Swap Meet Bargains
by John
Yesterday I travelled to Ballarat, (Victoria, Australia) to a swap meet which was held on 22 acres at the airfield.
Most of the stuff in the thousands of sites, was junk from shed and farm cleanouts. However, despite rapidly walking up and down the rows, I did not quite cover all of the sites. My Apple watch indicated that I had walked 18km (11.2 miles) and much of that was carrying a backpack full of bought items, so it was no wonder that my ankles were aching at the end of it.
I was really only interested in the few sites which had tools from factory closures. But my eye was drawn to the very old Caterpillar crawler tractor, a 2 tonner, not too derelict except for a broken exhaust manifold and some rusted growsers. $AUD9500, so I kept on walking. Lots of elderly, old and antique cars, motor bikes, and vehicular bits and pieces.
The following photos show most of the stuff which I bought, and some prices (except for the ones which SWMBO must never discover).
A Japanese woodworker’s chisel. 9 mm wide. Razer sharp, oak handle. I buy one of these at each Ballarat swap meet from the same seller, a lovely Japanese woodworker who lives and works in Victoria. These chisels are a pleasure to use. $AUD25
This was a bargain. A set of good quality English BA open ender spanners, probably unused, for $AUD8
I dont know what this is called, but it has an INT40 taper, and bolts to the workbench or mill for inserting and removing cutters from the toolholholder, and avoiding the cutter dropping down and being damaged. Is it a tool setter? Anyway, $AUD40
Used but sharp, quality brands. Carbide ball nose end mill, countersink bit, T slot cutter, and 1/4″ BSP spiral tap. $AUD30
A new, interesting woodworking cutter, carbide, with left and right hand spirals to avoid surface furring. $AUD10
3 Mitutoyo telescoping gauges. $AUD10
I mulled over a Mitutoyo 1000mm vernier caliper in perfect condition for $AUD300, but decided that it was a wanted rather than needed item, and walked on.
A box of 12 brand new quality Wiltshire triangular files. $AUD12
2 very nice Moore and Wright thread gauges, which have BA and Acme threads as well as metric and Imperial angles. $AUD6
A box of metric counterbores. Not cheap, but good price considering the German quality, and condition. $AUD55
Small die holder, Sidchrome 10mm spanner, tiny Dowidatadjuster and new box of inserts. All useful. About $AUD45
Chesterman vernier height gauge. Unusual triangular column. Beautiful condition, complete range of accessories, in a lined box. Metric and Imperial. Price not to be dislosed to SWMBO.
These are brass wick type oilers which I will give to the local Vintage Machinery Society. No markings.
My brother was a navigator in the Australian Air Force many years ago, before the age of satellite navigation. He would sight the stars using a sextant something like this to calculate the plane’s position, while standing in a glass dome in the roof of the aircraft. (I think that I got that description approximately correct). He once told me that he would like to have a sextant again, so when I spotted this at the swap meet, and the price was OK, I decided to get it for him. Maybe it will make up for all of those forgotten birthdays. So little brother, leave some room in your suitcase when you next visit. I will leave the clean up and renovation to you.
Elliott Bros London.
It looks fairly complete and intact. Of course I have no idea how it works.
johnsmachines 
Looks like an awesome day. Probably good thing I didn’t know – way too dangerous!
The twin spiral router bit is called a compression bit, used for laminates and veneers so the shear cut is from the edge towards the core of the board, preventing tear out. Good price for a solid carbide. If that is 1/2″, normally around $100 new for a compression bit.
Good finds!
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It is held every year Stuart. Look at their website. The first day (Friday) is always the best one for the good buys.
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