# A Great Lead on Some Vintage Planes and Tools, Tucson Az



## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

This is an Estate Sale that somebody advised me about, starting Saturday.

The pics really grabbed my interest, alas I am 1500 miles away.

Maybe you're in the neighborhood! If not, the last 20+ pics on the website will drive you crazy.

http://www.caringtransitions.net/DesktopModules/PropertyAgent/Print.aspx?ModuleID=2529&TabID=20074&PropertyID=2580&Template=RealEstate


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)




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## richardwootton (Jan 17, 2013)

I've got about a grand just burning a hole in my pocket. Man I wish I were closer!


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

Yeah, Richard… it's downright killing me, too! There's 50 photos, of things, each of which I am JONES-ing for!


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## ajthomas5009 (Dec 21, 2013)

Nice find, I don't think I've seen to many hand tool selections that beat the one you found there. Too bad I'm on the other side of the country like you lol. If you could find a fellow LJ that was close by it would be tempting to offer him a $100 to go and pick up 300-400 worth of the best there throw them in a box and ship them over. Of course that would involve knowing some one you could trust with the cash and to be able to find you some gems at the right price. Highly unlikely scenario but it's fun to dream at times.


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## JayT (May 6, 2012)

Dang pk, I just browsed the photos for that listing-dude had some tools! Just in the first plane photo is a round sided bedrock and what looks to be a Chaplin's Patent.

Probably a good thing I'm not in Arizona or I'd be broke and homeless after the wife kicked me out for spending all our savings on tools.

Edit: I'd also love the Union T&G planes


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

*athomas: * I just contacted a fellow LJ in Tucson… stay tuned.

*JayT:* Y'know, I lived in Tucson, and it's a great place to be homeless, you can sleep in your car with the windows open just about anytime, LOL!!! Yes, I spotted that 607 Bedrock too, and the Chaplin, man, this hurts. I'd probably break the springs on my truck if I showed up there with a fat wallet….

Yes, I too am developing a new affinity for the Union planes… something about them built with Prison labor seems to resonate with me, LOL.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

Katman, ya need a 12 step program. 
You already have more planes than all of us combined. But….......there might 1 or 2 more that you need.
Bill


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

Bill… I need every plane on that table, and every other tool as well. Me and every other hoarder/curator who is a Lumberjocks member. Planes in Arizona? Crap, no wonder I'm having such a hard time accumulating….
and, ironically….Tucson is where the government stores *its* planes, LOL at Davis-Monthan AFB heh.

Heyyy… how close are YOU to Pima County?


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## Gerry1 (Jul 12, 2009)

Right. But they are not sharp enough to cut…..


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

I dunno… those planes can do an awful lot of cutting…

Gerry… hey how close are you to Tucson? I sure wish somebody could stroll through and tell us what they see…


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

another teaser:


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

Might give Gene Howe a call, PK. He lives just down the road from Tucson….


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

Thx, bandit for that lead! I've already sent him a PM, not sure where he stands on the vintage tool issue unless it's a ShopSmith!


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

I recall back in the day, there was a place called Cactus Drive-in on 22nd? St that did swap meets on weekends, also a place called Tanque Verde that did a flea mkt even at night under the lights. No doubt these places are both condos or strip malls now, but that's where the tools used to be and I'll bet this guy was a frequent customer.

This is why I hate to visit places I've been, lived there long enough to get the feel of the place. Even now, my hometown is barely recognizable from when I grew up there. Everything changes.

The only town that has resisted the change of time is my favorite, Brattleboro Vermont. This place, and the people, have changed very little since when I used to hang out there in the '70s. It's still the same place today!


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

Oh my!


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## richardwootton (Jan 17, 2013)

PK, any luck finding some one to go for you? I would make it worth some one's while if I could get them to go pick through and find the good stuff.


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## CFrye (May 13, 2013)

PK Jim Jakosh is in that area right now. Maybe give him a shout?


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

Tucson you say


> ?


?

