Classic & Vintage - Tools Found By The Road

I'm sure that my experience isn't unique. I find useful hand tools often by the side of the road. Sometimes I stop to pick them up. Recent examples:

Craftsman 1/4 inch ratchet handle
17mm open/boxed chrome/vanadium wrench
10mm/11mm open/open ended wrench
1/2 inch Craftsman 1/4-inch drive socket
Hinged pruning shears
3-inch wide stainless putty knives (2)
Magnetic torpedo level intact


What have you found?

What have you found?

mostly used prophos and beer cans.

Although I have found some pretty sweet sunglasses on a couple of occasions.

Lots of sockets, a few combination wrenches, a razor knife. I found a cell phone recently, put a found ad on Craigslist but did not locate the owner. It was pretty messed up.

I found a quick release on the ground once, and wondered how someone rode off without it.....

I found some shorty 1/2 and 9/16 wrenches that came in handy on that particular ride. I had to use the 9/16 to adjust my seat tilt on that ride.
A 10mm box end wrench along with various pin tools and chain hooks and a cheap crescent wrench. Almost all of these have gone into the bike tool kit I carry.

lots of sockets-one or two at a time
crescent wrench(still keep it in my saddle bag)
Older model of one of these screwdriver dealies (http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10155_12602_00941469000P?vName=Tools+%26+Equipment&cName=Hand+Tools&sName=General+Purpose+Tools&prdNo=10&blockNo=10&blockType=L10)(minus the bits, but found others to work)
tire iron(sat along side of road for two weeks, gave to coworker)
screwdriver

I found a cell phone recently, put a found ad on Craigslist but did not locate the owner.

I came across one when I was in college. Called "Dad", which freaked him out at first.

A green-handled S-K No.2 Philips chrome-vanadium screwdriver.
http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh117/auchencrow/Bike%20Forums/Screwdrivera.jpg

I've found wrenches, screwdrivers and 2 sets of sunglasses- the last ones are $150 Oakley Bottlecaps.

My best roadside find was a Crafstman 3/8" flex handle (non-ratchet socket wrench). Bent/broke it working on car stuff, took it to Sears and got a new one for free. Gotta love that Craftsman warrantee.

SP
Bend, OR

Years ago I found a cut off jean jacket that was patched... won't say what club.
Found it in the ditch.. in the top pocket was a big baggie....

Oh yea.. tools! A few here and there.

My best roadside find was a Crafstman 3/8" flex handle (non-ratchet socket wrench). Bent/broke it working on car stuff, took it to Sears and got a new one for free. Gotta love that Craftsman warrantee.

SP
Bend, OR

My fourn Craftsman 1/4-Inch ratchet handle had a sloppy ball that locks in the socket. Brought it to Sears and exchanged for a re-conditioned [new] one, no questions asked. Amen on the Craftsman warrantee.

I've never found anything, even when I realized my seat bag was open and my 10mm combo box/ratchet wrench had fallen out. Spent 15 minutes looking for it, never found.

I came across one when I was in college. Called "Dad", which freaked him out at first.

Not on a bike ride, but one time I was standing at an intersection in downtown St. Louis waiting to cross when I heard something sliding down the street. It sounded like a flattened soda can sounds when you kick it. I looked down and a cell phone slid right up to my feet. It had come off a car pulling out of the parking garage across the street. It was still on and everything.

I took it back to my office and perused its phonebook. Ironically, there was a number listed as home. I called it and left a message explaining that I had the phone. The guy came to my office the next day and picked it up. I had to laugh because I have HOME in my phone as well.

Along with miscellaneous tools, I've found a couple unusual things while riding my bike including a loaded shotgun shell and a camouflage cover for an army helmet.

High dollar pair of scissors, new swiss army knife, new led light, cell phone with sun glasses, rolls and rolls of electrical tape.

Back in the 80's, as a poor student living in Boulder I would always watch for discarded flat sew-ups beside the road that affluent riders would leave behind after changing a flat. I found quite a few tubulars with plenty of life left in them after a patch. As a poor, beginning racer it was always like finding gold discarded beside the road.

I round a really large combination ratcheting box end wrench/pry bar thing and a sparkplug socket T-wrench both on separate occasions and have never found a use for either. Both are too large for anything I've ever had.

Bunch of odds and ends over the years, but the best two finds a full 1/2" Blackhawk Rachet set in a metal case, and a high Fluke multimeter. Still have both.

Aaron :)

Found a nice set of Craftsman channel lock pliers while commuting home from work. I ground the tips down an use them on lock rings and Sturmey ball rings.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_TIeBxBH6dXI/S8UVRQOuZwI/AAAAAAAAAYk/_yLrssN_L5Y/s800/pliers_03.jpg

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_TIeBxBH6dXI/S8UVR-oGsvI/AAAAAAAAAYo/TIfpfQ7XH00/s800/pliers_04.jpg

that is a brilliant Mod I must make to my channel locks immediately.

