Pictures From An Exhibition (of tools)

I had a great time at the PATINA toolapalooza on Saturday, connecting with many friends and acquaintances, and communing with hundreds of thousands of tools.  Every year I can spend up to a dozen minutes shopping for clothes and such, but I could spend dozens of hours browsing and shopping here.

There are two parts of the event, and I always start at the tailgating outside in the parking lot.  That’s often where the real deals are found.

My big score for the day was a full NOS sleeve of vintage 220-grit 3M Tri-M-ite sandpaper.  My experience is that this is getting harder to find, but one fellow had several tables of sandpaper-ish inventory, most of which I did not need.  But the Tri-M-ite was priced nicely so I bought the whole pack.

I was only tempted a little by a smaller patternmaker’s vise that was missing a lot of parts.  It was only $60 but I let someone else go home with it.

But if vises were what you wanted, there were plenty.

Inside was packed with both people and tools.  Bins and shelves of tools.

The only other things I bought for myself were a file handle for $3, a Lufkin 10-foot tape measure for $2, and an extension carpenter’s rule for $8.  I did buy a number of good tools for the grandsons, small back saws, eggbeater drills, and chisels for a future date, etc.

Very much looking forward to next year.

I’m involved in a couple more tool events this year; stay tuned.