# Your best roadside tool find



## OldMachinist

I know as a tool junkie I've stopped many times to pick up tools laying on the side of the road. So when I found this 36" Ridgid pipe wrench yesterday it got me wondering what others have found.


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## davidh

good find.  im usually too late. . .


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## HSS

Yeah Don, many years ago I found a German-made scissor sharpener with the guides and everything lying in the middle of the road. I use that grinder now, for sharpening my HSS bits. It has a white stone on one side and a whet wheel on the other side. Makes for a really keen edge.

Patrick


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## OldMachinist

I've found many hammers, wrenches and screwdrivers but never a grinder.


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## jtrain

I've found a Snap On 5/16-1/4 inch box end wrench,  chain load binder and a 18 inc pipe wrench.


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## fastback

I have found the usual wrenches and sockets.  My cousin, a retired truck driver is always finding things.  Once he found a chain binder, another time he found a nice wide tie down strap, but the best item was a 3/4 drive impact wrench.  It's one of those expensive super heavy duty units.  The best part is he gave them to me.  So needless to say I'm happy.


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## macrnr

I once found a nice Huntsman Welding Hood and a pair of welding gloves. Another time I found a pair of insulated coveralls, brand new but covered in cow crap. Too big for me so I gave them to my brother in law.


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## 56FordGuy

I picked up a 5/8" blacksmith's top punch. Unusual, but not as cool as a 36" pipe wrench.


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## pdentrem

So far a NAPA led work light rechargeable type. Works better than a new one I bought from another maker. Just had to replace the on/off switch in the base and find the right charger. Use it all the time.
Pierre


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## macrnr

Last week I was driving home from a meeting in another town in the Northern part of the state. I decided to take a " shortcut " which involved about 11 miles of dirt road. I was cruising along and something caught my eye in the trees so I turned around to see what it was. Lo & behold there is 16' fiberglass ski boat sitting in the dirt. Apparently it had been stolen, stripped and left for dead. 100 miles from any water so it was surprising to see it out there in the woods. There she still sits.


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## jpfabricator

I was on my way to Dallas some years back, when a heater hose blew. Where i stoped the car there was a slip joint pair of pliers by the right front tire. I used them to bypass the heater core and resume my trip. I also found a heavy cast iorn stanley level on the highway, Although the vials were broke the boddy survived. Any one know where I can get replacement vials??


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## AR1911

Does one's driveway count as a road? My shop is 30 miles from the house. One day several years ago I pulled into the driveway and saw some sort of odd-shaped black plastic case sitting right in the middle of the driveway. Turned out to be a newish Craftsman 18" chainsaw. I figure someone must have parked in my driveway and done some work in an adjacent lot, and pulled out with it sitting on the tailgate.    I'm still using that saw.


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## jmarkwolf

I found the channel locks ( a little tattered but who's complaining) and multi-tool below in the last year.

In the past I've found a maul (baby sledge hammer), 36" long Snap On pry bar, grain scoop (use it to feed the birds), and other things I'm sure I've forgotten.

Always get a kick out of it!


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## OldMachinist

Driveway counts. I have a Craftsman chainsaw that I found sitting out for the trashman over 10 years ago. Replaced the fuel lines and I've used it many times since.
As far as replacement level vials I've used the ones from McMaster Carr to replace some over the years.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#vial-levels/=lgv5lr


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## RWL

I found a piece of 5/8'' hot rolled plate laying on the berm of the road.  It is 6" by 48"  Not rusty.  Last autumn I found a like-new 5 gal Eagle metal safety gas can with the attached funnel laying partially covered with leaves about 6 feet off the road in the woods.

Although not strictly a roadside find, my best unexpected yard sale find was someone whose father was a machinist and long gone.  The person didn't have much of interest at the yard sale, but he mentioned his father's tools when we were talking and then took me down to his cellar to see them.  I bought a bunch of stuff at almost give away prices.  e.g. an Interapid DTI for either $15 or $20, I forget now.  The tools had been stored in a damp basement and many had a light coat of rust.  I was hesitant to pay a whole lot for many of them since I didn't know how the rust would affect the accuracy of some things.  In the end I made out pretty well.


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## xalky

I found a large set of snap-on snap ring pliers a few years back, internal and externals. They were laying right in the middle of the road on the entrance ramp to the highway. There had to be a dozen pairs of all different types. Not those universal POS with the interchangeable tips, these are all high quality Snap-on snap ring pliers. Gotta be worth $100 new.


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## mfim

In road ditch, an 8 hp gasoline powered waterpump. Fuel tank dented in from fall, but started right up.)