In my younger days (puberty, well before the internet), I used to scour the roadside for porno mags. Even found an unopened six pack of beer in the same bag, once. Ended up with a nice little stash, which my mother threw out when I went to boot camp at the age of 18.

Lately, all I've found was a nice 18" pistol grip wood clamp.

I used to scour the roadside for porno mags.
I've noticed these along side the road before, more so in the 70's and 80's. I always wondered why someone would throw away a perfectly good magazine, but now that I think about it I think I know the answer :eek: My best roadside find was a big pneumatic framing nailer in the middle of an intersection that must have fallen off a truck. I kept it awhile and finally gave it away, and now that I'm a homeowner with renovations and a deck to build, I'm kicking myself for it.

I found a small broken washer. It ended up 1/2 cm deep into my wheel :(.

I found an Airstream trailer once

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/362849621_6403c94237.jpg?v=0

I used to collect new red shop rags, found them so regularly that I would only pick them up if they were new.

I found a nice set of channel-locks, but most tools that I stop for now-days are pretty ground down by traffic.

Speaking of finding wierd things in tires, my neighbor had a flat, just down the street, and I helped him sort it out. There was an entire horseshoe imbedded in his tire.

A 16 inch Stilh chainsaw in the case.

I have found a variety of tools......pipe wrenches, sockets, paint scraper, old Ford pliers with the flathead on the end of one the handle. Also found two matching Peugeot's that I went back for in my car.

that is a brilliant Mod I must make to my channel locks immediately.

Me too!

A mult tool on the bike trail. My dad found a Gibson acoustic guitar in a hard case and gave it to me when I was 16. I was dumb enough to let an ex keep it about 5 years ago...

350' landscape tape measure
30' Stanley tape measure
asst sockets
a couple of asst screwdrivers
hammer (needed a new handle)

I found a first gen. park tool 3-way stuck in the stem bolt of a POS at goodwill once. they let me have it for $.25

that is a brilliant Mod I must make to my channel locks immediately.

It works brilliantly, but I can't take credit for the idea. I saw that hack on Velospace of all places.

Just the other day, I found a small adjustable wrench on the side of the road. It was not only rusty, it was really rusty so I picked it up and promptly put it in the back of the service truck where I work :). My usual finds would have to be zip ties, and work gloves.

I seem to have lost a Park multi-tool on a ride last week, so if anyone sees it, let me know!

Neal

I live near a huge Air Force base, and about ten years ago I was working as an engineer on that base. I was riding the bike one Saturday morning, and I spotted a couple of small silver bags beside the road. I recognized the bags as anti-static bags that are used to package sensitive components.

I stopped to pick them up and saw that the bags each contained a small electronic circuit board and had tags that I recognized as Federal stock number tags... so I threw them in my saddle bag. As I continued my ride, I kept coming across more of these bags and picking them up. I guess they must've been blowing off the back of a truck or something, because I ended up with about 30 of them by the time I was through.

The next week I took them in to work with me and had one of our supply clerks check the stock numbers to see what they were. It turns out that they were components of a RADAR system... and each of the boards cost almost $3000.00. In the course of my ride, I had picked up about $100,000 worth of government parts.

For turning in $100,000 worth of lost parts that I found, the U.S. Air Force gave me a reward... a baseball cap that said "Quality is our Focus"!

Picked up a socket set of 3/8 and 1/4 in in both SAE and Metric in the case. A Craftsman screwdriver which was turned in for a new one and others I can't remember.

an almost brand new sledge hammer. (I-95) an almost new 12 foot aluminium ladder (I-95) 4 brand new heavy duty tie down straps. (I-95) a like new bicycle multi tool. (Fairmount Ave.) a like new hachet. (Delaware Ave.) and I once found a brand new looking Colt 45 semi auto on the corner of 5th and Clearfield Streets, called the cops and let them pick that one up. ;0)

I live near a huge Air Force base, and about ten years ago I was working as an engineer on that base. I was riding the bike one Saturday morning, and I spotted a couple of small silver bags beside the road. I recognized the bags as anti-static bags that are used to package sensitive components.

I stopped to pick them up and saw that the bags each contained a small electronic circuit board and had tags that I recognized as Federal stock number tags... so I threw them in my saddle bag. As I continued my ride, I kept coming across more of these bags and picking them up. I guess they must've been blowing off the back of a truck or something, because I ended up with about 30 of them by the time I was through.

The next week I took them in to work with me and had one of our supply clerks check the stock numbers to see what they were. It turns out that they were components of a RADAR system... and each of the boards cost almost $3000.00. In the course of my ride, I had picked up about $100,000 worth of government parts.

For turning in $100,000 worth of lost parts that I found, the U.S. Air Force gave me a reward... a baseball cap that said "Quality is our Focus"!

Bastards!