Thanks for the tip.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

I'm not usually a garage sale guy but I will be going to this one. Can any of you savvy galoots give me guidance regarding the gentle art of sale buying?
Are there any real gems there? 
Am I likely to get a shot or do dealers buy up the whole lot right off?
Should I camp out overnight? How early to arrive?
Do I need to take cash?
Answers to any other questions I'm too green to know enough to ask?

Holy crap that's a lot of stuff!


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## john2005 (Jun 8, 2012)

Just show up with your life savings and tell them you want all the tools.

Sorry not much help in the educate department. I can only tell you how to go broke fast!


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## mikeevens45 (Jan 31, 2014)

so that's whats at the end of a rainbow..


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## 69BBNova (May 1, 2012)

FINALLY I KNOW THERE IS A GOD.


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## Mustang67 (Feb 22, 2014)

No wonder I don't see many vintage tools at the sales around here. This guy had them all. I don't think I've ever seen that many planes in one place.


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## MarkE (Feb 26, 2008)

Glad I didn't see this post last night. I may have been tempted to fly out to Tucson. I hear it's nice this time of year.


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

Well, everybody, it looks like we have an LJ Ambassador attending the event!

*Paul, AKA shipwright*, we're counting on you for a complete report.

Although I did contact three Tucsonians, only one responded with his regrets, I have not heard from the other two.

I'm content to stand in the wings and see how the sale goes. Hopefully one or more of us will get a treasure from this sale. I'm happy about all the great responses!! Good Luck, everyone!


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

Thanks again for the heads up PK.
I just got home from the sale. Too much to relate to do in a comment so I'll make a blog entry when I get a couple of photos taken.
Bottom line is that the assortment of planes in particular and tools in general was, by consensus of the collectors who showed up, over priced and not remarkable in collectable status. The photos drew a lot of interested collectors / woodworkers and the stock was not evaporating from the tables. When I left, about fifteen minutes after the doors opened (I was #16) only one or two regular planes had been snatched up. I expect they will start to move at 11:00 (25%off) or at 1:00 (50% off). Yes JayT, the round sided bedrock was one of those that was gone, in fact I got to that table about a minute into the sale and it was gone then.

Pictures at 11 (well later anyway)


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## JoeLyddon (Apr 22, 2007)

WOW!

This looks like a DREAM COME TRUE!

PK… I would have bet you would've been there already! 1st plane out! 
This what you've dreamed of… YES?

This is an AWESOME Estate Sale!!

I sure wish I was closer & had extra money!

Paul, I can tell… you are going to come back with a TON of real GOODIES!
... can hardly wait to see what you snagged! 

I'm looking forward to seeing what Everyone got from it!

Good Luck to ALL that are going to it!


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

*Shipwright/Paul:* I am ever grateful that you took the time to attend the sale, and provided us with some insight as to the status of the wares offered.

*Joe:* Thanks too for your supportive words.

Looking forward to the blog and additional photos!! Thanks to all for your terrific comments!


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## anneb3 (Feb 23, 2014)

the Cactus driveinn is long gone but the Tanque Verde swapmeet is still going strong. Kent's tools on W. Grant usually has some planes. Ask one of the fellows there. I bet the good ones are hidden.

We went to that estate sale along with all sorts of other woodworkers. You had to be there by 6AM to get a low number.
My brother was there shortly after 6 and he was #23

Lot of these estate sales are from upscale houses and sometimes have a good tool selection.

Caring Transitions has a good homepage with pics so you kinda know what they are selling.


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

Thanks,* anneb*, for some great background information! Tucson was my first experience away from home, so many years ago. My god, forty years ago!! But I remember so many details from that enchanted place. The cruise up Mt Lemmon, The Pantano Wash, and watching the hang gliders hover over "A" mountain. If I could have found a decent job there, I would have stayed. I still know some fine people there, an extended vacation in Arizona is on my bucket list. 
Hope you found a few treasures at that sale! Thanks for contributing to this discussion, sometimes ya just don't know what's going to take off, and which topics are going to bomb. Does Tanque Verde still have 10 inches of pea-stone gravel to trudge through? I'd go home after a day of hustling with an inch of dust all over me.