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## Ray C

-Not sure if this counts since it's not a tool but, I was walking through a forest preserve and someone dumped a bunch of cut-up steel hollow telephone pole sections each about 4' long and 3/8" wall.  They were big tapered tubes.  Had to walk 1/8 mile each way but I brought all home.  10 of e'm!  Carried two at a time.  LOL.  Ranger stopped me and started to hassle me but after explaining, he went along.


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## ortho

If driveway counts here, I found a rat tail file.  It was stuck through one of my tire treads.  Luckily, that tire was repairable.


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## Ed T

1/4" drive snap on socket set in the box in a parking lot. My son found a five gallon pail full of Aloris QCTP stuff in New York. I think he got $600 buck for it on E-bay. Didn't need it then, but I do now. Oh well.


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## GK1918

I should say my weirest road find.  Yes a left front flat with a brand new Snap on plyers stuck in my
tire - how in hell could ever happen.  I still can not figure that one out.


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## Alan Douglas

When I was a kid I found the business end of a tree pruner by the road in front of the house.  I'm still using it.


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## karlgabel2

Mine was a King-Seeley Jointer (i.e. Craftsman).
Surface rust and a motor that was filled with wood chips.
The motor had grease filled rope packing (20s?)
Cleaned out the wood chips and the motor fired up fine, the second time.
Cleaned the rust and she works great!


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## Bloy

I found a Milwaukee right angle hole shooter(similar in size to a sawzall) still in its case with large bits. Some sawdust/particles in case so looked to be a plumber's. The case was surprisingly not smashed. It was just around a corner so it appeared to have slid off the back of a vehicle and landed flat on its bottom. 
Being in a smallish town, I felt guilty that i didn't attempt to find its owner and subsequently(much later) gave it away to someone who needed it.


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## OldMachinist

I have returned tools that I've found if they were marked with a owner. I found a 24" aluminum pipe wrench a few years ago. It was marked as belonging to a local Co-Op so I turned it in to them. They said it had been missing for over 5 years.


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## Harvey Melvin Richards

Several years ago I was taking the dog for a springtime walk in the mountains. I found a Cornwell 3/8" ratchet (upper right in photo) sticking out of a snow pile. Later that same day I was driving down the street and I found a cheap Ace Hardware 3/8" socket set over a 1/4 block length of road. I'd never found a ratchet before, and I find 2 in the same day.

I've also found a monkey wrench, several screwdrivers, and a few vise grips.


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## core-oil

I know guys this will take a lot of believing, Some forty years ago, I was in a train heading from Inverness to near Inverurie direction in Scotland, Sitting watching the scenery go by , I ended up doing a double take, Way out in the country sitting right slap bang in the middle of a field, Wait for it guys -- A lathe!  I nudged wife in the ribs, & said, "We have just passed a lathe sitting in the middle of that field"  I still remember the strange look she gave me, 
  I sometimes wonder yet how an old lathe about i would say 6" centre height ended up there, The only thing i can think on was the farmer in a little farmer further along possibly was dragging it home by 4 legged horse power, a bit at a time

 I certainly did not mention it to my doctor when i returned home lest he thought my job had got to me big time , & i ended up being detained in a psychiatric hospital

  One of lifes little puzzles i will never fathom out


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## kolob10

Found a fairly new 25'- 1/2" log chain along side of the road. Last week I noticed something in the road ahead on a wide curve. Several cars in front of me ran over it as they drove by. It was an American flag. Don't know how long it was there but I almost got killed when I stopped and retrieved it. Brushed it off and it now hangs in my shop as a reminder of the "patriots" that passed this jewel up. My wife found a new Christmas tree several years ago in the retail box. She pulled it out of the road, waited an hour and threw it in the truck. She even contacted the store that it was shipped to to see if they knew what was going on. They said just to keep it. We still have that tree up at Christmas.


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## Uncle Buck

Since driveway finds count last summer I found a Craftsman floor model drill press, a 6" Craftsman jointer and a 10" cast iron Craftsman table saw setting at the end of a driveway marked free a block from my parents house. There was absolutely nothing wrong with any of them and they were all good old USA machines from the 1970's. Turned out the owner was moving and just wanted them to go away quick!


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## lens42

Not on the road side, but I'd been in my house for about two years, when I had to go crawling underneath to fix a tub leak. I found a huge Wiss upholstery scissors, nice sheet metal shear, a big pipe wrench, and an old brass steam whistle. The tools weren't even that rusted.


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## jpfabricator

I had to make 2 runs to shrevport yesterday, when I was getting close to my destination I saw a caster sticking up from the grass on the side of the road. I stopped on my way out and found this attached to the caster.


