This is going to be …. challenging.
I wasn’t passing this deal up though.
On my way home from work so I could get cleaned up to go to my eye appointment, 3 blocks from my house, right on the corner and sitting in the driveway of a place having a yard sale, I spot this.

The picture is washed out but there is a bright Magenta sheet of paper on top.
There was a hedge between it and the people running the sale.
I spotted that, and whipped over right next to it and yelled out the window asking if it had already been sold.
I thought maybe that sheet of paper said SOLD on it.
The guy yelled back NO.
I yelled back, HOW MUCH YOU WANT FOR IT?
Ya ready for this?
Fifty bucks.
I couldn’t get out and get to my wallet fast enough!
Heavy bastards,it is two pieces.
He said they were his Uncles and he used to be a Civil Engineer.
Said they cost him $800 way back when.
I don’t doubt that for a minute.
The guy said he had some tools in them at one point, I am thinking Machinist tools and such ought to fit real nice and free up some tool box drawers.
Lots of room there and that is the problem. It’s as big as a Roll Away tool box and we all know there ain’t no room out in that garage as it is.
I plan on making a frame for it to sit on with wheels under it so I can roll it around as needed.
There is a bit of surface rust on one cabinet but I’ll take care of that.
Fifty bucks was a freakin’ STEAL for that.
Now to get them unloaded and sat inside the garage until I can find a spot.
Even if something has to go I am making room for it.
Because it’s fucking BIG!

I even found a bonus in one of the drawers.

