Garage sale tools and stuff

[HeyBub]

Popular Mechanics article on what to buy, what to skip, pitfalls and profits.

[N8N]

avoid power tools? i've picked up several good name-brand corded drills that needed only minor repairs. I think I paid $5 for a good corded Makita that only needed a new cord - and I happened to have an extension cord with a bad socket end laying around.

nate

[JIMMIE]

I picked up a Craftsman worm drive circular saw for $10, need new cord and brushes. That was 30 years ago and I am still using it. Did equally well on an industrial plunge router that just needed a piece of plastic glued back together. Plastic didnt really effect operation. When you are paying pennies on the dollar its worth the chance.

Jimmie

[Steve B]

Basically a bullshit puff article. If a guy knows tools, they would buy a lot of things that Popular Mechanics advise against. There is no hard and fast rule on tools. I bought a weed trimmer for $2, and it died on me the first time I used it. No biggie. The next one was $4, and it's going strong. Big difference between $6 and $60. Thing is with yard sale stuff, you get it so cheap, that if it does die, you aren't out much. And I got a Bosch electric jack hammer that retails for around $700 for $200. Lots of more deals. If you know prices, you just snatch up the underpriced. I have also seen tools priced more than retail. I just chuckle to myself, keep my cash in my pocket, and leave.

Steve

[Twayne]

I've picked up lots of good tools, usually with nothing wrong with them, in fact. You simply have to watch out and know what you're buying is all. I once picked up a 30 gallon compressor for $20; everything included but the motor. Had a 1 HP motor; it was good enough for what I needed!

HTH,

Twayne`

[Bob F]

The best thing is those old fashioned tools that you can't find new anymore. I've got a nail puller that works better than any modern one I've seen. $1 at a yard sale.

[Nate Nagel]

There's that two. I've been *given* two braces and one set of bits. Don't use 'em very often, but when you're running electric cables and there's no electricity (because you're installing it) it beats the hell of scrounging all your extension cords etc.

nate