The casters are very heavyduty!


On my second run to the same place, about 50 yards down the street I saw this!


Unfortunatly, I was out of opperation hours after that trip; no telling what I would have found on the third trip!


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## raross61

GK1918 said:


> I should say my weirest road find. Yes a left front flat with a brand new Snap on plyers stuck in my
> tire - how in hell could ever happen. I still can not figure that one out.



Yes I have seen that before, when I was 16-17 I worked at a gas station on the main highway here in Oregon, found all kinds of stuff in tires! Channel Locks, Small Pipe Wrench, Screwdrives Etc, 99% of the time they would always be in the rear tires! I think when you are humming down the road at 50-60 mph, the front tire hits these items, and it bounces up, and then wham just like a bullet, it goes into the rear tire! Pretty rare this was on your front tire!   Just my 2 cents worth!


Bob in Oregon


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## ScrapMetal

raross61 said:


> Yes I have seen that before, when I was 16-17 I worked at a gas station on the main highway here in Oregon, found all kinds of stuff in tires! Channel Locks, Small Pipe Wrench, Screwdrives Etc, 99% of the time they would always be in the rear tires! I think when you are humming down the road at 50-60 mph, the front tire hits these items, and it bounces up, and then wham just like a bullet, it goes into the rear tire! Pretty rare this was on your front tire!   Just my 2 cents worth!
> 
> 
> Bob in Oregon



Bob's not kidding.  When I worked in a garage (some 30+ years ago) the strangest thing I pulled out of a flat was a set of keys.  About 5 or 6 keys on a keyring inside the tire.

Go figure,

-Ron


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## FanMan

I've found the odd screwdriver or pair of pliers, but the best was when a tie rod end let go in my wife's '69 Bonneville... the nut was gone, what happened to the cotter pin I don't know.  Laying in the street near the car was an old nail just the right size to go through the cotter pin hole, even without the nut it got us home.


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## stupoty

Does it count if you found it in the engin bay of a car you have bought?

if so then i found a very usefull 2 foot long philips screwdriver and a friend of mine found a 3 foot pry bar in his , maybe its a uk mechanic thing of hideing the biggest tool you can find in the most improbable place in a car 

Stuart


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## danwsmith7

Can you post a picture of the whistle and any information on it I would like to make one.


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## genec

I found a log chain 24 foot welded to one end was a 2 inch diameter axle, which later became my 1812 Napoleon cannon.  Two big tarps, I gave one away in used the other at the range to catch my Brass.  Many times it just wasn't safe to stop along the highway.:tiphat:


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## schor

My father in law found an almost brand new lawnmower at the side of the road, put it in his pickup and went home. I wonder if the guy that owned it was just getting more gas from the back yard shed.


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## OldMachinist

I was using a post hole auger to put in a gate post a week ago, the auger hit something at about 8" deep and wouldn't go deeper. Hand dug down to see what it was and found this 10" adjustable wrench. 




From the handle design I know it's old. Crescent made this design from 1930 to 1957. In 58 they changed the recess in the handle so that it went all the way to the thumb wheel. Soaked it in some Kroil for a week and tapped on it with a hammer to break the rust up. Now it works perfect.


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## frbutts

from the 70's a 10" adjustable wrench (Istill use it every day at work) last year a 10" c clamp. last month my son found a stil chain saw.


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## sniggler

Driving along through dairy country upstate NY near Oneonta came upon an old railroad forge on the side of a dirt road, pipe legs, cast iron table, fire pot with water trough cast right into the table it came with a buffalo forge hand crank blower it had a sign said 25 dollars i went up to the house and paid the lady trying to hide my grin. 

I had to fabricate the air plumbing and tuyere but it still rocks the soft coal 20 + years later. At that time it was hard to find good soft coal and i made a deal to do some welding in trade for some supposedly nice soft coal well the guy gave me a few bags to try and that stuff the yellow smoke almost smoked the neighbors out. I refused the deal to discount the job in trade for a ton of that crap. The owner was ****** but hey that stuff would take your breath away. 

bob


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## Ian Bee

Does, my wife, count?


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## RWL

Ian Bee said:


> Does, my wife, count?



OK. There's a story there.  Tell us.


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## george wilson

You guys are luckier than I am! The only thing I ever found was a nice flashlight,which I still use!


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## DAN_IN_MN

Things I've found along the road.  My wife is getting used to me slowing down, backing up, turning around and coming back with a treasure.

ViceGrip

1 lb hammer

Long flat blade screwdriver.

