Finding Old Tools
By Sean O'Hara
Often our best tools come to us for free. This chisel was such a case — judging from its crusty condition, it lay abandoned for a long time before it was found under a porch.
Its new caretaker decided to claw it out of the dirt and clean it up a bit to see what he actually had. With the mantra “There are very few really hopeless cases,” reader ghb624 cleaned the old chisel up and prepped it for action. He didn’t remove all its character — though he certainly could have — but chose to clean off just enough of the dirt and grime so he could use it.
A great story, a newfound tool, and a bit of cash saved — this strikes us as a win all the way around.
Toolmonger Photo Pool [Flickr]
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:34 am
Looks like a perfectly serviceable cold chisel - but if were were to use it on the job we might get cited for its mushroomed head.
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Better grind that mushroomed head off, or you will have bits of steel chipping off. This is a fundamental safety tip for chissels
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Yeah - my first thought was “grind that mushroom off” - I was on a job site where a guy didn’t, and he was whacking away to the chisel fairly hard - a section of the mushroom brpke off, and imbedded in his thigh. Took him to the OR, and the called the police - they were insisting he was shot, until they recovered the metal, and then they told the police “Never Mind”
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:17 pm
The same cautions go for all struck tools and striking tools. When I posted the quip about getting cited - I did not get into all of the details. as an example - if you don’t weare the appropriate PPE (gloves and eye protection in this case - you may be cited.) When grinding that mushroom off - gloves and a faceshield are specified. When striking that cold chisel - you had better use a ball-pein hammer with a tempered rim - or a drilling/engineers hammer - not a carpenter’s hammer (considered not appropriate for striking a steel cold chisel - because its mettalurgy is more aligned with driving softer iron nails.)
April 23rd, 2008 at 3:55 pm
@KG2V: best ER story ever. He should have played along with it and told them he was shot with a steel bullet
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:04 pm
I love finding tools on the side of the road…usually they’re brand names with a lifetime warranty, which means…take it to the store and exchange it for a new one.
April 25th, 2008 at 11:22 am
My best find was a good, brand new , unopened box of Sears jumper cables once. Perfect for the wife’s car.