justified splurge

Every couple weeks
 I'm able to do a quick early pass thru the friday swap meet.
I consider myself a good scrounger,
with the ability to pass on deals that seem out of my interest.

treasures

So what the heck happened this particular friday?
The only thing I was on the hunt for was one of those wooden clamps,
and somehow all this junk ended up in our yard.
And I thought I was in downsize mode!

$6 score - airco torches + hobie oceanside sunglasses

The first score was a pile of old torch parts.
All I wanted was that green Y splitter,
to use as a backgasser for welding stainless.
When the guy said $5 I was contemplating it,
and then he said "no that's for all that stuff"...
how could I say no!?
Even came with that baby blue manbag in the top photo.
The two mini aircraft torches are AIRCO 9100's,
and way on the top is an early corn cob wartime AIRCO torch.

I had barely stood up when I spied those black glasses.
They looked like some cheesy liquor store homey glasses,
but I recognized the rubber inlay in the arms as Hobies.

How to check polarized glasses

"$1 he said and they're yours"
They were a little dirty,
but they were less scratched then the pair I was wearing.
These should have polarized lenses,
and an easy way to check is to cross the lens with another polarized lens.
They should black each other out.

how to check polarized lens

There goes another buck!
Hobies are my favorite by far,
easy on my eyes.
I wear glasses almost all day even in the house.
These are a bit big but they'll be perfect for thrashing around.

TP self portrait

The biggest money dump was this pile of gloves.
I can make a $5 pair of cheap leather driving gloves
last for months with medium duty welding use,
so I didn't need 13 pair of bitchin Tillman TIG gloves,
and 7 pair of the driving gloves.

glove score

Dang it when he said $45 for the whole pile!
Now I need to figure out 20 - 4 letter 2 word nicknames for each pair.
These should last about 25 years.

junk

Ok so now I blew over $50 on stuff I really didn't need,
and I was down to the last 2 rows.
From a mile away I saw that darned orange vase...

We haven't found one of these since we moved down to San Diego,

and in that time we've broken one of them!

This one was a tall one,

and I was expecting the seller to say $30 or $40.

L.E. Smith Bittersweet swung vase collection

When he said $10 next thing you know
I'm carrying around a baseball bat sized piece of orange glass.
One more for the fridge-top collection!
Get me outta here!

package deal

Rounding the corner to the last row,
I finally spied the only thing that was on my mental list.
One of those wooden clamps.
Of course it had to come in a package deal.
An almost new Dayton porta-power hydraulic pump,
3 quarts of oil - hey a flathead loves oil!
and 2 clamps...
all for $25...
Holey chit there goes $80 for the day.
I had to get outta there!

It took a while to recuperate from that spending spree.

It's not like the money was burning a hole in my pocket.

You know when looking at the pile,

it all together seems like a good deal.

That's cause I didn't tell of some of the things I passed up!

modified portable band saw

So what was so special about that wood clamp?
If you guys remember the band saw story...
perich brothers (and sister): trigger
An easy to use temporary base was needed.
I was prepared to screw one of the jaws to some plywood,
but this soft jaw clamp works perfect just like this.
I may shorten the studs a bit and make it a one trick pony.

Jakob Perich test cutter

The other trick was using a foot switch
from a busted Foredome flex shaft grinder.
The hand trigger was zip-tied down,
and the power cord extended to reach the floor.
If an 11 year old can work this thing than I'm happy.

Macey Perich photobomb

Til next time...

TP