A pair of gloves.  I was walking and saw a glove and picked it up.  About a 1/4 mile further, there was the other one.  What's the chance of that? LoL!

I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting. 

Under a hood 8mm Snap On socket.  I had the owner of the car return it to where she normally had the car worked on.

I saw a guy driving with his work gloves on his truck bumper.  At a traffic light, I jumped out of my car, grabbed them off of the bumper and ran up to his window with them.  I'm sure at first, I freaked the poor guy out.  He was thankful to get his gloves.

Not tool related, walking around the Dome in MPLS found a $20.00.


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## DaveInPA

I found a pair of Channelock brand long nose pliers in the street in front of my house several years ago.

A few months ago a couple down the street was moving out, and they'd put two 8 gallon Rubbermaid Action Packers out for trash pickup. I grabbed them before they went to the incinerator. A few minutes cleanup and they were good as new.


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## randyjaco

Someone in Baclif,Tx found a nearly new Sawzall in its original case last year. I drove to the hardware store about a mile away when I realized I left the tail gate down on my pickup with the saw sitting on it. In less than 3 minutes that saw  disappeared never to be seen again. I will bet that saw never even hit the ground before it disappeared. There was no evidence of the saw or a living human in the area :thinking:

Randy


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## JoeSixPack74

Driving around fixing ATMs I have found about every hand tool you can imagine.  Also jammed inside my ATMs...  Best was a 10mm Snap On wrench.  When I purchased a metal detector years ago I was poking around in the yard and found a screw driver burial ground.  Previous owners of my house for some reason buried about 2 dozen screwdrivers all over the back yard.


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## Ulma Doctor

i can't really say there's a best find but over the years i have found multiple wrenches, screwdrivers, chain, and pliers.
but if i had to pick a most valuable,:thinking:
it would be an Aluminum Handle Rigid 3 ft pipe wrench.


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## Tony Wells

Found all the usual stuff, but lately, the best stuff I find above the ceiling tiles at the hospitals I work in. All sorts of hand tools and instruments. Any marked with owners I can find are returned, but surprisingly, some of the more expensive stuff has no one's name on it. Found several MagLite flashlights, some even with good batteries.:thumbsup:


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## hman

This isn't an actual "tool" find.  It's "raw materials."


After an election, I'll go around picking up campaign signs from "beside the road".  Since the law requires their removal within a few days after the election, I'm doing both the candidates and myself a favor!

Nowadays all the signs are made of "corroplast" (cellular/corrugated plastic), either ~3/16" or ~5/16" and 4 ft square or larger.  This waterproof material has a number of uses.  And here in the Phoenix area, nobody seems to use wooden stakes.  Each sign is held up with 2 or 3 pieces of 1/2" or 5/8" rebar, anywhere from 5ft to 6ft long.  

After a big election, I can go out for an hour or two with a side cutters (for the "bailing wire") and vise-grips and collect a huge number of signs and 50-60 lbs of rebar.  Rebar is easy to pull out of the ground by clamping on the vise-grips for a handle, rotating it a few turns, then pulling it upward.


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## Frank Ford

Not roadside, but right in the middle of a T-intersection - near mint condition Ben Davis coveralls in my exact size.


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## Bellwether

After voting and leaving the polling place, I found a brand new, complete set of Milwaukee hole saws all snug in their case laying in the middle of the road


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## atlas user

brand new fuel cans.

Saw a truck drive past my folks and these shiny things bouncing off the tailgate, walked down the road picking up sockets later...

Hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches

Truck, (large and small) car and float tires-rims

chains, binders, bungie cords

steel and lumber

coolers, ball caps, gloves, coveralls

and more


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## TOOLMASTER

found a wire pulling pulley...sold for 80 bucks on ebay ;-)


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## kvt

Have not found anything recently, but driving the length and width of TX every once and a while, I have found all sorts of tools, Coolers, chains, and various other items,   Just slow down backup, or pull over and walk back to get it.  Occasionally have to turn around and go back to get them.   But the last thing I found was not lucky.   Found a nice sharp jobber 5/16 bit.   Tire went flat, and when we went to pull the object out it was hard to get hold of.  The sharp end was sticking out.   Finally got it out and plugged the tire to last till Could go get new one.   Kept the bit,   and have actually used it a few times since.


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## Billh50

Found a 28 inch snow blower that looked new and a 2yr old lawn mower on the side of the road. The snow blower it seems someone took the auger axle apart to grease it and put a shouldered bushing in wrong so it bound up the axle. I turned it around and put it in right and it worked great. Been using it for 3 yrs now. The mower needed a new coil and I had one from an old mower I stripped before sending to scrap. That has been working for a year now.