Hmm. I've picked up a lot of tools over the years. Knock-off Swiss army knife... kitchen knives, lots of them. An antique silver spoon --plated, not sterling. Tape measures, usually near the end of their useful life cycle. Screw drivers, so many I can't count. A very nice ESGE pedal wrench, this one in an alley in Chicago in '85, I still have that one. A pretty nice craftsman wood saw; still have that, too. Sockets up the wazoo. Cell phones, pagers, and the like; maybe a dozen, though not all were functional.
The most useful thing I've ever found at the side of the road, well, there were the two very nice crispy $100 bills I found in the midldle of a numbered street, maybe 37th st, Manhattan several months ago; I was torn, should I look for more, or should I get the heck out of here before someone says yo, those are mine? I looked for about fifteen seconds, then hopped on my folding bike and headed for Penn Station.
One time my wife and I were walking along and I found a little gold ring with like twenty tiny diamonds studded around it. I know, that doesn't count since I wasn't on the bike, but it was good that I was with my wife, 'cuz I handed it right over to her, and it fit. Now she can't say I never gave her nothin'.

an almost brand new sledge hammer. (I-95) an almost new 12 foot aluminium ladder (I-95) 4 brand new heavy duty tie down straps. (I-95) a like new bicycle multi tool. (Fairmount Ave.) a like new hachet. (Delaware Ave.) and I once found a brand new looking Colt 45 semi auto on the corner of 5th and Clearfield Streets, called the cops and let them pick that one up. ;0)

You found a 1911? I would have had a hard time not keeping that aside from the obvious reasons not to.

I found a rusty 4mm wrench and allan key,
a 12 and 10 inch flat screwdriver, Craftsman
a cursed 10" crescent wrench, 4 miles later i got 6 wires in my tires on a 97 mile ride.
a 3 lb sledge hammer head ,i carried it 65 miles home.
The phones i found were thrown away i think.

The last ride out i saw a boat oar in the ditch, that had flown out, i guess. Bungy cords are useless.

Being a professional mechanic for more than 35 years I have found enough tools on the road to fill a small tool box. Lots of wrenches, srewdrivers, hammers, pliers of all types, complete 3/8 metric socket set...... I can't remember all of them.
My personal tools are mostly Snap-On tools, with a mix of specialty tools from various manufacturers.

Mike

Last summer I found a 1/2" Gearwrench and a Gerber multitool.

I kept the Gearwrench and gave the multitool to my son.

You found a 1911? I would have had a hard time not keeping that aside from the obvious reasons not to.

In Philadelphia, there's a very good chance that it was discarded recklessly for a very good reason. I hate guns as a rule, but I'd never touch any guns found on the streets of Philadelphia.

You found a 1911? I would have had a hard time not keeping that aside from the obvious reasons not to.

Yup, but if you pick up a "lost" gun you'll also pick up all the bodies that come along with it. :twitchy:

In Philadelphia, there's a very good chance that it was discarded recklessly for a very good reason. I hate guns as a rule, but I'd never touch any guns found on the streets of Philadelphia.

I make it a rule not to touch any gun that isn't mine, and I'm very found of guns! LOL! ;0)

+1 on numerous sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers over the years. I did find a 3/8 hand impact driver last week. Best tool to date was a 1/2 Milwaukee corded drill.
I've found a few cell phones, last was a new Blackberry, so new it only had a couple of numbers in it. Usually I look for Mom, Dad, or Home to call and have usually gotten a reward for their return. I have yet to find the elusive and secretive Ipod though.
Usually find a couple of bucks every year too. Biggest was a $20. I don't even stop for change anymore unless I'm stopped at a light or something anyway.
Usually I'll stop for a good bungee. Last year picked up a pack of 10 new in the bag.

Found some, wrenches, screwdrivers, knives, new bungee cords, (cheap) sunglasses, nice leather gloves, cash. Lost some too.

I definitely found a nice $20 last weekend while cab driving, don't ask... 15 or so 1/2" drive craftsman sockets on a cold winter ride a few years ago, black diamoond adjustable ski poles.
It is always cool to inspect wildlife that is freshly road killed (with a heavy vegetarian heart). sounds grim, but when else do you get to see mink, badgers, and martens up close?

I found an Airstream trailer once

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/158/362849621_6403c94237.jpg?v=0

That's got to be the best find yet! All I've picked up is a lousy crescent wrench and a couple of screwdrivers. Once I stopped to cut the rattles off a rattlesnake that had just been run over...My son still has them in his nightstand drawer.

Aside from curb picking, I think the best tool I found on the roadside was a $20 bill stuck in the drain hole of a bridge. Especially nice since I was down to $2 at the time with three days until payday and no groceries.

I'm still not sure how I recognized it as money while cruising along at night, tired, with a cheap headlight, but somehow it got my attention.

I also found winning scratchoff lottery tickets all the time; some people didn't think $1-$2 were worth cashing in, and others apparently didn't understand some of the more complex games. I once found one worth $70 at a bus stop.