Wingnutt's 2023 Flea Finds

[Wingnutt]

Welp, normally this is an annual running thread that I update every once in awhile. I guess the 2023 version is going to be two reports, this one, and maybe end of year. These are all flea finds. As I have been saying for a few years now, my collecting interests are growing wider and also older, but I will only post the wartime stuff or the occasional general interest military stuff here, regardless of period.

JANUARY

I completed a Christmas gift from one of sons.

FEBRUARY

Navy booklets (1944) containing some very nice artwork.

MAY

GTMK offset

Plvmb WAR FINISH 4749 rat...

...shown with an issued brother...

...and a Plvmb spud wrench shown with a bigger Williams cousin.

[Wingnutt]

JUNE

Blackhawk hinge handle with a 1945 date code

Pith helmets, unknown 1948 and USN wartime

JULY

The Cattaraugus that is the subject of a creative re-handle project I discussed on a G503 thread here.

[Wingnutt]

SEPTEMBER

A genuine wartime sheaf for a nice repro wartime machete that needed one.

AO-made Ballistic Laser Protection Systems ("Blips") or Ballistic Protective Eyewraps (BPE's). These were issued in the 90's, long after I got out.

Fellow G503er @gpw_42 generously sent me some original paperwork that I now have stowed inside. The hit record checkboxes are kind of funny.

[Wingnutt]

OCTOBER

Herbrand wartime brake spring pliers with AISI 8742 number

Plvmb and Plvmb-made CAL-AIR 9/32-drive bits...

...rounding out my flat and cross-recess 9/32-drive bits...

...and set rather nicely.

Some interesting CAL-AIR research reading...

[Wingnutt]

And NOVEMBER and we're all caught up

Wartime Petersen Vise-Grips

Ultra rare Plvmb knock-off type wheel puller

[Rustman]

I've never even seen nor heard of a knock-off type wheel puller. I had to look that up.

Matt

[Steve Webb]

Kinda like my flywheel and clutch puller for my Cushman. They just call them knock off tools

[Joe Friday]

I had to look it up too. Now I've got to search for the 2 I think I may have.

[Wingnutt]

In 15 years of picking, I've only ever found one other, a New Britain from the same era. Different size - 5/8-18 TPI, so at least they're not functional duplicates.

[JAB]

I had to look it up too. Now I've got to search for the 2 I think I may have.

Same here, but I think I only have one. I aquired it in a box of misc. tools that I bought at a farm auction for one of the other items in the box.

[Wingnutt]

I aquired it in a box of misc. tools that I bought at a farm auction for one of the other items in the box.

That's a common refrain. I found the Plvmb in an old toolbox drawer mixed in with a bunch of impact sockets. It kind of has that look. Similarly, I found the NB mixed in with a bunch of connectors and fixtures. And it kind of has that look. On another major vintage tool collecting site I frequent, and one that is not military or even WWII oriented, there are only a few examples. The SK versions kind of look like big 3/4-1/2 adaptors. Moral of the story is, unless you're shopping on eBay and you're willing to reach into a deep pocket to buy a whole set that someone else is lucky enough to find in the wild, they seem to like hiding in plain sight camouflaged among other things.