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## pineyfolks

Found a stihl concrete saw laying in the middle of the road. Only thing broken was the blade guard. Started up on the first pull.


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## george wilson

The best thing I have found in the road was a nice Maglite flashlight. I still use it.


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## Stonebriar

When I was a teenager in the 60s I found a 1/2" drive Snap-on ratchet, almost new.  I still use it today.


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## strantor

This might be a bit of a stretch for a "road find" but I think the basic criteria are met.

I found a '99 Chevy cavalier in the road in front of my friend's house. It wasn't his, it was a friend of his. The guy had been at an intersection nearby when a huge lifted pickup ran over his front bumper. The guy drove it to my friend's house since it was only 1/4 mile away and antifreeze was spraying out. That was a few months prior and the guy hadn't done anything with it; he had deployed (Navy) right after the accident. My friend had gotten HOA complaint letters and then fines for the car sitting in the street. They were threatening to have it hauled off. I asked my friend if his friend wanted to sell the car.

My friend called his friend and said he had someone interested in the car. The guy said "oh **** the car, hang on, I'll be right there." 30 minutes later the guy shows up with the title and says I can have the car if I make this problem go away. He said he completely forgot about it and he was being transferred to Hawaii. He was literally watching his suff get loaded on the truck when we called, but they hadn't loaded his file box with the title yet. 

So I pay my friend's HOA fines and everyone is happy. Heck of a deal. It had like 70k miles on it. The bumper was ripped off and had been drug under the car. I pulled it out from under the car and threw it away. The frame was too bent in the front to simply mount a new bumper, and I didn't have money to get it fixed properly. But I had to remove it from the premises. So I went to sears and bought my first welder, a 90A simple cheapo stick welder, and I welded some scrap metal to the front of the car, mounted some offroad lights to it, and called it good. I drove it all the way from Virginia to Texas like this:


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## txpilgrim

Can you top this?
Found a zipper bank bag laying in the middle of the street in front of our house. Picked it up - heavy for a bank bag - inside were assorted canceled checks, deposit slips - bank stuff. Also a revolver! Nice chrome plated S&W .357 revolver with a Houston police officers badge etched on the side including his badge number. I was able to trace it back to the officer from the names on the canceled checks. The bank bag had been left on the car roof by the officer, his girlfriend or his wife (depending on who was talking) and fell off by our house. I was able to track him down and got it returned to him.
In return he didn't even thank me rather accuse me of stealing it!  What a jerk!!


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## Martin W

Something you don't want to find


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## strantor

I recently had my tire punctured by a bone. Had been driving around in my yard picking up branches. Never knew a bone was strong enough to punch thru a tire.


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## gotogojo

lens42 said:


> Not on the road side, but I'd been in my house for about two years, when I had to go crawling underneath to fix a tub leak. I found a huge Wiss upholstery scissors, nice sheet metal shear, a big pipe wrench, and an old brass steam whistle. The tools weren't even that rusted.


well I can add to these  finds going down hill out of page ut. and a semi was parted  going up hill man was walking downhill real fast me 40 yrs. on the road told wife he spotted some thing about then drove by a gun rolled up in a holster and belt give all the brakes on my p.u. and 5 wheel got out to go back and  running up hill he was running down hill. not a happy ending missed by about 20 ft he did say better luck next time. I thought he could of let me see what I missed out on . gospel gotogojo


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## NCjeeper

Found a large hammer.


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## Vladymere

You guys have found all sorts of nice stuff.  The only thing I found was an FAL rifle parts set.  I was able to assemble it fairly inexpensively ( had to purchase a receiver).  I later traded this rifle to a fellow for an 1871 Mauser cavalry carbine which I value at $1500.

Vlad


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## NCjeeper

Vladymere said:


> You guys have found all sorts of nice stuff.  The only thing I found was an FAL rifle parts set.


Holy cow. Nice find.


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## brino

macrnr said:


> covered in cow crap. Too big for me so I gave them to my brother in law.


Don't like that brother-in-law?



stupoty said:


> maybe its a uk mechanic thing of hideing the biggest tool you can find in the most improbable place in a car


Maybe that's how all those tools get into tires; the mechanics leave them on the inside and eventually they try to get back out! 

Best I have got is a couple wrenches found along the road side. 
I have seen many, many ratchet straps, but usually on busy highways and value my life too much too try retrieving them.

-brino


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## 4GSR

My last tool find was a pair of wire cutters.  Looked like they were used to pull nails out of sheetrock or some other sheet rock work.  Who knows, cleaned them up a little, threw then into the drawer with the rest of my "loaner tools!"