A mummified mouse and the remains of his humble abode.
Some of the drawers need work, it has dents and scratches on it and I had to beat the top front edge up on what was the bottom one because the weight had sagged it and I couldn’t get the top drawer open but there is a LOT of storage space there. The drawers are very long and deep enough to put things in that are in those damn molded plastic cases.
A couple of them have rust in them so there is going to be some scrubbing and painting to kill that.
I also need to figure out how to get some oil up into the rollers for the drawers.
The Wifely Unit is pissed off too so all in all I’m gonna call it a good deal.
Stay tuned for further updates, I may be sleeping next to the damn thing.
LOL!
5 Hamiltons? for that? no one would say no to that.
lucky bastard.
chuckling.
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Oh Phil, you have it bad… I agree it is a find of the week, but when you have to think about, “Where am I gonna put it.” when you are buying it then perhaps your little voice was shouting at you and you told it to “SHUT THE FUCK UP!”
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Sometimes it like putting more on your plate than you can eat. My eyes are bigger than my garage.
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Do they make some drug-like Narcan for that habit?
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By the way, you get the machine up and running and when ya going back if ever?
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It was ready for them to put a test load in when I left. They were going back and forth with the people overseeing the inspection about miniscule alignment measurements when I left so my part is done.
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Your luck with tools may call for you to get a third job to pay for all of them! 🙂
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or, buy a big enough truck to haul them when he has to vacate his domicile… can you tow your Caballero and Sprite behind it? I know I could.
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Bite your tongue!
I still need to get a truck.
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I just seem to get lucky once in a while.
I AM, always looking though.
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“Fifty bucks was a freakin’ STEAL for that.” Looking at the photo, I’d have to agree that you’re a thief. Good job.
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I agree, you done stole that beauty. If the wifely unit gets too upset, I volunteer to provide a foster home for said purchase – we can hammer out visiting times.
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I need a foster home Bobo…we can hammer out the details later…..snicker.
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Besides the fact you got a nice set of drawing cabinets, I’m impressed that you have your own pallet jack!
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Got that for free from work. They were throwing it away because one of the connecting rods going to the front wheels was bent. I took it off and straightened it out and it works just fine. Comes in real handy sometimes.
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Yep, in a drafting office those are kept to store your 24×36 (D) and 36×48 (E) size drawings. They go for at least 4 times what you paid PER UNIT ! So yeah – score for Phil. Glad Karma was good to you for a change.
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You can just about stretch out across them if ya have to sleep out in the Tool Palace…
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Nice. Put it on a wheeled platform, toss a thick sheet of plywood between the two halves, toss another sheet of plywood on top and you have one hell of a rolling workstand and storage.
Damn. That’s just nice.
Get some luann plywood to make drawer dividers, too.
I’m jealous.
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Very good score. I have some more rust to trade! 😉
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You definitely need more stuff. I can still see paint on the door.
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I plan on making a frame for it to sit on with wheels under it so I can roll it around as needed.
The picture shows it’s already on one(?) But two or four of the Harbor Freight moving dollies will work too, and you can’t buy the casters for that.
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Or you can set it on a discarded pallet for free, which still lets you move it with the pallet jack.
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Alright Phil, all your buddies here are really proud of you and your find.
Now listen carefully because I’m talking to you as a true friend. “The wifey unit is pissed” you said. Had one of those a long long time ago and if I recall they’re pissed off most of the time.
But it’s very expensive to get rid of them for some peace and quiet. One of those catch 22 got your balls in a vice situations.I can use that in my reloading room and because I like you and I’m concerned about your marriage, I’ll give you $100 for it and that way you look like a genius to your bride and not only a man that brings home the bacon but a financial wizard to boot. Just trying to save you all those lawyer fees buddy.
You can email me in private and we’ll keep it between us. 😁
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She ain’t that mad.. Nice try though.
Lol!
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Just trying to help a buddy out
Seriously, nice find.
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I was just trying to figure out WHY Phil would need a blueprint cabinet drawer (or two) – but, hey, it’s Phil were talking about here…
Half as cheap at twice the price!
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Or you can set it on a discarded pallet for free, and still move it with the pallet jack.
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Shoulda called me. I’d have given you mine for nothing.
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Dang it. A set would be something wouldn’t it?
Set them a few feet apart and throw a sheet of heavy plywood across the top and have a hell of a work space.
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DR, we’re (me) still waiting to hear the story about you retrieving a squadron of tanks from a swamp, while fighting off anacondas with just your tin-opener. Surely the .mil secrets would have expired last century? I can tell a tale of extracting a TD-24 from a bog so deep, only the top corner of the driver’s cage was visible, about 18″ worth.
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Nice find!!
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What you have is an engineering map and drawing case. Back in the 1960’s when I was a young engineering student, it might have gone for a couple of hundred dollars.
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In 1968, the average price of a new car was $2,822 .
A couple of hundred back then is equal to a couple of Grand now.
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What do you think happens to all the Stuff in your garage when you croak, not that it will matter , or you give a shit, just curious?
Had a friend who had his garage, full and living room half packed with stuff, asked him the same. He laughed, I told him the wife would dump it all and go ultra modern. Guess who was right?
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The wifely unit has told me repeatedly that she is going to give it away and what no one wants she is going to throw away. If you see me quit posting start checking the obituaries and grab whatever you want.
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A mummified mouse for $50?
Hell of a find.
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And the nest.
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I know, right?
Lol!
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Who is taking bets on Phil loading it up with stuff from the garage or filling it up with new finds?
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The plan is to fill it with stuff I already have, if I can make room for it.
The damn thing is heavy when it’s empty, filling it up with tools is going to make it REAL heavy so some serious casters are in order.
That will cost me more than the cabinets did unless I get lucky and find some on Craigslist.
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We used those for typewriter parts back in the day. Supposedly, they are drawers for blueprints.
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You are correct but since I have a Masters in Repurposing I am going to use it for my own designs.
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I always bow to those more educated than I.
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LOL!
Oh that was good.
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I’ll tell ya, first the reamers, now this….. you have a knack for neat shit at great prices.
Yeah, I’m completely jealous. Good job, Phil!
Leigh
Whitehall, NY
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I’m like the guy who is constantly scanning the sidewalk looking for change when he walking down the street.
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So, now that you’re back into the group of “fuck you, I don’t have to get up at 3 AM”, we can expect more pictures and stories of the black hole of stuff that is the garage, yes?
chuckling
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Most likely
Lol!
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Make sure you check the load capacity of the drawer rollers before you load it up with metal. That migh weigh a bit more than a bunch of “E” size sheets of mylar or vellum. Just my 2 cents. Wonderful find, though.
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