Found beside the road

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Speaking of wheel weights: about 10 years ago I was exiting Route 81 in a busy area and the exchange was still the 1950's clover leaf! The exit ramp went down a steep hill with a quick turn at the bottom where there is a Stop Sign. From the stop sign you enter a very busy business road.
From what I saw, ther must of been someone carrying a hundred pound bucket of wheel weights (Probably headed to the near by scrap yard) Well that hundrerd pound of lead did not like the sharp curve and fell over in a truck with the gate down! and landed in the road at the stop sign!
Probably happened hours before because when I saw them, The were all totally flattened and embedded into the black top!
I pulled over to see if they could be recovered! However they were like lead drips on a turkish towel!
They were now one with the pavement! :rolleyes: Not to mention risking your life in a very busy section of road!
This made the bullet caster in me very sad:embarrassed:
They slowly wore away but it took the better part of a year! All that was left were the Steel clips....Sure wish I took a photo of it

Can't believe that no one did not call it in and have PennDot close the road and bring in a hazmat unit
 
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CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
Can't believe that no one did not call it in and have PennDot close the road and bring in a hazmat unit
The haz-mutants and their didactic mindsets and procedures are likely why no one called for them to respond. One dealing with that passel of wonks will last you a lifetime. That was my experience in California with that lot, anyway. They treat lead ANYTHING like its a bubonic plague precursor.
 
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JWFilips

Well-Known Member
It is just like evacuating a school because someone smashed a mercury thermometer!
Let's get real... It is the salts of mercury that create the hazard! If some one washes the metal with acid or alkali Then you may have a small problem!
 

Charles Graff

Moderator Emeritus
It is just like evacuating a school because someone smashed a mercury thermometer!
Let's get real... It is the salts of mercury that create the hazard! If some one washes the metal with acid or alkali Then you may have a small problem!
This may be a little over the top, but I thought you guys might find it an interesting story. When I was a student at Sul Ross College in Alpine, Texas in the early 60s, I knew a student/cowboy who said he used to masturbate using a jar of mercury. I think you can figure out how he did that. At any rate, I always have wondered what his kids (if any) looked like.
 

Ian

Notorious member
I happened to have a rusty 12" Crestalloy crescent wrench too, so today between other projects I converted it by boiling/carding (took three rounds to get the red rust all converted and the crust carded away down to one fine layer) and blued it along with a handful of Snap-On punches and chisels.

Now, antique gun collectors fawn over this brown color they call "patina", which is nothing more than oiled grime on top of active rust. On a wrench we know it's rust.....

20210502_114200.jpg

......because when we degrease it with brake cleaner it looks like this:

20210502_115402.jpg

But on a rifle, it's "patina". Whatever. Anyway, after three cycles of converting (could have stopped there and preserved it without affecting the original finish), but I wanted pretty so it got eight cycles of hot water rust bluing:

20210502_182853.jpg
 
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Ian

Notorious member
Thanks! Too nice to use now :rolleyes: Not nearly worth the time and effort but there it is. Sometimes we do stuff because we can, not because it's practical.

I think I'm going to buy a buffer motor and a Brownells carding wheel. Got a couple more guns to do eventually.
 

KeithB

Resident Half Fast Machinist
I have a 10" slip jaw wrench (I think it's a Craftsman) that I was given for free. The axle that the worm screw turns on apparently came unscrewed and it and the worm were lost. I made a new axle and worm on the lathe in the school shop. Doesn't look nearly as nice as yours but it works and we keep it in one of the machine tool boxes for utility use. I get a little smile every time I use it, there's something about restoring a tool back to usefulness.
 

smokeywolf

Well-Known Member
The on-call foreman of the MGM Metal Shops was making in the neighborhood of $75,000+benefit package/year in 1980. One of his hobbies was searching garage sales for broken "Craftsman" brand tools that he would purchase for 5 cents on the dollar and subsequently take to a Sears and get replaced under warranty. Adjustable wrenches were a favorite of his.
 