You know, Brino is right, it's getting way too dangerous to stop on the road to retrieve a $5 to $10 tool or so off of the road now days. I remember dad retrieving a half worn out 12" Crescent wrench off the road, gave it to us kids.  That was my only real wrench I had for many years when I was a kid.


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## kvt

Yea,  to buisy and dangerous to stop in many places any more.  Have seen everything from heavy duty ratchet straps to coolers but on major highways here is south Texas you take your life in you hands if you want to stop on them  and try and go grab something unless it is off the side of the road,  Then only if you have to.   Now on some of the back roads, that would prob be a diff story but do not get to travel them that often any more.


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## Superburban

Yep, seen many things over the years, but did not feel safe to stop for. Now, a 10 foot aluminum ladder, I took the risk for. Just had a slight bend on one of the top rails.


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## 4GSR

Speaking of 10' foot aluminum ladders, several years ago I was cruising down the road in the family mini van. I was on a six lane highway, three lanes one direction, three the other direction.  Well, came up on a ladder in my lane, couldn't move over, straddled it, spit it out the back end looking like a pretzel.  The guy that lost it was over at the side of the road to retrieve it, threw up his hands at me.


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## kvt

Cruising down the road today,  I10, start of rush hour,   Fist passed what looked like a good ratcheting tie down strap,  a little later another one,   a little later looked like someone started loosing part of a load of supplies.   Problem was Every lane had people trying to pass anyone that was going the speed limit if not faster.   Safe,  now way.   But makes for some fun looks from those drivers trying to miss all of it when it comes flying at them.


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## alloy

I found a really nice hand truck in the middle of the road about 30 years ago.  I'm assuming it fell off a beer truck.

I had to do my civic duty and clear the road hazard for other drivers.   I still have it


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## Green Frog

One of the best mechanics I ever knew (when he was sober) had a habit of leaving one or two random tools in or on everything he worked on and was always complaining about how people were always "stealing his tools."  I could have filled several tool boxes just following him around.  

My most unusual tool acquisition on the street was 20+ years ago while visiting Bratislava, the capitol of Slovakia.  My dad was driving and I made him stop so I could pick up a pair of lineman's pliers somebody dropped in the middle of a street in town.  Good old Communist era stuff, kinda plain and crude looking but long on stout!  They are still in use along with a similar vintage 6" crescent wrench (Williams?) I found on a road back Stateside not too long after.

Froggie


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## Silverbullet

I find tools of all sizes. Lumber 4x4 x8' , $100.00 bill plus all other denominations , no more pennies. Brand new limb lopper commercial tool. T square sockets wrenchs , screwdriver s, steel angle iron. A full tool box of tools along a roadside. Most of these finds are from rideing the roads on my wheelchair or power scooter . Just last week I found a craftsmen 4" belt sander ,, cleaned and lubed and runs great . You name it I've dragged it home. When I was 4  We found a piglet along the road my daddy caught it we had him for a couple weeks till my dad found the farmer who lost him. He never missed till my dad asked about it.


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## CarlosA

While riding my bike around most of the time lately, i`ve picked up a lot of lead (and non-lead) wheel weights. I have found receiver hitches with ball, and scrap metal - but nothing too amazing. The one thing that has stuck with me for more than 20 years is a pair of "new" craftsman pliers I found on a dirt road. This one stands out because it was a totally abandoned dirt road that is rarely driven, and far off the beaten path behind locked gates.


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## bfd

found a 6 foot stabilia level right in front of my house on the street. scratched but useable bill


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## Randall Marx

My father just found a Makita 18V Li-Ion cordless drill on the road. I think it's a LXT model. Now he just needs to find a charger for it!


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## Nogoingback

My best was a bunch of new looking Craftsman metric combination wrenches spread all over the road.  I also picked up a nice pair of Vice Grip locking pliers on a taxiway at the airport.
My friend stopped the airplane and I jumped out and grabbed 'em.  

As for leaving stuff behind in cars, years ago I worked as an auto mechanic.  I used a pair of vice grips which I clamped to a clutch cable I was adjusting, and then forgot them.  A year
later the same car came back and I found them still clamped to the cable.  Still have those pliers.


