- Joined
- Feb 22, 2013
- Messages
- 159
Ok so I've been eyeballing a few used tool stores around the northeastern MA/ southern NH area for a while now and the past few days have been a little slow at work so I've been taking drives to a few of them. Here are some things I got and my take on the following stores.
The Tool Shed
471 Main St
Waltham, MA 02452
First off this place is in a weird spot right on Rt. 20. It's tiny and has weird hours ( Wed.-Fri 1:00-5:00 p.m. Sat. 12:00-4:00p.m.) I got there at 5 past 1 on a Thursday. Had to of been at least 15 people there and they were all regulars and the owner knew a lot of them by name. Tool wise he had a lot of small things. Only large items were 2 10"table saws and there weren't many power tools. It was well organized. There was 2 6' tables with random stuff with a sign that said your choice 25 cents. He had PILES of unsorted taps dies and drill bits of all sizes for 50 cents each. Piles of assorted end mills for 75 cents each. Brazed and cemented carbide lathe tools I believe for $1-1.25 and same with HSS. Assorted slitting saws were $1.25-3. Files for $1. There was a real old benchtop Delta bandsaw for $19. Angle plate $10. Mics $6. Plus all sorts of reamers, hammers, vices, wrenches and other hand tools. All in all I liked it and was able to fill some gaps in my drill bits and taps. Like any place you'll have to dig and pick over some worn taps and drills, but from what I saw the owner seems to weed out most of the crap, or it gets put on the 25 cent table. Plus the owner was super nice and I struck up a good conversation with him. Here's what I picked up for $7. Brand new 9/16 bit, used, but good 1/2 mt2 drill, couple of HSS taps. Had to dig through the batch for these. There were a lot of carbon steel taps in there.
Tool Liquidation Center20 S Main St,
Derry, NH 03038
I had high hopes for this place. They advertise frequently on cragslist so I took the drive. Extremely organized and very well stocked. The place had everything and had an entire section devoted to machine tools. They had a LOT of power tools out in the second room including large horizontal band saws and drill presses. Did not see any lathes, but I'm pretty sure I spotted a surface grinder. This place was EXPENSIVE. Not necessarily on every item, drill bits seemed fairly priced at $50 for the full letter, wire gauge, and fractional sets, but I didn't check brand or condition. They could have been the harbor freight import ones. They had a LOT of machinist related items, but they were pretty up there in price. I don't mind you charging me to buy something, but when I could get a new one for $20-30 more, then what's the point. They had a used what looked like 8-10" chuck there for $400. I honestly did not check the brand. Looking at the prices through this section kinda turned me off from the rest of the place so I just did a quick run through and didn't check many other prices except on an ENCO horizontal bandsaw that was $600 or $700. Also I know it's a petty thing, but I was not greeted when I walked in and the entire time I was there (30-40min) no one bothered to ask me if they could help. Now I was in my work clothes and pulled up in a service van. Two other people that pulled up in tiny cars one wearing a suit were greeted walking in the door and shown where to find things. I did not buy anything here.
125 Discount Tools, Inc, 111 Plaistow Road # 4
Plaistow, NH
HUGE store. They had a LOT of stuff. Problem is everything is EVERYWHERE. The store is basically set up in sections, but there is no real organization. Plumbing stuff is sort of in a plumbing isle, but you have to dig to find things. I found probably about 4-5 milk crates full of files and taps in 3 different isles. Prices seem reasonable and are on par with the e-bay buy it now auctions. I almost bought a Jacobs super ball bearing chuck with the mt2 arbor and key for $45. Only thing that stopped me was that it only went to 1/2" and I have my 1/2" Albrecht. Again deals are to be had here, but be prepared to spend some time and dig. The machinist stuff is up front on the counter. They had a well stocked machinery section with drill presses, horizontal band saws, but the only lathe I saw was an Atlas wood lathe. I did not buy anything here.
Trade Land
293 Daniel Webster Hwy.
Nashua NH
This place is not just tools. They carry everything from tools, electronics, jewelry, musical instruments, DVD's etc. As far as tools go it's hit and miss. Some things are cheap while some things are expensive as hell. Case in point they had a Huot letter size drill dispenser for $89. Pretty much can get that new cheaper. They have some machinist tools, and it can be hit and miss. No-name mics had $49 tags on them yet an 8" Mitutoyo dial caliper in case was $39. One thing I noticed is they seem to go by whether or not it's in a case and not by name. You'll see what I mean in a minute. They did not have any lathes, but did have drill presses and a couple of large vertical band saws. I got a Craftsman machinist toolbox for $30. Now this box was next a Kennedy of the same type. They both had scuffs and scrapes, the Kennedy didn't have the crinkled paint and one of the draw rail had loose rivets. The Kennedy was marked $119 :nuts: I paid $100 for my 11 drawer oak Gerstner. I also picked up a set of 3 mics. Starrett 4" graduated .0001, Brown and Sharp 5" graduated .001, and a Starett 6" graduated .0001. $29 for all three.
Goodwill
Internet and physical location
99% failure rate with this. Although I did manage to pick up a brand new 4" Mitutoyo hub mic for $10 off their online auction site. Do I need a hub mic? No, but for $10 couldn't pass it up.