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
Inspiration! My father left me this "grip-n-stik" from Dover, O. patented Apr. 13, 1924. His first machinist job in 1934 was making the dovetails and gear teeth on the moveable jaw. Now it will be blue. Thanks!
grip n stik.JPG
 

Ian

Notorious member
Ric, if you're going to rust-blue it, it might be easier to take all the existing rust off first with EvapoRust. I had a devil of a time getting through the heavy deposits on the Crescent wrench by boiling/carding, had to resort to a heavy stainless-steel welding brush in places and still it took a lot of elbow grease to break down to the base layer and get it all converted befire beginning the bluing process. I guess it depends on the kind of steel you have.

Technically, the Crescent has the thumb wheel left in the white and the flat sides of the jaws polished white, but after all that work I couldn't bear to sand off the finish and expose the tool to rusting again.
 

rodmkr

Temecula California
Finished my cresent.
Made by Williamson.
Says property of San Diego Gas and Electric on the other side.
Wonder if they charge the lineman that lost it for it
Anyway now have a great wrench to add to my rollaway.

Jim
 

JWFilips

Well-Known Member
Because we're are in Anthracite Coal country: Something I want to forget ....But my son's Grandfather wanted to remember!
He and his pals use to frequent old closed mines as well as coal breakers. He found and brought home to me some of the biggest wrenches I have ever seen! I have them stored in my shed!
They were for working on Locomotives and other hauling machines.
This summer I'll pull them out and gets some pics for you guys!
I call them Paul Bunyan tools
 

Mitty38

Well-Known Member
Found a rubber bungi cord and a generic 1 Inch ratchet strap on the road 3 days ago. Not the greatest find, but could not drive by and leave them in the middle of the road. Can never have enough tie down stuff in your pickup.
 

fiver

Well-Known Member
I got a 1" strap, a tire chain, and a fold up chair in the back of the truck right now.
I couldn't stop in time or I woulda got a 1 gal. gas can Sunday.

gotta love the campers leaving tourist town with hangovers.
I don't even stop for lawn chairs, and cooler lids anymore.
the chairs are always mangled, and the cooler lids never fit anything.
we did get a nice little portable charcoal BBQ a few years back that's good for taking to the park or Lake during the summer.
 

462

California's Central Coast Amid The Insanity
Five or six weeks ago, I found one of those new-fangled and abominations of a gas can. It was a partially-full 2 1/2 gallon and had "Mixed" written on it. Poured the mixed into my old-fashioned can of mixed and gave the abomination to one of the fence crew. He was happy.

Duke and I found a $5 bill on the beach, one morning. It wasn't anywhere near where the beach crowds crowd about, nor the bums' squats. Weird.
 

Elric

Well-Known Member
Five or six weeks ago, I found one of those new-fangled and abominations of a gas can.
I see this thread is a bit old, but I picked up one of them there "smart cans" over at Menards. It has a vent in the spout, which is pretty good, but the collapsing nose is operated by a long red plastic catch, and the blasted thing is miserable. I think the intent was you pressed in that red catch, pressed the nose in, stick it in the gas tank, hold the spout so it desn't fully extend, when done, just pull the spout back, the nose snaps into full extension, and that cuts off the flow.

When I become the benevolent dictator [no time, really, got to run my Brittany], I will apply the Turbo Spankulator on the designers. Stream it live. Folks from Singapore will consider this as excessive...
 

popper

Well-Known Member
I saw a ring compressor and spanner for train stuff yrs ago in buddy's garage, hanging on the wall. 3-4' jaws IIRC.Couldn't lift them for nothing. His mom got mad he (we?) cracked the ridge beam of the garage trying to chain hoist the motor out of a '31 A.
 

bruce381

Active Member
to ian about saving flints dont they cost like free?
or it that where the term skin flint comes form?

forgot what this thread was about guess it does not matter
 
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