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## bfd

what I lost was a full set 29 piece drill bit set. drilled a hole under the hood to mount a mercury switch operated underhood light. drove off and heard a rattle as I drove 2 blocks away from my house. later I went to use my drills and couldn't find them. went back to where I heard the rattle and found my empty crushed drill index with 1 drill bit left. o well never did that again "yet" bill


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## Nogoingback

Last week I was in Bozeman Montana for work.  On our way back to the airport from the hotel we drove past a house and out in the field, right in front was a lathe.  (Couldn't tell what 
maker.)  No sign, just sitting there.  It was too big to slide into the hotel van!


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## Rudy_R

I've found plenty of hand tools through the years. Found a big transport chain last year, much bigger than anything I have. Think it was used for excavators or dozers since there was some grading going on where I found it. Found diamond blades and fiber blades. Car jack with axle stands. Pintle hitch. Spare tires. Treadmill. Brass hammer. 1/2hp motor (works mint). I don't find as much stuff anymore, as a lot of the roads I drive to work and back are also driven by lots of Mennonites. They pick up everything before I can get there. Pretty sure one of them has my tailgate from my trailer too....


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## autonoz

1/2 and 9/16 Snap on wrenches


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## KBeitz

My best find was tool inserts for a tool that put studs in winter tires. I found a whole box of them on the road. I had no idea what they was until I googled them. I bet there was 300-400 on them in the box. I got $800.00 off E-bay for them.


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## RWanke

Brand new 2" receiver with ball while in Florida and 4 medical oxygen bottles in ditch that probably bounced out the back of a truck that drove off the pavement.


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## brav65

Most expensive roadside tool find $300 for a new tire,


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## core-oil

txpilgrim said:


> Can you top this?
> Found a zipper bank bag laying in the middle of the street in front of our house. Picked it up - heavy for a bank bag - inside were assorted canceled checks, deposit slips - bank stuff. Also a revolver! Nice chrome plated S&W .357 revolver with a Houston police officers badge etched on the side including his badge number. I was able to trace it back to the officer from the names on the canceled checks. The bank bag had been left on the car roof by the officer, his girlfriend or his wife (depending on who was talking) and fell off by our house. I was able to track him down and got it returned to him.
> In return he didn't even thank me rather accuse me of stealing it!  What a jerk!!


I think a note to his chief of police explaining what a ungrateful louse his officer was after your kindness might have made the officer think again, Unfortunately that aproach might have led to his buddies ganging up on you


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## markba633csi

I've found an 8" Craftsman adjustable wrench, a couple large open end wrenches, pliers. A large Buck knife up around lake Berryessa once.
Also camping once I was ripping around in the woods in my new '88 Mitsubishi 4X4 when my friend's chainsaw jumped out of the bed. We had to drive about a mile back, semi-drunk and trying to remember which way we had come when we turned a corner and lo and behold, there it was sitting in the road.  We each proceeded to have another beer. Or two. Still have the truck, runs great
Mark


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## Downunder Bob

I haven't found anything on the road that I can recall, but some years ago about 35 or 40 years, I'd had a fair bit of work done on my house about 6 different tradies, involved. When the work was all finished and they had left, as I cleaned up I found a Makita battery drill it was the 9v one with the long battery fitted into the hand grip, no charger just the drill and battery. i waited a while expecting the owner to call back, but he never did. So I went and bought myself a charger, I still use it today. I've had to replace the battery a few times, but it still goes well.

I still think my best find is a local heavy steel fabrication shop, that the owner is quite happy for me to rummage through his scrap skip and take whatever I want, some of the pieces are too big and heavy for me to lift even with my mate helping me.


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## dtsh

I've been pretty lucky in discoveries, I have found the usual assortment of basic hand tools, a pistol in a pelican case back in the late 90's which was laying in the middle of a country road, and the best was in the mid 80's I found a wallet with several hundred dollars in it. Unfortunately I knew the jerk it belonged to and returned it to him, sometimes honesty doesn't pay.


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## KBeitz

I found a new car carrier in the middle of the road. It had no hitch on the front so 
I'm thinking it fell off a truck. I called the state police and they was not interested.
They said keep it... I had to tie it fast to my bumper to get it home...


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## MrWhoopee

When I rode my bike everywhere, I found lots of tools. A dozen or so 1/2 and 9/16 wrenches, lots of sockets, a decent pair of 10 in. Channellock pliers and a matched set of Diamond tool adjustable (Crescent) wrenches (10 and 12 in.). More recently I found a new HF tool set (sockets, ratchets, etc.) scattered on a freeway on-ramp and a nice pair of Serengeti sunglasses in the case at an I-5 rest stop.

Like they say, "keep your eyes on the road".


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## MrWhoopee

Nogoingback said:


> I used a pair of vice grips which I clamped to a clutch cable I was adjusting, and then forgot them.  A year
> later the same car came back and I found them still clamped to the cable.  Still have those pliers.