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## anneb3 (Feb 23, 2014)

Have not been to the tanque verde swap meet in years. Extended Tucson now goes from mountain to mountain.

We only go to estate sales now. Funny what upscale houses sell. The one last week had two Diston backsaws, so I bought the one in better condition. Handle in very good condition, the rest needs cleaning up to get the details.

The same sale had a block of true beeswax. Will melt it down and thin it with some turp.
Now what was the owner doing with that.? The end of the bar was chopped off, so he must have used it for something.

You can get Sold markers before the actual sale. We were #12. By the time we got in the door every framed painting in the house had a Sold sign on it. Someone had looked at the pics and grabbed them up.
You have to get there early to grab what you want. Some folks are there at 6AM to get a low number.


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

Thanks again for your insight, *anneb3!
*While in Maine I cultivated a way into peoples homes, without the discouraging effort of trying to be 'first'.
I had the storage capacity, trucks, and friends on-call when I went ahead and advertised that I would buy almost anything of value. (upholstered furniture and mattresses were the exception.) I got tons of calls, mostly from people who were either downsizing, life-event changes, or widows/widowers. Unlike those evil self-centered pickers, my approach was to offer to clean out to the bare walls, and it garnered me lots of calls, mostly after rejecting the dealers who offered to go in and 'look around' for only the items they wanted. I would then channel out the landfill stuff, thrift-store stuff, eBay stuff, and auction house stuff, and keep separate piles targeted for antique shows or future yard sales. Being the do-all for downsizing services got me lots of business. I realized that trying to be #1 at a managed estate sale was rarely worth the effort. There are ALWAYS privileged people who get in before the sales and put dibs on everything. Grrr.

I loved Tanque Verde! That flea market was even open some evenings 'til way after dark. I used to sell old books there from an ancient Dodge truck I bought from artist Ted Digrazia, so many years ago.


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## anneb3 (Feb 23, 2014)

Ted used to live down the street from my family. Back when he was painting on his outside walls, my dad was busy doing real work. Ted is long gone now but there is his studio way up on Swan.

Every time I go to estate sales I look for prints. Originals are way out of my price range. Even prints are 20.00
not matted.


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

I've been to the house he lived in, up in the foothills north of town. What I remember most were the huge turquoise cabuchons embedded into the tiled floor. He really was an interesting person! I liked his painted angels, they were so distinct, I sent out Christmas cards one year that had prints of his trademark angel designs.

I didn't find out until recently of his death.


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## bandit571 (Jan 20, 2011)

I now have a "secret" location for planes, braces ( including a corner brace @$12) , in fact and entire showrrom of such things. And this guy keeps bringing in MORE stuff. About 17 miles to the south of me, in a small downtown store. The room is one of eight seperate rooms, and there is all kinds of stuff in the hallways, too.

Not just iron planes, either. There was a STACK of molding planes @ $10 a plane.

Might have to go back down there next weekend….


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## Gerry1 (Jul 12, 2009)

Hi PoopieKat,
I just saw your question, and I'm about 1 1/2 hrs SE of Tucson. So sorry I did not reply to your inquiry at the time. I would have loved to go to see the collection, and maybe buy a few.
I've since acquired the "user" planes I've needed, some used, some new, but so far doing what I need in my furniture building pursuit. Shoulder, 2 block, 3 #4s, a #5 Jack, a low angle #62, and a #7.

Thanks for the inquiry, and I hope you are doing better since your surgery.



> I dunno… those planes can do an awful lot of cutting…
> 
> Gerry… hey how close are you to Tucson? I sure wish somebody could stroll through and tell us what they see…
> 
> - poopiekat


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## saddletramp (Mar 6, 2011)

Good God Gertie what a stash!!


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## 33706 (Mar 5, 2008)

Good to see you, Saddletramp!


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