Feel free to add to this list if anyone has any other places to shop.
The Tool Shed
471 Main St
Waltham, MA 02452
First off this place is in a weird spot right on Rt. 20. It's tiny and has weird hours ( Wed.-Fri 1:00-5:00 p.m. Sat. 12:00-4:00p.m.) I got there at 5 past 1 on a Thursday. Had to of been at least 15 people there and they were all regulars and the owner knew a lot of them by name. Tool wise he had a lot of small things. Only large items were 2 10"table saws and there weren't many power tools. It was well organized. There was 2 6' tables with random stuff with a sign that said your choice 25 cents. He had PILES of unsorted taps dies and drill bits of all sizes for 50 cents each. Piles of assorted end mills for 75 cents each. Brazed and cemented carbide lathe tools I believe for $1-1.25 and same with HSS. Assorted slitting saws were $1.25-3. Files for $1. There was a real old benchtop Delta bandsaw for $19. Angle plate $10. Mics $6. Plus all sorts of reamers, hammers, vices, wrenches and other hand tools. All in all I liked it and was able to fill some gaps in my drill bits and taps. Like any place you'll have to dig and pick over some worn taps and drills, but from what I saw the owner seems to weed out most of the crap, or it gets put on the 25 cent table. Plus the owner was super nice and I struck up a good conversation with him. Here's what I picked up for $7. Brand new 9/16 bit, used, but good 1/2 mt2 drill, couple of HSS taps. Had to dig through the batch for these. There were a lot of carbon steel taps in there.
Tool Liquidation Center20 S Main St,
Derry, NH 03038
I had high hopes for this place. They advertise frequently on cragslist so I took the drive. Extremely organized and very well stocked. The place had everything and had an entire section devoted to machine tools. They had a LOT of power tools out in the second room including large horizontal band saws and drill presses. Did not see any lathes, but I'm pretty sure I spotted a surface grinder. This place was EXPENSIVE. Not necessarily on every item, drill bits seemed fairly priced at $50 for the full letter, wire gauge, and fractional sets, but I didn't check brand or condition. They could have been the harbor freight import ones. They had a LOT of machinist related items, but they were pretty up there in price. I don't mind you charging me to buy something, but when I could get a new one for $20-30 more, then what's the point. They had a used what looked like 8-10" chuck there for $400. I honestly did not check the brand. Looking at the prices through this section kinda turned me off from the rest of the place so I just did a quick run through and didn't check many other prices except on an ENCO horizontal bandsaw that was $600 or $700. Also I know it's a petty thing, but I was not greeted when I walked in and the entire time I was there (30-40min) no one bothered to ask me if they could help. Now I was in my work clothes and pulled up in a service van. Two other people that pulled up in tiny cars one wearing a suit were greeted walking in the door and shown where to find things. I did not buy anything here.
125 Discount Tools, Inc, 111 Plaistow Road # 4
Plaistow, NH
HUGE store. They had a LOT of stuff. Problem is everything is EVERYWHERE. The store is basically set up in sections, but there is no real organization. Plumbing stuff is sort of in a plumbing isle, but you have to dig to find things. I found probably about 4-5 milk crates full of files and taps in 3 different isles. Prices seem reasonable and are on par with the e-bay buy it now auctions. I almost bought a Jacobs super ball bearing chuck with the mt2 arbor and key for $45. Only thing that stopped me was that it only went to 1/2" and I have my 1/2" Albrecht. Again deals are to be had here, but be prepared to spend some time and dig. The machinist stuff is up front on the counter. They had a well stocked machinery section with drill presses, horizontal band saws, but the only lathe I saw was an Atlas wood lathe. I did not buy anything here.
Trade Land
293 Daniel Webster Hwy.
Nashua NH
This place is not just tools. They carry everything from tools, electronics, jewelry, musical instruments, DVD's etc. As far as tools go it's hit and miss. Some things are cheap while some things are expensive as hell. Case in point they had a Huot letter size drill dispenser for $89. Pretty much can get that new cheaper. They have some machinist tools, and it can be hit and miss. No-name mics had $49 tags on them yet an 8" Mitutoyo dial caliper in case was $39. One thing I noticed is they seem to go by whether or not it's in a case and not by name. You'll see what I mean in a minute. They did not have any lathes, but did have drill presses and a couple of large vertical band saws. I got a Craftsman machinist toolbox for $30. Now this box was next a Kennedy of the same type. They both had scuffs and scrapes, the Kennedy didn't have the crinkled paint and one of the draw rail had loose rivets. The Kennedy was marked $119 :nuts: I paid $100 for my 11 drawer oak Gerstner. I also picked up a set of 3 mics. Starrett 4" graduated .0001, Brown and Sharp 5" graduated .001, and a Starett 6" graduated .0001. $29 for all three.
Goodwill
Internet and physical location
99% failure rate with this. Although I did manage to pick up a brand new 4" Mitutoyo hub mic for $10 off their online auction site. Do I need a hub mic? No, but for $10 couldn't pass it up.
Feel free to add to this list if anyone has any other places to shop.