I did exactly the same thing on one of my many VW buses. Those are some tenacious pliers, still have 'em.


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## Nogoingback

MrWhoopee said:


> I did exactly the same thing on one of my many VW buses. Those are some tenacious pliers, still have 'em.



Yup, it was an air cooled VW Bug.


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## C-Bag

I walk my dog every day and as there are several parks around here there's lots RV's and traffic. They drop all kinds of weird stuff like parts and hardware. But one day I was doing one of my many loops and looked under a bush and something didn't look right. I saw it was a leather form fitting camera case and pulled it out thinking it was empty, but it wasn't. There was a Fugifilm xt20 camera in perfect shape. I think somebody was taking pics of the groves came back and put the camera one the top of the car while they loaded up and drove away. It fell off and rolled under a bush. It had been the for at least a month and the thing that saved it was the nice case. I put ads and got calls for other makes, but not that one. Pretty expensive camera.


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## Kroll

I didn’t stop to pick it up wasn’t tool but it was coke machine.I regret not stopping


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## coherent

Found a 5 gal pail full carpenters tools for hanging doors and locks etc. Placed a "found" ad locally and put a few posters up and at the local post office, but no calls. Still use some of the tools. I drive about an hour each way on the freeway daily to work and back. A couple times came across rolls of coax cable. If I stopped for every tie down I saw,  I could have filled a pickup truck already!


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## DavidMTL

Guy driving way to fast up a hill hits a bump and off flies a small snow blower.  Does a near perfect 720 and lands with just a bent wheel.   Waited 20 minutes for him to  come back and then said thank you and drove off.   Still works nice 7 years later.


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## westerner

Downunder Bob said:


> Makita battery drill it was the 9v one with the long battery fitted into the hand grip,


Best design ever. You can still buy that battery. Try to buy any other battery one half that age


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## Downunder Bob

westerner said:


> Best design ever. You can still buy that battery. Try to buy any other battery one half that age


Haven't seen them available in Australia for a few years now, probably not a big enough market. still I think postage would kill it. How much are they? and are they still NiCad or have they moved on?


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## Thomcat316

Inveterate junkpile junkie, so far too much stuff over the years:
Almost new Weber kettle grill, the $300 version, with accessories.
Robinair belt drive vacuum pump, worked like new.
Stand-up paddle board.
16 ft. sailboat.


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## hman

Downunder Bob - 
"Modern" 9.6 volt batteries for the Mkaita are nickel metal hydride.  Later model Makita chargers will handle both kinds.


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## Thomcat316

Downunder Bob said:


> ....are they still NiCad or have they moved on?



If you're electronically handy you can probably split the battery case and substitute lithium ion batteries for the original NiCad.  The only "issue" is that you'd be going from 8x1.2v cells for 9.6v battery to 3x3.6v cells for a 10.8v battery.  Drill works better!

Assuming they fit.  

Oh, and you can't use the same charger.


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## Downunder Bob

Yes I'd still like to use the same charger as it's all i have and it works well. I have 8 x NiMh cells that I can repack the battery with, but I gave up trying to split the old causing, without breaking it, might try again, when I get the urge.

Is it possible to use the new 18V XLT lithium chargers. as i have one of them.


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## hman

Just for fun, I searched eBay for "Makita 9.6 volt battery" and got lots of results, many of which were NiMH.  I don't know how well eBay works "down under," but I'd hope that shipping from China to Australia would be about the same as shipping to the USA.  So prices should be comparable.  I wish you luck in your endeavors!


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## john.k

I found a big Crescent 18" half buried in a dirt road when I was about 6 years old......long time ago........My old man had no tools,and he used to borrow it......I still have it..........Nowdays I have a yard next to a car wrecking yard,and theives are always cutting the fence,and generally they leave wirecutters behind.........last ones were the Kniplex compound ones that cost about $70......cops asked me if I found any evidence .....it was an armed robbery....Also found a nice new Beta Utensli compound cutter a couple of years ago....


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## westerner

Downunder Bob said:


> Haven't seen them available in Australia for a few years now, probably not a big enough market. still I think postage would kill it. How much are they? and are they still NiCad or have they moved on?


*Exmate 2PCS 9.6V 3500mAh Ni-MH Replacement Battery Compatible with Makita 9033 193890-9 192696-2 632007-4 9001 9002 9600 191681-2 192533-0 4093D 4093DW 5090D 5090DW 6095D*
I would imagine shipping would be prohibitive. I would not surprise me to find that the airlines would have a problem with these sorts of things


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