a while. Over time, it starts to break down and the object gets sticky and unpleasant to the touch. As someone explains in the comments of this video, “the gummy material is created when the polymer [in the coating] reacts with ozone and UV and re-links. It happens faster when oils are present.” The solution? In the video, they found that gasoline is one of the few things that removes it. Someone in the comments says Naptha works well and is safer. Naptha-based Coleman fuel also works.

Must-See Maker TV

I’ve written about The Practical Engineer here before, but these videos are so good, you deserve a reminder. Each episode is a crash course in… well… practical engineering. Here is everything you never knew about the leaning tower of Pisa. Like, did you know that it had already started to lean during its multi-century construction and subsequent builders had to correct for the lean as they added stories? The tower is curved, not straight. Channel host Grady Hillhouse is an amazing and effective educator. He uses great graphics, in-shop experiments, and history to drive each episode home. You’re always smarter coming out than going in. As someone comments on this video: “There's just something extremely joyful about a guy being able to say ‘recreational geology’ with a straight face and a genuine smile.”

Shop Talk

Readers offer their feedback, tips, tales, and tool recommendations.

My old friend and colleague, Mike Colombo, wrote in response to the Stanley Workmaster screwdriver piece in the last issue:

I inherited a few Stanley Workmaster screwdrivers from my father. When I watched Adam's video, I grabbed the tools out of the box and had a newfound appreciation for their ergonomic qualities. And these were probably manufactured before the word "ergonomic" was even in the zeitgeist!  Anyway, just another "thank you" for continuing to send out these newsletters. Cheers!

Long-time reader Paul Cryan:

Fantastic stuff as usual! It seems that fishing tools from the trash/thrift stores/estate-sale-miscellaneous-jumble boxes and giving them new life is my raison d’etre. And you’re one of my most influential influencers in that regard. Thank you. Just this weekend, I spent a good bit of my leisure time cleaning up a $2 pair of Truecraft pliers I found at Goodwill. The purchase was really just an excuse to try the Tub-o-Towels you put on my radar. OMG…they’ve got lanolin.

The lovely and talented Steven Roberts writes:

I hardly know where to begin! I have a few favorites I need to photograph for you. This one just caught my eye this morning on the way out of the boat... Fabulously dense little hammer with a very useful pair of additional utilities. I don't even know its proper name, but it's always been in my tool cabinet. I'll try to get some more for you. Inherited a lot from my father, a mechanical engineer from Swarthmore... Even a favorite old ice pick with a wood handle that’s right up there with newer scribes. Something about that old steel. 

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